Outside organizations' influence on Durham's municipal election

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commentary - People don’t like outsiders intruding in their business. The phrase “mind your own business” is commonly spoken to remind people to keep their nose out of other folks’ affairs.

The refrain can be heard after members of Durham4All, a Durham based grassroots political organization, put out a call for people to join a Zoom meeting from anywhere. In response, people from across the state joined in a conversation involving Durham’s municipal election.

Questions linger regarding who Durham4All will use in their phone banking efforts. Are they registered Durham voters? Is Durham4All call on groups with limited ties to Durham responded to campaign on behalf of their endorsed candidates.

Durham4All reached out to:

Down Home, Inc, a new organizing project with locations in Alamance, Cabarrus, Haywood, Jackson, and Madison counties.

Equality NC, North Carolina’s oldest organization dedicated to LGBTQIA rights with locations across the state.

Guilford For All, supports families living in Brown Summit, Gibsonville, Greensboro, High Point, Jamestown, McLeansville, Oak Ridge, Summerfield, Stokesdale, Sedalia, and Whitsett.

North Carolina Association of Educators, advocates for educators across the state.

New Hanover For All, is based in New Hanover County.

NC Raise Up, is North Carolina’s branch of the fight for $15 minimum wage and a union.

Siembra, a statewide organization, with offices in Durham, was born in 2017 in response to Donald Trump’s war on immigrants.

“We’ll listen to our neighbors around the state to hear about the problems impacting them, the solutions that speak to them, and the visions that inspire them,” New Hanover for All submitted in their call to action. “Then we’ll propose, discuss, and vote on policies to win a North Carolina that works for all of us.”

New Hanover for All’s appeal listed the group eligible to vote:

·         Guilford for All

·         New Hanover for All

·         Forsyth Freedom Federation

·         Durham for All

·         People’s Alliance

·         Bull City Tenants United

·         Down Home NC

·         NC Raise Up

·         Siembra

·         North Carolina Association of Educators

Notwithstanding the important work these organizations do in mobilizing across North Carolina, there are critical questions related to how they intersect and utilize outside resource to impact municipal elections. What are the consequences related to Durham for All, People’s Alliance, Durham Association of Educators, and Bull City Tenants United meeting to discuss a statewide agenda with implications on local governance?

For organizers dedicated to placing government in the hands of the people, developing a statewide plan is a good thing. For the people committed to government being shaped by the people who live in the city, it’s a bad thing.

Most important is the façade of inclusion. These groups assume relationships with Black and Brown people. They galvanize support based on a progressive platform – defunding police, advancing a $15 minimum wage, immigrant protections, unionization, and tenant rights. The question remains, do they really represent and empower the people they claim to serve?

These organizations identify, train, and support people to run for local office. They aren’t interested in playing the usual game. They want to change the rules. This is the essence of politics. They’re building new structures to control the game, and they’re moving beyond the limits of a municipal election.

They’re not breaking rules. They’re changing the way politics is won in North Carolina. Some people don’t like it. Others point to how party politics has controlled the game. We could argue the legitimacy of their work in representing the people they claim to support. That’s true with most political action groups. Most organizations are more mission statement and a power point presentation than nitty gritty, hands-on activist work.

Durham voters will soon select a mayor and representatives on the city council. This year’s election represents new challenges for voters. It’s not just the candidates. They’re voting on ideologies related to political systems. Will voters endorse the authority of local voters, or will they welcome a statewide and national movement to redefine government?

If they adopt the strategy of an emerging mandate, the power and influence of residents may be compromised by a well-financed movement to change government.

You decide.