After a nail biting election, we are delighted to report that we have won. Our margin of victory was two votes - the clearest proof possible that every vote really matters.
We'd like to extend our thanks to all DAUK members who participated in the election.
And we would like to pay tribute to our opponents - Susan Schoenfeld Harrington and Bill Barnard - who ran a strong campaign and have both contributed tremendously to the Party over many years of service.
For both of us, the hard work now begins - and we are honoured and humbled to be given the opportunity to serve.
Rob Carolina & Karin Robinson
Friday, 1 April 2011
Wednesday, 30 March 2011
Guest blog: Why I support Rob and Karin
Rob and I were thrilled to receive this lovely post from DAUK member Inge Kjemtrup. We wanted to share it with you:
Oxford Street, early September 2008. A small group of DAUK members stands on a corner on London’s busiest shopping street. We’re not precisely sure what we’re supposed to do, but we hope it’s going to affect the outcome of this crucial US Presidential election. We soon spot Rob Carolina, who’s laden with Obama buttons and signs, along with a pile of flyers. Rob spells out our task: to find Americans and get them registered to vote. “I have no idea if this is going to work,” he cheerfully admits. But it works. In the weeks to come, we wave an Obama 2008 banner, shout for Americans to register to vote, and hand out flyers. Some DAUKers even form a cheerleading team. That gets attention! Meanwhile, across the rest of UK, other DAUK volunteers are also finding and registering Americans. We all hear the following story more than once: “I haven’t voted in a US election since I’ve lived in the UK, but I’m going to vote this time.”
Parliament Square, October 2008. The election is weeks away. Rob and Karin Robinson, several other DAUK organizers, and an even larger group of DAUK members cheer for Obama before walking across the Westminster Bridge. It’s a heady moment. Without the enthusiasm of DAUK organizers like Rob and Karin, who have kept us motivated and organized, I doubt we would all have felt quite so elated (and almost personally responsible) when Barack Obama wins in November 2008.
September 2009. Who is Nick Clegg? Some months before the Liberal Democrat leader becomes a national figure, he speaks to the DAUK in an event organized by Karin, an event followed up by a talk from that controversial but always fascinating Labour stalwart, Alastair Campbell. I’m glad Karin put together these events: helping DAUK members gain a better understanding of the politics of the country we live in should be an important DAUK activity.
February/March 2011. Thanks to the 2008 election, the membership of Democrats Abroad has grown by leaps and bounds. For the first time, Democrats living outside the US have seen that their votes and their voluntary activities – getting out the vote, phone banking, working at a benefit – really count. The challenge faced by DAUK today is to keep alive that volunteer energy and to make sure that everyone – from veterans of campaigns 20 years ago to those who joined last week – feels welcome in the organization and is ready to roll up their sleeves for the 2012 election.
Rob Carolina and Karin Robinson have organized events, energized volunteers, spoke with the media, liaised with volunteers, served as DAUK officers, and demonstrated up-to-date awareness of social media. I am delighted that they are running for DAUK Chair and Vice-Chair, and am pleased to offer them my full support.
Inge Kjemtrup
Oxford Street, early September 2008. A small group of DAUK members stands on a corner on London’s busiest shopping street. We’re not precisely sure what we’re supposed to do, but we hope it’s going to affect the outcome of this crucial US Presidential election. We soon spot Rob Carolina, who’s laden with Obama buttons and signs, along with a pile of flyers. Rob spells out our task: to find Americans and get them registered to vote. “I have no idea if this is going to work,” he cheerfully admits. But it works. In the weeks to come, we wave an Obama 2008 banner, shout for Americans to register to vote, and hand out flyers. Some DAUKers even form a cheerleading team. That gets attention! Meanwhile, across the rest of UK, other DAUK volunteers are also finding and registering Americans. We all hear the following story more than once: “I haven’t voted in a US election since I’ve lived in the UK, but I’m going to vote this time.”
Parliament Square, October 2008. The election is weeks away. Rob and Karin Robinson, several other DAUK organizers, and an even larger group of DAUK members cheer for Obama before walking across the Westminster Bridge. It’s a heady moment. Without the enthusiasm of DAUK organizers like Rob and Karin, who have kept us motivated and organized, I doubt we would all have felt quite so elated (and almost personally responsible) when Barack Obama wins in November 2008.
September 2009. Who is Nick Clegg? Some months before the Liberal Democrat leader becomes a national figure, he speaks to the DAUK in an event organized by Karin, an event followed up by a talk from that controversial but always fascinating Labour stalwart, Alastair Campbell. I’m glad Karin put together these events: helping DAUK members gain a better understanding of the politics of the country we live in should be an important DAUK activity.
