I’ve known this was coming for some time now, but just a few hours ago Bryan released the following announcement making if official
Bryan Kennedy announced this morning that he is considering a run for Chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. Speaking on Lee Rayburn’s radio program in Madison, Bryan thanked outgoing DPW Chair Joe Wineke for his service and then laid-out his plan for the party. The next chair will be elected by party members at the 2009 convention in Green Bay next June.
With Wineke’s announced departure, Kennedy said that he is a good fit for the next stage in the party’s growth and activism. Wineke has raised the party’s visibility, been very active with the media, and oversaw the Democrats taking back the State Senate and State Assembly in subsequent elections. “Our next leader needs to be the bridge between party operatives and progressive activists. I can work with both activists and party leaders to strengthen the party and to be ready for the 2010 elections,” Kennedy said.
Kennedy outlined the priority for the party as re-electing Governor Doyle in 2010, as well as growing the majorities in the Assembly and Senate. He also said that he would pick-up where the current chair left off in terms of fundraising and increased media presence. Most importantly, Kennedy proposed a series of initiatives to keep activists involved in party activities between election cycles. These include a citizen lobbying effort, an expanded state convention that includes workshops in organizing and activism, community service opportunities sponsored by the party, and maintaining party offices in various regions of the state year-round.
Bryan Kennedy is President of AFT-Wisconsin, a labor union that represents 17,000 public employees in Wisconsin. In 2004 and 2006, he was the Democratic nominee for US Congress in the 5th Congressional District. Kennedy raised nearly $700,000 for a seat that is traditionally very Republican. He worked to re-build the Democratic Party and to make the party more of a presence in the most Republican area of the state. Bryan has a PhD and was faculty at UW-Milwaukee from 2001-2008.
Disclaimer: Bryan and I are friends and he’s also the President of my Union, American Federation of Teachers Wisconsin.
One point here that Bryan is right on about is the need for Democrats to keep people involved between elections. Right now there are literally thousands of meetings taking place across the Country where Democrats are trying to figure out how they keep the massive ground game we built in the 2008 election engaged, available and activated.
The other candidate that I’m aware of at this point who is being talked about as a potential candidate for Chair of the DPW is our current 2nd Vice Chair Jef Hall. He is also a friend of mine, but hasn’t officially announced, so I’ll keep it at that until I hear something different.
One thing I can say with absolute certainty however is that both Bryan and Jef would be great Chairs.
I live in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Milwaukee, WI with my wife Jen, our daughter Emerson, and sons Carter and Colton.
