While one might think that, after a great victory that saw the election of a Progressive African-American to the Whitehouse and the triumphant re-election of your party's governor, not to mention pickups in both the legislature and other executive offices, the chair of the state Democrats would be in a pretty safe position. But this is Washington and we are talking about Democrats. For those who need a refresher, Dwight Pelz came to be the chair of the state Democrats when Paul Berendt stepped down from the post in January of 2006 (after leading the effort to ensure all the votes were counted in the first Gregoire-Rossi match-up) and a special election was held to fill the vacancy. While Pelz has presided over the successes listed above, he has also rubbed some of the rank and file a bit sore with an often abrasive personal style and a perceived lack of respect for the grassroots. It is possibly the fact that those successes have been achieved and that there are no real overriding electoral challenges ahead of the party for another two years that might seem to signal an opening for someone to mount a challenge for Pelz's job.
Enter Darcy Burner?
Darcy Burner - New Party Head?
In the past few days I have heard from a few inside sources that, soon after it had become apparent that Burner was not going prevail in her race against Dave Reichert, she was being approached to challenge Pelz for the Chair's position. While I have not gotten any official confirmation from Darcy or anyone in her "inner circle" it is my understanding that she considering the challenge. Obviously Darcy Burner would benefit from great support from the so called netroots community and plenty of name recognition amongst the potential Democratic voting bloc in the King County area and beyond. She certainly would represent a stark contrast to Pelz's macho persona. A potential drawback, of course, would be the perception that Burner might be seeking to use the position as a "place holder" while she determines her next political move. For many there is a distinct line between "party people" and politicians and for them positions of intra-party leadership should be reserved for the former.
Would the Netroots support her as chair the way they supported her as a candidate for congress? A number of Washington state party insiders were willing to state that the idea of supporting a woman in leadership, especially here in the State of Washington seems very likely. With Governor Gregoire, And the two Senators of Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, and Majority Leader in the State Senate Lisa Brown, women find mining for votes in Washington State a lucrative business. Whether or not Darcy is in the race for sure, questions surround Dwight Pelz who often finds little interest in Grassroots, let alone Netroots. Will the change moniker continue to shift through the party after the election of Obama? Or will we see that where Democrats are concerned change is only skin deep.
Grassroots organizer Mark Hintz chair of the Snohomish County Democrats has already declared himself a challenger and is getting some of the party loyalists to back him. This race seems wide open... Stay tuned!
