Karen Bojar

by Karen Bojar

At the bottom of your May 15 primary election ballot you will see two, or in some cases, three people running for two committeeperson slots. Each ward is divided into smaller units known as divisions, which generally consist of between 500 and 800 voters. The Democratic voters in each division elect two Democratic committeepeople; similarly, the Republican voters elect two Republican committee people. In many divisions, however, there are no Republican candidates.

Unfortunately, many people skip these low-profile contests for what are potentially influential positions. Committeepersons are the neighborhood representatives of the Democratic and Republican parties. Assuming they are doing their job, committeepeople contact their neighbors in the period immediately before primary and general elections, informing them of what’s at stake in each election, and making recommendations regarding candidates and ballot questions.

I have been a committeeperson in the 9th Ward (consisting of Chestnut Hill and the upper part of Mt. Airy) for 32 years and consider myself very fortunate to have served in one of only a handful of wards where committeepeople regularly vote on candidate endorsements and on ward policies and procedures. In most wards, the ward leader makes such decisions.

It’s been a rewarding experience, but the time has come to make room for a younger generation of activists. Too many people hang on to ward leader and committeeperson positions for decades. Fortunately, there is a young dynamic woman, K.D. Davenport, who is ready and wiling to serve as committeeperson in my division. K.D. describes her reasons for running:

In the months after Trump's election in 2016, I would literally sit at my computer and Google "What can I do now?" At the end of one of those searches,   I came across an article about the role of committeeperson in Philadelphia. It seemed like a great way to get involved on a local level, and the barrier for       entry was very low. When I learned that my ward was one of a few open wards that allow committeepeople to vote on which candidates to endorse, I was even more excited to get involved.

If elected, I hope that I can bring my perspective as a Philadelphia educator to our endorsement discussions. As a longtime "supervoter," I see running for committeeperson as the "next level" of political involvement. I'd like to help my neighbors get to their next level – whether that's registering to vote, voting in off-year elections, or volunteering to increase voter turnout around the city.

We clearly need to identify more young people like K.D. Davenport. It’s not easy.

Two other long term 9th Ward committeepersons, Marilyn and Bob Lambert, are also retiring.  Marilyn Lambert describes her experience as a committeeperson and her difficulty finding a younger person to replace her:

Bob and I have been committeepeople in the 9th Ward for over 20 years. We have entered our 80’s and are looking for a change in our “retirement” activities. Being a committeeperson has been interesting, challenging, rewarding and occasionally disappointing:

Interesting, in that you get to interact with a wide range of people. Challenging, as we try to encourage more people to get involved and come out to vote. Rewarding, when your division consistently brings out a large turnout and occasionally disappointing, when there was limited response to our request for two people to represent the 9th Ward, 12th Division.

At a time when the contentiousness of the current political climate is discouraging, we need to work harder at engaging and involving people in       the political process.

The limited response response to Marilyn’s efforts to recruit committeepersons points to a real problem in Chestnut Hill/Mt. Airy, neighborhoods with large numbers of older residents. The interest in committeeperson races has been primarily in those neighborhoods on the periphery of Center City, which have seen an influx of millennials. There has been greater activity in the 22nd Ward (most of East and West Mt. Airy) than in the 9th Ward (mostly Chestnut Hill), but nothing like the interest in the committeeperson races in the wards near Center City.

Another opportunity will come around in four years, and when that time comes I hope there will be more interest in the committeeperson races in the 9th Ward.

Karen Bojar is a Mt Airy resident and a longtime committeeperson in the 9th Ward Democratic Committee’s 2nd Division. She is the author of “Green shoots of democracy within the Philadelphia Democratic Party."