Paul Rosenfeld's Three Part Plan:

Reinvigorating the Democratic Party

and Defeating Bruce Rauner

1. We need to be on the front lines of progressive
movements, highlighting our progressive leaders.
If we want to defeat Bruce Rauner in 2018, we need to make sure people who voted for
Daniel Biss, Chuy Garcia, and Fritz Kaegi come out and vote for J.B. Pritzker and the rest
of the Democratic candidates in November.

The Cook County Democratic party needs to put more emphasis into how to reach out
and include progressives in our party. If elected Chairman, I plan on putting resources
towards addressing the issues that our driving progressive movements. The fate of
Dreamers, shootings in our public schools, and Black Lives Matter are three of many. We
need to identify the issues important in our communities and make sure we are getting
out in front of them. People who have taken up a cause need to be reminded that the
Democratic Party shares their beliefs and core values. That will not happen unless we
stand shoulder to shoulder with them.

Furthermore, I will make sure we have progressive leaders on our executive

committee. Progressives will have a larger voice, a higher profile, and our process will
be run fairly and with integrity.

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2. Give Labor a real voice in our party.
I believe the structure of the Cook County Democratic Party should be changed so that
those who speak for working families have a true say in our process.  Democrats have
always stood with workers: we know our economy does better when we all do better. 
That is why if elected chairman I would immediately work to make the following changes
to the Cook County Democratic Party’s by-laws and committee structure:  
  
• Currently, Article II - Membership states that the Executive Committee may
appoint “...labor, business and other interested groups to a non-voting advisory
role…“.  I would rewrite that entire section and make sure it was explicitly clear
that labor does have voting rights.   

• I would create a new standing committee: the Labor Relations committee. This
committee would consist of 9 people: 5 labor representatives that are appointed
by the chairman and approved by the executive committee. The members of the
LRC, by majority, would select 4 committeemen to serve with them. This
committee would be responsible for coming up with a list of labor priority
candidates. Labor’s priority candidate in each category would automatically
receive a weighted vote equal to the highest weighted vote on the Central
Committee.

• I believe we should keep a nine member executive committee but one of the
voting members should a labor representative.

• Collaboration on staff:  Everyone can make promises to labor in order to garner

their support.  But promises on policy mean nothing without the right people in
place to implement those policies. If elected Chairman, I will select as General
Counsel of the Cook County Democratic Party an individual with whom labor has
complete confidence and who will be able to navigate the complicated by-law
change process to enact the reforms outlined above. I cannot begin to stress the
importance of this position to the organization and the Chairman in instituting the
reforms needed.  If labor is not confident in my pick, I’ll pick someone they are
confident can get the job done. 
 

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3. Change the structure of the Cook County Democratic
Party.
The Cook County Democratic Party needs to change the structure of our organization in
order to change the culture within the organization. Currently we have a Suburban Vice
Chairman and a City Vice Chairman. This naturally sets us up to be pitted against each
other. Once it starts with geographic competition, it continues with race, and then
gender, and then ethnicity, and so on. Instead, I would have a structure that focuses on
what we need to accomplish so that we can be successful. Right now, important
aspects of winning campaigns can slip through the cracks because we have no one
directly in charge: I want to change that. I would foster a culture where there is more
trust and better communication. We need to get to the same place with diversity but
there is a better way to get there. If we can get there by working together instead of
splintering apart our party will be stronger for it.

I believe we should restructure the board in the following manner: 

• Chairman 
• Executive Vice Chairman 
• Labor Representative 
• Vice Chairman - finance 
• Vice Chairman - communications 
• Vice Chairman - petitions and field 
• Vice Chairman - issues, outreach and research 
• Treasurer - financial disclosure 
• Secretary - administration and compliance

The Executive Committee members would have autonomy to run their areas and will be
given the resources to do so. They will be able to hire consultants in order to get the job
done successfully. They will be held accountable individually. Collectively, we will be
judged by our success and failures.

By focusing on results and building accountability, we will create a culture where

everyone feels that we are winning together.

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