2011 CDA Elections Candidate Statements

8/6/2019 2011 CDA Elections Candidate Statements

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Alejandra Salinas and Jeremy Feigenbaum President and Vice President

Your CDA: Alejandra and Jeremy

Alejandra C. Salinas for CDA President

Jeremy Feigenbaum for CDA Vice President

Through the collective efforts of the College Democrats of Americas board members,

Executive Director, appointed officers, state federation leaders, and chapter

presidents, CDA has grown and expanded tremendously in the past year. We have

built new relationships, redefined the expectations of our organization, and worked

to further empower College Democrats.

As President, Alejandra has been at the forefront of that growth, while Jeremy has

worked to support her throughout the year as CDA Programs Director.

The work of improving CDA began as soon as we were elected and has continued

through the present. Beginning last summer, our organization experienced immenseturnover. Three months before the midterm elections, CDA had a new board and

was conducting a search for our next Executive Director.

We welcomed the challenge and took the opportunity to provide new and

innovative resources for a midterm election cycle. We also spent countless hours

working on exciting new initiatives such as the Back2School program, putting

resources and guides into the hands of state leaders.

As soon as school began, we launched the Again 2010 efforts to elect Democrats,

investing unprecedented resources in campaign invasions, organizing our first Fall

Campaign Contest to allocate additional resources to state federations for GOTVprogramming, coordinating hundreds of watch parties for the Presidents youth

address, planning Dial4Dems phonebanking days to support five targeted races, and

hosting a conference call with President Obama.

After the elections were over, College Democrats moved forward to regroup and

rebuild in preparation for new legislative and electoral challenges. We coordinated

the Stand With Students campaign and created a comprehensive advocacy guide and

held call days to support key Democratic issues. In addition, CDA enacted its State

Communications Grant and grew our social media presence, we ran an exciting

Service Week, and Alejandra nominated a former College Democrat,

Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Shultz, as the new Chairwoman of theDemocratic National Committee.

Despite these accomplishments, we are not done yet and we look forward to leading

CDAs continued expansion. As CDA prepares for the challenges that 2012 will bring,

we need to recognize what our organization is most effective at and act accordingly.

From Alabama to Wisconsin, we have learned that providing resources and support

to the incredible work that chapter and state leaders are already performing on


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their campuses is what we do best. Our campaign, with its theme of Your CDA,

reflects the ways in which we both intend to develop the numerous and exciting

aspects of state and chapter College Democrats organizing.

The Reelect, the DNC, and You

Nothing can be more important to College Democrats than guaranteeing a strong

relationship between CDA, the DNC, and President Obamas reelection campaign.

We are proud of the relationship we have already built, and Alejandra was honored

to be one of the DNC members chosen to nominate Congresswoman Debbie

Wasserman Shultz as Chair. Here is how we will continue to build that relationship:

Coordinate and provide support to voter registration drives at campusesacross the country from August of 2011 until November of 2012.

Develop a Voter Registration and Primary/Caucus Organizing Guide. Establish a Youth Delegate Guide for interested College Democrats and lead

the efforts to get our members elected to these positions in 2011 and 2012.

Ensure that White House and DNC messaging is being brought to states andchapter leadership through CDA Wire, social media, and the National Council.

Coordinate internship opportunities for College Democrats with DemocraticParty offices including the DNC, DSCC, DCCC, and DGA, as well as State Parties,

State OFA organizations, and others.

Providing Resources to You

College Democrats states and chapters do amazing work on campus, whether

planning new events, conducting social media outreach, organizing issue advocacy,

or volunteering on local campaigns. But such impressive agendas often need

support from the national level. Here is what we will do to help:

Produce a comprehensive Chapter Fundraising: Best Practices Guide and aState Federation Fundraising: Best Practices Guide.

Offer full website development and support for state federations that seekassistance in improving their online communications.

Expand the newly created CDA Communications Grant to ensure that stateshave the opportunity to utilize social media advertising and micro-targeting

free of cost.

Create at least 10 CDA Alumni contacts in each chartered state withfundraising potential for that state federation.

Support Your Campus Organizing


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Supporting our states and chapters means more than grants and resources, however.

Our pledge to assist your efforts also means offering advice on programming,

guidance on membership development, and more. Here is some of what we can do

for you:

Produce a Membership Outreach Guide that includes includes best practiceson state federation and chapter expansion, as well as advice on outreach to

specialized campuses including HBCUs, community colleges, and womens

colleges.

Revamp the Chapter Contact portion of the website and develop a means bywhich chapters can update incorrect information.

