1
The best time to get to know
elected officials is in the first
step of their journey. This way
you can find out whether they have the
temperament and work ethic to
represent you well. You can also find
out if they will help or hurt your
interests and the interests of your
profession. The earlier you find this out
the quicker you can vote them in or out
of office. Take the time to educate them
on why your issues are important. If you
can’t educate them put a stop to their
future career prospects in politics. for the committeeman or
committeewoman office. The odds of
you losing are quite small. Should you
live in a larger urban
area and the committeeman or
committeewoman seats are all full,
simply letting your county party chair
know of your interest and attending the
infrequent meetings will put you first in
line for the next vacancy. Someone may
even retire because there is now
someone to take their spot – you! They
may have been waiting for someone to
let them retire.
2 As a new committeeman or
committeewoman you can be
as active as you’d like to be. As
in other aspects of life, the more you
contribute in time and money the more
effective you become and the higher
up the chain you can go.
Another way and the most
direct route to local politics is
grassroots support. It is nearly
impossible for an elected official or
budding elected official to achieve
anything without an organization.
The most local political office in
Pennsylvania is the committeeman or
committeewoman. These folks generally
represent several hundred homes.
These are party offices, usually
Democrat or Republican, and generally
consist of one man and one woman
from a specific geographic area.
A committeeman and committeewoman
are the cells of the Democrat and
Republican party body politic structure.
Almost everyone who gets into PA
politics starts off as a committeeman or
committeewoman.
4
You can establish yourself as the dental
care expert and soon enough you will
be sought out as the individual to talk
to about your patients and profession.
5
Making campaign contributions
is an important part of politics,
but nothing surpasses going
door to door with a candidate to show
your commitment to them and their
goals. They in return will remember that
you helped them before they could
help you. This makes you stand out
from those who only help after the
fight has been won.
Tip O’Neill was right about politics
being local, and if you want to have the
most impact you need to get involved
in your community and start shaping
that community for the better.
As a committeeman or committee-
woman you are now an insider. You will
be invited to numerous functions and
have many opportunities to meet and
work with elected officials and candidates.
They will get to know you and you can
have much more input than your
fellow citizen. You will also
have a heads up on
rumors and facts.
3
Most will remain in that role as
they climb the ladder. This is the
real nuts and bolts of how you
individually and collectively can have
the most impact in your community.
The two major parties are always on the
hunt for candidates to fill empty committee
seats, and who better to fill that role
than you. You will most likely be
appointed by your county party chair
your first time. After that you would run
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