Oregon: Report from the Front Line

How "Neighborhood Leaders" Can Make All the Difference

Last week, I had a wonderful trip out West—meeting with countless advocates for democracy and learning valuable lessons along the way.

Let me share a few, starting with my visit to Portland:

If you’re in Portland, stop by Mother’s Bistro for a meal or drink, and Powell’s to buy books!

“Neighborhood Leaders” in Oregon

I stopped through Portland, Oregon to do a joint event with my long-time friend, Tobias Read, current Oregon treasurer now running for Secretary of State. Joined by former Secretary of State and state Democratic chair Jeanne Atkins and a passionate group of activists, we had a wide-ranging Presidents’ Day conversation about how everyone can play a role in protecting democracy. You can watch it HERE, and learn more about Tobias, his years of laudable public service, and his candidacy HERE. I’m proud to support him.

Of the many things we talked about, the one I want to share with everyone is the “neighborhood leader” organizing model Democratic county parties are using in Oregon. By the third time one of our guests mentioned the model, I got the picture.

It turns out, Oregon activists are providing an absolutely perfect example of what I advocate in “Saving Democracy”—namely, that old-school precinct-level organizing remains the BIGGEST opportunity to move the needle in politics. As I like to say, this is low hanging fruit we too often leave unpicked.

In the book, I ask the question this way: “Do you know what single change would forever lift turnout and alter outcomes in American elections more than any other?”

My answer: “…if every Democratic precinct executive or committeeman or committeewoman in this country took ownership of the precinct she or he is elected to represent. If they all made the simple decision to engage and organize the manageable number of residents living in those small geographic regions.”

But, I pointed out, this is done far too little.

“What does it take to make this happen?

It takes people deciding to do it—deciding that our democracy matters enough to make these critical roles [ie. precinct leaders] about engaging the community, and not just going to insider meetings. And it takes leaders asking them to do it—setting that new expectation that you own your precinct.”

Well, I’m happy to report that in Oregon, they are doing it. And leaders are asking them to do it.

Smartly, they are breaking down precincts into even smaller units, then asking grassroots activists to became “neighborhood leaders,” taking ownership of a manageable number of neighbors to keep in touch with all year—before the heart of the campaigns even begin.

Some of the leaders of Washington County were there, explaining how they do it, so I took a look at how they describe the “neighborhood leader” strategy on their website. They pitch it as follows: “If you are willing to reach out to 35 Democratic households in your neighborhood and ask them to vote, please fill in the form below!”

For those who sign up: “Neighborhood Leaders make personal contact with 35 of their neighbors who are registered Democrats, informing them about current candidates, issues, ballot measures, etc., and encouraging them to vote.

Direct contact with voters is the most effective way of increasing Democratic turn out during elections, and the best way to communicate our progressive values and accomplishments.” Check out the whole website HERE.

The way folks talked about the approach, it’s clearly becoming ingrained in the culture of organizing there. They are showing the way!

To best protect democracy, our goal must be to have this on-the-ground, all-the-time neighborhood engagement happening everywhere.

Enormous Strategic Value

As I point out in “Saving Democracy,” there are so many benefits to this type of organizing beyond simply additional interactions with voters. Done right, this steady, neighbor-to-neighbor engagement leads to a more consistent, more meaningful and deeper interaction with the community than your usual late, rapid-fire get out the vote efforts.

To illustrate, late in campaigns, this is often what our engagement looks like:

In short, we talk to the voters we are most certain will vote, and who are easiest to access. But we too often skip right past the voters we most need to engage if we are going to inspire them to vote. These are often the voters who have been purged from the rolls, or who have decided voting, and democracy, won’t make a difference in their lives. But because they are infrequent voters, most of the lists we are given don’t even include them.

Precinct-level organizing—such as Oregon’s “neighborhood leader” approach—solves for that. By using your own neighborhood as your list to engage, and because you’re doing it all the time (and not at the tail end of a campaign where efficiency is critical), you are giving yourself a far better chance to get to these folks. And because you are their neighbor, and you’re not coming to them as a stranger right at the end (which can feel transactional to many voters—especially if they’ve already decided politics doesn’t matter to them), the engagement is far more meaningful. And far more likely to be effective.

I explain it this way in “Saying Democracy”:

“One of the greatest benefits of robust precinct organizing is that it, like community-based organizations, fills gaps otherwise left by political operations. First, it engages people far earlier than last-minute knocks on doors; those late knocks are no longer stand-alone transactional moments, but the last of a steady series of engagements. Second, the conversations are more authentic, led by a neighbor—not a stranger. And third, the precinct strategy can target all voters, with extra focus on disengaged and suppressed voters, as opposed to the far narrower approach of most campaigns.”

In short, you are helping solve one of the biggest problems in politics today:

This type of engagement also makes later efforts by campaigns far more effective, because the neighborhood leaders have already had much of the conversation. They’ve set the table for the campaigns and the candidates.

Can this really work?

Yes it (we) can! It’s exactly what the early Obama campaign did when people organized house parties in communities across the country; they didn’t see active precinct organizing where they were, so they did it themselves. That model drove one of the most historic campaigns our nation has ever seen.

What To Do?

First: be your neighborhood leader. Just do it. Take ownership.

As I say in the book: “ wherever you live, know that you’re sitting on the greatest untapped opportunity to change outcomes in American politics:

1. If you’re a precinct captain, or neighborhood leader, own your neighborhood. That is one hell of a footprint, and it’s in your control.

2. If you’re not involved in the party, but you’re a registered Democrat and you’re sitting in a precinct that’s vacant, run for it next time and do this work. See if you can get appointed to it in the meantime.

3. Whether you’re involved in the party or not, if the precinct or neighborhood you live in is not being organized by anyone, figure out who the precinct executive is, track them down, see what they’re doing, and offer to do the organizing work that needs to be done. Build a long-game plan for the precinct.

Second: if you are involved with your local political party, and they are not doing this approach, convince them to start. Ask them to start asking their members to take on these roles. Again, it’s the lowest hanging fruit in politics. It just takes enough people caring enough to do it.

This is where it starts. You leading, and you spurring others to lead.

If every single Democratic precinct executive took ownership of her precinct, doing this work, outcomes would change. Heck, if 50 percent of Democratic precinct executives did so, outcomes would change. Thirty percent, still a big change.

So, be like Oregon! Own your neighborhood.

BREAKING NEWS: PODCAST In my effort to always make this newsletter dynamic, my goal is to start doing regular podcasts I share through this Substack where I interview folks around the country who are undertaking the smartest and most strategic ways to protect democracy and engage voters. I hope to be able to dedicate one such podcast to how Oregon leaders run their “neighborhood leader” approach. It’s clearly a best practice so many others can learn from.

If enough people are interested in my adding this podcast feature, I’ll get started.