Showing posts with label stirling morris. Show all posts
Showing posts with label stirling morris. Show all posts

Saturday, January 27, 2018

Teamwork Makes The Dream Work

I am proud to introduce the new and wonderful 2018 - 2020 Collin County Democratic Party Executive Leadership Board who will accompany me when I am elected CCDP Chair, March 6th, 2018.
Trish Patterson: Vice Chair
Marta Jones: Secretary
Simon To: Treasurer
Kristi Lara: Field Director
Scott Coleman: Public Relations Director
Dwight Briggs: Strategic Development Director
We have a shared Vision for CCDP and continue to tune a Strategic Development Plan to bring us together as Democrats and unite us with the work of our community and the world around us. It will be an honor to work with this richly diverse Executive Leadership team to move us forward into the future.

Thursday, January 4, 2018

Building The Foundation

Infrastructure Redevelopment Initiative:


Redeveloping the County Democratic Party's infrastructure will assist in providing a vision to guide the party, help create better objectives to unify our actions with the community-at-large, and, most importantly, help Democrats have the resources needed win elected offices.
Some key components of this phase of development include creating:
  • Strategic Development Plan
  • Developing a Vision Statement
  • Revamped Mission Statement
  • Revamped Leadership Model
  • Executive Steering Committee
  • New and Revamped Action Committees
  • Committee Guides
  • Operations Management Initiatives
  • Administrative Guidelines
  • Training Guides
  • Volunteer Guides


Executive Leadership:

A revamped internal leadership model will incorporate new, as well as redevelop existing, strategic development roles relative to the needs of the party at any given time. This does not change state officiated elected leadership guidelines for County Party Chair and County Precinct Chairs, but will impact interactions with those offices.


The County Party Chair will still determine her / his Executive Leadership appointments. However, like other successful non-profit organizations, this new Executive Leadership team will function as a Board of Directors for more well-rounded input. Each Director will provide direct oversight over specific Standing Committees for a Leadership Council of Chairs.

An example might look like:


Leadership CouncilReporting to:
Marketing ChairPublic Relations Director
Donor Relations ChairPublic Relations Director
Fundraising and Events ChairPublic Relations Director
Volunteer Action ChairTraining Director
Community Outreach ChairPublic Relations Director
New Legislative Support ChairStrategic Planning Director
New Political Activism ChairStrategic Planning Director
New Candidate Support ChairTraining Director
New Education Outreach ChairTraining Director

Until the Strategic Development Plan is fully realized, and a written, living document implemented, the Executive Leadership Board will serve as an Executive Steering Committee. This includes, eventually, adding an Executive Director for Operations and Administrative oversight. After the Strategic Development Plan is implemented, other non-executive Steering Committee members might be considered.

Executive Steering Committee:
  • County Party Chair
    • Appointments
      • Vice-Chair
      • Secretary
      • Treasurer
      • Field Operations Director
      • Public Relations Director
      • Strategic Planning Director
    • Administrative / Operations / Management
      • Executive Director (TBD)


Executive Steering Committee (New Standing Committee):
  • Executive Leadership
  • Other Appointments by County Party Chair





Establishing both short and long term goals as well as long-range planning for continuous improvement strategies will ensure that all County Party Leadership, Administrators, and Volunteers can perform admirably.


Goal Setting:

Some short term goals will be achievable within weeks or months, whereas some will take longer. The objective will be to achieve all short term goals in less than a year's time.

Short term goals include:

  • Seamless integration of all applicable leadership transitions:
    • County Party Chair
      • Appointments
    • Standing Committee Chairs
      • Sub-Committees
  • Written Strategic Development Plan will be determined and implemented:
    • Creating a Vision Statement
    • Revamping the Mission Statement
    • Organizational Manual (Living Document)
      • Committee Manuals (Living Documents)
      • Training Manuals (Living Documents)
      • Administrative Manuals (Living Documents)
    • Changes to County Party By-Laws to account for all updates
  • New Strategic Planning and Execution Management initiatives:
    • Monthly Review and Assessment
    • Quarterly action items determined
    • Annual Review and Assessment
  • New Planning Initiatives
    • Mid-Year Meeting (on even years to account for potential new Leadership)
    • Annual Retreat
    • Mid-Term Meeting
    • Municipal Oriented
    • Special Session (as needed)
  • Except for state officiated requirements and TDP Guidelines, implementation of revamped County Party leadership definitions and guidelines for:
    • County Party Chair
    • Precinct Chairs
    • Appointed Roles
    • Committee Chairs (Standing)
  • Leadership Training
    • Executive
    • Administrative
    • Committee
    • Volunteer
  • Volunteer Empowerment Initiatives
    • Training
    • Administration (plan)
    • Awards and special thanks programming efforts
  • Democratic Party Coordinated Campaign Efforts
    • CCDP Leadership and Committees
    • TDP (Texas Democratic Party)
    • DNC (Democratic National Committee)
  • Public Relations Plan:
    • Marketing Plan
      • Communications Planning
      • Social Media Plan
    • Advertising Planning
    • Community Outreach Plan
      • Publicity objectives
      • Public Affairs
    • Coordination with Like-Minded Groups and Organizations
      • Democratic Party related (Nearby County Parties and Clubs)
      • Resistance
      • Advocacy
      • Activism
      • Non-Partisan


