Candidate name:

Carol Donovan, Candidate for DCDP Chair

Please complete questionnaire below. Send a completed electronic copy to Political@StonewallDemocratsOfDallas.org by

Monday, June 1st. Stonewall Democrats of Dallas is currently considering an endorsement for ONLY the 2015 Interim
County Chair election. The endorsements for the 2016 Democratic Primaries will be determined in January 2016.
1. Your background and the LGBT community
Please share any experience that illustrates your understanding and interest of the needs of LGBT Dallas County
residents.
For many years, I have supported the LGBT community. This support has been demonstrated in many forms, including:
the support of members of the LGBT community with whom I am friends and/or colleagues; the support of members of
the LGBT community who are running for office; membership in the Stonewall Democrats of Dallas; and financial
support of other organizations that benefit the LGBT community, such as AIDS Interfaith, Black Tie Dinner, and the
Human Rights Campaign Foundation. My support of the LGBT community was a major factor in the endorsement of the
Stonewall Democrats of Dallas of my 2014 campaign for State Representative of HD107. It would be my honor to receive
Stonewalls endorsement of my candidacy for Dallas County Democratic Party (DCDP) Chair.
2. Creating an inclusive community
When elected, how will you recruit, retain, and create a friendly environment for LGBT and LGBT-friendly staff?

It has been my experience as a small business owner, a nonprofit executive, and a lifelong Democrat, that the
most effective way to recruit LGBT and LGBT-friendly staff is to solicit the assistance of LGBT and LGBT-friendly
groups and individuals. I would rely heavily on the advice of members of Stonewall Democrats for suggestions
for recruitment, retention and creating and maintaining a friendly environment for LGBT and LGT-friendly
staff. Additionally, I can assure you that I would not hire anyone who was not LGBT-friendly to work in the
DCDP office. I have also employed LGBT staff on my campaign for HD107.
What will you do to make sure that the Dallas County Democratic Party (DCDP) office is welcoming and represents
Democrats from all corners of Dallas County?

Historically, the DCDP has been very centralized. Obviously, a centralized management offers certain
efficiencies. However, the DCDP also has a significant outreach role to assist precinct chairs and to recruit
Democrats throughout Dallas County. I propose to create a more inclusive environment for the Party by
regularly visiting Democratic clubs, establishing 1-2 field offices (as funds permit), increasing the size and
diversity of the office staff, and locating Democratic-friendly office owners who are willing to host volunteer
activities, such as phone banks and block walks, and to warehouse yard signs and other supplies. I am also
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committed to decentralizing volunteer opportunities by restructuring our volunteer structure, so that getting
involved is easier regardless of where a person lives in the county. Most importantly, we need a leader who
has a demonstrated history of inclusiveness. I went out of my way to hire a diverse staff for my HD107
campaign because I wanted my campaign to reflect the diversity of the district.
3. Your Qualifications
What professional qualifications do you have that has prepared you for a role as chief officer of the Dallas County
Democratic Party?

Licensed to practice law in Texas over 30 years

Practiced as an attorney-mediator in Dallas County 20 years
Small business owner over 20 years
Nonprofit Executive 6 years
Community Activist 25 years
Lifelong Democrat including donating and volunteering for dozens of recent Democratic campaigns,
serving as a Dallas County precinct chair for two terms, serving as a DCDP sustaining member and
major event donor, and campaigning as the Democratic nominee in 2014 for House District 107
Demonstrated ability to raise money locally to ensure, not only funding, but also local participation in
community action; I raised almost one million dollars for local nonprofit organizations and nearly a
quarter of a million dollars for my HD107 campaign

Please describe your past and present partisan activities that have prepared you to be the spokesperson and
supervisor for local party operations, including the transparent organizing of the Democratic Primary Election in Dallas
County and supervisor of the Dallas County Coordinated Campaign for general elections?

