A battle of sorts is brewing over the upcoming election of the 1st Vice President of the Democratic Party of Virginia. The position will become available with the resignation of Del. Jennifer McClellan, whose husband, David Mills, is the new Executive Director of the DPVA. So far, three candidates have emerged, all from Hampton Roads:
- Gaylene Kanoyton, chair of the Hampton City Democratic Committee, state Central Committee member from the 2nd CD, Obama delegate to the 2008 convention
- Susan Mariner, chair of the Virginia Beach City Democratic Committee, former 50-state organizer (back when the DNC believed in this program)
- Ella Ward, former chair of the Chesapeake City Democratic Committee, state Central Committee member from the 4th CD, member of Chesapeake City Council
The position of 1st VP is the #2 slot in the party organization. In addition to filling in for the chair when s/he is absent, the 1st VP is charged with “strengthening county and city democratic committees, increasing their membership and activities, perfecting their organization, providing necessary training, and acting as a liaison to congressional district and county and city democratic committees regarding statewide coordinated campaign activities.”
If the 1st VP is female, a DNC slot also goes along with it. If not, the slot goes to the next highest ranking female in the party organization.
Not enough inside baseball for you? Follow me below the fold.
First of all, let’s look at who gets to vote for the 1st VP. Why that would be the 200 or so members of the state Central Committee. I’m not going to go into the details of how one becomes a member of state Central. Suffice it to say, if you’re not a member – and I’m not – you don’t get to vote.
Secondly, there has been a tradition in the DPVA to have a black 1st VP if the chair is white. Is it in the rules? Nope, not any more than it is in the rules that Norfolk’s vice mayor is black or that Norfolk’s boards and commissions reflect the same racial makeup as council. It is what it is.
With these two facts in mind, let’s look at the candidates so far.
Both Gaylene and Ella are members of the state Central Committee. At least they can vote for themselves. Gaylene has garnered the support of a number of other members of the committee, including netroots darling Sen. Donald McEachin. I spoke with three members of state Central last evening, all of which are supporting her.
Obviously, the chair of the 4th CD is supporting Ella. I have not had the opportunity to talk to others who may be supporting her.
Both Gaylene and Ella are black.
From where I sit, it appears that Susan is the odd man out.
That Susan is a hard worker is not in question. The reality is the system under which we operate. For example, Susan would have never been elected chair of the Norfolk City Democratic Committee, because those eligible to vote consist of a very small group of people, and does not include all members. In contrast, the VBCDC has open membership and every member is eligible to vote. (That the DPVA doesn’t have a standard set of bylaws for committees is a post for another day.)
The only answer to this is the same answer that applies to lots of things: get involved. There’s no way to effect change unless you do.
VIVIAN J. PAIGE | All Politics is Local 
You will find VERY few people as committed to working to build up the Democratic Party day in and day out as Susan Mariner is. Her election as Chair of the Virginia Beach Democratic Committee last January was a major advancement for Democrats in Virginia Beach and I have every confidence in her ability to move the DPVA forward as 1st Vice-Chair.
Susan Mariner is absolutely deserving of the votes of those on the Central Committee.
No offense, Joel, but you’ve copied and pasted the same comment across various blogs. How about you address the two issues that I have raised?
Honestly, as much as I love Susan Mariner, I’ve never really quite understood why she wants to get so wrapped up in this particular level of inside-baseball. She’s always been someone who understands that making a difference in politics ain’t about which chair you’re sitting in, but what you bring to the table.
Considering that over the past five years she’s consistently brought more to the table than any two Democrats in Virginia Beach whom I could think of, I’d have thought that this committee chair stuff was just a little bit beneath her.
“If the 1st VP is female, a DNC slot also goes along with it. If not, the slot goes to the next highest ranking female in the party organization.”
What?! Sexism? Quotas?
Hmmmmmm.
I think that Gaylene is the most qualified for the job. She has been a hard worker for Democrats for a long time.
I’m not so sure that Susan’s run is not only about attempting to win, but letting Gaylene know she has no mandate, and that her job is to be led by the committees, not the opposite.
I support Susan, but as you say Vivian, it’s up to the people that can actually vote. As for the race issue, I find it interesting that the party of inclusion often practices exclusion based on race and sex. If we worked harder to get actual minority involvement in the state party, then I think there would be less of an issue of making sure a certain position is black or white.
Just my two cents, but great post!
For what it’s worth, 4th CD chair Susan Rowland endorsed Gaylene Kanoyton on Facebook earlier this evening.
And also for what it’s worth, the “next highest ranking female in the party organization” has also endorsed Gaylene.
Yeah, I was aware of that, since Ella Ward has dropped out. I thought about updating this post but really another post is in order – so many moving parts. I’ll wait a couple of days and let things settle down.