As promised, you’ll find all the information about yesterday’s primary. It’s remarkably good news! But first, I want to share a memory. I do so because it is a message of hope and joy: it’s a fever we need to catch to move still forward in our quest to win elections. (Remember, resistance is an interim step!)

Charlotte, NC, September 2012. The DNC convention. In the hall. James Taylor is setting up on the stage. It’s late afternoon and the hall is only about half-filled. As he sets up, the video below is played. After, he moves a folding chair and says, “Don’t worry, I’m going to sit on it, not talk to it.” He then sits down, strums a few bars, and stops. He stands up, looks at the audience, and says “I don’t get it. I’m an old, white guy, and I LOOOOOVE Obama!” The crowd cheers, and he plays “Carolina on my Mind”. And now the video, my all time favourite political video of all time.

Let’s get started. And you too, will be fired up and ready to go.

First, let’s look at the overall numbers. (Sorry, I’m not good at coding tables…)

Here’s what you want to see: while registration percentages were about flat, voter turnout for Democrats grew by about 80% since 2013, while the growth in Republican turnout was minimal. If you deep dive some of the races, you’ll see that we won when we never actually ran someone for the position before. In fact, a number of ICC members won write-in campaigns.

Turnout matters if we can hold that increase percentage through the November election. More people vote in General Elections than vote in primaries. That’s true in Pennsylvania, in part, because primaries are closed and thus non-partisans, and minor party members, are not allowed to vote unless there is a ballot initiative. As an aside, there was a ballot initiative in one township, which is why you see some non-partisan votes if you check the county’s cumulative results. But also, more people from the major parties turn out in November.

For the four countywide row position, total votes on both sides were approximately even. This is generally not the case, but this year, we can win those positions if we do what is necessary, and if the candidates run good campaigns. If we can win even one of those positions, it will be the first time a Democrat has ever held one in Chester County. WOW! The Potential!

You may look at the total number of voters and feel sad that more Republicans than Democrats voted — but I was counting votes last night and part of what I did was to count the write ins. Did you know that there were Republicans that took Republican ballots and wrote in the Democrats? It doesn’t show on the total tallies of the candidates but those folks are out there. And let’s not forget the non-partisans who showed up at the polls, and were dismayed that they couldn’t vote…where do you think their votes would have gone? Finally – the gap between R and D voters has fallen from 10,000 more Republican votes than Democratic votes in 2013, to slightly under 2,000 in 2017. Again. WOW! The Potential.

We, the members of ICC, have a unique opportunity to make history, and get candidates from local offices to countywide offices elected this year. We know we’re great at resistance – all of you who helped with the Costello Healthcare Effort were instrumental in getting him to change his vote. And certainly, the resistance will continue. But to truly move the needle we need to win races this year so that we can build our bench, and then win the bigger races next year.

So how do we do that? It’s easier than you might think. Notice that I said we can win “if we do what’s necessary” — it’s not enough to run good candidates, it’s not enough to vote: we need to do more.

When I was in private practice, when a patient came to me, I never asked “Do you want to get better?” Instead, I asked “Are you willing to do what is necessary to get better?” HUGE difference. And the difference in approach is the difference between the standard Democratic Party approach and the ICC approach. Bear with me.

I had a patient. Great guy. When he came in the first time, I was concerned that his feet were purple: that normally is a bad circulatory problem. Turned out he stomped grapes and made wine. (Always get an accurate diagnosis before coming up with a treatment plan.) He, did, however, have high blood pressure, gout, and the beginnings of COPD. I offered him the opportunity to do what was necessary: cease living on meat and pasta, eat vegetables, quit the cigars and whiskey every night, start an exercise program. There would be some medication, but limited, and short-term. He found a different doctor who put him on a long list of medications and told him that if he didn’t change his lifestyle, the drugs would suffice. I really liked him, and attended his funeral the next year.

So how does that relate? The party way of doing things is to use the drugs: expensive fundraisers, messaging, swag…you know. If you’re in, we can take a different approach, and here it is:

1. Voter Registration Drives: both at a specific locations at  given dates and times, plus individuals becoming actual human voter registration drives. Why? Because the more registered voters, the larger the pool of potential ACTUAL voters. And when we register, we don’t stop with that, we follow up to make sure people receive their cards, know where to vote, when to vote, and get them information on candidates.
2. Pairing up with candidates who want to canvass YOUR neighborhood, and committing 2 hours a week to help them. Why? Because we win house by house, block by block, person by person. YOU have more impact on your friends and neighbors than ads, lit drops or mailers. It take five touches, properly scheduled, and it’s done.
3. Finding ONE person each week who you know, who didn’t vote, who you work on to get to the polls in November. (The Adopt-a-Voter Program). This is subtle, and requires a lot of training, but it’s actually quite fun. This gets tracked, and I promise a good prize to the ICC member who gets the most non-voting Republicans to the polls to vote Democratic. Why? Because sometimes you can get more traction without a candidate than you can with one. Plus, the more approaches, the higher the probability of the outcome we want.

There are other plans in the works, but that’s how it starts. And yes, training will be provided. There will be tangible support and coaching. And there will be the need for people to undertake background tasks related to a ton of administrative details.

All you have to do is be willing to take a small amount of time to help. It’s really that simple. Imagine Chester County blue for the first time in history. Imagine that you have the experience necessary to help change the makeup of the Pennsylvania State Assembly and Senate next year…not to mention the House of Representatives.

So here’s my deal. Some of you have known me a long time, some of you barely know my name. But I am committed to this program this year. I have personally written checks, canvassed, and registered voters. I have made personal promises to some candidates. And in fact, I make an open offer every year that if you run in my neighborhood, I’ll take you around W-5. (And yes, the stories are true, I’ve gone out in August on crutches with candidates.) Maybe no one will think this approach will work. Maybe people will do the same thing they’ve always done, and expect a different result. But I’m going to try, and I’m asking you to commit to joining me. I’m just one person, but I subscribe to what Margaret Mead said:

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.