Editor's Note: We are thrilled to add David Linn as a new contributor to CDR. David has been a Multnomah County Precinct Committee Person for the Democratic Party for over 15 years, and has held several leadership roles including District Leader for HD 45, and currently the legislative liaison PCP for HD47. He has served more than 15 years on the boards of multiple neighborhood associations, including as Chair of Montavilla Neighborhood Association. He also sits on the board of Centennial Community Association, and in 2021 was elected to the Centennial School Board. David chimes in with compelling argument in favor of the hot button question MCD is asking vis-a-vis a Town Hall e-meeting today: Should the county's official Democratic Party organization endorse candidates in primary contests, and for non-partisan races, such as those for Portland's mayoral and council seats? CDR takes no official stand on the query, but welcomes all views and submissions for publication.
A Case for Multnomah County Democrats Endorsements in Primaries and Non-Partisan Races
Multnomah County Democrats Bylaws — Article I — Section 2: “The purposes of the Party are to: A. Organize Democrats within Multnomah County B. Develop, adopt and support a party platform C. Elect Democratic candidates who support and vote for our Platform D. Represent Democrats at the Congressional District and State Central Committees E. Promote the positive exchange of ideas through education and debate.”
Stated in our bylaws, our purpose is to empower Democrats to craft a platform and support candidates who support that platform. Endorsing candidates in Democratic primaries and non-partisan races is the most direct way to influence local issues and policies. The current practice of forbidding it has many consequences, but mostly it makes the Multnomah County Democrats irrelevant in the races most important to Multnomah County voters and the races that will grow our next generation of candidates. It surrenders involvement in those local races to a variety of various interest groups and allows candidates run without substance. If we are to empower our communities to shape the course of local political decisions, we must give ourselves the tools to ensure that candidates for local office align with the platform of the party and are, first and foremost, responsive to the needs of their Democratic constituents.
Anytime you open up your voter’s pamphlet there are some things you will see and some things you will not. You will see candidates listing their various endorsements from individuals, policy organizations, and political parties. These endorsements were earned by the candidate’s positions on issues, usually through a questionnaire, interview, and selection process. It creates a relationship and formal channel of communication. It is an essential way of showing potential voters how the candidate’s values align with their own. The candidate doesn’t control the process, like when just giving a speech; the organization does. Especially in House District races and school board races, when most media is too expensive and candidates are little known, endorsements are one of the most crucial parts of the campaign.
There is one endorsement that you will not see, and is not sought out, and that is the one by Multnomah County Democrats.
In Multnomah County we do not have competitive partisan races. Republicans rarely produce candidates for a majority of partisan seats. For a variety of reasons, we have even seen them endorse the sole Democrat in state house and senate races. Most general elections have become a boring affair of circling in several unopposed candidates and helping Earl Blumenauer to another landslide (now going over quarter century in the same elected office). It makes doing slate cards a waste of time and volunteers. When Non-Affiliated Voters’ (NAVs) and potential Multdems see us silenced in the primaries and activated in the general elections, it makes us look and feel like partisan drones. It feeds into the views that there are no real choices and disillusions younger voters, who don’t realize the real policy battles are in the primaries.
One of the first arguments against primary endorsements is that we should support any Democrat no matter who they are. This creates the troubling development whereby any serious Republican knows they have to switch their registration to seek out local office. Ted Wheeler spent his whole life as a Republican. Their positions didn’t make him switch; not Regan’s, not Bush’s, not in the 90’s when the Oregon GOP went on an anti-LGBTQ and anti-immigrant initiative spree. The only reason he switched was because he wanted to hold office in Oregon, and it worked. Within a few years he had fumbled through being Multnomah County Chair, Democratic State Treasurer, and the Mayor of one of the most progressive cities in America. Multnomah County Democrats have never taken a position, for or against, one of the most important yet divisive local politicians of our time.
Betsy Johnson is running for Governor as an Independent with the goal of defeating the Democratic nominee. She is running on a platform almost completely opposed to everything Multnomah County Democrats stand for. She routinely voted against raising wages and expanding voter registration. She often took glee in being a swing vote for the GOP. During a debate for the National Public Vote Compact, she defended the necessity of the electoral college as a check on urban voters. For 20 years she benefited from our party, our reputation, our money just because she put a (D) by her name. Now she will use all that against us, for if she had decided to run as a Democrat, the Multnomah County Democrats would have been required to treat her as equal to Tina Kotek.
We take no position on Portland City Council, Multnomah County Commission, Metro Council, and every local school board and special district. That makes us look irrelevant to younger and working voters not engaged in our monthly meetings. It means we are not talking to citizens about the most important issues facing our communities. School board meetings especially have taken on new significance in the community and they are the perfect place for up-and-coming Democrats to build their base to then run for and hold house/senate districts outside Portland.
The potential for in-fighting and lasting animosity is a serious thing to consider. Some older Mult. Dems will be quick to counsel against this proposal for these reasons, and have cited a mayor’s and legislative race as examples. We should not take the potential for those lightly. However, as a serious political organization we cannot skew our process to prevent hurt feelings if a candidate loses in an endorsement process to someone else. If it is a close vote, then both candidates can weigh their relative support within the party. If the vote is not close, then it sends a firm message to potential candidates about the importance of courting Multnomah County Democrats and adhering to the platform. The membership might choose not to make an endorsement in a race but they should always have the option.
Multnomah County Democrats should be the premier political organization in the State of Oregon and it is not. It should be the first stop on the path to any local political office, and it is not. It should make our PCPs feel empowered in shaping local politics through the platform, and it does not. We have to admit that.
It’s time we start asking why and taking real action to change that on the ground. We cannot ignore that the crucial time to effect change is in the primaries. We cannot sit comfortably back and expect a bench of young candidates to grow itself. We cannot out organize and out grow our opposition with a policy of supporting any person that puts a “D” after their name. When we can throw our collective support behind the candidate that supports the platform, then it will increase the value and importance of the platform, which will in turn increase the importance of being an involved PCP, and by making it more important to be a PCP in the Multnomah County Democratic Party we will grow our ranks and our capacity to effect local change.
4/9/19 — Oregon Senate Debate on SB 870 58:00 https://olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/mediaplayer/?clientID=4879615486&eventID=2019041131
