Getting into the Local Game

Today I went to my first local political meeting, which is an extremely big deal for me. I have thought about ways to get involved, but my focus has always been at the national or state level. But really, this is it: the local level is where you can actually DO something and make a difference in your community. Judging from the turnout today, I am not alone in looking for ways to actively participate in the government. They asked for a show of hands for how many people were attending their first precinct level meeting, and at least half the room raised their hands.

I attended the 2017 Apex Democrats Precinct Meeting, or cluster meeting. All 9 of the precincts in Apex, NC met to organize, figure out who the precinct chairs, vice-chairs, and secretary/treasurers will be for the next two years, choose delegates for the Wake County Democratic Convention, and to go over open resolutions, which are proposals that are written and approved at a local level and will be passed up the chain from the precinct, to the county, to the state. This was not a glamorous meeting, but it absolutely felt like real work was done. Last year, my precinct had 6 attendees at this meeting--this year, there were over 20, most of whom had never attended such a meeting before.

I was happy to meet in person my precinct chair, David Tiler, who is also the admin of Apex Democrats facebook page, Jen Ferrell, who narrowly lost the race the District 36 seat in the NC House (I hope she runs again, even though she's not in my district!), and many neighbors. I came away with a pile of new knowledge, a plan to learn more, and some personal goals.

I have decided, first and foremost, to change my voter registration. I registered as an Independent--my reasoning being that I wanted to be able to vote in either the Democratic or the Republican primaries. Further, I was trying hard to keep an open mind, as I still am. However, in recent years, it has become quite apparent to me that I am, by today's definition, a Democrat, through and through. I am about to change my registration to reflect this, which will enable me to take a much more active role in local politics. As it is, I can't vote for my precinct leaders, nor can I hold any position of service, including delegation to the larger conventions. I'd like to change that so I can do more. I am ready to help make some things happen. For now, my goals are to get that done and to educate myself more about the persons in office at my town and county level. The next meeting I plan to attend is the Wake County Democratic Convention, which is April 1st at Apex Friendship High School.

This, folks, is really what democracy looks like: