For a better Democratic party, I didn’t just vote Row A. Here’s why.

As a loyal supporter and registree of the Democratic party, I don’t actually want to think about politics day in and day out, particularly during election season when it can be all-consuming. But, being someone who tries to do a little homework and talk to people face-to-face, I have come away impressed with several people (some new, some old) who don’t necessarily subscribe to the party I hold dear. Some consider them red herrings, leading us toward an inevitable MAGA agenda. I see them as the effects of a desperate need for Democrats to look at the bigger picture.

I’ve always considered municipal politics as a canary in the coal mine. In many respects, it tells you a lot more about how the country is feeling than any mainstream media source can (this coming from someone largely employed by mainstream media). That feeling is shaped in any number of ways, and we should call them as they are. Can you pay your bills? Could you get kidnapped off the street? Is your kid going to learn enough to succeed? These, and dozens more, are profound questions everyone is asking to some extent - and ones the electorate is currently not entrusting Democrats, as a national party, to solve. Historic unpopularity, static voter registration, and the existence of Trump prove that.

The whys go back over a generation, and have been dissected ad nauseum by people far smarter than I. That said, I do want to explore what Norwalk can do about it. I want to be clear, I by and large support the greater Democratic agenda. But, are we selling that to the electorate? Is Norwalk’s Democratic party wholly embracing a malleable, breathing, evolving party that is playing to, first, win? Not sneeze a win, but win with definition. I argue it can do better.

First, let’s be clear, the Council will be a Democratic one. And, in my opinion, it should. But groupthink and groupspeak, a place we’ve often found ourselves in, does not improve the party. It does not reflect - or represent - its community accurately or effectively. Nor does it condition itself for the next generation of people and circumstances that frame our lives. I have seen on too many occasions, whether it be on BOE during budget discussions, Council regarding minority party representation, or Charter reform where promise ended in a thud, where opportunity for real listening and problem-solving gave way to a case of cold feet. 

As an aside, I’ve been someone hopeful for reforms that could bring us breathing room for officials in the aforementioned roles to be more effective. By that I mean greater flexibility and incentive to bring real experience and bandwidth to do real homework. It’s not always a lack of bravery or conviction I find (and sometimes do find), but a lack of information. These roles are volunteer and thankless, but they are also serious and should demand people who either have conviction, relevant experience, or God-forbid, both. Lacking either of those, we should allow the officials the space and time to learn and grow into their roles. This can be tough with the election cycles, but I’ll leave that rabbit hole for another day.

There are several candidates I find wholly non-MAGA, mostly liberal, and eminently passionate and qualified that speak to the best of the Democratic party’s historical times of success, but don’t necessarily have a D next to their name on the ballot. I encourage you to do a little homework and discover these people for yourselves. These candidates will improve the majority party. They will force discussions where there haven’t been, expose divides where there should be, and lead to compromise where it is warranted. They are smart enough to invoke data where it is lacking. They are passionate enough to speak their truth, and reflect upon the truths of their constituents, when it may not always be comfortable to hear. They are charismatic enough to replace gag-inducing politicspeak with language humans use, not focus-group tested bots. Moreover, they are leaders.

The Democratic party across the country, and liberals worldwide, are crossing a chasm of misinformation and misperception. A canyon only expanding as Gen Alpha all the way up to Boomers and the Silent Generation become ensnared in social media’s net. It is unfair, but it is reality… a reality the Democratic party has sorely ignored and whiffed on solving. The only way to bridge this divide is by allowing for difficult conversations. By doing so authentically and transparently, in venues where we can hear them, the party can share policy prescriptions with our community in ways they can understand and feel. Sure, some people just want to watch the world burn, but by opening the tent to the curious among us, we can realize we are better when we question ourselves. It forces officials to do better.

The party that embraces this challenge will win. And convincingly so. Absolutely, we must expose the grift we are all largely living in - not by attacking or humiliating our neighbor - but by finding common concern and purpose. The divide between us becomes eminently smaller when we realize our fears and goals are largely universal. That we can have mixed feelings on policy prescriptions when we feel heard. The Democrats have done this historically well, allowing for big thinking and big ideas at the national level, but flexibility at the local level to actually hear people where they are and make their lives a little bit better, wherever they can. Our party hasn’t entirely lost its way - we still can and do do great things - but it’s flailing. And we’ve allowed ourselves to become comfortable and stale, creating a vacuum hijacked by a charismatic conman. 

Norwalk Democrats are not adrift in a shoreless sea. There are many great people I deeply admire doing important things for our community. Some are on the ballot as Democrats. But our brand is stuck in the mud. Letting a few people into our tent who bring enthusiasm, conviction, and some smarts to prime the party’s engine toward a new generation of leadership and success, in my opinion, wouldn’t be such a bad thing. And if all else fails, remember, we get to do this again the next time.