The City of Suffolk Committee of the Democratic Party of Virginia

Committees under the Suffolk Democratic Committee

ELECTIONS COMMITTEE

This committee recruits year-round to perform the following duties:

  • Develops & maintains the SDC Elections Operational Manual
  • Coordinates the precinct & borough organization of the SDC
  • Recruits, schedules & oversees participation by volunteers & paid workers in the duty of serving as poll greeters,poll observers and “Borough runners” on behalf of Democratic candidates for all elections
  • Designs & organizes Sample Ballots, & ensures they are distributed & available at all polling places for all elections
  • Works with volunteers & campaign staff to ensure signs promoting candidates, issues & voting are distributed & erected at strategic locations

EVENTS & FUNDRAISING COMMITTEE

This committee performs the following critical duties:

  • Works with the SDC Treasurer for budgeting & funding of proposed events & fundraising efforts.
  • Reviews annual goals of the SDC, regarding visibility & funding needs.
  • Develops strategies that align with those goals.
  • Plans & organizes fundraising events to support SDC's city-wide event participation such as Peanut Festival & Taste of Suffolk.
  • Ensures that events are set up properly & are staffed with volunteers & well managed, while engaging attendees & achieving the desired outcomes

ISSUES COMMITTEE

This committee performs the following critical duties:

  • Organizes a group of SDC members & non-member volunteers to learn about & keep SDC members informed about issues discussed at City Council & School Board meetings
  • Informs Members about current local issues that affect quality of life in Suffolk
  • Plans & promotes action items that Members can perform to express opinions of SDC including attending & speaking at City Council & School Board meetings, contacting elected city officials, writing letters to the editor of local publications & circulating petitions as necessary

MEDIA & MESSAGING COMMITTEE

This committee performs the following critical duties:

  • Focuses on digital outreach & communication
  • Maintains open communication from SDC on media outlets, social media,& web-based tools to create an integrated communication plan that will promote the SDC Works directly with the Technical Committee to maintain communication
  • Follows & re-posts information from our trusted sources
  • Supports SDC objectives by planning & maintaining SDC’s Media Outreach activities to convey news & events to the public
  • Creates & produces materials such as news releases, talking points, fact sheets, web-based content, briefings, videos & other materials that communicate SDC’s events & fundraising activities

OUTREACH COMMITTEE

This committee performs the critical duty of increasing the visibility of the SDC in the community.

  • Organizes efforts to reach the community by scheduling rallies & protests, postcard writing, and voter education & awareness campaigns to inform voters about candidates & issues, such as redistricting.
  • Assists candidates’ campaign staff in recruiting volunteers for canvassing, phone & text banking. Two sub-committees are responsible for implementing outreach duties:
    • Volunteer Sub-Committee - recruits & manages volunteers to support the activities of all other committees
    • Voter Participation Sub-Committee - promotes active involvement in voter registration drives, voter education events & assisting citizens in need of restoring their voting rights

TECHNOLOGY COMMITTEE

This committee performs the following critical duties:

  • Maintains the SDC website
  • Assists with social media technology, such as setting up accounts for Members & providing information about how to use social media services
  • Assists with membership communications systems
  • Helps with managing & maintaining membership records
  • Assists with voter data systems & voter outreach services
  • Maintains & sets up equipment for meetings & events