The Urban Youth Initiative Sharpens Focus in the Garden State

With 51 days left to Election Day, I must confess some trepidation with the way things are looking in the polls. As a relatively seasoned political operative, I am well aware of their capricious nature. However, by introducing Sarah Palin, it appears the McCain Presidential campaign has created a timely shift in our national focus from issues to personalities; this could hurt Democratic Party plans to elect the Obama/Biden ticket.

To counter this, we absolutely must refocus voters attention to the facts that matter, to put our eyes back on the prize, and win key battleground states by talking to voters. And so, it was quite reassuring for 21st Century Democrats Urban Youth Initiative to witness a highly disciplined political organization put together by our congressional partner US Rep. Donald Payne.

What a great training session! Of all the cities we've traveled to, I have to say that Congressman Payne's group of trainees were among the most engaged we've observed. Participants were extremely interactive with our presenters - VP for Political Affairs Dan Lucas, National Field and Training Director Wendy Davis (as usual guys, great job), and yours truly. Significantly enough, one of the trainees was Congressman Payne himself, seated there throughout the day-long session asking questions and taking notes!

That's right folks, TAKING NOTES.

Here is a man who has been in the US Congress for 20 years and local politics for considerably longer, wise enough to understand that you never know everything and you cannot lead from behind. He, his staff and forty-five youthful and highly disciplined district leaders repeatedly queried our staff on how to target and talk with voters to refocus their attention back to issues that matter. Our training manuals were so marked up during the session, it reminded us of a committee markup on Capitol Hill. Of course, these future leaders were well aware of the historic nature of the election but, as importantly, were keenly aware of the dramatic need to take the GOP seriously by actively employing the strategies and tactics we discussed during the day.

Kudos to Stephanie Gidigbi of Rep. Payne's staff, without whom we would not have been able to conduct the event. Great job, Steph, and thank you for your pleasant professionalism.

But-most of all-thanks to Congressman Donald Payne for showing us how it's done.

We're now on our way to Chicago to join Reps. Danny Davis and Jesse Jackson, Jr. for training in their respective districts. Lets keep our awareness up, our determination singular, and we can make this thing happen. Until next report, see you on the road!


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