Long term goals could be achieved within a year's time, as / if needed, but are expected to take two or more years to be a fully functional part of the Strategic Development Plan. This includes:

  • Focus on all judicial seats and any other elected offices not currently being pursued
  • New office location
  • New operations and administrative tools and resources
  • New (ED) Executive Director
  • Position CCDP for 2020 Census


1, 4, and 10 Year Plans
  • 1 Year Plan
    • Transitional Leadership Plan
    • Strategic Development Plan
    • Public Relations Plan
    • Volunteer Training Plan
    • Candidate Support Plan
    • Education Outreach Plan
    • Legislative Support Plan
    • Political Activism Plan
  • 4 Year Plan (1 Year Plan Plus)
    • Hire Executive Director
  • 10 Year Plan (1 and 4 year Plan Plus)
    • Census Review and Organizational Redirection Planning (every new decade)


All of this honors all state officiated requirements and by-laws of the County Party as is, including the approval of any recommendations by the CEC (County Executive Committee). Moreover, none of this should be perceived as final recommendation but rather a guiding outline of all good things yet to be realized.




As CCDP Chair, I'll work with the new Executive Leadership team, the CEC, and, most importantly, the Collin County community, to address more specific ideas relative to establishing the new Strategic Development Plan. Here is an overview:

Strategic Development Plan: Once an effective infrastructure is established, a comprehensive written Strategic Development Plan for continuous improvement will be set in motion. This involves redirecting our operations management and practicing continuous improvement exercises all while still honoring the Democratic Party agenda. Some key components of this phase of development include implementing:

  • Regular Strategic Planning Reviews
  • Leadership Retreats
  • Volunteer Appreciation Programs
  • Train-The-Trainer Programs
  • Educational Program Outreach
  • Community Outreach Initiatives
  • Legislative Affairs Management
  • Political Activism Coordination
  • Public Relations Initiatives

Monday, December 18, 2017

A Sign Of The Times

Over the last year, progressives have experienced a growing number of people new to politics looking for answers to seemingly simple questions. A lot of these questions have few to no answers found or, at least, easily accessible. As a candidate for Collin County Democratic Party Chair, one of my goals is to offer an FAQ page for our website among other online informational ideas that we should have implemented years ago. 

One of the general inquiries I get asked about a lot is best management practices for yard & road signage considerations. Until I'm elected or CCDP Leadership decides to rectify this, I'm more than happy to share some basic ideas that most any candidate or campaign team can benefit from. These are lessons learned from communication with other candidates throughout the State of Texas during my City Council bid. 

Keeping in mind that requirements in each municipality may vary, a candidate in Texas might consider:

  • Reading through and honoring the State of Texas requirements here, Texas Ethics Commission on Political Advertising, and all links therein
  • Importance to add the 'Political Advertising By' and the other TXDoT 'Right-of-Way' disclaimers (per the above link) on all signs. Did you forget? No worries. This can be added as a weatherproof sticker
  • Only print double-sided yard and road signs
  • Create a sign map (Google's My Maps is your friend)
  • Ask for permission when placing signs on private property. When in doubt, follow suit with what others are doing (but be prepared to monitor that decision)
  • Public property placement is only applicable at municipally managed polling places (with schedules typically determined by municipalities) and cannot typically be bigger than 2'x2' in a lot of municipal areas
  • Have as many yard signs as possible for polling places during early voting, primary, run-offs, and general elections. Sustainability Tip: Ask everyone with yard signs to place them at the polling places. Keep in mind, you have to arrange to pick them all up in the municipally determined time period (road signs have a longer grace period for pick up but still limited)
  • At a minimal, purchase heavy gage t-posts, long outdoor zipties, and a solid pair of scissors or box cutter
  • Invest in at least one post driver and post remover (both will save your life or that of those planting your signs) and a good pair of leather gloves
  • Be sure all of your road signs have rivets (based off sign size). Tip: bring a screwdriver or something similar to poke extra holes for extra zipties (the wind is stronger than you think)
  • In high wind areas, support signs with a top brace (a wood crossmember should work)
  • Periodically drive by, or have others check in on the state of, all signs 
  • Don't assume that a local party's recommendation(s) for sign printing options is the only option
Again, this isn't a complete list of signage considerations for every candidacy. However, progress takes change, and I look forward to your vote on March 6th, 2018.

Saturday, December 2, 2017

Turning Theory Into Practice, Politically Speaking

Since the beginning of this year, I've spoken with hundreds of people in Collin County who have had no interactions with the Democratic Party or have made attempts to with little to no reply. I've interviewed dozens of progressive leaders who have expressed similar sentiment.

