A longer tunnel

Welcome to the KCDCC! Dear Elected PCOs

My name is Chad Lupkes, and I would like your consideration at the December 4th reorganization meeting of the King County Democraic Central Committee for the position of State Committee, identifying as Male.  I know we have multiple people interested in this position, and I welcome the vigorous discussion that I hope will occur in just two and half short weeks. I have been working within and around the King County Democrats and the state party for well over a decade now.  I could go over that history in detail, but I've already written about it extensively when I ran for National Delegate for Bernie Sanders at the May 21st CD Caucus.  I could also give an detailed description of what I want to do on the State Committee, but I've already written about that as well.  In fact, I write a lot, and most of it comes out as a firehose of rants and opinions and links and forwards on my Facebook page.  If I'm not already connected with you on social media, expect a connection request.  If we are connected, expect more from me.  I'm not running for a "leadership" position, because I see the State Committee as a representative position.  And what elected officials, both government and party, need to be is Responsible, Representative, and Responsive.  Just over the last year, I have Launched and helped maintain social media infrastructure for Bernie Sanders. Been a Delegate at every stage of the 2016 Caucus cycle, up to and including the National Convention. Kept contact with the Delegates from Washington and around the country. Encouraged progressives to file for PCO and become more involved in the Democratic Party.  #DemEnter or Bust. Helped with GOTV and Party events around the state, from Seattle to Spokane to Vancouver. I joined the party in 2003 hunting the smoke filled rooms in order to open them up.  I either didn't find them, or found them to be a very different thing than I expected.  No door has been closed, so far.  If a decision is going to be made, I will be talking about that decision and hearing feedback.  I know who will be making those decisions, and I have ideas about how to influence them.  I know how to help people become the decision makers.  The State Committee members represent their County Central Committees or their Legislative District organizations.  So I will represent you, while you represent your precincts and the voters in your precincts.  We also have several thousand additional precincts to fill with Appointed PCOs between now and 2018.  I am an organizer at heart, especially on social media.  It is what I have always done, and will continue to do locally, at the state level and nationally.  I also have plans and dreams to build on what I have done over the last decade in order to support progressive candidates all over the state, push our progressive agenda into all levels of government, build our party stronger than we have ever seen it before, and strengthen our communities in ways that we have not seen before, or at least not for a very long time. Connect with me on Facebook.  If we are not already connected, send me a private message so I can approve it quickly.  I'm well over 4,000 connections, and Facebook has a limit of 5k so I'm being careful at this point to make sure that I can directly connect to the people I need to communicate with.  I want to connect with you and hear from you. Follow me on Twitter at @chadlupkes, and let's use this tool to amplify our conversations.  I don't use Twitter as much as Facebook, but if it exists in the Social Mediaverse, I'm there somewhere.As an Elected PCO, you will vote on December 4th for the Officers of the King County Democratic Central Committee. The meeting will be at 12pm / Noon at this union hall: IAM Machnists Hall - Seattle 9125 15th Place South Seattle, WA 98108 Ask me questions. If I don't know the answer, I will help you find the answers.  I've been dedicated from the very start to engage, inspire, educate and empower.  That won't change. Many of you already know me from the work that I've done in the party and during the 2016 Presidential Primary.  I was the insider trying to bring new people in.  I was the establishment welcoming new voices.  I tried my best to walk the fence, because I was waiting and hoping that the fence would no longer be necessary.  I didn't want to make enemies on either side, because that makes the work harder.  Now the election results have knocked that fence down by force and we have to build bridges, not burn them.We do have a longer tunnel ahead of us.  And there will be turns and strange noises on the tracks.  But the light at the end of the tunnel is still there.  I know it is.  It's up to us to make sure that light doesn't get turned off. Sincerely, Chad Lupkes PCO, SEA 46-2324