Host "Social Media 101" and "Advanced Targeted Social Media" Webinarswith the DNC at the beginning of this year.

Collaborate with targeted state federations to help them build relationshipswith their State Party and states OFA.

Develop five central programming ideas to be released at the beginning ofthe fall and spring semesters, and work continuously with states to execute

those programs.

Create a CDA Speakers Bureau that provides assistance to states andchapters looking to attract Democratic officials.

Access and Accountability to You

The CDA Executive Board cannot support your efforts on campus and in the

community if we are not accountable to you. In addition to expanding ourrelationship with the reelect and the DNC, and providing resources, training, and

advice to states and chapters, we plan to ensure that CDA is even more accessible to

its members. Here is how we will do so:

Streamline the National Council by increasing the number of regions so thatrelationships between states and regional directors are stronger and more

reciprocal.

Improve the participation in and the quality of National Council calls byincluding prominent guest speakers and publicizing detailed agendas one

week in advance.

Institutionalize officer Fireside Chats, in which 2-3 officers will provide anofficial update and offer opportunities for questions on National Council calls

every month.

Continue this past years experience of drafting monthly officer reports andreleasing these reports on CDA Wire.


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Continue our pledge to reply to all College Democrats emails within 24 hours.We are so thrilled that College Democrats across the country have come together

this past year to elect Democrats and fight for the issues we care about. We look

forward to an even stronger community, and an even stronger CDA next year. We

know you will enjoy our exciting National Convention, with amazing keynote

addresses and exciting speakers, and look forward to working with you and the

entire CDA Family in the coming year.

We cannot wait to see you all at Convention!

Alejandra & Jeremy


5/16

Michael Worley Communications Director

To Whom It May Concern:

I, Michael Dominic Worley, would like to formally announce my candidacy for re-

election as the National Communications Director for College Democrats of America.

I usually would have a much longer candidacy statement, but I have decided to focus

all of my time and resources on our upcoming convention.

Thank You,


6/16

Andrew Slade Development Director

Since arriving at Boston College nearly two years ago, College Democrats has been

my biggest single commitment outside the classroom. Having taken on active roles

in campaigns at home in Pennsylvania throughout high school, I knew that I wanted

to become even more politically involved in college, and I have been able to do just

that by working with College Democrats at the chapter, state and national levels. In

April, I completed my one-year term as Finance Director of College Democrats of

Massachusetts and was elected Vice President. Since last summer, I have also served

as a member of CDAs finance committee. It is now my honor to officially declare

myself a canidate for Director of Development of College Democrats of America.

Having seen both ends of College Democrats finance as a state finance director and a

member of the national finance team, Ive developed a vision for the position of

Development Director as one that raises money for CDA nationally, while

simultaneously facilitating state-level fundraising efforts. In both capacities, the end

result is the same, and that is for CDA to serve as a resource to state and chapter

leaders, whether it be through direct support in the form of grants, or assistance

with respect to the establishment of relationships with banks, credit card companies,

fundraising groups and campaign finance regulators at the state and national levels,

as well as general help when it comes time to plan and execute a state fundraising

campaign.

As far as national fundraising efforts go, I have learned firsthand that they can be

particularly challenging, and different from state-level development. We cannot

eliminate the hurdles we face along the way, but we can work efficiently around

them by being persistent and organized, and by adapting to work more productivelywithin the institutional structure of the DNC. As Development Director, I will do this

by building on great ideas like a small-donor program, and seeing them through to

execution. I will, moreover, bring to the position new and innovative ideas for

fundraising, like working with the Political Director and caucus leaders to target

donors based on salient, high-stakes issues. I plan to also collaborate with the

National Council and regional directors to bring College Democrats together in

person for a series of regional fundraising events co-hosted by CDA and a given

chapter or state federation. In Massachusetts, I have been on the receiving end of

financial support from CDA, and I have seen just how great its impact can be. With

this understanding in mind, I will work to ensure that we at the national level are

able to continue offering grants to maximize the efficacy of our membership in

coming elections.

Beyond raising money for CDA, I will take the understanding I have gleaned by

building fundraising efforts in CDM and apply it to help states in their own

development initiatives. I have committed myself to not only being accessible to

state and chapter leaders, but to proactively reaching out to you, even if it is just to


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check in and see how things are going with an event that you have been planning or

a campaign you have been working on. I will be holding regular weekly virtual

office hours, but I also want to make clear that you should feel comfortable

contacting me at any time, and I will be making it my priority to make sure that you

do. Ultimately, I want to help you engineer fundraising plans that will be effective in

your area, and I know that I have the experience to do just that.


