New Maricopa County Democratic Party Political Director Andie Gomez sees 2022 as the Year of Opportunity

The Maricopa County Democratic Party has set a major ambitious political goal for 2022.

To build a strong political bench of winning candidates at the local level in school board, city council, and other local races so these people can later vie for higher offices at the County, State, and Congressional Levels.

They have already set up three day training sessions for interested school board candidates.

They have also retained the services of former Eric Kurland campaign manager Andie Gomez as the new political director of the party.

A specialist in digital marketing and communications, Ms. Gomez sees 2022 as “the year of opportunity” for the party to shape a majority Democratic presence in Maricopa County from the local level to higher.

Ms. Gomez graciously took the time to discuss her new position at the Maricopa County Democratic Party and her specific goals for 2022.

The questions and her responses are below.

1) Please tell the readers what are at least two responsibilities you have as the Maricopa County Political Director?

“My role is pretty far-reaching. Right now, I’m focused on building relationships with our LDs and helping with the re-organization process (which finished March 15). Now that all the new boards have been elected, I’ll be shifting my focus to:

1. Training and recruiting candidates for local office.
2. Communications strategy — especially digital.
3. And fundraising, to help us get the money to support the first three parts.”

 How has your background prepared you for this position?

“In my political background, I started as communications director for Eric Kurland in LD23 in 2018 and went on to manage his campaign in 2020. Working with Eric and our 100+ campaign volunteers (aka the “Education Army”) was a good learning experience. I also served on the board of LD23 Democrats (Scottsdale and Fountain Hills) for four years, which has made it much easier to connect with the LDs across the county.”

 “In my pre-political days, I worked in digital marketing and communications for years. That skill set has come in handy in everything I’ve done politically — particularly in managing a campaign through COVID.”

2) What are at least three goals you have for the 2022 elections?

 “The obvious top line is to elect Democrats. Electing Democrats to local office, specifically focusing on school boards, city and town councils, and other down ballot positions. We don’t have many major countywide races this cycle so we’re able to focus on building the bench and the resources we need to win. I also hope to strengthen the relationships we have with the boards and PCs in our legislative districts. We have 20 legislative districts in Maricopa County and I’ve been lucky to meet many of them through the digital re-organization process.”

Did you want to discuss the workshops and trainings the County Party is conducting for school board candidates?

 “It is a three day, intensive, almost like a boot camp where the school board candidates will learn everything like getting to know their district, how to start a campaign, how to qualify for the ballot, how to tell their story, and how to write a campaign plan.

The program is doubling in size, too. We’ll have at least 19 trained candidates by the end of this cohort.”

4) Is there anything not covered in the last three questions you would like the readers to know?

“Well, I did hear a quote a while back that I would like to steal. “There are no off years. There are only opportunity years.” That’s where I think we are here as a county. It’s an exciting thing to be a part of.”