Being a Doylestown Democrat

Being a Doylestown Democrat
by Ann Shenkel

I've learned that being a Democrat in a small town is about being somebody. By that I mean you get to be known as a person who gets involved, seeks information, makes decisions and earns respect. It's not easy. In fact, it would be easier to just go along and just vote for the party that seems to have been in charge forever in a lot of small towns across America. That is a mystery, too, because if ever there was a philosophy that mitigated against the little guy in the small town, that philosophy would be Republican. Republicans, as a group, are known to be against minimum wages, public safety that costs money, environmental controls, diversity, publicly supported transportation, child care, product standards, access to lawyers if you can't afford them, access to medical care, the list goes on and on. Even here, where people have great access to information and certainly ought to know the facts, you will find Republicans supporting the war in Iraq. Like I said. It's a mystery that the Republican party has gained so much with so little for so long.

But being a Democrat in Doylestown is an experience to the contrary. In this town, Democrats have grown and grown and grown. Democrats have begun to stand out in Borough Council. Democrats are putting up real battles for the courthouse and for the county. A challenge by exceptionally well qualified Democratic women has resulted in winning the offices of Tax Collector and Mayor. Doylestown Democratic leadership extends its influence throughout the county, and has helped Doylestown get noticed for carrying the vote for exceptional Democrats at the state and national level. The achievement has not been automatic. Getting out the message and the vote has involved hours of work by countless volunteers. Maybe that is the secret: each one reach one. Being a Doylestown Democrat means speaking up and reaching out. It's a really satisfying situation watching my small town wake up to the pleasure of competing successfully in a political arena that the other party thought it owned and operated exclusively for their own benefit.

Sometimes people like to say that political service in a small town should be more about community and less about party. Perhaps. But politics is about values; politics is about making change in the service of what you believe to be important. Democratic values work for me. I'm proud to be a Doylestown Democrat.