The governance and direction of the County Party is vested in the County Party Executive Committee. The County Party is empowered by the TN Democratic Party to: Identify local Democrats; Recruit candidates for local and state offices; Assist the nominees of the Democratic Party in their elections; Develop relationships with the County Election Commission Administrator, staff, and the Democratic
Election Commissioners; Coordinate with the County Election Commission in the scheduling of Democratic primaries; Conduct voter registration and lead ongoing voter contact and GOTV efforts; Coordinate with Democratic Election Commissioners to provide appropriate poll workers for local
elections; Recruit dependable Democratic poll observers for local elections; Promote contributions to qualified Democratic candidates running for office; Provide ongoing communication and liaison with Tennessee Democratic Party State Executive Committee members from our district and the Tennessee Democratic Party Staff; and Support the efforts of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and Tennessee Democratic Party (TNDP).
Training and support is provided to help the EC members grow and develop in the skills and attributes necessary to serve in their positions!
Chair
The Chair is the elected leader and spokesperson of the County Party. The duties of the Chair are as follows:
- Manage the business of the County Party
- Set the agendas for and preside over monthly EC meetings
- Establish committees and appoint committee chairs as needed
- Preside over conventions (such as the biennial reorganization)
- Meet periodically with the leaders of the TN Democratic Party and other County Party Chairs throughout the state to learn about upcoming initiatives and distribute that information to the EC and County Party as needed
- Other duties which may be prescribed by the EC as needed
Vice Chair
The primary responsibilities of the Vice Chair are as follows:
- Assist and support the Chair
- In the absence of the Chair, the Vice Chair will perform the duties of the Chair
- The Vice Chair may have others duties assigned to them by the Chair or by the EC
Treasurer
The Treasurer is a vital position on the EC since the SCDP is a registered Political Action Committee (PAC) with the state of Tennessee. The Treasurer is responsible for all funds and securities of the County Party. The Treasurer’s duties are as follows:
- Deposit monies received
- Pay bills
- Disburse the funds of the County Party as approved by the EC
- Keep and maintain adequate and correct accounts of the funds and transactions of the County Party as required by law
- Present a monthly itemized statement of income and expenditures to the EC
In addition, the Treasurer is responsible for registering the County Party with the Tennessee Registry of Election Finance (TREF) and filing reports required by TREF.
Secretary
The Secretary serves as a recording secretary for the official business of the EC. The primary duties are as follows:
- Keep minutes of all EC meetings and conventions and distribute those minutes to the EC within 14 days after the meeting to facilitate corrections and approval of the minutes at the subsequent meeting
- Keep attendance records for EC meetings and notify the Chair if an EC member should be removed per the bylaws due to absences
- Maintain a record of all meeting agendas and minutes
- Maintain Membership records from the Reorganization Convention
District Representatives
District Representatives are an essential part of the County Party Leadership structure. They, along with the Chair, Vice Chair, Treasurer, and Secretary, comprise the Executive Commitee (EC) – the team of people responsible for leading the Democratic Party in our county.
To ensure our EC represents the interests of Democrats across the county, our goal is for the EC to have a representative from each county commission district. However, if no one from a county commission district is available to serve, someone who resides in another district may be elected to that position during the Reorganization Convention.
The expectations for District Representatives are as follows:
- Attend monthly EC meetings (we meet using Zoom) to guide the priorities and actions of the party
- Support the recruitment and election of local and state Democratic candidates
- Help with outreach to Democratic voters in the County
- Assist with the activities of the County Party which may include planning and attending events, fundraising, communications, voter registration, get out the vote efforts, and issue advocacy.