I am the only candidate in the race for DCDP Chair that:

has served as a precinct chair
has served as an election judge
has represented Democrats as a delegate to a Democratic convention
has conducted a robust, well-funded campaign for public office in Dallas County
has contributed to the DCDP Coordinated Campaign
is a sustaining member of the Dallas County Democratic Party
I have contributed money and/or time to 50 or more Democratic candidates, campaigns and/or organizations.
My involvement has included strategy, field work, and financial contributions. I fully coordinated the
Democratic Base portions of my HD107 campaign with the DCDP because I believe that local, committed
activists that have made our local Party successful were my best shot to perform optimally in the 2014
election. I was intimately involved with planning and executing my campaign in concert with the DCDP and
have a solid understanding of what it takes to run a Dallas County focused coordinated campaign that
advances the ball for our local Democrats. I have from day one voiced my belief that our local Party needs to
be strong, well-funded and independent so that our local agenda and voice are heard. I have espoused
coordination with other outside groups as it makes sense strategically, so that our agenda winning elections
for local Democrats is upheld. As a solo practitioner, I have the time and will to commit significant time to
this role, and I intend to be hands on at the office, in the Democratic community, and in the community at
large to help move our Party forward.
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Please list your past fundraising experiences.

In the past decade, I have raised almost one million dollars for numerous nonprofit organizations in Dallas
County. These organizations include:
Dallas Women's Foundation
First United Methodist Church of Dallas
Leadership Dallas
League of Women Voters of Dallas
Oak Cliff Lions Club
Peacemakers Incorporated
St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic School
Texas Tech School of Law
University of Texas at Austin
UNT Castleberry Peace Institute
Women's Issues Network
Women's Museum
YMCA
4.

Looking Forward

Please describe your plan to better fund DCDP operations and activities.

My philosophy of fundraising is that fundraising and organization are linked intimately. They are not separate,
and there is a qualitative difference between A) money being raised outside Dallas County and then used to
organize Dallas County and B) money being raised significantly inside Dallas County and then being used to
organize Dallas County. Simply put, local money equals local investment and buy-in. It converts donors into
participants who contribute and also volunteer and vote right here. I will not hesitate to ask for money from
beyond our county lines, but I want to be sure we have a robust fundraising base that comes from local donors
large and small, from women, from men, from professionals, from the middle class, from young and old. I
want our program to feel accessible to everyone, and I want everyone to feel ownership. My most successful
fundraising experiences have come from orienting people, who are passionate about a mission, around a goal
and presenting that goal, not just in financial terms, but in terms of programs and results. With this model, I
grew Peacemakers Incorporated from a small organization to one with hundreds of members. I raised
$800,000 to fund programs that combat violence against women and bullying in schools. I used a similar
mission-centric model to raise nearly a quarter of a million dollars for my HD107 campaign, with most of
those funds coming from the Dallas area. Over many years, I have developed a strong network of personal
friends from community organizations, civic and business organizations, and the legal community. I am ready
to draw on all these resources to make sure the DCDP is better funded than ever, with no strings attached,
with no one group dominating, with no outside agenda, but rather with ONLY the singular goal of winning
local elections for Democrats and growing our Partys influence.
What are some of the activities (outside of required duties) that the DCDP does that you definitely want to continue
as the new County Chair?

The most important thing the DCDP is doing right now that goes beyond basic office operations and handling
election staffing is the Internship Program. This program was dramatically helpful during the last election
cycle. Young people from local colleges made thousands of calls, organized walks, conducted trainings and
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increased the overall energy level at the Party office to new levels. As a candidate in 2014, I committed nearly
$15,000.00 to the coordinated campaign, not only because I am a team player, but also because I saw the
energy of the interns, and I wanted to support the growth and skill acquisition I saw happening among young
Democrats. The Intern Program has grown exponentially this year, and it must continue.
Even as we protect our stronghold areas, I also want to see us expand our outreach to areas like the
southwestern suburbs, Irving, and the far eastern part of the county, as these are ripe for growing new votes.
We need to do this with increased presence, including my own attendance and numerous events, and
networking within organizations that are not necessarily political, but that have memberships favorable to
progressive ideas. We also need to reach out to new and diverse populations and engage our countys
multicultural organizations.

