Democracy Series - July 2021
Down Home wants those who hold power to represent all rural folks in North Carolina.
We love our rural communities and small towns dearly for their warmth and kindness, while we are also aware of the forces that threaten to tear us apart from each other. We put our love into action by advocating for real investment in our communities, supporting candidates that have our communities in their minds and hearts, and standing firmly against corruption and hate.
Too often, our local elected officials don’t look like us, talk like us, live near us, or even understand our lives. We are invested in helping our neighbors reconnect with local democracy so that we, the people, can steer it and demand what is ours within it.
Why Endorse Candidates?
Let’s face it: Most of our neighbors don’t have the time or access to fully engage in democracy. That’s especially true for poor and working folks like us.
We want to change that. Together, Down Home members do the research and work to really get to know candidates before we endorse them, so that we have the confidence that we are fighting for the right folks. We divide up the work so its manageable and collaborative. When a candidate receives a Down Home endorsement, it means that they align with our beliefs and local platform– which helps our friends and neighbors know what these candidates stand for even if they haven’t gotten to meet the candidate yet or dig into their proposals. If you are trying to educate yourself about a candidate– please do!
Here are some tools you can use when you’re evaluating candidates.
The Down Home Endorsement Process
Our work is driven by our local chapter members. As people living and working in their communities, our members know best what local folks need and want and they show us how to show up best in their communities and at the polls. That’s why our local members own their local endorsement process: They do research together, interview candidates, and vote on who the chapter will support.
We Can’t Endorse Without Shared Values
Part of making democracy work for us includes grounding ourselves in a shared understanding. At Down Home, we know those conversations aren’t always easy, but they are necessary. Whether we’re building a platform with each other or interviewing local candidates, it’s important that we give ourselves a space to hear everyone’s perspective and point of view. We never know what our neighbor is going through until we ask, and we can’t realize that goal of a better South without understanding what’s on folks’ minds. With a mutually-decided foundation, the fight to make rural North Carolina a place that poor and working-class folks can live and thrive has only just begun.