Democrats in Williamsburg and James City County are set to “unite” to stay competitive in local and statewide political races.
The Democratic parties of Williamsburg and James City County voted unanimously to merge Tuesday night to create a larger political organization in an effort to elect more Democrats to office.
“We concentrate our energy, our purpose, our vision and mission to elect Democrats,” said Dr. John Whitley, co-chair of the Williamsburg Democratic Committee.
After the blue ‘wave’ brought James City County to a dead heat in the Nov. 7 gubernatorial race, James City County Democratic Committee chairwoman Jen Tierney said the combination of resources would help local candidates stay more competitive in Greater Williamsburg.
“I think it will help us do a better job of supporting of Democratic candidates, because that’s really the one and only job of a democratic committee: to get Democrats elected,” Tierney said.
The committees are looking to integrate local grassroots movements such as Indivisible to grow membership. Since 2016, the James City County Democratic Committee has doubled in size, according to Tierney.
The combined committees will also have an increased “ability to raise funds for…candidates,” Tierney said.
There are 177 paid members of the James City County committee, according to Supervisor-elect Jim Icenhour.
Tierney did say 110 members of the two Democratic committees voted Tuesday night to merge to form the Williamsburg-James City County Democratic Committee.
Residents of the two localities who live on the city-county border often don’t know where to go to get politically involved, Tierney said.
“The thing that we encounter so often, from a voting standpoint, is people don’t know whether they live in the city or the county,” Tierney said. “They don’t know that line. This makes it easier to be a Democrat, and to know where to go to get involved.
Merger discussions between the two committees started about five years ago, according to Whitley. However, the talks became increasingly serious in the run-up to the 2017 election.
“We started looking at who we are and how we can maximize who we are as Democratic committees,” Whitley said. “Organizationally, it just really strengthens us.”
There’s still one last hurdle for the committees before the merger is finalized: Their decision to “unite” will need to be ratified by the Steering Committee of the Democratic Party of Virginia, Tierney said.
“Today’s politics are so divisive, I think by bringing these committees together we can show the power of unity,” Tierney said.
Ratification occurs when the Democratic Party of Virginia accepts the two committees vote to merge, and allows the merge to continue, Tierney said.
The committees are expecting the ratification to occur on Friday, according to Tierney.
“I think most people see it as a longtime coming,” Tierney said. “Something that just makes sense.”
