The Next Chapter
The past decade working to save our democracy has taken my husband and I down many unexpected paths and none quite as surprising as this next chapter of our lives. Burr and I have decided to expand our work outside of Idaho and, while there were many options to consider, we decided that the President’s position at the Florida Democratic Party provided the opportunity to make the greatest impact in American democracy during the 2018 cycle. Burr will maintain our home in Boise and increase his involvement in the Idaho Democratic Party while I move to Miami, Florida to work with the team there.
2017 challenges all of us to step out of our comfort zones and step up to public service in new ways that stretch and grow our skill sets and ideologies. We must push ourselves to interact with people who might not think the same way we do and utilize everyone’s power. I see this as an opportunity to pair a very traditional political culture with the new power ideals that will pave our future. I look forward to implementing innovative pilot projects that will prove people-powered politics is the tool for democratic victories in 2018. There could be no better place to focus on the grand experiment of democracy our founding fathers began than in Florida. With its diversity, partisan divide and regional differences it serves as a microcosm of America. If we save Florida, I am convinced we can save our democracy.
Chairman Bittel has committed the next four years of his life to the Florida Democratic Party with a strong emphasis on grassroots empowerment, invigorating the county DECs and implementing a local election program to win races from City Hall to the Whitehouse. While he has a great deal of political experience from a long-term donor perspective, he was looking for a partner with the passion and skill set to strengthen the State Party organizations and the progressive grassroots in his home state. He found that partner in me. I have spent time with him over the course of the last few weeks and know his heart is committed to winning Florida and making the cultural changes necessary to accomplish that. I know we will be the kind of partners who utilize each other’s strengths to nullify our weaknesses and create a winning organization that serves everyones needs.
I am 100% committed to working alongside all types of Democrats to move our Party and country forward and ensure the future is bright for generations to come. I hope you will join me by embarking on your own journey to save democracy in whatever way big or small. Success will require each of us doing more than we ever imagined, for these are unimaginable times and when Democrats lose, people die. Save Florida, save America!
