1. from the democrats.org page below "In addition to electing Democrats up and down the ballot, supporting Democratic candidates, legislation and elected officials, the DNC administers the affairs of the Party (such as the presidential nominating process)." The DNC also raises money, hires staff, and coordinates strategy to support candidates throughout the country for local, state, and national office. 2. According to the Democratic party charter and bylaws: (https://www.democrats.org/organization/the-democratic-national-committee) Section 1. The National Chairperson of the Democratic Party shall carry out the programs and policies of the National Convention and the Democratic National Committee. .......Section 3. The National Chairperson shall preside over meetings of the Democratic National Committee and of the Executive Committee. Section 4. The National Chairperson shall serve full time. In the conduct and management of the affairs and procedures of the Democratic National Committee, particularly as they apply to the preparation and conduct of the Presidential nomination process, the Chairperson shall exercise impartiality and evenhandedness as between the Presidential candidates and campaigns. The Chairperson shall be responsible for ensuring that the national officers and staff of the Democratic National Committee maintain impartiality and evenhandedness during the Democratic Party Presidential nominating process. For more on the DNC chair duties, see the links I have provided. So, the DNC chairman is an important position within the Democratic party, and if their strategy fails, so does the parties. If you are a Democrat, the person filling this position should matter to you, as they will help to determine the direction for the party.
2. Who is running for the DNC chair? You can read the NPR article below, they have some interviews on that page that you can listen to as well. I'll try to surmise who they are here, and add some additional information and personal opinion.
A. Tom Perez, former Labor secretary under President Obama. Endorsed by former VP Biden. Great idea that he has : creating a cyber security director for the Democratic party. Seems like a great idea, and why didnt the Democratic party already have one. Also says what any politician should say, that Democrats should work with President Trump on things we agree on, and oppose President Trump where we disagree. Negative: it doesnt look like the former secretary has ever held a position in a state legislature or the US Congress. That expierence would help, I think. For more: https://ballotpedia.org/Tom_Perez and http://www.huffingtonpost.com/author/thomas-e-perez
B. Congressman Ellison from Minnesota. Believes he can increase voter turnout. He has served in the Minnesota state house as well as the US congress. Endorsed by Senator Sanders. Negative: According to the DNC though, the chairman position is a full time position, so being both Congressman and the DNC chair questions his availability. True, Congressman Schultz did both at the same time, but the Democrats lost the White House, the Senate and House of Representatives under her leadership. Theres no way to say the same thing would happen, and the losses were not ofcourse Congresswoman Schultz's fault entirley, but wouldnt it be beneficial to have a full time DNC chairman? For more see http://www.biography.com/people/keith-ellison-213034#synopsis or https://ellison.house.gov/about/keiths-biography
C. Jaime Harrison, the South Carolina Party Chair. Believes the Democrats should focus on the state level politics, and follow in Howard Deans footsteps. Has an inspiring story that is touched on in the NPR article. Endorsements: Senator Chuck Schumer. Negative: the South Carolina State Senate is currently held by the Republicans 27 to 18. The South Carolina house of representatives is currently held by the Republicans 79 to 44. The Governor of South Carolina is also a Republican. Mr. Harrison would make a stronger case if his state house was run by Democrats. Maybe I'm being to hard on him though, after all, its not just him running against the Republicans in South Carolina. (See https://ballotpedia.org/South_Carolina_State_Legislature for more) For More see http://www.politico.com/story/2016/11/james-clyburn-letter-dnc-jaime-harrison-231991 or http://scdp.org/meet-the-chair/
D. Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana. Officer in the U.S. Navy, and served in Afghanistan. The Democrats must start at state level politics, and focus on what the Democrats are for, not just what Democrats are against. Big name Endorsements: former Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley, former Pennsylvania Governor/DNC chairman Ed Rendell, former Ohio Governor Ted Strickland, former Vermont Governor/DNC chairman Howard Dean. Negative: lost the Indiana state Treasurer election in 2010. The mayor would have a stronger case if he had proved he could win a state wide election in a red state. For more see http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2017/02/19/young-indiana-mayor-pete-buttigieg-democratic-party/98052850/
E. Sally Brown, the executive director of the Idaho Democratic party. The Democratic party should focus on local elections. No Big name endorsements. Negatives: the Idaho state Senate is controlled by the Republicans 29 to six and the House is controlled by the Republicans 59 to 11. The Governor of Idaho is also a Republican. Maybe I'm being to hard on her though, after all, its not just her running against the Republicans in Idaho. (For more see https://ballotpedia.org/Idaho_State_Legislature) She was the campaign manager for a state representative in Idaho, and won. I cant find where she has run for anything herself. For more see (https://ballotpedia.org/Sally_Boynton_Brown) or (http://www.idahostatesman.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article124004844.html)
F. Jehmu Green, Former President of Rock the vote (while under her leadership 1.4 million additional people were registered to vote), FOX news analyst, former executive director of the Texas young Democrats. Wants to get rid of Super delegates. According to the Fox news link, she has worked on multiple campaigns, including former Texas Governor Ann Richards campaign in 1994, which was unsuccsesful. She has also worked at the DNC. For more see (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/author/jehmu-greene) or (http://www.foxnews.com/person/g/jehmu-greene.html)
3. Who can vote? Democratic national committee members, of which there are 447. State party chairs and vice chairs, Democratic groups are represented, as well as others. Heres a list of the people who can vote, according to Vox. (https://cdn0.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/7977435/2016-2020_DNC_MEMBER_ROSTER_SIMPLE.0.pdf)
4. What can the average citizen do about the DNC chair election? A. If you happen to be lucky enough to have your elected representative on the list of voters, then you can lobby them for your pick. B. You can watch the debate tonight on CNN at 10 eastern. I wish there was more that the average citizen could do.
Thanks again to all my sources including NPR, CNN, VOX, the hill, FOX news, Huffington post, Idaho statesman, ballotpedia, USA today and biography. I dont have a favorite in the DNC chairperson race, so I'll definitely be watching the debate. Thanks for reading!
http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/22/opinions/dnc-debate-primer-zelizer/
http://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2016/11/23/13703720/dnc-chair-election-rules-members
http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/17/politics/cnn-debate-dnc-race/
https://democrats.org/page/democratic-national-committee-officer-elections-faq
http://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/306195-dnc-charter-requires-chairman-be-full-time
http://www.npr.org/2017/02/21/515244167/whos-who-in-the-race-for-dnc-chair-and-their-plans-for-democrats-to-win-again
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