CYD Candidate Questionnaire
Please submit your completed, typed, questionnaire in word format by email to President Jennifer Longley(president@sfyd.org) no later then 8:00 pm, Wednesday, June 17, 2009. A digital photograph is also requested. Do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions, and please visit www.sfyd.org to familiarize yourself with the SFYD bylaws. THANK YOU AND GOOD LUCK! The 2008/2009 Officers & Board of the San Francisco Young Democrats
Information: Election Day All candidates will have an opportunity to speak at the Wednesday, Jule 8th, 7:00 pm general membership meeting of the San Francisco Young Democrats (SFYD) At the SFYD membership meeting, candidates will be given between 3-5 minutes to speak and take questions. The exact speaking time will be made available after the application deadline and will depend on the number of candidates running and the position you apply for, as well as the balance of our April 8 meeting agenda.
CANDIDATE INFORMATION
1. Name as it will appear on the ballot: First Name Middle Initial or Nick Name Renee 2. 3. 4. 5. Last Name Darner
Office Sought: Internal Vice President Are you the incumbent? Yes No Are you a Voting Member in Good Standing of SFYD? Yes No How many years have you been a member of SFYD or other YD Chapters? SFYD: 4 years, College Democrats at SFSU: 4 years 5. Contact Information: Home Address: Campaign Phone: Campaign Email: Campaign Website:
2814 B Clay St, San Francisco, CA 94115 415-990-5976 reneedarner@yahoo.com
POLITICAL BACKGROUND
Beginning with the most recent position, please list previous leadership and elected roles in the Young Democrats and other relevant Political or Leadership Organizations. Office/Role Elective/Appointive? Dates Held Leadership Role (if any)
President, College Elected Democrats at SFSU Secretary, College Elected Democrats at SFSU
May 2007 May 2009 May 2006 May 2007
QUESTIONNAIRE 1) Why are you running, and what makes you qualified for this position? I am running for Internal Vice President because I want to become more involved in SFYD and continue to work with Young Democrats. I was President of the College Democrats at San Francisco State University for the past two years, and I believe that my involvement in that club makes me qualified for this position.
2) What are the main challenges facing the California Young Democrats as an organization in the context of this position? How will you address those issues if elected? If you are the incumbent, please list at least three concrete accomplishments in the office. I think that the biggest challenge facing the California Young Democrats in the context of this position is maintaining current members and recruiting new members. If elected, I will work to make sure that current members renew their membership and that potential members know how to become members and feel welcomed to do so.
3) Identify two challenges facing young people in the context of the position you seek? What specific commitment will you make to address these issues if elected? One challenge is that young people are not as involved as they can be in the political process. I would work to maintain current SFYD members, and recruit new members to get people involved. Another issue is that young people are not always taken seriously by politicians and other people in power. By becoming more involved in the political process, and by having SFYD really work for the candidates they endorse, young people can have a larger impact. 4) If elected, what ideas and commitments would you put forward to engage more of California’s, and San Francisco’s, young people in the political process? What specifically would you do? If elected, I think that we should openly welcome anyone who wants to be involved in the political process regardless of their viewpoints, and encourage young people to become involved in the political process in ways other than the traditional avenues, such as through community service projects for example.
5) Please describe in sufficient detail at least one of your accomplishments that has improved the lives of young people. These examples should illustrate effective skills and capabilities which apply to the office you are seeking. These accomplishments may have occurred at any time in your personal, professional, or public life. This past fall, as President of the SFSU College Democrats, I recruited students from campus to volunteer for the Obama campaign. We made two trips to Reno, NV for the Obama campaign and also traveled to Stockton to work with CYD. We were very successful in recruiting volunteers to travel and work to elect Obama, which was beneficial to young people’s lives. We reached out to volunteers through Facebook, email, tabling on campus, and we signed people up to help during our weekly meetings. We ended up bringing twelve different people to Reno (a total of 16 people went over both trips), and five people to Stockton. In addition to successfully recruiting students to volunteer, we also greatly increased the number of active members in the College Democrats. This past year, we had more members attend meetings and come to events than we ever had in the past. EXPERIENCE Please list or describe your current and past activities in the community in which you have acquired skills relevant to the office you are seeking. Include your roles in the activities and when you were involved. Involvement consists of many areas such as family, neighborhood, community, employment, or public life. Please explain how your experiences would make you an effective advocate for young people as a CYD office holder.
Education: College Democrats at San Francisco State University o President, May 2007 – May 2009 o Secretary, May 2006 – May 2007 o Increased active club membership o Organized on-campus rallies for statewide propositions and voter registration and education o Coordinated and moderated candidate forums, including Mayoral, Congressional, and State Senate races o Organized campaigns to register students to vote o Recruited and joined students to volunteer for local, statewide, and national Democratic campaigns o Led ongoing campaign to publicize the club on-campus through fliers, email, Facebook, campus television station, and tabling o Facilitated weekly membership meetings Employment: Clinton Reilly Holdings o Assistant, June 2006 – present o Assisted with planning and staffing fundraising events, for Presidential candidates to local political women’s organizations o Responsible for updating company database, as well as researching and creating a new database o Researched candidates and initiatives for the November 2008 San Francisco election,a nd presented findings and recommendations to Principal o Prepared briefing materials on major city issues My experiences with the College Democrats, and working for Clinton Reilly Holdings, have given me a lot of experience that will make me an effective advocate for young people. Through my work with the College Democrats I have become familiar with the issues that are important to young people, and with ways to work for these issues. Working for Clinton Reilly Holdings has given me the knowledge of how working for candidates and issues works on a more professional level, and has given me a lot of experience as to how to get things done.