Congrats…

…to Dwight Pelz, the new Chair of the Washington State Democrats. I'd planned to blog a bit more about the whole chair selection process, but it pretty quickly drifted into an unnecessary and unhelpful acrimony. No need to repeat any of it, because happily the candidates were better than the campaign. It came down to a face-off between Pelz and former State Rep. Laura Ruderman, both capable and dedicated Democrats.

Now the hard part starts for Pelz, beginning, I suppose, with an effort to heal some of the rifts exposed by the leadership change. It's a big job, but let's not burden the office with excessive expectations. Pelz has a heavy responsibility, but not this heavy...

…it will be Dwight Pelz's responsibility to ensure that the state party is successful in the 2006 elections cycle - not only on the state and local levels, but also in federal races, which have added importance this year.

I wish it was that easy, that the success of the Party was the burden of a single player. It's not.

Dwight Pelz and the state Party office are tasked with a critical role in directing and coordinating our efforts, making sure resources are available when and where needed, keeping our candidates and issues in the spotlight and being a the face of the Democratic Party.

Success, though, is job one for all of us, and failure rests equally on each of our shoulders. The face of the Democratic Party may reside in the state Party office, but the heart, soul and muscle is in the church basements and Legion halls and labor temples where local Democrats meet.

And the real leaders still show up early to make coffee and stay late to put up chairs.