What is the Role of Your Local Democratic Party? (Part 1)
Why local parties need to partner with grassroots organizations that may not align themselves with the Democratic Party
This is the first of a three-part series about the role of your local Democratic party. I examined the role of the Democratic Party as a whole in a previous post, and now I am delving into local parties more specifically.
“Hi, my name is Dave.”
“Hi, Dave,” I greeted him as he walked into my office – the satellite office for the Dallas County Democratic Party in Southern Dallas in 2024 – for an impromptu meeting. “I’m AZ. How can I help you?”
“I’m a member of the Citizens’ Climate Lobby,” he responded. “Have you heard of it? I’m on the Steering Committee for our DFW chapter.”
I felt a twinge of embarrassment. I’m supposed to represent the Democratic Party and I don’t know about these groups, I thought. What’s worse, climate change is the issue I care about most.
“No,” I admitted. “I’ve never heard of you guys. What do you do?”
“We’re a large nonpartisan organization that lobbies governments to pass climate legislation. We go to D.C. every year and we also go to Austin every two years. Now we’re starting to focus our efforts locally.”
“That’s really great,” I answered, excited about the direction of the conversation. “Especially since climate change is my top concern.”
He looked surprised. “Really?” he asked. “What do the people in these communities tell you about climate change?”
“They don’t,” I replied. “I’ve personally knocked on a countless number of doors so far this year and I can count on one hand the number of people who have expressed that climate change is their top priority. It’s hard to think about it when you’re trying to pay the bills or hear random shootings outside your window in some neighborhoods.”
Dave agreed and understood. We chatted for a bit more before wrapping up, promising him that I’d reach back out with how we could work more closely on bringing climate change awareness to Southern Dallas.
And that set off a cascade of opinions and ideas on my end.
The relationship between local parties and their allied organizations
Most local Democratic parties readily align themselves with one of their community Democratic clubs. In the case of Dallas County, the Richardson Area Democrats and the Preston Hollow Democrats are two such examples. Notice how both of these clubs have the word “Democrats” in their names. These kinds of organizations act more or less as a collective arm of the local party, hosting events for politicians and educating their communities about general Democratic ideals.
There is nothing inherently wrong with this setup. Democratic clubs provide valuable resources to help Democrats get elected. The problem, however, is twofold: 1) local parties tend to rely too heavily on their Democratic clubs and don’t give enough seats at the table to other left-leaning organizations; and 2) in general, more Democratic clubs exist in more affluent parts of a county, while underserved communities don’t have the same number of organizations that focus on their needs and communicate with the local party.
Not enough seats at the table
In the case of the first problem, local parties may have regularly scheduled meetings with their allied organizations. In those meetings, the party discusses the agenda, upcoming events, and how to turn out the vote for Democrats. Again, this is not an actual issue. It becomes an issue when almost all of the guests of these meetings are specifically Democratic clubs located almost entirely in privileged areas whose populaces already turn out to vote in larger numbers than communities not represented in those meetings.
Let’s take, for example, the communities represented by the two organizations above: Richardson and Preston Hollow. Then let’s examine three pieces of data for each: 1) how many of these communities’ precincts have precinct chairs, 2) these communities’ voting data from the presidential election in November 2024, and 3) and their local election data from May 2025.
Richardson
In November 2024, Richardson, a suburb north of Dallas that boasts one of the most diverse populations in Dallas County and is a growing hub for businesses, had 86% of their precincts filled with Democratic precinct chairs. For that election, 67% of its registered voters visited the polls.
In May 2025, Richardson lost one of its precinct chairs, making it 81%. The turnout for that election was at 18%.
In contrast, the county total for filled Democratic precincts was 49% for November 2024 and 52% for May 2025. For voting, the county experienced a 58% turnout in November 2024 and an 8% turnout in May 2025.
So Richardson definitely outpaced the county in both Democratic precincts filled and voter turnout.
Preston Hollow
The other community is Preston Hollow, one of the most affluent in all of Dallas County. Notably, former President George W. Bush resides there.
In November 2024, Preston Hollow’s precincts were filled at 50%. In May 2025, its precincts were filled at 43%. This may seem like a bit of an underwhelming performance for the Democratic Party, but keep in mind that predominantly white and ultra wealthy individuals tend not to be Democrats. That rings true with Preston Hollow’s voting data: a 70% turnout in November 2024 and a 13% turnout in May 2025, both exceeding the county total. High voter turnout and an average number of filled Democratic precincts likely means that most of these votes went to conservative politicians.
South Dallas
Next, let’s contrast those numbers with less privileged communities around Dallas County. South Dallas, for instance, one with a large black population, had 47% of their precincts filled in November 2024, with a 39% voter turnout that election. In May 2025, they had the same percentage of filled precincts, with a 4% voter turnout. The percentage of filled precincts was around the same as the county, but the turnout in both elections underperformed compared to the county at large.
Pleasant Grove
Pleasant Grove, situated in Southeast Dallas, contains a large Hispanic population. In November 2024, 30% of their precincts held Democratic precinct chairs, with a 41% voter turnout. In May 2025, their precinct chairs hadn’t changed, with a 4% voter turnout. So Pleasant Grove had lower numbers than the county in both its rate of precincts filled with Democratic precinct chairs and voter turnout. Its voter turnout actually closely mirrored that of South Dallas for both elections.
So what does all of this mean? If we look at Richardson and Preston Hollow and compare them with far less wealthy locales like South Dallas or Pleasant Grove, the takeaway is clear: Communities with more money will have more time to think about voting. This holds true regardless of how many of a less privileged community’s precincts are filled with Democratic precinct chairs, as is the case with South Dallas. The idea of more money and more time to think about voting is what I alluded to with Dave a year ago.
