I never actually believed that the Thurston County Democrats were ever elitist, but now even Particle Man (who does things that particles can) can agree that the above statement is true.

After working since January to open our membership to non-Precinct Committee Officers, the central committee voted earlier tonight to give every member not only a voice, but a vote.

My favorite moments during this debate included Ivan Weiss’s talk last month on how open membership has really made a difference in his King County legislative district organization (I was thinking “Ivan for Governor” after his talk).

The other came tonight when uber-member Rhenda Strub talked about walking her precinct. Rhenda’s not a PCO, but she takes on that most common of PCO tasks. She said that no one asks her whether she’s a PCO, they don’t even ask what her name is, they know who she is, she’s that crazy Democratic woman. Nice.

Anyway, I’m glad this happened. We have a lot of work in Thurston County and the more folks that feel invested in our organization, the more work we can pile on to them.

Which brings me to a point that an opponent of the bylaw change made. There should be something in what we ask members for in terms of their commitment to our organization. Originally, I’d asked that we require members to volunteer before we give them the vote. But, taking into consideration the hours it would take to manage such a requirement, while also realizing you get more volunteers with an incentive rather than a requirement, changed my mind. Excellent point though.