Dem. Committee Members Are Entitled To Decide Who Runs LM and Narberth
Opinion
During Tuesday night’s (January 10) Zoom meeting of the Democratic Committee of Lower Merion Narberth (DCLMN), members discussed the pros and cons of the committee’s longstanding practice of endorsing candidates for Lower Merion School Board, Lower Merion Board of Commissioners and Narberth Borough Council.
Not since 2009 has any unendorsed Democratic candidate defeated an endorsed Democratic candidate in a Lower Merion or Narberth primary election.
Committee Chair, Jeff Scott expressed his support for endorsing candidates. He described the upcoming primaries as “a very much low information election.” Scott told committee members that if DCLMN did not endorse candidates “MCDC (Montgomery County Democratic Committee) will not put our candidates on the sample ballots.” He also warned members that if the committee did not endorse, “other candidates with means, or other unelected groups or the GOP will fill this space.” Scott added that “we could always do a recommendation – I understand that argument, but I think we should have the option to give an actual endorsement.”
Committee Person Judy Greenwood (7-3) echoed Scott’s sentiment, noting that the current rules allow committee members to vote for no endorsement. “The proposed new policy,” she said, “would be to handcuff us, and make it impossible for us to endorse.”
David Dormont (9-1) argued that “it’s also impossible to figure out who is a Republican who cross-files … certainly on the school board – without a scoreboard.” This was a reprise of his 2021 cautionary tale, when he told committee members, “You won’t be able to tell who the Democrats are.”
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The notion that in 2023, that Republicans might cross-file and win the Democratic School Board Primary, has been demonstrably shown to be absurd.
In 2021, DCLMN only endorsed three candidates for the four openings on the Lower Merion School Board. However, without the benefit of a fourth endorsement, the committee managed to let the voters know which candidates were Republicans. In that election, the Democratic school board candidate with the fewest votes crushed all three Republicans by an almost 7-1 margin.
Sara Atkins (14-3) called attention to one of the disadvantages of endorsing candidates. She claimed that as a result of endorsing candidates, “we tend to have very sleepy candidates.” … “Candidates who work really hard to get our endorsement, and then disappear. They don’t do events, they don’t do townhalls … they just depend on us doing the job for them.”
Adrian Seltzer (8-2) added that “when we endorse the same number of candidates as there are open positions, we put our thumb on the scale of democracy.” Seltzer highlighted what happened in 2021 when the committee, as she put it, “stumbled on a solution, where we starred the Democrats on the flyers.” She suggested that the committee “consider the endorsement as a highly recommended rating – like the Bar Association does – and save that for the most qualified. This way, the remaining candidates don’t drop out, and we have an actual primary race where candidates have to canvas and introduce themselves to the community.”
Phyllis Rubin made the most compelling argument for not endorsing candidates in 2023. She noted that endorsing candidates would put “a damper on the feeling of the election” and “end up depressing turnout.” Rubin reminded committee members that it is becoming increasingly likely “the Republicans’ abhorrent ballot questions will be on the ballot … and we’re really are going to need to push turnout.”
None of the members who took part in the discussion mentioned the most obvious justification for why a few dozen committee members should continue to decide among themselves – who gets to run a community of 60,000 people.
Committee people work tirelessly on behalf of the party, and they are not paid anything for all the work they do.
For their extraordinary volunteer efforts, at the very least, aren’t members of DCLMN entitled to be rewarded with the privilege of getting to handpick the members of Borough Council, the Board of Commissioners and the School Board?