With the Summer Maricopa County Democratic Party Convention on July 31, 2021, new Party Executive Director Ne’Lexia Galloway graciously took the time to respond to questions about what goals the party will be pursuing going into the 2022 elections.
The major goals for the Maricopa County Democrats will be to:
- Elect new Democrats to county seats in 2022.
- Protect voting rights.
- Educate County residents on the importance of the County offices and the Democratic candidates vying for them.
- Build up the County Party coffers.
- Expand the volunteer base.
The main vehicle to achieve the Maricopa County Democrat’s goals will be the still forming Bottoms Up and Future Leaders of Arizona programs which will recruit and develop solid Democratic candidates for these county offices, educate voters, and help turn them out on election day.
The questions and Ms. Galloway’s responses to the interview questions are below.
1) Please tell the reader about yourself and your most important goals as the new Maricopa County Democratic Party Executive Director.
“I have been in Arizona almost six years and I am very excited about working for the County Party. As you know, Maricopa County is the fourth largest county in the nation and is still the number one battleground county in the country. It is important for us to have a sustainable infrastructure. Everyone talks about Arizona going blue. However, when we talk about Maricopa County, we’re still very red with regards to county-held offices. In order for Democrats to be successful, we have to invest financially directly in Maricopa County Democratic Party. So, the most important thing for us to do in this nonelection year is to build both our bank accounts and our volunteer base.”
2) With regards to working toward Democratic gains in Maricopa County in 2022, what are three electoral priorities the County Party has going into the fall and winter?
- “To win one of the seats on the Maricopa County Special Health Care Board.
- Retain our water board positions. M
- Gain a seat on the Maricopa County Community College Board.
- Increase our school district board representation by eight new members.”
3) Please advise on the status of candidate recruitment/county party infrastructure and if some of it is on hold until the new legislative district maps are finalized. Please explain.
“The Board of Supervisors decide the county board lines and the precincts. They have until the end of July of 2022 to finalize redistricting. We are launching a new program called Future Leaders of Arizona that will recruit and train people to run for school boards. The county focus has to be on the county offices.”
4) Please advise/explain the status of fundraising going into the 2022 electoral cycle.
“We have another exciting grassroots project with regards to fundraising called Bottoms Up that will ask for low dollar amounts (no more than $10 a month.) The Bottoms Up Campaign that will be run by Briana Valencia, will be a hybrid of small grassroots donors and issue-based organizing. We are looking to have 2500 new reoccurring donors by the end of 2021.”
5) As of July 2021, what are the most important political issues for the county going into the 2022 cycle? Please explain.
- “Protecting our voting rights.
- Educating our base on the issues with the Bottoms Up Campaign on all the major issues and tying them up to the County office responsibilities and candidates.”
6) Please advise/explain the status of preparing to get out the vote efforts ahead of 2022. To what extent will those preparation efforts be influenced by ballot initiatives to undo voter suppression measures passed by the Republicans in the State Legislature?
“In 2021, the County will be preparing to get out the vote with the Bottoms Up campaign and that will continue until we have a blue county.”
Please click on the below social media sites for more information on the Maricopa County Democratic Party and its summer convention.
https://www.maricopadems.org/convention
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