Justin Klekota's 2020 Democratic State Committee questionnaire responses.
1. Do you think the processes by which all members of the State Committee are selected are sufficiently democratic? If not, what specific actions would you take as a State Committee member to advance more democratic party governance?
I believe more competition in selecting Democratic State Committee members makes our Party stronger. Democratic State Committee members are elected by running on the Democratic Presidential Primary Ballot or by Caucus. In this case, I am running on the March 3 primary ballot, and I am grateful for the opportunity to earn your support! To learn more, please visit https://electjustin.org, find me on Facebook, or watch the video of last month’s Democratic State Committee forum hosted by the Somerville Democratic City Committee https://www.facebook.com/SomervilleDemocrats/videos/1277186682480149/.
While there are two democratic processes to elect Democratic State Committee “DSC” members, oftentimes these races are uncontested because of the limited visibility of the DSC. Specifically, I propose our Party should use the annual State Democratic Convention to increase the visibility of the DSC, so that more people understand how to run for DSC. In turn, I believe the visibility created by competitive elections will attract more activists to run for DSC and increase its influence in our community to elect Democrats and promote legislation advancing our progressive values.
At a recent DSC meeting in November which I attended, the State Committee announced a new rule that would remove DSC members who have not attended DSC meetings in two years, with exceptions for those with special medical needs or military service: this would create vacancies that can be filled by progressive activists throughout the year. In addition, at the DSC meeting in January which I attended, the DSC announced its plan to start endorsing pending legislation: I believe using the DSC to promote Party-endorsed state or federal bills could also raise the visibility of the DSC and attract more people to run.
2. When the State Committee next holds elections for its officers, what criteria will you use to evaluate candidates for party leadership? How would you rate the current officers on those same criteria?
We need DSC officers who represent the diversity of our party, actively attend DSC meetings, volunteer their time to elect Democrats, demonstrate leadership promoting progressive legislation, and are inclusive in their decision-making process. As a Democratic Ward Chair, local party activist and campaign volunteer for decades, and member of the LGBT community, I believe I embody these values.
As the only candidate in this race to attend a Democratic State Committee meeting, I’ve had the opportunity to meet multiple Democratic State Committee members throughout the State, including members running at the upcoming caucus on a Progressive Action Slate. I find the members of the DSC to be sincerely committed to our Party and generous in terms of their volunteerism. As noted previously, the DSC introduced new rules requiring meeting attendance and removing future inactive members. Meeting attendance demonstrates your level of commitment, even as a candidate.
I do feel there is an opportunity to consider new DSC officers who may better align with our Party and take an active role in promoting progressive legislation. I see a big difference between aspirational politics and political activism focused on promoting pending legislation. While we have vacancies for Treasurer and possibly other DSC offices, I do recognize the value of experienced officers too: in particular, I am grateful to members of the current DSC leadership for advancing and our Party endorsing the Green New Deal climate resolution at last year’s 2019 State Democratic Convention which included seven pending state bills I proposed along with the Ward 7 Somerville delegation (https://electjustin.org/press): one of those bills for carbon pricing passed the State Senate last month, and I feel the DSC resolution helped make that possible.
3. Even though Democrats have super-majority control of both houses of the Massachusetts legislature, many policy priorities that the rank-and-file members of the Democratic Party voted to include in the party’s platform have languished for years without even being brought up for a vote in the State House of Representatives. What specific actions would you take as a member of the State Committee to help ensure greater transparency and accountability of elected Democrats in Massachusetts?
Working with my Democratic Ward Committee and elected officials, I’ve already taken action to increase the accountability of our elected state legislators to protect our climate by proposing a Green New Deal climate resolution including seven pending state bills which our Party endorsed at last year’s State Democratic Convention (https://electjustin.org/green-new-deal)!
More broadly, we need a fundamental change in how State Democratic Convention resolutions and the Party Platform are constructed: specifically, we should pair our convention resolutions and platform planks with pending legislation so that the principles of our platform are actionable by our elected officials. If our Party has a platform not tied to pending legislation, we in effect are not asking for specific action from our elected officials.
With this observation in mind, in the course of drafting the “Green New Deal for Massachusetts Now” resolution with my ward, I worked with our elected officials to pair our resolution with pending legislation (https://electjustin.org/press). In effect, the Somerville climate plan is now the Massachusetts Democratic Party’s climate plan, and I’m proud of my direct contribution to that effort. To see legislation passing the State Senate last month that mirrors our climate resolution is very encouraging, and I think pairing resolutions and pending legislation could be a blueprint for convention activism and platform construction in the future, so we can hold our elected officials accountable.
In addition, given the DSC’s announcement at last month’s meeting that it will be endorsing pending legislation in the future, the DSC could become a statewide grassroots lobby encouraging voters to contact their state officials in support of progressive legislation and give our elected officials the support they need to take hard votes defending our Party platform: this goes a step further than an online Democratic scorecard alone because it is tied to grassroots action and DSC voter resources.
4. What substantive policy priorities would you seek to advance as a member of the State Committee, and how would you advance them?
As noted, working with my Democratic Ward Committee and elected officials, I proposed a Green New Deal climate resolution including seven pending state bills promoting renewable energy, zero-emission vehicles, and tax rebates for energy savings, which our Party endorsed at last year’s State Democratic Convention (https://electjustin.org/green-new-deal)! One of those bills for carbon pricing passed the State Senate last month, and I feel the DSC resolution helped make that possible.
Building on my current efforts in the district to promote climate legislation through my DSC campaign website (https://electjustin.org/take-action), literature, door-knocking, and phone calls, if elected to the Democratic State Committee, I want to scale this effort statewide leveraging DSC resources to contact voters all over the state in support of climate action and beyond, e.g. through working meetings where DSC members phonebank to issue-focused fundraising and multi-media voter outreach calling on voters to contact their elected officials in support of progressive legislation.
I also support lifelong free education focused on in-demand job skills, “micro” business loans to support family businesses neglected by for-profit banks, and a tax-free living wage up to $30K so that millionaires and billionaires pay their fair share. I will support DSC efforts to endorse and lobby for legislation to advance those priorities too.
Given my past activism in the fight for same-sex marriage equality, I understand first-hand how effective voters contacting their elected officials can be if they are focused on a common message. At that time, public support for marriage equality was below 50% in Massachusetts with no support from House leadership, but through active voter outreach and victories ousting anti-equality state legislators, we turned the tide so that marriage equality is now a reality. I understand how to fight tough campaigns; opposition can be overcome if activism is sustained and focused on a common goal. I truly believe in the power of grassroots activism and if we work together and focus on a common message, we can change the course of history.
