2018 may be the year when we see real change in the Philadelphia Democratic Party.

Incurable optimist that I am, I think 2018 may be the year when we see real change in the Philadelphia Democratic Party. In 2014, I was among the members of Philadelphia NOW and Philadelphia CLUW who ran workshops encouraging our members and all interested citizens to run for Committeeperson. Young Involved Philadelphia (YIP) conducted perhaps the most successful workshop, both in turnout at their event and in actually getting people to run and to win. All our efforts brought some new people into the ward system, but not enough to form a critical mass.

But we planted a seed. I described these efforts in my book Green Shoots of Democracy in the Philadelphia Democratic Party. I was cautiously optimistic that the green shoots that emerged in 2014 would take root and flourish. That clearly is happening with a range of groups planning to hold workshops/events to encourage participation in the 2018 committeeperson elections.

On Saturday, September 9th, from 11-3, Philly Set Go, Philadelphia 3.0 , and Seamaac, Inc. , will sponsor a non-partisan, family friendly, voter registration and civics event at Mifflin Square Park (6th & Ritner). The event will include information about the committeeperson races. Nina Ahmad, the Deputy Mayor for Public Engagement and past president of Philadelphia NOW is among the speakers.

On September 14, John Kromer will introduce his very useful PowerPoint presentation on the ward system at an event sponsored by Weaver’s Way. He is making his presentation available to groups holding workshops on running for committeeperson.

On September 21 at Ladder 15, the Philadelphia Democratic Progressive Committee will sponsor “Back to Business: Get Involved Happy Hour” to discuss ways of getting involved in politics, including running for a committeeperson in 2018.

On September 24, Neighborhood Networks will sponsor “Beyond the Resistance: Building a Justice Agenda in Philly,” which will include information on how to run for a committeeperson in 2018.

There will no doubt be many more such events. Americans for Democratic Action is planning a project to coordinate the efforts of progressives in the 2018 committeeperson races. Specifics are not yet available.

From conversations I have had recently, it's clear that there will be a lot of activity surrounding the committeeperson races and no one organization can coordinate it all. There apparently will be efforts by neighborhood groups independent of anything city-wide groups sponsor. The more activity, the better to achieve the long-term goal of opening up/democratizing the Democratic Party.

In 2014 there was nothing like this level of activity so early in the election cycle. Something‘s happening out there!