8/16

Ryan Terrell Development Director

Dear College Democrats,

My name is Ryan Terrell and I am honored to run for the CDA Director ofDevelopment position. Now, more than ever,

it's important for CDA to have a Director of Development who understands the

financial struggle of the majority of our state federations

and who is able to think creatively, embody transperency and be able to adapt to the

changing world of campaign finance. As the former Chief

Financial Officer of the Florida College Democrats, I understand the situation many

of our state federations and chapters are in. Many are

lost and unsure how to raise the basic funds needed to keep the state fed operating.

A few new federations have begun debating whether they should

operate as a branch of their state party or branch off to become a state PAC or 527.

And some states even have new officers who have never dealt withfinances before and are looking for guidance.

As I've traveled and spoken with state federations across the country, Im left with

one overall feeling: disappointment. CDA entered the year with amazingly talented

officers and wonderful plans to help College Democrats become an effective

structure ready to fight for the Democratic message. CDA accomplished so much this

past year. But on the financial front, much more could've been done. Many state

finance directors, including myself, went entire months without ever being

contacted by the CDA Finance Committee. As your next Director of Development,maintaining an accountable and transparent process will be a central component to

our Financial operation. That's why I've pledged to hold at least one call every

month with our state leaders specially related to CDA finances and the financial

picture of our state federations. As we gear up for the 2012 elections, it is crucial

that all College Democrats are on the same page because we are all in this fight

together.

As I've listened to state's concerns, another crucial issue has continued to arise in

this race: campaign finance laws. Many states have confided in me that they are

either unfamiliar with their tax code status or that they are unfamiliar withthe campaign finance rules and restrictions related to their status. This is a serious

concern, because not only could accidentially breaking these rules lead to financial

or criminal reprecussions, but it could severely damage College Dems credibility in

those states. Therefore, as your next Director of Development, I pledge to assemble

a team of experts in campaign finance law to help create a CDA guide on tax statuses

and basic rules state federations need to be aware of.


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10/16

Emma Gibbons Membership Director

In order to win in 2012, our work begins right now. As CDA Membership Director, I

will build and recruit state federations key to the Presidential Election. I will not

limit my focus to the states that are high priorities for the Obama campaign, butinstead will also emphasize the states that have important Congressional races. I

plan on doing this by working with the National Council and regional directors to

identify the highest priority states in each region. Working through that list will

ensure we are maximizing our time and energy in preparation for 2012.

As for the states that have already chartered, I will work to produce helpful

documents and templates that every chapter at any level can use. For example, Id

like to have examples of what campus lit looks like, what a student groups budget

should be like and perhaps a list of creative membership recruitment techniques. I

hope to also help with outreach to targeted colleges and universities, such as HBCUs.

I want to make State Fed and Chapter Presidents jobs as easy as possible, especially

when it comes to recruiting and maintaining members.

By the time the 2012 Presidential primaries begin, I want to have an established

chapter in 80% of the states and hopefully by fall 2012 there will be a CDA College

Democrats Chapter in every state. Building CDA Chapters gives students a strong,

unified message throughout the country. Effective communication and flow of

information is key to winning any election and a large membership base will lead us

to victory. I look forward to earning your vote for CDA Membership Director at the

National Convention in June!


11/16

Eliza Hernandez Political Director

Politics has been my passion since becoming involved in issues surrounding

comprehensive immigration reform. It has been an amazing experience to serve as

the Hispanic Caucus Chair for the past year, as well as working with the College

Democrats in multiple capacities. On the state level, I am currently the Vice-

President of the College Democrats of North Carolina, and I previously served as the

Director of Finance. I am also serving my second term as President of the UNC

Charlotte College Democrats, the same university that hosted the 2010 CDA National

Convention last summer.

This past year, CDA has moved into the direction of serving as a resource to state

and chapter leaders. My goal is to steer the caucuses in the same direction. As

Political Director, I will work to ensure caucuses are building and maintaining

relationships with state and chapter leaders to provide ideas and new sources of

information to College Democrats across the country. I want caucuses to be able to

live up to their potential, and not miss any chances to expand opportunities for

political involvement in their respective communities.

As Political Director, I will work closely with the DNC and CDA to create effective

programing, messaging, and legislative guides on how to advocate and organize

around caucus issues. The caucuses will be given the tools they need to understand

how this system works from the beginning in the form of a guide with defined roles,

responsibilities, and ways they can push their demographics agenda. I also aim to

create the position of Legislative Director to assist in keeping caucuses up to date on

items in state legislatures across the country so that CDA can organize effectively

around those respective issues.

