My Votes for the 2021 Neoliberal Project Steering Committee
Ballots are out for the 2021 neoliberal election. This is the first election of this sort so there is a bunch of unknowns for this. The people on this committee have the power to influence how decisions are made in the neoliberal movement for years to come.
The voting system is odd. Each voter has three votes to give to any number of candidates. The candidate with the most votes wins the position. As a strategic move, I am giving all of my votes to a single candidate to raise their chances of winning.
These are my preferences, but that does not mean that I am opposed to the people not listed here. I am have been impressed by the depth of the platforms written by each candidate. If elected, I am committed to working with whoever is elected to the committee by the movement.
Chair
I am voting for myself to be chair. My platform can be found here.
I feel that there are two central issues in the campaign for committee chair that interlock: majority vs consensus and top-down vs bottom-up. I am the candidate of bottom-up consensus based decision making. I believe that local control is the goose that keeps on laying the golden eggs that leads to our influence and power. Each one of our chapters currently has a broad leeway to decide on what issues are important to them and message those issues according to local conditions. We have friends, allies, and members that are not traditional Democratic Party constituencies. We are a vibrant mosaic of differing opinions within a framework of liberalism. Heavy-handed uses of top-down power would kill that goose and make us just another gray arm of the Democratic Party.
Top-down majoritarian decision making is set up to move fast and break things through heavy handed actions. Bottom-up consensus based decision making is good because gridlock at the top is good. We are not a country that needs to pass a budget. At worse, gridlock at the national level cedes power back to the individual chapters and returns us to the status quo ante. At best, it forces us to redefine our proposal to something more nuanced. The national committee should only impose things on the chapters when absolutely necessary and with the lightest possible touch.
Vice Chair
I am voting for John Pepen to be vice chair. His platform can be found here.
Vice Chair for Domestic Chapters
I am voting for Sophia Hottel to be VC for Domestic Chapters. Her platform can be found here.
Vice Chair for International Chapters
I am splitting my votes equally for VC for International Chapters. Tom Spencer and Fernando Moreno represent two very different visions of what our international expansion could look like. Tom represents an Anglophone and European vision of expansion. Meanwhile, Fernando represents a non-Anglophone and Global South vision of expansion. Both visions appeal to me and I can see us expanding in both directions over the next few years.
Vice Chair for University Chapters
Patrick Mann wins by default.
Vice Chair for Members
I am voting for Jane Patzke for VC of Members. Her platform can be found here.