Todd Sharp, Williamson County Democratic Party Chair

Dear fellow Democrats,

I have held the Chairman’s position in Williamson County for a little more than four years and have been an active member of the Williamson County Democratic Party for about seven years. I offer these observations along with my full fledged endorsement of Chip Forrester for TNDP Chairman.

Naturally, after the beating we suffered on November 2, 2010 there would be talk of changing the guard. But can we place blame on state party leadership? I believe that we have seen a trend in Tennessee which has been a long time in the coming. November 2010 was a nationwide catastrophe for all Democrats. It would be unfair to lay blame to Chip Forrester’s chairmanship for the Tennessee result. On the contrary - I believe that under Chip’s guidance the Tennessee Democratic Party has begun a metamorphosis – and it is time. Not to take anything away from the previous TNDP administrations, the progress made in the past two years is considerable.

Considering the past two years; we should all examine what we did right and what we did wrong. In all honesty, I see where our state party did a great deal right and not a whole lot wrong. In fact, I think we all learned something new this year – All Politics is National. I do hope that all politics will become local again - and soon! Because this is our work and we must continue to build our Party – locally.

I believe that Chip Forrester’s leadership of the TNDP offers all of us the best opportunity to continue the mission. Chip has brought the ground up community organizer model of Respect, Empower and Include to the TNDP. The growth and quality of staff: Devin, Ben, Jennifer, Kate, Elisa, Matt, Lee, Janet, Keith, Kathy, Claudia, Cyrus, Jack (and others whom I have less regular contact with) represent a dynamic team of progressive, smart, hard working people. The effort put into this past election – under Chip’s chairmanship was extraordinary. I am proud of all of them for their dedication and for the progress our Party has made.

The Tennessee Democratic Party is growing into the 21^st Century. We have a plan in motion to put virtual headquarters in all 95 counties – and it is time! 95 party connected interactive websites with RSS feeds, data collection and sharing capabilities. In my view this is huge – by Chip’s leadership.

The S.O.S. and on-line trainings that have taken place in the past 2 years are unprecedented to my knowledge. The tools available to all of us with interactive technology are tremendous. Understanding their capabilities and using them is another story. Votebuilder is a national party project, but the ramp up to bring all 95 counties on board in Tennessee has been much accelerated in the past two years – by Chip’s leadership.

The monthly conference calls have not always been terribly exciting – but terribly necessary. We Democrats need to be better organized and synchronized. And we are getting there – by Chip’s leadership.

The Monteagle Summit marked a new direction for all of us. Chip spoke at our WCDP Potluck Dinner last month and laid out a vision for expanding that model. Bringing the entire party together; chairs, activists, executive members, DNC members, candidates and elected Democratic representatives. Holding a summit possibly a few times a year – maybe even quarterly? Great idea – a Chip Forrester idea.

Chip Forrester has proven himself to this county chairman. I have found him to be well experienced, well capable, focused, reasonable and available when I have a concern or an idea to discuss. I believe he has made an effort to travel the entire state, and get to know every county chair and committeeman. His fundraising abilities and the Jackson Day events speak for themselves.

What a great amount of progress we have forged in the past 2 years. As all of us know - building a Party takes time - certainly more than two years. I appreciate that Chip Forrester gets this. Chip has seeded a great deal of growth and it seems to me that we are just getting started. Chip Forrester deserves another term as TNDP Chairman and I do hope that the State Executive Committee agrees.