As a caucus chair, I was able to see firsthand what has worked for caucuses andwhat can be improved. Continuing bi-weekly conference calls with caucus leaders

and calling caucus chairs weekly is critical in ensuring communication is kept open

so they are able to meet their goals. To strengthen communication with state leaders,

monthly reports on caucus developments will be sent to help build CDAs

relationship with the caucuses constituency groups in each state.

In order for caucuses to be a resource to College Democrats, it is important that they

work with the CDA Membership Director to strengthen outreach in specific

collegiate constituencies. A great way for caucuses to start their new direction as a

resource is to organize relevant caucus organization directories for every state

federation to increase collaboration with other progressive groups. My plans for thecaucuses next year continue to grow. I hope to be elected and be given the privilege

of working with the CDA Executive board next year, to serve the College Democrats

this country.


12/16

Elsie Raymer Programs Director

On June 12, 2011 I formally declare my candidacy for CDA Director of Programs. If

elected, I intend to use CDA programming to help foster strong relationships

between the national organizations and State Federations. Its important to me not

only that the states know about CDA programming, but that they also have

necessary support from CDA in implementing national programs, as well as in

developing their own initiatives at the state and chapter levels. I want to structure

programs so that they fit every state's agenda and ability by ensuring programs are

relevant to the states. The first projects I hope to complete will focus on student

voting rights and will include issue advocacy to combat state voter ID bills, a

national voter registration drive, and a national voter protection program. With

these projects and with others, I want to ensure that CDA programming is a state-

based effort and that CDA's primary role will take form as a reliable resource for

state federations. First, it's absolutely essential we register as many students as

possible in 2011, not just for the sake of the 2011 elections, but also for the

purposes of laying the groundwork for 2012. I want to collaborate with the DNC andOFA to coordinate the biggest student voter registration push CDA has seen. Next,

we need to engage College Democrats in issue advocacy against the voter ID bills

that have been proposed throughout the country. These bills are aimed directly at

preventing students from voting, so it is CDA's responsibility to see that we retain

our rights. Immediately after my election, I will work closely with states like

Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Florida, Texas, Missouri, Wisconsin. Tennessee,

Minnesota, New Hampshire, Ohio, and Rhode Island. I want to work hand in hand

with state federations and the Democratic Lawyer's Council to place lawyers on as

many campuses as possible on election day in order to ensure that every student,

including College Democrats, are able to vote. Lastly, CDA should be a leading

organization in supporting Democrats in upcoming debates on immigration policy,gay marriage legislation, and energy reform. I want to help state federations take the

lead on these efforts by helping the coordinate around issues that matter to them.


13/16

Tori Taylor National Council Chair

Growing up in a small, conservative town in western North Carolina, I never had

many opportunities to be politically active until I got to college. Two days after

beginning my freshman year of college, I was volunteering at my schools College

Democrats table during our student activities fair. I was instantly hooked. From

making new friends to campaigning for my local congressional candidate to

lobbying for education with state legislators and organizing rallies on campus, being

a College Democrat helped me define the past few years of my life. The friends Ive

made and the opportunities presented to me in this organization have been

invaluable. I want every College Democrat across the country to have the same

amazing experiences Ive been able to have in this organization.

After serving as a chapter president, I am currently serving in my second term as

President of the College Democrats of North Carolina. I have also served CDA in dual

roles this year as Southern Regional Director and National Events Coordinator. Over

the past few years of being involved in College Democrats, Ive been able tounderstand the importance of chapters and states in CDA. They are truly the

backbone of this organization. The hardest working people in CDA are the ones we

dont know. They dont have national titles or insane resumes they are the

inspired students that spend their Saturdays canvassing for local school board

candidates and work summers volunteering at their state party headquarters. They

are the students that set up tables around campus and convince their peers to come

to a phone bank for a couple hours. These are the students that need a national

organization listening, supporting, and ensuring that they have the resources

necessary to be successful on a local and state level. It is imperative that CDA has

these students, their chapters, and their state federations on the forefront of every

agenda item we implement. This is one of the reasons why I want to serve as yournext National Council Chair.

CDAs National Council is the link between the national executive board and state

federations and chapters across the country. The first of these is how efficient we

need to become. National Council needs to establish consistent and productive

lines of communication between state federations and CDA in order to promote a

working and representative national agenda. This means making our calls

informative, productive, and consistent with guest speakers, CDA officer reports,

state federation highlights, useful information, and questions & answer sessions. I

believe that this will ensure that state federations have a voice in CDAs national

agenda and direction and keep the CDA executive board accountable to states.

