Tom Crawford weighs in on the challenges facing DPG Chair Jane Kidd

Tom Crawford of Capitol Impact writes:

Running the Democratic Party of Georgia isn’t necessarily the hardest job in the world, but it comes close, as Jane Kidd will soon discover. As the newly-elected chair of the state Democratic Party, Kidd has the unenviable job of bringing order to a party that is famous for its divisiveness and its inability to get everybody to agree on even the simplest task. It’s been said that chairing a group of Democrats is like trying to herd cats; in the case of Georgia Democrats, it’s like trying to herd a pack of angry mountain lions ready to tear you to shreds at the first opportunity.

Kidd brings an impressive political pedigree to the chairmanship. She’s the daughter of former governor Ernest Vandiver, who oversaw the integration of the state’s schools in the early 1960s, and the grand-niece of Richard B. Russell, a monumental figure in 20th century Georgia politics as governor and senator (Kidd was christened with the same middle name as her illustrious ancestor: Brevard).

She is taking the reins of the party at a pivotal moment in its history: she’s the first chairman who was freely elected by the party’s delegates rather than anointed by the governor. She replaces Bobby Kahn, the former hatchetman for Roy Barnes who is criticized for not doing enough to rebuild the party after Barnes’ surprise defeat in the 2002 governor’s race. Kidd and the other contenders for chairman all agreed on one thing: Georgia Democrats need a party organization that can do the basic things like raise funds, recruit candidates, and do the grassroots work to turn out voters on election day. Republicans have been beating the pants off the Democrats for the past decade in those fundamental areas, which is why the GOP is now the dominant party in state politics.

“We can do more for our candidates, our elected officials, and our counties,” Kidd told delegates to the state committee caucus. “The DPG should come to you - and we will. We pursued a 50-state strategy in 2006 and we now control both houses of Congress. We need to do the same here in Georgia in all 159 counties.”

The leadership lineup reflects the concern that Democrats have been putting too much focus on metro Atlanta and neglecting the rest of the state: Kidd grew up in Franklin County; she and Labor Commissioner Mike Thurmond, elected first vice chairman, both represented Athens House districts in the Legislature.

There also seems to be a recognition that Georgia Democrats need to do a better job of differentiating themselves from the national party, an association that has not resonated well with many voters. “Basically, we’ve got to be a center-right party to succeed in this state,” Thurmond said. To that end, an encouraging sign for party leaders was the presence at the committee caucus of conservative Democrats like state Reps. Alan Powell of Hartwell and Jeanette Jamieson of Toccoa, along with Macon Congressman Jim Marshall.

With a woman and an African-American in the top leadership positions, Democrats hope they can shore up two of the party’s weaknesses in recent elections: eroding support among women voters aggravated by the battle between Mark Taylor and Cathy Cox for the gubernatorial nomination, and decreased turnout among black voters. The party also has a Latino vice chairman, Virgilio Perez-Pascoe, to help connect with the state’s fastest-growing demographic group. “I think women will come back,” Kidd said. “I don’t think they’ve trusted a lot of our elected officials, and we allowed that to happen. Trust is the big issue.”

There is no guarantee that the new leadership can dig the Democrats out of their deep hole. Critics contend that Kidd is a little light in elective experience (she served for only two years in the Georgia House) and from a family that has been away from the political limelight for a long while.

“Jane seems to forget that her late father has been out of office for 44 years,” a Republican lawmaker said. “The Vandiver name plays well, but only in a few places in North Georgia. Ernie is long forgotten in most places.”

For better or worse, Democrats have put the party’s future in Kidd’s hands. “All of us regret what happened with Mark [Taylor] and Cathy [Cox],” House Minority Leader DuBose Porter said. “All of us recognize we have to move on from that. I can’t think of a better person to move on with.”