Bridging the gap
So the problem is apparent. The solution, however, is where lots of people and organizations hold differing opinions. Hardcore and longtime Democratic insiders might propose to have more precinct chairs and/or more Democratic clubs in areas like South Dallas and Pleasant Grove. While that may help and is necessary for pure Democratic Party representation, I truly don’t believe that approach alone would suffice. Politicos typically view problems as opportunities to drive more political solutions. In reality, though, we need to view these occasions more holistically by listening to the needs of each community and instilling a bottom-up approach. Only then will we have built the trust and confidence with residents who may not be all that politically active.
One case in point, to tie it back to the climate conversation at the beginning of this post, is the work that Downwinders at Risk has done in underprivileged communities. (I’ve talked about this in a previous post, so check that out if you haven’t.) In the last 30 years, this environmental justice organization has made an incredible amount of progress shutting down toxic plants and raising awareness of the lack of clean air in certain parts of the metroplex. People from all over Dallas County – a group of volunteers I’ve never met or heard of through my years as a Democratic precinct chair and organizer, and a group whose supporters range in age and background – make sure to do their part in joining the fight to improve air quality in underserved areas. It would seem to be an easy win for a local party to partner up with organizations like this - organizations that are already doing the heavy lifting and may benefit from a Democratic Party shout-out.
Unfortunately, that often does not happen, and the reasons for this vary. Some nonprofits may feel uneasy about recognition from a political party lest they lose their 501(c)(3) status, although many over time have found ways to partner with them. Some grassroots leaders may feel like they sully their reputations if they coordinate with politicians and political insiders. But a lot of the root of the problem lies in the divergent goals and priorities of the political party and grassroots groups.
Grassroots leaders tend to focus on single issues, as is the case with CCL and Downwinders. Other examples include reproductive rights and prison reform. These groups tend to have a more progressive agenda than the Democratic Party might allow. The Party, on the other hand, focuses more on winning elections. That is the fundamental gap we need to bridge between these two institutions. The Party needs to be able to walk and chew gum at the same time, building long-term infrastructure with local organizations and aiming resources at political candidates.
But this actually happened with the Dallas County Democratic Party last year, when they partnered with Ground Game Texas to successfully decriminalize marijuana in the City of Dallas in the November election. So why can’t we be more consistent? Regrettably, favoritism and thin skin play a huge role. The thing that nobody talks about is how much political parties hate negative feedback from grassroots leaders.
Stop being so sensitive
Political leaders – national, state, and local – too often fear teaming up with individuals or groups that don’t already proudly brand themselves as belonging to their political party. But the risk of being associated with someone who has in the past criticized you is not just too much a thought to bear.
Local political leaders, free from the scrutiny of a well-funded local media and the careful oversight of independent boards and panels, have been known to quietly seek retribution against individuals who dare declare anything short of complete loyalty to the party. That retribution usually presents itself in the form of ostracism and smear campaigns. This rings especially true with leaders of underrepresented or minority groups, who may have a long list of grievances with the Democratic Party, mostly stemming from the lack of outreach in their areas.
These might seem like activities that the Trump administration would happily and publicly engage in, but it dangerously spreads itself across both parties, from national politics all the way down. For the Democratic Party, a party that sells itself as the party for the people, the need to develop meaningful relations and work with local grassroots leaders is of paramount importance to the survival and long-term growth of the Party, regardless of criticisms from anyone.
How local party leaders can partner with grassroots organizations
Assuming ideal circumstances where local Democratic party leaders excel, how would they engage their grassroots infrastructure that does not expressly identify as Democratic? There are three important items that your local Democratic party can offer these groups: help in fundraising, data, and volunteers.
Ideally, your local Democratic party would serve as the central hub of progressivism in your municipality. It would possess a wealth of knowledge regarding a well-architected fundraising strategy, data collection pertaining to who organizations need to target and where they need to direct their resources, and a giant running list of volunteers that would plug in to various opportunities for those organizations.
To achieve this, the local party can offer training to grassroots leaders on how to raise money. Who better to give these training sessions than a political machine that knows how to ask for donations?
In the case of data in Texas, the Texas Democratic Party owns a huge voter database that local parties use on a daily basis. Local parties train precinct chairs how to use this database, and it should also train grassroots leaders. (I actually did this on my own accord with a reproductive justice organization in Southern Dallas last year. But, again, it’s about an overall strategy and consistency.)
To garner more volunteers for their allied organizations, local parties can directly make the request in their newsletters to their supporters, perhaps highlighting a different organization each month. They can also invite them to speak at County Executive Committee meetings, the quarterly county party meeting that precinct chairs attend.
These ideas and a lot more make up what local parties need to start doing more urgently in order to build a more comprehensive organizing strategy that would benefit the Party and grassroots organizations. Grassroots leaders would benefit from having a trusted and established advisor by their side. In turn, your local party would build credibility with communities by taking the first step in asking what each grassroots organization needed to succeed, thereby encouraging more disenfranchised people to vote.
One more thing
So what happened with Dave and my relationship with him? After the November election and my departure from the Dallas County Democratic Party, I reached out to the DFW chapter of the Citizens’ Climate Lobby, eventually joining their Steering Committee. I also joined Downwinders at Risk and am serving on their Policy Committee. We’ve been enjoying a partnership where Downwinders plays a crucial role in CCL’s lobbying efforts in DFW, with some CCL volunteers joining Downwinders’ committees to assist them in helping persuade Dallas city council members in shutting down two asphalt shingle plants. If it was that simple for two organizations to team up, your local Democratic party should find it a breeze.