Philadelphia NOW & Philadelphia CLUW joined together with City Commissioner Stephanie Singer for a series of “How to Run” workshops given throughout 2013-14:

The Philadelphia Chapter of the National Organization for Women and the Philadelphia Chapter of Coalition of Labor Union Women would like to express thanks to Commissioner Stephanie Singer for the invaluable information she provided to the public about the political process. Our organizations, supported by a grant from Bread and Roses, in 2013 organized very well-attended workshops “How to Run for Judge of Elections and Election Inspector,” and in 2014 even better attended workshops on “How to Run for Committeeperson.”

The success of these workshops was largely due to Commissioner Singer and her staff who provided a wealth of information–information which has always been available to political insiders but not readily available to the general public. Commissioner Singer conducted workshops not only for our organizations but for any non-partisan civic group which requested this.

Commissioner Singer made a powerful case for the critical role played by committeepeople. She cited a body of research demonstrating that the most effective way to encourage people to vote is having a neighbor/friend speak to them directly. Nothing is as powerful as personal contact with someone you know and trust.

The Philadelphia Chapter of the National Organization for Women and the Philadelphia Chapter of the Coalition of Labor Union Women concluded its series of workshops on how to run for committeeperson and for election board with “A workshop for new committeepeople: The ward re-organization meeting,” held immediately after the May 2014 primary election. This is the meeting at which committeepeople are officially seated and the ward leader is elected. This can be a very confusing experience for new committeepeople who might not know the party rules and not know what to expect.

Again Commissioner Singer generously shared her information about how the Democratic Party and the Republican Party are governed not only with our group but with any non-partisan civic group which requested this. Attendees were very grateful for Commissioner Singer’s demystification of the process.

Committeeperson elections are the only elections for which ordinary citizens without connections and financial resources can easily run. It is critically important that citizens have information about how to run for committeeperson and we applaud Commissioner Singer for her commitment to educating the public about the political process.

Nina Ahmad, President, Philadelphia Chapter of National Organization for Women

Laura Wentz, President, Philadelphia Chapter of the Coalition of Labor Union Women

Karen Bojar, Co-Chair of Committeeperson Project, Past President, Philadelphia Chapter of National Organization for Women

Kathy Black, Co-Chair of Committeeperson Project, Past President, Philadelphia Chapter of the Coalition of Labor Union Women