One hundred years ago, a decades-long movement, led by generations of courageous and determined women, culminated in the achievement of universal suffrage.  Women got the right to vote, and our nation, state, and communities were changed forever.

This year not only marks the anniversary of that important political milestone—2020 also promises to be a clarion moment for our nation’s future. The next election means everything — for our country, for Maryland and for Montgomery County.

Two months ago, I was elected Chair of the Montgomery County Democratic Central Committee.  It’s truly an honor and a privilege to serve the Democratic Party of Montgomery County, the largest, most important political jurisdiction in our state.  

As the 2020 election approaches, the enthusiasm among the county’s engaged electorate is palpable.  We have nearly 50,000 Montgomery County volunteers who have stepped up during the last two election cycles. More than 200 volunteer precinct leaders are ready to get their neighbors engaged in our electoral process.  Hundreds have already sent postcards and letters and made phone calls to potential voters in other states like Pennsylvania and North Carolina. Hundreds more are ready to travel out of state to knock on doors and get voters to the polls as Election Day draws closer.

We will organize and support the export of Montgomery County volunteers to states critical for a Democratic presidential victory.  We have moved to new offices, which will allow us access to expanded meeting space as well as areas where we can stage canvass launches and phone banks.  In addition, a field organizer from the Maryland Democratic Party will be working in our office. He will begin organizing local canvasses and phone banks with precinct leaders as early as this month.

We also have a series of events already in the works to bring elected leaders together with voters.  We have established a Labor Advisory Committee to reach out to unions in the County and a Partnership Initiative to coordinate our work with the many groups of diverse activists who populate our community.  We also plan to reach out to voters in immigrant communities and other communities of color to engage them.  

Our Precinct Organization kicked off the 2020 Election cycle with an exciting and informative “all-hands” meeting on Saturday, Feb. 1.  Our goal is to make sure every Montgomery County voter is contacted by someone from the Democratic Party before Election Day.

We have held monthly voter engagement sessions for volunteers since July, attracting 25 to 30 people per session in 2019. Those will continue through 2020 and will ramp up to include more GOTV and canvassing activities as the election approaches. 

Of course, increased engagement and activities require more resources.  We have stepped up our fundraising efforts to encourage all levels of donations by launching Dollars 4 Democrats in November and December.  We followed that with a large-dollar-amount fundraiser in January, where we raised $50,000. We also are relaunching our large-donor Forum program. Our annual Spring Brunch on March 15 and Gala fundraiser on June 28 will be expanded to provide more ways to support the party.

In addition to everything else that’s riding on this election, I see 2020 as the year the Montgomery County Democratic Party re-energizes its base and builds a corps of committed volunteers who can solidify the progress we’ve made here and use it to defeat Donald Trump.  Then, we will ride that momentum to turn our own state’s governor’s mansion Blue in 2022.