February/March 2011. Thanks to the 2008 election, the membership of Democrats Abroad has grown by leaps and bounds. For the first time, Democrats living outside the US have seen that their votes and their voluntary activities – getting out the vote, phone banking, working at a benefit – really count. The challenge faced by DAUK today is to keep alive that volunteer energy and to make sure that everyone – from veterans of campaigns 20 years ago to those who joined last week – feels welcome in the organization and is ready to roll up their sleeves for the 2012 election.
Rob Carolina and Karin Robinson have organized events, energized volunteers, spoke with the media, liaised with volunteers, served as DAUK officers, and demonstrated up-to-date awareness of social media. I am delighted that they are running for DAUK Chair and Vice-Chair, and am pleased to offer them my full support.
Inge Kjemtrup
Sunday, 27 March 2011
Inclusiveness: Engaging DAUK members
The mission of Democrats Abroad is to help Democrats living outside of the United States to participate in Democratic Party politics, to deliver votes in US elections and to raise funds for the Democratic Party and its candidates. To succeed in our mission we must remain engaged with our members and encourage their passion for the Party and its candidates. Our efforts to “Get out the Vote” must be ongoing.
Voter engagement happens on a number of different fronts, and we can't afford to overlook any of them:
Voter engagement happens on a number of different fronts, and we can't afford to overlook any of them:
A request and a promise...
Dear friends,
A few weeks ago, I wrote to let you know about Rob Carolina and to ask for your vote in support of his election for Chair of Democrats Abroad UK and for myself as Vice Chair. Since then, I've been really grateful that so many of you have been in touch to express your support, or tell me about your hopes for the organization, or to ask us more about our plans. As I've told many of you ? Rob constantly impresses me with his energy and vision for the organization, his sincere commitment to building an open and inclusive party, and the way that he constantly goes far above and beyond the call of duty in achieving every task that he takes on.
A few weeks ago, I wrote to let you know about Rob Carolina and to ask for your vote in support of his election for Chair of Democrats Abroad UK and for myself as Vice Chair. Since then, I've been really grateful that so many of you have been in touch to express your support, or tell me about your hopes for the organization, or to ask us more about our plans. As I've told many of you ? Rob constantly impresses me with his energy and vision for the organization, his sincere commitment to building an open and inclusive party, and the way that he constantly goes far above and beyond the call of duty in achieving every task that he takes on.
Marshaling our resources
DAUK is a volunteer organization that is driven by the passion of its volunteers and the generosity of its donors. The elected officers of DAUK must be good stewards of our limited resources.
Our priorities will be:
Our priorities will be:
Saturday, 26 March 2011
Empowering DAUK members
The success of DAUK will be not driven by the leadership’s ability to do great things. It will instead be driven by our ability to find and empower members who are able to do great things. Not only is delegation more efficient, giving members more responsibility helps us to develop our future leaders.
During the 2008 general election campaign, I remember being asked to run a particularly difficult and time-consuming part of our volunteer effort. It was exhausting and I felt completely overwhelmed, in part because I was trying to direct the activities of 50+ volunteers. I started to look at the problem from a “business process” perspective, and suddenly realized: the single thing that was limiting our Volunteers’ ability to do great things was... ME! So I shifted gears, and worked on a way to empower a smaller group of volunteers to manage discrete parts of the operation.
If elected, I will view it as a significant part of my job to encourage our most keen and active volunteers to find ways to divide their tasks and delegate some portions to other willing volunteers.
We must encourage others to become the leaders of tomorrow.
During the 2008 general election campaign, I remember being asked to run a particularly difficult and time-consuming part of our volunteer effort. It was exhausting and I felt completely overwhelmed, in part because I was trying to direct the activities of 50+ volunteers. I started to look at the problem from a “business process” perspective, and suddenly realized: the single thing that was limiting our Volunteers’ ability to do great things was... ME! So I shifted gears, and worked on a way to empower a smaller group of volunteers to manage discrete parts of the operation.
If elected, I will view it as a significant part of my job to encourage our most keen and active volunteers to find ways to divide their tasks and delegate some portions to other willing volunteers.
We must encourage others to become the leaders of tomorrow.
Monday, 14 March 2011
Virtual Town Hall: meet Rob and Karin by Conference Call
Rob and Karin cordially invite you to participate in a Virtual Town Hall!
This conference call takes place on Tuesday, March 22, 2011, at 8.00pm.
We want to find new ways for you to participate in DAUK! In this conference call, Rob and Karin will tell you more about their vision for the future of DAUK, including greater outreach and inclusiveness for those who live outside central London or those who have difficulty travelling. This is also your chance to ask questions about DAUK, about this UK leadership election, and about Rob and Karin.
To assist in planning, and to obtain your dial-in instructions, please RSVP for this event as soon as possible by sending an email to:
events@YourPartyYourVote.com
with "Conference Call" in the Subject line
Monday, 7 March 2011
Sunday: Meet Rob and Karin at the RAF Club!
