As many of you know, the Michigan Young Democrats convention took place on Saturday, January 27. I followed all of the proper procedures prior to the convention, met the requirements to vote at the event, and was excited to meet other people like me who are passionate about the future of the Democratic party.
Unfortunately, the convention ended up being a disappointment. Although there were numerous problems with the event, there was one particular aspect of the "convention" that I was deeply disturbed by: Many of my fellow young Democrats and I were denied the chance to vote. There was never a vote to choose the person conducting the election, there was never a vote for the rules that dictated the process of the election, and our votes for candidates were not counted or asked for properly.
The "compromise" slate of candidates may have been needed for party unity and it very well may have been the only feasible solution for the MYD. I'm not in a position to be able to judge the merits of that argument. However, regardless of the election outcome or the validity of the compromise, the behavior of Isaac and others was inexcusable.
My qualms are not with any particular candidate or slate, but rather the process of the election which was neither fair nor ethical. In circumventing a fair process, the administrators of the election exhibited behavior that is antithetical to our core values as Democrats. It doesn't matter if a compromise was agreed upon, because nobody had a chance to vote on it properly. Regrettably, this "election" set a bad precedent and alienated many potential members of the organization.
Hopefully, the following footage will help shed light on what took place at the event. Please take a look.
