As noted in this story, the Democratic National Committee and the state Democratic parties have reached an agreement that brings more money into the state organizations, in return for sharing their voter data with the national party.
The Associated Press goes into more detail, noting that each state party will get $12,000 a month from the DNC, instead of the $10,000 a month they got in the previous agreement. In addition, “red” states will get an extra $2,500 a month to boost their work even further. And, the agreement runs through the 2024 election.
State parties are expected to use the money to hire additional staff, but aren’t required to do so.
So, our own Kentucky Democratic Party will be receiving $174,000 a year from the DNC. That’s not a big amount compared to campaign fund-raising; the average campaign for a U.S. House seat spends more than ten times that.
Still, that’s enough money to make a difference, particularly if it is spent wisely.
And that’s where this commentary comes in.
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KDP has an executive director (paid) and staff (paid). It also has a chair (volunteer) and an executive board (volunteer). The board has various committees, including a finance committee. The board only meets quarterly, but the committees can meet as needed. So, much of the work is done by the paid staff.
And that’s where the transparency has to be in place. How is the paid staff and the executive director planning on spending this additional money? And who gets to decide?
Ultimately, the staff should come up with a plan, present it to the finance committee for their input and approval, and then the staff and the finance committee present the plan to the executive board for final approval. Then, the staff would implement the plan, knowing that everyone was properly “read in” on what was happening with the money.
If you are reading this and thinking “well, of course, that’s how any organization would handle this,” then you are right. But, that has not always been the process at the KDP. There have been contracts approved and monies spent that the finance committee (much less the executive board) knew nothing about. And when asked about the spending, documentation was not always available or shared.
Any political organization operates with a certain amount of secrecy, so that the “competition” does not get wind of upcoming plans. And, an executive board does not necessarily need to know every detail of every contract.
But, the finance committee should absolutely have a handle on what is being spent, and for what, before that money goes out the door. And if they don’t, they and the executive board should raise holy hell about it.
So, kudos to the KDP for getting some much-needed extra funding. Here in a state that is almost wall-to-wall red, that is good news. It will be even better news if the money is spent wisely, effectively, and transparently.
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