I, Kenton Ngo, was almost shoved off the Fairfax County Democratic Committee today.
First some background. I’m not 18 yet. I first joined the committee at the age of 13, and there was nothing in the FCDC bylaws or the state party plan which prevented me from joining, and I had the encouragement of many friends inside FCDC who were eager to see more people join the Democratic fold. I found it highly suspicious that, within hours of local district leaders being elected, a problem with my age had suddenly arisen after two years without any relevant change in the bylaws or party plan. My presence, apparently, was perfectly okay as long as there weren’t contested officer elections on the horizon.
I am not a fan of airing dirty laundry in public, but I was hoping that I wouldn’t be taken for that dumb.
Unbeknownst to me, with less than an hour to go before the biennial reorganization meeting (in short, when the committee forms and officers are elected every two years), outgoing FCDC chair Ginny Peters called into the Springfield District and told them that I was unable to rejoin the committee because I was not a registered voter. After some more calls and a check with the FCDC bylaws, no such prohibition was found. Situation seemingly resolved while I was eating dinner, I drove up to the Fairfax County Government Center for the meeting.
The meeting had been in session for a few moments (after I was reassured that yes, I would be able to rejoin) when Ginny Peters herself walked in the door, this time citing the State Party Plan. According to the Plan, I could join the committee, but I would be unable to vote for officers or do any form of official business. This caused quite a commotion in the meeting, because the State Party Plan supersedes any local bylaws. Trouble was, no one in the room could locate the section of the Plan that said this when I pulled it up on my laptop screen, and neither could I. To wit:
Section 2.1 - Every resident of the Commonwealth of Virginia who believes in the principles of the Democratic Party is hereby declared to be a member of the Democratic Party of Virginia.
Section 8.3 - The existing committee shall in each case determine the basis of representation of the committee; however, each precinct shall be represented by at least one full voting member of the committee who shall be at the time of his or her election a resident of that precinct.
Edit: For those unfamiliar with the process of reorganizing, here’s a crash course:
1. Precinct-level caucuses elect up to two members to the committee. At this point, one must be a registered voter.
2. Once those caucuses form the first part of the committee, the committee as assembled votes in at-large members. I filed as an at-large, so I was elected at this point.
3. Everyone, at-large and precinct, is now a member of the committee and can vote on officers.
Hopefully we don’t have this kind of confusion two years from now.
Edit 2: Alright, after a few more conversations, the consensus judgement seems to be that the Party Plan only forbids me from participating in the reorganization caucuses, but does not ban me from being voted in later.
18 Comments
I think you should propose a new rule, whereby if someone alleges a rule has been violated, but can’t cite the rule, and in fact there is no such rule, sanctions should ensue.
Sorta sounds like the kind of person that says “Love thy neighbor!” on Sunday but spends all week spitting on homosexuals.
I’m sure there’s a LOT of these ‘old schoolers’ that can’t stand the thought of us whipper snappers taking the helm of their precious party machine.
I imagine that the old guard will cite the provision of the Party plan that very specifically does not preclude “discrimination” based “on age” of people who are not “voting age.” However, that is a false argument. That rule is to address the fact that certain functions cannot, by law, be performed by people who are not qualified to vote. These include inside poll coverage, collecting petitions, and registering voters.
There is NO provision excluding members or limiting their political rights within the Committee structure based on their age. In fact, the state party plan has a provision in it that grants a high school democrat a vote on the state central committee.
“one large internecine battles with the intention of excluding, not including”
Sounds an awful lot like RPV Kenton - surely the Democrats haven’t already developed “Majority Fever” have they?!?
Kenton,
Have you considered running for FCDC Chair?
Big Tent? No that is the Republicans’ buzzword. Since the Clintons took over, the Democrats are the, “Either think just like we do, or get out” Party. It is too bad that you were treated so badly.
You bring up an interesting paradox. If you can be a Committee member and a Board member before reaching eighteen, what happens when Conventions or other mass events are held where the rules state that only registered voters from that area will be allowed to participate? Would you be banned from your own meeting?
I was in Young Democrats at your age. I applaud your initiative and I hope to see you running for office someday soon.
Wow, can’t believe Ginny did anything so ham handed. We had a high school student on steering committee back in 1999, so there is precedent.
I just don’t know what to say.
Good for you Kenton! You are one of the brightest Democrats that I have ever seen and it would be a shame for you not to be included when we need you the most.
Kenton,
I believe the issue was that you are NOT old enough to vote. There is no nefarious plan to exclude you.
You are one of the brightest and responsible bloggers in NOVA. Don’t start creating rumors and spreading innuendo like Ben and Lowell do.
You can’t truly be surprised that an articulate and outspoken person such as yourself would not have antagonized someone on the FCDC. That said, I am sure these small minded power games are more fun for you to write about when you are not the target.
Good for you for holding them accountable, Mr. Secretary.
This is really sad. It looks like some FCDC members are more equal than others.
There are frequently people in any organization who feel that the way to show their power is to buffalo/exclude someone they can’t control. Lots of times it works; sometimes they pick the wrong guy.
Looks like Ginny Peters underestimated you. Now she’s probably going to have to watch over her own shoulder for a while.
Good Job Kenton!
Three sure signs you have trouble brewing in a committee.
All of a sudden Roberts Rules of Order becomes an issue.
Demands are made for a membership list… (head counting)
Certain people start babbling about unity.
Now if a member brought down their 6, 8, 10, 12, 14 and 16 year olds to join the committee just for the votes… that’s an issue, but in your case, it’s rediculous to boot you.
It seems they are changing the rules to suit themselves. While the GOP has a rule that one must be a registered voter to be a unit membe, it appears the Democrat party does not. Changing the rules as you go and many other practices that are followed within that party is why many call it the Democrat rather than the Democratic party.
This type of thing ticks me off to no discernible end. Everyone behind the effort to exclude you from a vote that you were entitled to cast should be thoroughly ashamed of themselves.
Incredible job, Kenton! We need more dedicated young people like you in the Democratic Party! Thanks for hanging in there!
Kenton,
Thanks for hanging in there. Democratic Party’s future depends on young generation like you. It is very sad that FCDC outgoing Chair decides to ruin her reputation like that. Well, may be she wants to be remembered by that last act of hers.
FCDC should find a way to select better qualified Chair, someone who has a vision. Sad day for me as a Fairfax Dem.
Kenton:
I am very sorry that this happened to you, but very pleased that you have the panache to insist on your rights without just caving to what somebody said was in some document.
I cannot think of anyone more qualified or deserving to be a member of FCDC.
My guess is that some of the commentators are wrong, and this was not personal or “political” but a function of folks not getting their facts about governing documents straight.
In any event, interested younger folks should be aware that there are still positions left on FCDC, including my committee in the Braddock District.
We welcome their applications!
Marc Greidinger