Democrats discuss ways to broaden base with young voters
“How do we get information about elections out to younger voters to broaden the number of votes we can get as Democrats?” asked Jenny BowersShultz, the Democratic representative on the Decatur City Council from the First District.
She asked that question as part of a wider discussion held Thursday night at the Adams Public Library System in Decatur as county Democrats were holding their monthly meeting to get a debate started and noted “unless we can manage to tap into that section of the population, we’re going to lose a lot of people in the future.”
Republicans now have a stronghold in control of Adams County much like the Democrats did several decades ago.”This age group doesn’t listen to local radio or read the newspaper. Even some types of social media like Facebook isn’t their platform anymore. We need to come up with a way to not only get them interested and involved in politics but get information to them about the beliefs of our party,” Bowers-Shultz said.
Discussion was also bantered back and forth about using various types of social media activities that would allow the party to put their word forward. Group member Larry Macklin, however, pointed out that some county residents are not proficient with that type of media and wondered whether a “tutorial of sorts could be offered to candidates and campaign leaders to maximize its use.”
Several younger members at the meeting said they would be eager to provide such training as it would greatly benefit the county Democratic party to reach more voters here. It was also noted the state Democratic party’s office in Indianapolis has programs available to help individual counties tailor their needs in certain directions.
Another issue brought up is the thought that Democrats need to be able to better identify voters that one person labeled “Democrats in hiding” and make them more outgoing in support of party activity, while one bemoaned the lack of Democratic officials now holding office in Adams County. Of the handful of officials that have been elected, only two–Bowers-Shultz and Jefferson Township Trustee Robert Reef were at Thursday night’s meeting.
A dissection of this week’s primary election was held with many positive comments being made about the number of high school students that served on Election Day at the polls.
J. Swygart, the Democratic member of the Adams County Election Board, emphasized to members that “the issues are on our side this year. We need to take advantage of that.”
Members authorized the purchase of a canopy-like device that can be put up and taken down easily so they can have a larger presence to the public at events like the Downtown Decatur Days, Swiss Days, the 4-H Fair, and other events that draw a significant number of people as well as obtaining nice chairs and a large table.
On a sad note for local Democrats, it was reported by party secretary Claudia Gimbel that she has sold her house here in Decatur and would soon be moving to Utah to be closer to family. Gimbel has been an active voice for Democrats in recent years and has served in recent elections as a “D” member of the early voting board in addition to other party work.
Filling in at the meeting for County Chairwoman Barb Engle who recently had hip surgery, Gimbel distributed an agenda to all attending that had a list of offices up for election this year with an emphasis on County Commissioner and County Council along with Auditor, Treasurer, Recorder, Coroner, Circuit Court Judge, Geneva Town Board, and Geneva Clerk-Treasurer.
“This sheet is your homework to take home and try to come up with candidates we can place on the ballot for the fall election,” she said.
Bowers-Shultz told Gimbel “you’ve been a very valuable asset to our party for many years and will really be missed.”
It was announced that a committee was formed last month to put together plans for a Democratic event featuring Dr. Jennifer McCormick, the party’s candidate for Governor this fall, who also has relatives in southern Adams County. That committee is still working with the McCormick campaign to come up with a date that works out for the campaign.
Also at the meeting was a representative of Kiley Adolph, the successful candidate in the Democratic primary this week for the Third District Congressional seat. “She’s really excited and ready to go to work on the fall campaign now. You’ll be seeing a lot of her here in Adams County this summer and fall,” he said.