Introducing . . . 

The Founding Members Committee

 

When Dr. Alta Price and I were first setting up Democracy for Iowa, we decided it would be a good thing to have a Founding Members Committee made up of known, active – okay, rabid – Dean supporters to guide the process.

 

We wanted the committee to be small, between 10 and 15 members, so that it would be easy to manage.  We also wanted the members to be spread out all over the state.  We made an exception for high-population areas with large groups of Dean supporters, so you may find 150 miles separates FMC members in western Iowa but only 60 miles separates members in eastern Iowa.

 

As of Friday, our Founding Members Committee is complete, unless, of course, something comes up and we decide to add another member later.  Nothing is ever set in stone when in the beginning stages of creating a structure through which a large group organizes itself.

 

I would like to introduce to you the members of the DFIA FMC.

 

Founding Members Committee

 

From west to east, approximately:

 

Tom Whitmore – Sioux City

 

Tom is a long-time Democratic activist who worked for former Congressman (and Dean endorser) Berkley Bedell in the ‘70’s.  If there was a Dean activity or appearance going on in Woodbury County, Tom was usually organizing it.  You may recall that he organized a national phone bank to help Woodbury County identify likely voters.  Tom will serve as DFIA County Coordinator for Woodbury County.

 

Jean Hartwell – McClelland

 

Known to the campaign as a hard core Dean supporter, Jean has been active in the Iowa Democratic Party since the Gore campaign in 2000.  Jean is the former chair of Pottawattamie County, and is currently running for the State Central Committee.

 

Linda Thieman – Storm Lake

 

You can read my introduction here.

 

Sally Troxell – Des Moines

 

Sally was one of the volunteer stars of the Dean campaign in Iowa.  She has just started up the Central Iowa Chapter of DFIA, and she will be heading up DeanCorps for us on the state level (more about that later).  Sally will also be the DFIA County Coordinator for Polk, Dallas, and Warren counties.  Sally’s husband, Jeff Goetz, also a big Dean supporter, has volunteered to be our lawyer, and has been advising us about the legalities of forming a DFIA corporation.

 

Dave Inbody – Johnston

 

Dave was a regional coordinator for the Dean campaign (Central Iowa), and is a member of DFIA-CIC (see above.)  We will be hearing more from Dave in the coming weeks.

 

Darrell Lewis – Clear Lake

 

Darrell was one of the hardest-working, most knowledgeable volunteers in the Iowa Dean campaign.  You may remember him from his Bloggers’ Breakfast in Des Moines, a gathering of 150 bloggers/Stormers in mid-January.  Darrell will be DFIA County Coordinator for Cerro Gordo County.

 

Kim Smith – Marshalltown

 

Kim was an early Dean supporter and volunteer extraordinaire in Marshall County.  She is also the Democratic Central Committee Chair of Marshall County.  Kim has the particular distinction of having hosted Gov. Dean in her home in the early days of the campaign.

 

Phil Scott – Fairfield

 

Phil was a Field Organizer for the Dean campaign for three counties, Jefferson, Washington, and Keokuk, and will be helping DFIA collect the campaign data in a central location.  He will also serve as DFIA County Coordinator for Jefferson County.

 

Trish Nelson – Iowa City

 

Trish is Co-Coordinator of the Iowa Chapter of Dean Rapid Response, a group that quickly addresses distortions in the media.  Trish was an active Dean volunteer, participates in Meet Up and in Johnson4Dean, and has trained at Camp Wellstone.

 

Dick Stater – Lisbon

 

Our committee of two expanded when Alta and I asked Dick Stater to sign on with us.  Dick is very active in Democratic politics in Linn County, is a huge Dean supporter, and has been helping us shape the strategies DFIA is going to employ.  Dick will serve as the DFIA County Coordinator for Linn County, and will also serve as our County Coordinator Trainer.  Dick and I are in the process of setting up a telephone training system that we can employ as CCs sign on with us.  We hope to have it up and running within the next two weeks.

 

Phil Specht – McGregor

 

Phil is a self-described “rabid” Dean supporter and dedicated blogger at Blog for America.  Phil serves on the IDP State Central Committee and is Chair of the State Platform Committee.

 

Alta Price – Bettendorf

 

Alta is the gal who got this show on the road.  She snapped up a couple of domain names, sent out some emails asking for a webmaster, I volunteered, and DFIA was born.  Alta is a physician and is very active in her Quad Cities Dean group.  She is a long-time political activist who sees herself as more of an Independent.  Her Dean activities included hosting Meet Up, serving on the local steering committee, coordinating the Dec. 30 Dean house party for the state, coordinating the state chapter of Doctors for Dean, and participating as a Dean delegate at various levels within the state party system.

 

County Coordinators

 

We now have County Coordinators for the following counties:  Buena Vista, Cerro Gordo, Dallas, Jasper, Jefferson, Linn, Polk, Scott, Warren, and Woodbury.  If you would like to volunteer for a County Coordinator position, please refer to the application procedure.  Thank you.  (Update: the training session will not be scheduled for June.)