We worked, we lost and we won -- so what now?

Written by: Elaine L. Jones on Nov 15, 2006 11:02 AM EST

Adams County Pennsylvania, where Gettysburg is located, may never be the same.  The 2006 elections gave us terrific candidates to support, from Bob Casey for the US Senate to Phil Avillo, a wounded veteran from Vietnam for Congress, to Pat Naugle, a converted Republican Progressive who ventured into politics for the first time.  And did we ever work hard!  We had precinct workers in every corner of the county, and we used the DFA training and materials created by local leaders to try out every strategy we could dream up. 

 We only won one race -- the top critical one for US Senate -- but we built a whole new structure for how to chip away at the entrenched Republican majority.  In 2004 we had to create a whole separate Meetup and organization for the Presidential campaign that barely utilized the Democratic Party structure.  This time we reorganized the Democratic Committee, elected many new Party precinct leaders and collaborated fully at every level.  As Naugle stated, "You only lose if you give up, and I believe that with hard work, good organizational support, and good candidates, the future is bright here in Adams County for those with progressive values."  

Phil Avillo expressed his gratitude for the way local volunteers transformed his novice effort from a small band of volunteers with a shoestring budget and a dream to a powerful network crossing three counties that resulted in the strongest challenge the Republicans in the 19th District have faced in decades.  And we have just begun to fight.  As Roger Lund (Phil's campaign manager) explained, "Our intention is to leave a legacy. To leave this political landscape better than when we entered it. Our intention is to build a party that will be a
viable force in the region...a party that qualified candidates flock to.... so our work is not yet done. Truly, it is only beginning."

By transforming the local Democratic Party, we have also opened the door for the Gettysburg Area DFA to focus intensely on making sure that our elected leaders are held accountable to the values that a real Democracy supports, and to continue to take personal responsibility for pressing for social justice, protecting our security through diplomacy rather than violence, and gathering community support for saving our planet from the ravages of global climate change.

I rejoice that we now have hundreds of volunteers ready to take on that challenge.

Elaine Jones

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Location: Gettysburg, PA 17325