Our next step to an exciting CDA experience for all our students is simply being

inclusive. We have to be able to create an open and comfortable dialogue on

monthly National Council calls for states to ask questions about CDA

programs/initiatives and discuss what they are doing on a state level to promote the

Democratic Party. Likewise, we have to prepare people to ask these questions by

publicizing detailed agendas for every National Council call at least one week in


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advance on the CDA Wire, website, and Facebook.

Lastly, we need to do everything we can to ensure that our most productive year is

ahead of us, especially as we continue to be a resource for chapters and state

federations. I think this can best be accomplished through a streamlining of National

Council by adding additional regions, thus improving Regional Director (RD)accountability and involvement. With that will come expectations, timelines, roles,

and responsibilities of the RDs toward the goal of creation stronger relationships

between RDs and their states.

I know that every person here loves being a College Democrat. CDAs National

Council needs to make sure that the students who will be sitting in our seats next

year feel the same way.


15/16

Jake Sticka National Council Vice-Chair

Jake Sticka is from San Diego, California and is a member of Georgetown Universitys

Class of 2013, majoring in Government and minoring in History & Philosophy. Jake

first became politically mobilized by issues surrounding education reform while

attending the Preuss School UCSD, a public charter school for low-income, first

generation college students. It was after realizing that the Democratic Party was the

only party willing to work toward correcting these issues of educational inequality

and other problems facing America's urban poor that Jake became involved with the

party, first as an Obama for America volunteer and later as a member of the

Georgetown University College Democrats. Since then Jake has campaigned for

Democrats in Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Kentucky, and the

District of Columbia, become the Vice President of GUCD, Historian of CDA, and the

President of the DC College Democrats.

As a state federation leader, Jake has been very active with National Council,

attending every call and initially being a part of the Council's Constitution

Committee. In this time, Jake has seen the potential of National Council but also

observed several ways in which it can reach this maximum potential. As National

Council Vice Chair, Jake hopes to work toward the goals set forth in the platform

that he shares with National Council Chair candidate Tori Taylor and National

Council Secretary candidate Dashell Fittry. Foremost in these platform goals are the

principles of efficiency, inclusivity, and productivity.

Toward efficiency, Jake plans to work to make calls more interesting, by asking CDA

officers to give reports on calls and inviting guest speakers to jump on. It is his hope

that this will keep CDA leaders accountable and encourage more state federations to

participate in National Council. Similarly, Jake is committing to make sure that

internally National Council is organized, releasing notices about calls at least a weekin advance on the Wire, the website, and Facebook / Twitter. Jake also wants to

make National Council more inclusive by replying to all emails within 24 hours and

being proactive in contacting other state federation leaders. Further, Jake also wants

to make National Council more productive. Jake thinks the best way toward this goal

is creating additional Regional Directors and keeping them more accountable by

providing them with measurable goals.

Outside of College Democrats, Jake tutors court-supervised youth as a part of

Georgetown's After School Kids Street Law Program and serves his student body as

their elected representative on Advisory Neighborhood Commission 2E.


16/16

Dashell Fittry National Council Secretary

I am honored to announce my candidacy for the College Democrats of Americas

National Council Secretary. While I am relatively new to the CDA, I was happy to

jump right into the fray, fighting for Democratic and American values throughout

the past year alongside of other College Democrats. Not only did I defend and

support these principles, I also worked on multiple campaigns from state house

races to gubernatorial races in multiple states. Soon after last years convention, I

submitted an application and was appointed Northern State Outreach Coordinator.

This position allowed me to reach out to many states to see how their relationship

with their state party was and how the CDA could more effectively facilitate good

communication between each body. This is the most important task I plan to

undertake if elected Secretary of the National Council. I want to ensure that both the

CDA federations of each state have a good working relationship with their

respective state parties and that when federations or the individual parties need

help or support from one another they have a line of communication that is effective

and supportive. Along with that I want to continue to work to ensure statefederations have a voice in the decision making process of the state parties. My goals

are not only restricted to relationship building between state federations and

parties, but also lies within the CDA. I want to work with the other members elected

to the CDA executive board to make communication between the states and the

executive board more effective and more conducive to collaboration and idea

building. If elected to the position of Secretary of the National Council I will work

tirelessly to advance the good work the CDA does annually and be as open and

helpful as possible while in the position to help all members of the CDA.

Documents

2011 CDA Elections Candidate Statements