My name is Gabriel Wachob, and I was recently elected as a delegate to the California State Democratic Party Central Committee from the 21st Assembly District.
I am writing to strongly urge the DNC to elect Howard Dean as DNC Chair.
Howard Dean has demonstrated an ability not only to turn out an amazingly effective grassroots effort, and raise more money than any presidential challenger in a primary, he has shown that he is *still* committed to making the party succeed even after his own campaign ended.
No other primary contender put as much effort into making the Kerry/Edwards ticket succeed as did Dean.
Dean understands that the party cannot only be about running campaigns once every four years - the party can, and under Dean's leadership, will, continue to build a strong following by virtue of a principled, focused, and honest message that voters across the poltical spectrum are thirsting for.
If you need any evidence of Howard Dean's reinvigoration of the Democratic Party, you need look no further than the 21st Assembly District in which I was elected. The Assembly District Committee had traditionally had only a handful of members show up to meetings. Some meetings had only 6 people - not even enough to fill the positions mandated in the committee bylaws. In the recent meeting I attended, there were more than 60 committed grassroots Democrats, the majority of which were Dean supporters. Many of them, including myself, had never been to the Assembly District meetings.
And the results of the elections showed just how much Dean's insipiration meant to us - most of the leadership and 2/3 of the delegate positions were filled by people who identified themselves as *active* Dean supporters (even a year after his primary bid ended).
What other candidate for DNC chair can claim this sort of a inspired following? What other candidate has this ability to energize the base - the very thing that has made the Democratic party so strong for so many years. Don't we need this type of leadership NOW, even as the Republicans have learned to tap into their base and make grassroots *their* advantage instead of ours?
Once again, in the strongest terms possible, I urge you to support Howard Dean for DNC Chair for the future of the party, and for the future of our country.
-Gabe Wachob
Calif State Demo Party Central Cmte Delegate, 21st AD
Alternate, San Mateo Democratic County Central Cmte