Rob and Karin cordially invite you to their "Meet the Candidates" forum this Sunday from 2pm-5pm at the RAF Club in Mayfair, 128 Piccadilly, London, W1J 7PY.
Come along and:
*See old friends
*Make new friends
*Ask Rob and Karin why and how they want to lead DAUK
*Give YOUR suggestions about how to make DAUK stronger!
There will be a cash bar and snacks available at the RAF Club.
Space may be limited, so please RSVP for this event as soon as possible by sending an email to:
Friday, 4 March 2011
Nomination Statements
Rob and I submitted our nominations yesterday. I wanted you all to have the chance to read our personal statements.
In nominating Rob for Chair, I wrote this:
Dear Nominations Committee,
I hereby nominate Rob Carolina for the position of Chair of Democrats Abroad UK.
I believe Rob's exceptional leadership ability, energetic commitment to the Party, and proven campaign experience demonstrate that he has the attributes to become an outstanding Chair of this organisation.
With thanks,
Karin
Dear Nominations Committee,I hereby nominate Rob Carolina for the position of Chair of Democrats Abroad UK.
I believe Rob's exceptional leadership ability, energetic commitment to the Party, and proven campaign experience demonstrate that he has the attributes to become an outstanding Chair of this organisation.
With thanks,
Karin
This is the 500 word personal statement that Rob submitted in support of his nomination:
Wednesday, 16 February 2011
Respecting our Volunteers
Democrats Abroad is an organisation that is made up of, and entirely run by, volunteers. We do what we do because of our passion, and the belief that what we are doing makes a difference. Whether someone chooses to give their time for an hour once or twice a year, or to spend hours every day, they deserve to be listened to with respect, treated with kindness, and engaged in valuable and rewarding activity. We must do a better job of respecting our volunteers, and ensure that everyone in the organisation understands how to work with our volunteers effectively.
Here are some of the things we can do:
Here are some of the things we can do:
Energise and streamline governance procedures
We can and should make more efficient use our time as DAUK leaders. There are tremendous efficiency gains to be made by modifying a few of our key governance practices.
Elected leaders need to remain in communication with one another. The Leadership should consult regularly not only because "the Bylaws say so". If we listen to different voices, we make better informed decisions. And we must set ourselves clear and measurable goals that we communicate to the membership, and hold ourselves accountable to achieve.
Things we can do that will help include:
Elected leaders need to remain in communication with one another. The Leadership should consult regularly not only because "the Bylaws say so". If we listen to different voices, we make better informed decisions. And we must set ourselves clear and measurable goals that we communicate to the membership, and hold ourselves accountable to achieve.
Things we can do that will help include:
Membership growth
DAUK grew really fast during the last decade. Membership numbers grew 12-fold in the space of less than 6 years. Former President George W Bush was, in effect, one of our best recruiting tools. Anger at many Bush-era policies drove overseas Americans to look for ways they could participate in American politics once again, and DAUK was a major beneficiary.
This is no time to rest on our laurels. In addition to voter engagement efforts that will help us to retain members, we need to work actively in an effort to grow the membership further. We estimate that there are more than 100,000 US Citizens in the UK who might identify as Democrats but have not yet joined us. We need to FIND them, and bring them in.
Things we can do include:
This is no time to rest on our laurels. In addition to voter engagement efforts that will help us to retain members, we need to work actively in an effort to grow the membership further. We estimate that there are more than 100,000 US Citizens in the UK who might identify as Democrats but have not yet joined us. We need to FIND them, and bring them in.
Things we can do include:
Tuesday, 15 February 2011
Our Challenge: Now through 2013
In 2008, Rob and Karin worked through Democrats Abroad, the DNC and our own independent Obama London campaign group to help achieve a more than 7-fold increase in the number of voters registered that year, resulting in the victory that Democrats had been hoping for and a quadrupling of our UK membership.
But since that day, our Party - like our country - has been struggling a bit. Here in the UK, our membership has been slowly declining. The thousands of people here who were inspired by that campaign to join Democrats Abroad were struggling to integrate into the organisation, meanwhile many of the party stalwarts who had given so much over the years were exhausted and burnt out. Our local organisation went into a holding pattern.
But since that day, our Party - like our country - has been struggling a bit. Here in the UK, our membership has been slowly declining. The thousands of people here who were inspired by that campaign to join Democrats Abroad were struggling to integrate into the organisation, meanwhile many of the party stalwarts who had given so much over the years were exhausted and burnt out. Our local organisation went into a holding pattern.
Tuesday, 8 February 2011
Why Rob and Karin are Running
Rob and I thought very long and hard about the decision to run and our desire to work together as a partnership. We have talked a lot about what, if we are fortunate enough to be elected, we would want to accomplish and the type of organisation we want to lead. I'd like to share some of that thinking with you now.
Here are a few specific thoughts about how we will approach this challenge:
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)