STEP TWO FROM ROB GREGOR

Ladies and gentlemen, once again, Rob Gregor. . .

STEP 2: Believe That The Power Of The Whole Can Return Us To Victory

The power of the whole is greater than the power of any individual unit. The local Democrats need to adopt, embrace and apply this principle. No individual Democrat in the county is strong or powerful enough to survive politically without the assistance of the whole party. When we sever ties, create bad-blood, or condescend others, it weakens the power of the collective whole, and we get spanked on Election Day.

We need to realize how powerful the collective body can be when not impeded by intra-party fighting. The Democrats have a huge enrollment advantage in the City Of Troy, and yet continue to lose races. Why is this so? Some would blame the minor party lines, others maintain that the party still feels the effects of term limits. In the end, the reason for the fall from grace does not matter as much as realizing that the power to return to grace lies within the party as a whole, and not within individual candidates or leaders.

As city and county committees, it is imperative that we remember the nature of the offices for which we run. At the local level, people are much less concerned about our stance on national issues, and much more concerned about how we plan to make their neighborhoods cleaner and safer, and property taxes lower. The local party, as a whole, needs to realize this, and begin distributing ideas and platforms through their candidates based on political action at the local level. This means a comprehensive plan for fighting crime (guardian angels anyone?), use of existing legislation such us nuisance abatement against negligent absentee landlords, and the implementation of a clear, concise financial plan. A platform such as this, adopted by the ENTIRE slate of candidates, with the financial and human resources of the ENTIRE party behind it, would create a power greater than the individual, and would surely give a better chance of political survival against a better tooled opponent, such as the local GOP.

--Rob Gregor