I just went by the county courthouse to turn in my form SEL 105. I’ll now officially be on the Democratic ballot in May as a Precinct Committeeperson (PCP) candidate for Precinct 35, Southeast Scappoose. I’m serving in that role now, appointed to a vacancy off-cycle, but this will be my first time running for the position. Running for any position (aside from some vague memory of running for class secretary or such in 4th grade, maybe?).

I brought Celeste with me to drop off the form. I wanted to do it at a time when I could bring her, in part because part of my motivation for doing this is that I want her to be able to grow up in a world better than the one we live in now. More equitable, more fair, more just. Being a PCP is a really tiny piece in the mechanics of making that happen, but it’s a real piece, and it’s important that it get done.

I had never heard of a PCP before about three years ago, and didn’t know anything about what they actually did until a little under two, when I started going to the Columbia County Democrats meetings. It’s been quite an education in how our major political parties actually function, from very local things, up through how platforms are created and national delegates chosen. Honestly, it’s a mess in a lot of ways, but it’s really served to emphasize the idea that decisions are made by those who show up. Every state-level platform, policy, and resolution is made by county PCPs sending some of their members to the state committee to work on things, and that’s just the people who show up to these meetings and decide to put in the time.

It feels like a very long way from monthly county meetings in the back room of a diner to national policy, to making a more equitable, fair, and just world, but that’s the road, or at least part of it. People show up, put in the time and the work, and things change. Slowly and unsteadily, but they change. And we work to make that change for the better.

There are six total PCP slots in my precinct, there are two currently serving (of which I’m one), and as of today I’m the only candidate who’s filed (although there’s still a month and a half left to file). I am not expecting a hotly contested race. But if you’re a Democrat living in Precinct 35, I hope you’ll consider voting for me.