Kent Getsinger

Vice Chair Nomination

I'm proud to announce my candidacy for Vice Chair of Democrats Abroad Australia.

19 years ago when I turned 18, I eagerly submitted my voter registration for the Democratic Party to
be part of a political process that fought for working people, minorities and the oppressed.

Having contributed heavily through canvassing, calling and door-knocking in the months leading up to
2008 election for Barack Obama, it wasnt until the primaries of 2016 that I saw a candidate who truly
embodied the spirit of the Democratic Party.

Last year, I volunteered for the Bernie Sanders campaign from my garage getting up nearly every
morning at 4am to make calls before work some days I would take annual leave so that I could
phonebank all day. I have never been so inspired by such a transformative public servant. This daily
activism has carried through to the efforts of volunteering for Our Revolution and We the People
Collective in which I am now still actively involved.

I have been a resident of Australia for 6 years now and live in Adelaide, SA after having lived the bulk
of that time in Melbourne, VIC. For the past 5 years, I continue to be a leader Delegate and Branch
Committee Member of the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) where I have actively pushed for
improvements for working conditions, protection for the most vulnerable people and nationwide
solidarity with preserving the working protections, universal medical coverage, public services and
other benefits we Australians enjoy that we Americans do not.

This experience as an Australian strengthens my belief in core American values and values that I
feel embody the Democratic Party. Having seen the rise of Trump (and its affiliated, frightening far-
right counterparts the world over), I cannot sit by and not use my organising potential to serve the
country and party I call home.

We will defeat Trump and the Republican by empowering individuals, by creating a power structure
that comes in the truest democratic form. This means organising at the local level, this means regular
meetings and helping others in their local efforts to connect and build. We cannot hope for great
leadership, we must bravely

Democrats Abroad needs strong, bold, and progressive leaders to organize, mobilize, and lead its
global GOTV efforts. We ultimately need to promote growth and work towards creating chapters and
country committees that become sustainable and scalable so that they may endure various leadership
cycles this will occur when involvement is not just duty but a desire to be committed to a cause. The
movement needs to continue by manifesting itself into actively recruiting Americans abroad to get
involved in Democrats Abroad and ultimately vote in elections.

It is with this conviction in my experience of organising and bringing people together, I feel that we
must organise like never before and come together around a unified base that can appeal to all voters
and bring them to the Democratic Party. It is with my belief in empowering others to activism that I
submit my name for nomination of Vice Chair Democrats Abroad Australia. I hope to have your vote at
the AGM in mid-March.

In Unity,

Kent Getsinger