( – promoted by odum)

I have always been an Independent for myriad reasons.  As a voter and an activist, I could afford to be, and even as a candidate it offered a great deal of freedom to reach out to people across the political spectrum.  During the campaign I had success–admittedly to varying degree–with Republicans, Libertarians, Progressives, Democrats and Independents, and I was very happy with how well we performed without any party support.

That said, of course I would have enjoyed greater success at the ballot box if I’d had a different label next to my name.  There’s an inherent premium just having a party affiliation which is completely understandable.  As humans we are wired to make quick decisions based on categories as part of our survival skills–not rational, but completely natural.

So I have to consider the overall political climate as I shift gears in how I’m trying to effect change.  When I was solely working outside the system, I could get away with being “pure” and focused entirely on my particular peace and justice agenda.  Once I became a candidate for elected office, I had to put my constituents’ concerns at the top of the list, even if I think what I hope to accomplish will help them.

My philosophy of action is generally tempered with pragmatism, although it might not seem like it to people who decry some of the “extreme” tactics I’ve been involved with over the years.  I try to place all the things I’ve done into a strategic arc, designed to register dissent, raise awareness, interrupt status quo behavior, and so on.  It’s not always successful, but what human endeavor is?

When I approached major issues on the trail, my positions were motivated by my own sense of morals and yet I framed them in more practical terms.  Healthcare is a human right as I see it, and it just so happens that delivering it through single-payer is fiscally conservative.  War is evil, and a budget buster.  We need renewable energy, and investing in it will create more jobs than keeping Vermont Yankee operating.  Etc, etc.

Looking, then, at how I can improve my odds of becoming the vote I wish to see in the Legislature, I have to question my non-partisan status.  Again, I’m pleased with and even proud of what we accomplished this year, and think it was really the only way I could’ve tried breaking into the electoral system.  Now it’s just time to step up my game so I have more opportunity to do good.

Losing my first race in the manner I did was probably one of the best things I could have ever done.  More opportunities have arisen just from our hard work during the election cycle than I’d anticipated.  I built a bigger base and better network than I really thought possible, not to mention making so many new friends and discovering a wellspring of inspiration coming from likeminded people whom I never knew existed right in my own community.

During the campaign I met a lot of wonderful people who just so happen to be Democrats.  They were very welcoming as I crashed their events and chatted them up.  A number of them became enthusiastic boosters of my candidacy despite my outsider status.

Talking with some of these folks in the weeks leading up to, and after, E-day, it became clear that I had to make a change.  Where to go?

I’m more aligned with the Progressives than Democrats, it seems to me, but I live in Franklin County, not Chittenden.  Becoming a Democrat offers what I think is the greatest potential for me to succeed electorally, though I obviously want to keep working with people in other parties like the Progressives and Working Families.  Because I’ll still be, I promise, an independent person who reaches out to everybody I can.

Consider this an official announcement: I will be running as a candidate for State Representative in 2012, and on the ballot next to my name you will see ‘Democrat’.

This was a hard choice.  It’s hard to change.  It’s hard to buck the apparent trend (or meme) that people are abandoning mainstream parties.  It’s hard to join a party that, at least nationally, seems ineffective and faces serious challenges in 2012.

I talked about it with my family and a lot of friends.  I thought about what I’m trying to accomplish when I stand for election.  I saw the big tent that was open to me and in the end had to walk in.

It does feel a bit like I’m losing my religion, but it really isn’t.  It’s just a continuation of what I’ve been doing all along, and once the newness wears off I’m pretty sure it will feel just as natural as every other bit of evolution in my work.

Peace,

Todd – newly minted Democrat

(x-posted at Todd for VT House)