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Fayette’s Democrats insist party has begun a comeback locallyTue, 07/10/2007 - 4:22pm
By: Kevin Wandra
If you mention the word “Democrat” almost anywhere in Fayette County, you may receive a sneer or laughter, perhaps even both. Being a Democrat in Fayette County, a Republican stronghold, isn’t easy. But long-time Democrats who live in Fayette County and serve in leadership roles are optimistic that the county will eventually become more hospitable to Democrats and a place where Democratic candidates can actually win elections. “Yesterday, we [members of the Fayette County Democratic Committee] marched in the Fourth of July parade, and it’s the first time in five years we received as many cheers as boos from the crowd. Usually we receive a lot more boos,” said Kevin Madden, a Peachtree City resident who is the vice chairman of the Fayette County Democratic Committee. “I think it’s getting easier to be a Democrat in Fayette County,” Madden said. “Demographically, the county is changing. A good deal of people moving into the county from other states and counties are more Democratic, more independent, than people who have lived here for a long period of time.” Madden personally knows how difficult it is to be a Democrat in the county, especially one running for office. He challenged state Rep. Dan Lakly in District 72 last year — the first time a Democrat ran for that seat since 1992 — but Lakly won easily, garnering 72 percent of the votes cast. “What makes it difficult is fund-raising because we don’t have a large demographic base to appeal to,” Madden said. “I thought we had a good platform to run on, but our difficulty in fund-raising stymied our efforts to get the message out. I raised $18,000, but Lakly raised $48,000, which made it tough to get the message to all people. It was certainly a wonderful and educational experience as a rookie political candidate, though.” Ernest Broadwell, a Peachtree City resident who is the Democratic chairman of the 3rd Congressional District, is confident that Democrats will eventually be able to win in Fayette County. “A Democrat can win in the county, but it will take a lot of work,” Broadwell said. “Fayette County is a working community. Democrats better represent the working man in the county than do Republicans. The county is changing. “It’s not going to happen overnight, though. The key to victory is to get excellent candidates, and they have to be willing to work harder door to door.” Finding candidates is perhaps the local Democrats’ biggest obstacle. Judith Moore, chair of the Fayette County Democratic Committee, thinks she knows why. “Being in the minority is tough because we don’t have many Democratic candidates,” Moore said. “One reason we don’t is people tell me they can’t win as Democrats in the county. People feel it’s impossible to be elected as a Democrat in Fayette County. My personal feeling is it’s because it’s a racial issue. “Constantly, you see remarks that Fayette doesn’t want to be like Clayton County. They’re clearly talking about the minority citizenship.” The local Democrats’ chances next year also won’t improve if they cannot get out the vote and solve the problem Madden experienced when he ran for office last year — raising money. “We want to build the Democratic membership in the county,” Moore said. “We also want to build a treasury to encourage natural leaders in the county to run for the school board and county commission. That’s my goal — to build interest in the party and build money for the party. “We’re looking at doing some fund-raisers that would attract attention. We’re still in the planning stages.” Another daunting challenge Democrats face is convincing voters they aren’t what Republicans commonly portray them as — anti-religious, unpatriotic and all socially liberal, among other criticisms — in a county that prides itself on its patriotism and conservative social values. It’s a significant obstacle that Moore knows first-hand. “Once, during door-to-door campaigning for Mike McGraw [a Democrat who lost his bid to unseat Republican Rep. Lynn Westmoreland in 2006], one of my neighbors, an older man, told me loudly and aggressively that Democrats are gay lovers and baby killers,” Moore said. “He said he would pray for my soul because I was voting Democratic. “There are certainly religious groups that are anti-abortion and anti-gay rights that feel that all Democrats are pro-abortion and pro-gay. I tell them that it’s not so. People in the party have different views. We say we respect the rights of all people, to treat everyone equally.” Madden’s Republican neighbors are not too dissimilar to Democrats, at least on social issues, he said. “They’re more like Democrats on social issues,” Madden said. “The majority of people in Peachtree City are from somewhere else. They bring a northern sensibility to social issues, like abortion and gay rights. In their upbringings, they have been exposed to more different cultures than could be found in Georgia, and they brought their social mores with them.” Despite the many hurdles they face, Madden is optimistic that local Democrats will fare better in the 2008 general election than they have in the past. “I think there will be a better showing of Democrats in the county in 2008,” Madden said. “We have a better batch of presidential candidates than the Republicans have, and it will likely influence independents to come out and vote Democratic. I think people are sick and tired of the Republican squabbles between Governor Sonny Perdue and the speaker of the House [Glenn Richardson] and tired of the Republican leadership not getting more done.” Moore agrees. “I think we’ll be stronger and have a better showing in 2008,” Moore said. “The poor performance of the current administration and current Rep. [Westmoreland] is to our advantage. It may be our best chance to win any seats.” login to post comments
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