Future depends on our current political decisions

In 2002 during the Tim Johnson and John Thune Senate race I cared, I voted and I sat on my couch all night watching the results come in. I did not know there was something else I could do, but I had the desire to do more.

In 2004 I was asked to volunteer by someone I’d never met, and I said yes. I walked into a campaign office for the first time. I’d never volunteered before or been around a political campaign. I didn’t know what it would be like, but I knew I wanted to contribute something.

I didn’t know what a county party was or what a county chairman was. Since then I’ve met people like me all across the state who all started the same way, simply by asking what they could do to advance the ideas they believe in.

We volunteer because we want to make a difference and ensure that our party elects candidates who represent us. There are many ways that we can contribute that are not widely known. One opportunity to promote our values I’ve recently learned about is the county party precinct committeemen and women. There are 22 precincts in Brown County.

Each precinct is represented by two people from each party – one man and one woman.

The precinct committeeman and woman from both the Democrat and Republican parties nominate their constitutional candidates at their state convention. The candidates we nominate to go to the general ballot include the lieutenant governor, secretary of state, attorney general, state treasurer, state auditor, public utilities commissioner and commissioner of school and public lands. At state conventions every four years we also nominate the national committeeman and committeewoman who will go to Washington, D.C., and vote for the national party chairman.

The state Republican convention will be in Huron, and the Democrats’ will be in Sioux Falls June 24-26.

In the way that legislators represent our district as a whole, precinct committeemen and women represent the values of the regular voters in their party and precinct. Those interested in this position have only to contact the county party leaders or the county auditor’s office by the March 30 deadline. After the deadline, the county party central committee appoints individuals to fill the vacancies.

Party politics is organized so that there is something for everyone to do. The best people in politics are inspired by the belief that we can overcome seemingly insurmountable odds merely by working with people who share our principles, knowing that our participation can lead to something more.

It is the rippling of waters, one drop and then another. One person lifts another. The ripples keep forming until they join together with momentum and create a movement. We are the drops that create the ripples; we determine how fast and far the momentum will travel.

We owe this and the next generation the same opportunities we have been given. It’s up to each individual to decide how he or she will take advantage of that opportunity.

We can choose the people who represent us just by showing up. We can decide if we are content with the direction of our country. Whatever we choose, our involvement matters. We have the ability to help determine the direction our country takes.

We all have different ways of contributing to our political process. Surrounding ourselves with people who come together to work for their beliefs makes our participation in the future of our country effective and meaningful.

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