Why Committeepeople Matter

I thought that I had explained what committeepeople [CPs] do and who they represent and why they matter back when I said that I was gonna get involved in this messy Philadelphia political sphere, but looking back, it seems as if I forgot to do so. So here goes, as best to my knowledge...

The city is divided up into sixty-six Wards - big chunks of the city [map]. I live in the Fifth Ward. Each Ward has a Ward Leader [WL] who is elected by the CPs below them. The CPs represent divisions also known as precincts. CPs are also known as Precinct Captains. The divisions are smaller chunks of the larger Wards. They can range from about 600 to 1200 people depending on what part of the city you live in. I live in the Eighth Division and it's pretty small, three by four blocks in size, I think closer to 600 people than 1200, but I honestly have no idea for sure.

There are four CPs per Division. Two Democrats and two Republicans. All four seats do not have to be filled. There are vacancies all over the city. Both Democratic seats in my Division are currently occupied. Myself and an eight-year resident of this Division are running to unseat them. The process to get onto the election ballot is to obtain a nominating petition from City Hall and get ten qualified signatures [the petition has room for twenty-five]. If I recall correctly [it's been a busy few weeks], I got a total of twenty signatures by going door to door in my Division and also standing in high traffic areas.

Then you get your petition notarized by a notary public who, I'm told, cannot charge more than $5 per page, free notaries are usually available for this kind of thing and apparently Commerce Bank offers free notarization. Once notarized, you hand the petition into City Hall at the Board of Elections office.

Then comes the ballot placement lottery. If you're available in the middle of the day, you can pick names out of, in this case I'm told, a coffee can to determine your position on the ballot. I was informed last week that I'm the third on the ballot out of four.

So that's everything leading up to getting elected from what I understand. And then there's the stuff you do once you are an official CP.

There are two main duties of a CP, get out the vote and vote for WLs. Leading up to and on Election Day, CPs are given street lists / walk lists. These lists have the names of all the registered Democrats/Republicans [depending on which party you belong to] in the Division. Depending on how detailed and up to date the lists are, their phone number and some kind of legend indicating if each person has voted in the last election or series of elections e.g. italics if they voted in the last primary bold if they elected in the last primary + general election etc...

CPs are eligible to get pollwatcher certificates from their WLs enabling them to get inside the polling place before the polls open [7a?] and after they close [8.30p?] to help set up in the morning and to watch the count at night and help clean up. No electioneering is to go on within ten feet of the polls.

Electing WLs. Each CP has a vote and collectively, they vote for a WL every four years. These WLs vote for higher up positions. More via Committee of Seventy:

The ward leaders form the party's policy-making organization on the city level. This group is generally referred to as the City or County Committee. They elect the party's city chairperson, who supervises the full-time operations of the party office and also serves as the "voice of the party." In addition, each City Committee usually selects ("endorses") candidates for organizational support among those competing for its party nomination in the primary, fills vacancies when nominated candidates are unable to run in a final election, and nominates candidates for special elections to fill vacancies in public office.

WLs have quite a bit of power considering they are the ones who elect the Chairwo/man [currently Rep. Bob Brady]. And CPs have quite a bit of power because they are the ones electing the WLs

CPs are unpaid and do the grunt work because they want to get involved in politics at an inherently organic level as the lowest rung on the political ladder here in Philly. They are the first point of contact from the community up the political food chain. I, for some insane reason, want to get involved in all this. And it seems that party leadership is worried. Chris Bowers of MyDD is a West Philly resident and committeeperson [W27 D 23] and he started started shaking the tree and helped to remove his WL who had abandoned his leadership role. I think more of the same could happen in the coming years.

Comments

[acm]

good description. two additional notes: often, CPs are involved in helping determine the endorsements made by their ward -- i.e., the ballot with suggested votes that is sent to registered party members a week or two before each election. some wards have meetings with candidates to help them decide; others are more authoritarian, with decrees from above; some appear democratic but only invite a subset of candidates to addresss their meetings. not all CPs follow the Ward guideline on endorsements, and instead circulate their own ballots and explanations.

also, while the position is unpaid, it does come with some degree of funding -- theoretically for printing of flyers, mailing of endorsement ballots to most frequent voters, etc. but you can imagine that a lot of such "walking money" ends up in donut funds or back pockets too. and that's before you get into the patronage perks of being "on the inside," if you're prone to such inducements.

of course, that's more the on-the-ground reality than the theoreticals. but since we're in the same Ward, I can guess what it's practical dimensions are...

[Melissa]

Albert, I'm so glad you're doing this and telling us all about the process. I think just about every (even occasionally) political blog in Philly has linked to yesterday's post - me included.

Trust me, if you got kicked off the ballot, the noise from the local blogosphere will be absolutely deafening.

Keep up the great work. Good Luck.