FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

VACANCY NOTICE AND DEADLINE EXTENSION—ST. MARY’S COUNTY DEMOCRATIC CENTRAL COMMITTEE Leonardtown, MD, 02/08/2024 -- The St. Mary's County Democratic Central Committee is seeking to fill three (3) vacancies on the Committee. In order to maintain a gender-balanced committee, one (1) position is open to female applicants; two (2) positions for male applicants; and, any one (1) of the three (3) vacancies are open to a non-binary applicant.

The Democratic National Committee has long required equal numbers of men and women on
party central committees. In 2018, the Maryland Democratic State Central Committee required
that all county central committees achieve gender balancing through election (rather than
appointment) by having men and women listed separately on the ballot. The rule was intended
to ensure a pipeline of future female candidates for higher office. Earlier this year, the State
party determined that approach did not account for gender non-binary individuals. Therefore,
committees now have the ability to appoint non-binary members, and ballots were changed to
allow for their election in 2022. Since then, the committee has lost some members, leaving the
Committee with 5 vacancies and falling short in being a full gender-balanced committee. This
vacancy notice is aimed at bringing our membership to a full level of participation.


To be eligible for appointment to the St. Mary’s County Democratic Central Committee, an
individual must reside and be a registered Democratic voter in St. Mary's County, MD. This is an
unpaid position. The successful applicants will serve for the current term, which ends in
December 2026.


The Committee is also seeking to fill 2 male associate members. To be eligible as an associate
member, the individual must be a resident of St. Mary’s County and a registered Democrat.
Appointments will be made by majority vote of all members of the Committee and the associate
member term shall expire at the end of the current Committee’s term.


Members and associate members must abide by all relevant ethics laws, including the federal
Hatch Act and similar provisions of state and local law that may limit political activities of
government employees.


Interested individuals may apply by submitting a resume to Chair, Julie Randall at
[email protected] or by mail to SMC Democratic Central Committee, P.O. Box 425
Leonardtown MD 20650. The deadline to apply has been extended to the end of the day on
Thursday, February 29, 2024.


Interviews will be scheduled subsequent to the review of submissions. The Committee will hold
a vote to select the new members at a special public meeting on a date and time to be
determined within two weeks from the deadline for submissions.

For more information, contact Julie Randall at [email protected].

 

ABOUT ST. MARY’S COUNTY DEMOCRATIC CENTRAL COMMITTEE
The Committee is an elected board under the authority of the Maryland Democratic State
Central Committee and, thus, the Maryland Constitution. The committee's formal roles are to fill
vacancies of certain offices due to death or resignation of elected officials and to fill vacancies
when no Democratic candidate has filed for nomination. The committee also makes
recommendations to the Governor to fill openings on the St. Mary's County Board of Elections
and, at times, recommendations for other state and county boards.
In addition, Committee members are the grassroots-level volunteers of the Maryland
Democratic Party in the county. They work to recruit Democratic candidates and ensure the
election of Democrats to public office, while encouraging the participation of activists,
volunteers, and financial contributors. They organize an ongoing presence at the local level by
fundraising, staffing booths/events, organizing precincts, participating in canvassing operations,
distributing political literature, performing voter registration, phone banking, and promoting the
Democratic party and candidates on websites and social media.
The Committee meets on the second Wednesday of each month at 6:00 at a pre-determined
location or via Zoom when necessary.