Guest Blog: Winter DNC Meeting - Democrats United for 2014 by DPNM Chairman Javier Gonzales

Following is a guest blog from Democratic Party Chairman Javier Gonzales. Javier has been DPNM Chair for two terms. He was elected in September 2009 and then again in April 2011. Javier is serving as the NM Democratic Party Chairman until April 2013, when the party will elect a new chair for this very difficult important position to lead the State Dem Party.

This past weekend as Chairman of the Democratic Party of New Mexico and appointed member of the ASDC Executive Committee, I was honored to represent New Mexico Democrats at the Winter Association of State Democratic Chairs and Democratic National Committee meetings in Park City, Utah.

Utah was a great location, in particular for New Mexico’s attendance, because its proximity allowed me to bring the staff so our state party was able to gain the most from this series of meetings and trainings.

You may ask, “What was so important about this particular meeting?” Good question.

The ASDC is the best forum for both State Chairs and Executive Directors of State Parties to meet together and within their own groups to discuss best practices, goals of the association and also as a means to continue the training and education necessary to best execute our jobs in our home states. These forums also allow the states to coordinate and speak with a unified voice to the DNC – failure to do so would diminish our collective ability to adequately move forward together as a group of state parties.

For most of the time we were in Utah, myself and Executive Director Scott Forrester were in meetings fighting for the preservation of an initiative called the State Partnership Program (SPP). This program provided direct monetary resources to state parties across the country from the DNC. At the close of the 2012 cycle, the DNC had announced it may not continue the program.

To put this in practical terms, the absence of this financial support would jeopardize the ability of our state party and other state parties to adequately staff their offices in off-year cycles and it would also impact our ability to continue to elect Democrats in New Mexico.

I am happy to announce that at the conclusion of the ASDC meeting – after strong lobbying by Chairs and Executive Directors – the DNC has committed a minimum of $5,000 per month to New Mexico, which represents a guaranteed $60,000 of funding for the 2013 calendar year. As well the DNC – committed to transferring OFA data collected over the last four years into the DPNM voterfile.

Along with these two big successes, the DNC and State parties left Utah united and ready to take back the House of Representatives, hold the Senate and make sure we beat Republican Governors, especially Susana Martinez.

Additionally, during the ASDC meeting – and while myself and Executive Director Scott Forrester were negotiating for the continuation of the SPP program – day-long panel discussions, workshops and regional breakouts were attended by our other DPNM staff members.

Particularly of importance were workshops on the use and future improvements to our data and technology programs. It is no secret that Democrats were aided by a very strong data program, and the ASDC meeting provided an opportunity for state data file managers to get together with the DNC, Clarity Campaigns and the national VAN CO-OP to provide direct feedback on programs, data management and troubleshooting.

This kind of access is crucial for a state like New Mexico – one of the stronger data usage states – to gain advanced tips and techniques to build on the already strong technological foundation which exists already at the DPNM.

Finally, one of the last opportunities for New Mexico that the ASDC meeting provided was an informational panel on preparations for the 2013 Presidential Inauguration. Like the DNC Convention, many New Mexicans will be traveling to support our President as he is sworn in on January 20 and 21, and the ASDC forum with the presidential inaugural committee provided crucial information, deadlines and structure which will benefit all New Mexicans who are choosing to travel to Washington, DC. The DPNM, along with our NM Members of Congress will play a lead role in securing tickets to this historic event and will be better equipped to do so because of this meeting.

In all, I found the ASDC meeting to be the perfect opportunity for the DPNM to not only be fully represented, campaign to maintain the strong working partnership which currently exists with the DNC, and gain crucial professional development for the headquarters staff as we transition to the 2013 election cycle.