With hundreds of people saying this candidly, I have to wonder how many of the tens of thousands of registered Democrats in Collin County feel similarly? And, in light of Democrats not winning offices in decades, I wonder how many of the (over) half a million registered voters in Collin County expect much from Democratic Party at all?

A few months ago, I recommended a brief overview of a plan that embraced this fundamental need for change to local party leadership. One of the core components of the recommendation is the creation and implementation of a written Strategic Development Plan.


To ensure its functionality for short and long term initiatives, the plan is phased. The phasing also allows for adequate input from an Executive Steering Committee, the County Executive Committee, and, most importantly, input from the community at large. This infrastructure re-development initiative will then transition into the written Strategic Development Plan.

The written plan will be a living document, serving as a template for future county party leaders and volunteers to fall back on as needed. Nearing one million people, Collin County grows and changes daily. And this plan will allow the party the opportunity to continuously redevelop the role the Democratic Party, the party of the people.

Over the next few weeks and into the new year, I'll release more of plan specifics. Here are some highlights for now:


Infrastructure Redevelopment Initiative:


Redeveloping the party's infrastructure will assist in providing a vision to guide the party, help find better ways to unify activities with the community-at-large, and, ultimately, help the party win offices. Some key components of this phase of development include creating:
  • Strategic Development Plan
  • Vision Statement
  • Revamped Mission Statement
  • Revamped Leadership Model
  • Executive Steering Committee
  • New and Revamped Action Committees
  • Committee Guides
  • Operations Management Initiatives
  • Administrative Guidelines
  • Training Guides
  • Volunteer Guides


Strategic Development Plan:

Once an effective infrastructure is established, a comprehensive written Strategic Development Plan for continuous improvement will be set in motion. This involves redirecting our operations management and practicing continuous improvement exercises all while still honoring the Democratic Party agenda. Some key components of this phase of development include implementing:
  • Regular Strategic Planning Reviews
  • Leadership Retreats
  • Volunteer Appreciation Programs
  • Train-The-Trainer Programs
  • Educational Program Outreach
  • Community Outreach Initiatives
  • Legislative Affairs Management
  • Political Activism Coordination
  • Public Relations Initiatives
Are you ready for progress? Progress takes change.

#ProgressTakesChange #Vision #Unity #Empowerment #CollinCountyDemocraticPartyChair

Wednesday, October 18, 2017

Meet & Greet Fundraiser for Stirling for CCDP Chair

Our #1 priority, as individuals, as citizens, and as the Collin County Democratic Party, is to improve the world we live in. All day. Every day. Having a mission to get Democrats elected and a vision to see it through is just part of the path to get there.
Support my campaign to be your next Collin County Democratic Party Chair and let's establish the infrastructure we need and the strategies to improve upon to build a better Collin County today and for the world tomorrow. #ProgressTakesChange

Join us! Meet Stirling Morris for Collin County Democratic Party Chair and share your ideas to Build A Better Collin CountyCan't make it? No worries. Donate!


Monday, October 16, 2017

Good Citizen

Continuing a series of interviews called Building A Better Collin County with the goal to reach out to our county and North Texas community and create a sustainable path to our future:
Among similar interviews with other organizations I've worked on, this interview is with Saif Islam representing both Good Citizens DFW and DFW for Beto. As I note in all these videos, this not an endorsement of me or the Democratic Party directly.
That said, I fully support both of these groups and am honored to get to know Saif better. His support of DFW and humanity represents the best of our ability to provide positive, proactive efforts in Collin County and across the metroplex.



Monday, October 9, 2017

Volunteer Orientation: Stirling for Collin Co. Democratic Party Chair

Are your ready to make a difference
Are you ready to share your vision
Are you ready to amplify the voices of Collin County in our government?


Join Stirling Morris for Collin County Democratic Party Chair at this Volunteer Orientation, and let's build a better Collin County. One that has a vision of tomorrow. One to provide unity for individuals and communities as a whole. One that wants to educate and empower tomorrow's citizens, voters, and leaders.

Because today, and every day: #ProgressTakesChange

When:   October 15th, 2017, 3:00 - 4:00 p.m.

Where:  Schimelpfenig Library - Conference Room
              5024 Custer Rd, Plano, TX 75023



Sunday, October 1, 2017

Cause and AFFECT

Continuing a video series of interviews called Building A Better Collin County with the goal to reach out to our county community and create a sustainable path to our future, one that reflects a sensible path of Vision, Unity, and Empowerment.
Among many similar interviews with other organizations in prior and in weeks to come, this second interview is with Pastor Ramon Hodridgerepresenting both AFFECT, Avenue F Family Enrichment Corporation of Texas, Inc, and the Ave F Church of Christ. As I note in all of these videos, this not an endorsement of me, my campaign, or the Democratic Party.
That said, I fully support causes like AFFECT and am so honored to get to know Ramon better. His support of the Douglass Community in Plano represents the best of our human ability to provide positive, proactive efforts in Collin County. Please consider donating to AFFECT here, http://affectinc.com/donate.



#BlackLivesMatter #ProgressTakesChange #Vision #Unity #Community#Empowerment