Today I filed for office!
Running for office was never in the plan, but then again Trump was never in our country’s plan. Since the 2016 election I have done everything I could to become more educated and knowledgeable about government, and all that came together today as I filed to be the Democratic State Committeewoman for Rhode Island House District 34. And you can do it too!
Let me start by saying even though I pay attention and have learned so much, I still went into this process with no idea what I was doing. So here I am going to share it with you. That way you can be prepared for when you go your Town Hall.
– Jocelyn Foye
Both the State Democratic Committee and State Republican Committee have one female and one male representing EACH DISTRICT.
I will be speaking from my experience running for the State Democratic Committee.
WHY DO IT:
- RI like many states has a stagnant party
- Traditional Democrats vs Activists
- No Transparency – No elections in 2014
- Members get to vote for RI Reps to the DNC and Chair and Vice Chair
- Positions on Committees including Platform and Long Range Planning
- RI State committee officer elections January 2019
- IT’s FREE
HOW TO DO IT:
1. Download this form:
https://vote.sos.ri.gov/assets/pdfs/declaration_of_candidacy.pdf
2. Go to town hall and submit your paperwork.
3. Once in town hall, submit the paperwork in the Clerk’s office.
4. Submit the paperwork- 2 witness signatures needed.
Someone else can do it for you as long as those witnesses are signed too.
5. You get a packet that says you are filed.
WHO YOU ARE RUNNING AGAINST:
- Current Committee Person
- What if your opponent is another progressive?
- Check to see who you are running against on June 26th
- Endorsed candidates listed by June 30th
This is the committee who votes to endorse the candidates for Rhode Island’s General Officers and our federal delegation. There is one committeeman and one committeewoman for each house seat. These folks meet every election year for a convention, and as needed to elect leaders of this committee.
On the Declaration of Candidacy Form, under State Offices, you’d check ‘Democratic State Committeeman / Committeewoman’ and write in house district number where you live.
These are the committees that vote to endorse the the candidates for seats in the General Assembly. There is one committee for each house and each senate seat. There are either five or seven seats on each committee, depending on how many towns the district covers. These folks usually only meet before an election to determine who to endorse.
On the Declaration of Candidacy Form, under State Offices, you’d check ‘Representative District Committee OR Senatorial District Committee’ and write in house or senate district number where you live.
This is the committee that formally endorses your local town administrator, mayor and town or city council members. These folks usually meet monthly with local and state reps.
On the Declaration of Candidacy Form, under Local Offices, you’d check the blank box and write in ‘Democratic Town/City Committee Member – YOUR TOWN”
If you have further questions contact Lauren Niedel at [email protected].