What are some new ideas that you want the DCDP to implement as the new County Chair?

We need to focus on a more efficient process for hiring and training election workers, and we need to ensure
that Precinct Chairs who want to work elections have the opportunity, as feasible. We also need to staff a
significant number of voting locations with bilingual workers.
We are not yet adequately competitive with the Republican Party in the mail ballot portion of elections, so I
want to, not only repeat the efficient mail program conducted by the Texas Democratic Party (TDP) in 2014,
but also create a ground-game for working the mail ballot, within legal regulations, of course. Even with the
2014 TDP mail program, we generated only a small number of new voters, and converted many in-person
voters to vote-by-mail voters. We need to be in senior centers; we need to be knocking on doors of voters
who are 65 and older; and we need to make mail ballots a higher priority earlier in each election cycle.
We also need to continue the investment in the Hispanic voting population, through voter registration efforts,
voter trainings, community issue meetings, and through well-funded, well-organized GOTV efforts. These
efforts are yielding incremental improvements, but these votes are up for grabs, and Republicans are
competing for these votes. We need to expand these efforts.
Democrats in Dallas County come together as a coalition of diverse backgrounds and priorities. Democratic primary
elections regularly expose and inflame tensions between diverse constituencies that can linger and impair Democratic
electoral successes in the general election. What can you do as a County Chair to help offset the negative side effects
of healthy competition within the Democratic Party in Dallas County?

Primaries are contentious. Theres no getting around that. As the DCDP Chair, I will work for party unity.
Where there is dissention, my skills as a professional mediator will be helpful in ironing out differences. By
facilitating consistent communication among the party leaders, I can help to reduce the tension. That said, it is
important that we understand that the party primary system is an essential part of our democratic
government. This is a democracy, and the Party Chair should support, not hinder, the process of democracy.
Democrats have been in control of county government for more than 10 years, and there will be a changing of
the guard as those who have served longer begin to retire or move on to other positions. We can make a
better effort to train and guide those who are interested in running, so that we see more contests for open
offices when they are vacated. In general, there is less tension between Democrats when pursuing an open
office. Regardless, when the primary is over, it is the role of the DCDP Chair and the Party to support the
Democratic nominee. We must circle the wagons around those nominees and work to get them elected.
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What are some elements of your strategic plan to continue Democratic successes in Dallas County and build on them
for the next several election cycles?

1) Organization and Goal Orientation: I want to expand the DCDP staff, add diversity, add one or more field offices,
and decentralize access to participation. I want to be sure all clubs, precinct chairs, local SDEC members, donors,
regular volunteers, and anyone involved with the Party, understands our key goals for each year, what tactics
are being used to advance those goals, and how specifically they can help make with activities consistent with
the overall plan.
2) Outreach and Access: I want to be sure we defend our stronghold areas of the county by having a strong
presence in-between and during campaign season. I want to build our party by conducting outreach activities
and campaigning in growth areas, such as the southern suburbs, Irving, and the far eastern side of the county. I
want to make sure we reach all Democrats no matter where they live in the county.
3) Communication: I want to personally be the brand champion of the Democratic Party in the community, all
over the county, sharing what we are about and making people aware constantly of how to get involved. I also
want to empower as many people as are willing to become champions, by providing them with information and
talking points to be ambassadors for the Party.
4) Fundraising with Participation: I want to mount a mission-centric fundraising model for the party that ensures
access for all donors who are passionate about our Party, its values and its agenda. I will ensure that our donor
base is robust, but diverse, made up of donors, large and small, from all backgrounds and walks of life, with no
one group or small set of donors dominating our resources. As in my own campaigns, I will ask for contributions
from all potential sources, but I will focus on building a local donor base to create investors who will
participate, volunteer and vote.

I, Carol Donovan, am seeking an endorsement from the Stonewall Democrats of Dallas for the 2015 Interim County Chair
election for the Dallas County Democratic Party.

Signed: Carol Donovan

Date: May 31, 2015

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