The last few weeks as I’ve been thinking about the membership bylaw proposal and my own role as a PCO, I’ve been looking at the map and pondering the PCOs around me. I’ve been thinking that I should get to know these folks and see what we all can do together. I’ve even started trying to recruit a PCO in an empty precinct just north of mine.

Here’s a cool idea from the 36th LD that seems to tie PCOs together locally:

In 2005, we introduced into our bylaws the Neighborhood Organizing Committees. The goal of the NOCs is to create a tangible way to organize the district for political action. We created 5 geographic ‘chunks’ of the district, and elected an organizer from each area to the e-board to support PCO efforts in the area. Many of us work individually to elect Democrats or to push forward issues we feel are important. The NOCs are a way to ‘lobby’, but on a district-wide scale, reaching out to the 80,000+ registered voters (and those that aren’t registered) in our district, and using all of the resources we have on hand to do it

….

But if we as a district have no way to take that discussion to the people, what is our relevance?

Read more about the idea in the 36th LD newsletter.

In the past, for every precinct there had been a “committee” or a group of dedicated volunteers that a PCO led and acted as a liaison to the larger county structure. Now, for every precinct, there might be one active Democrat even willing to serve as a PCO or forget finding anyone to serve on a precinct committee.

But, if say, five or so PCOs banded together to support each other as a Neighborhood Organizing Committee. Now, that might work. I could see them teaming together and door-belling each other’s precincts, working with Neighborhood Associations and even holding inter-precinct events.