Direct Voter Contact: an Evening Talk with Lillian "Lillie" Schecter at ROADWomen's March Meeting

Candidate for Chair of the Texas Democratic Party Lillian "Lillie" Schecter
Source: lillieforchair.com

To say that Texas is full of strong women is a gross understatement. Barbara Jordon, Ann Richards, Molly Ivins, my mother, the list could go on. In Houston, we’ve had Kathy Whitmire and Annalise Parker, both remarkable mayors and groundbreakers. We lost a great woman when Sheila Jackson Lee passed and currently we have Judge Lina Hidalgo, Harris County Commissioner Leslie Briones, Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher, and Lillian "Lillie" Schecter, who spoke yesterday at the monthly ROADwoman meeting. 

A longtime and incredibly successful political fundraiser and strategist, she has worked on campaigns at all levels of government up to the national, on Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign. As chairwoman, she raised five million dollars for the Harris Country Democratic Party (HCDP), more than the state Democratic Party. She knows the machine, she know fundraising, and she knows strategy. And of course, she knows the Democratic Party.

Yesterday evening was one of the best meetings I’ve ever attended and what Ms. Schecter shared is worth sharing.

As she pointed out, the party has little power at the national level and in the state of Texas. That being the point, she posited a few goals or benchmarks to shoot for.

• We need to ensure we are building the party at all levels; local/municipal, state, and national.
• We need to put “checks” - as in “checks and balances” - back in in ’26. That is, we need to start checking the abuses of political power.
• We need a broad, multidimensional approach to growing the party: volunteering, text messaging, talking to everyone (everywhere), and engaging with other Texas democrats.

A lot of this might, at first sight, seem obvious, but as became clear over the course of her talk, it became clear how precarious the party’s existence is in the Lone Star State. We will come to that in due course. For right now, Schecter emphasized finding out how to get people running at all levels. In altogether too many instances, Republicans run unopposed. She also addressed that a significant number of registered Democrats simply did not vote, and they are crucial to building the party back up.

She suggested that we need to remind voters to “come back”; to not be discouraged, but also, just to let them know how integral they are. It is this latter where the Democratic Party has failed in so many states across the board, but particularly here, where precincts have been gerrymandered to ensure and enable Republican hegemony and their draconian policies. I’ve written about Governor Greg Abbott’s leadership and cronyism as a microcosm and template for implementing Trumpian policies at the state level; it’s not a stretch to say that Texas has led in showing other states how to ban abortion, further marginalize at-risk populations, and wreak havoc on free speech and education. These are issues that affect all Texans and while it is a predominantly “red” state, it doesn’t have to stay that way.

Schecter wrapped up her talk with a challenge; everyone was to bring one person with them to the next meeting. This isn’t just “boosterism”, it’s an operative way to grow an organization. Text, phone, do whatever you are comfortable with to bring someone. As will be seen in the ensuing paragraphs, the emphasis is on “direct voter contact.”

She also submitted that “keeping dollars local” was critical in establishing Democratic leadership and organization. It is a given that the Texas Democratic Party, the Harris County Democratic Party and others work in silos, but it becomes readily obvious that if local organizations are built up, the party as a whole benefits. “Think about giving locally.”

That said, she also stressed volunteering, giving “your greatest resource; your time.” 

Opening the floor to questions brought even more substantial points to bear.

One person asked about how to defend or present the Democratic Party as something other than weak. This person was confronted with the argument that “Republicans say this, Republicans say that; what do Democrats say? And we often get…” and her voice trailed off. Schecter said to show what Democrats are saying and doing by pointing to Al Green, Gene Wu (and I thought to myself, Greg Casar, Beto O’Rourke).

She also noted that it is unlikely that the Democrats will win the legislature next cycle; turnout needs to increase and there needs to be a shift in thinking about the wins. The Democrats lost ten judges last election cycle. Winning should be focused on more local/regional levels.

She noted that disaffection with the Democratic Party is a result of not understanding what rural Democrats experience and how they are ignored by the larger organizations. She strongly emphasized that growing the party means reaching out to and supporting voters in the rural areas. The average ratio is something like 20% Dem to 80% Republican and she has met with voters who have been threatened at their job if they vote the “wrong” way; groups meet at local restaurants but the restaurants will not provide signage for fear of reprisal. We live in a bubble in the very blue Harris County where you can be an out loud Democrat and not face threats. 

Another person asked about the Party wooing small businesses;  while that’s laudable and necessary down the line, Schecter stressed that the party would have to have a concrete plan to present before approaching business owners. Pursuant to that, Democratic recruiters should focus on “sharable values.” At the end of the day, in order to reach businesses, “you need a product to sell."

I think it was the same person who also asked why the Texas party is located in Austin when in most states, state headquarters are located in the largest voting district. Ms Schecter agreed and expanded on this point; Harris County is the largest voting bloc in the state, but/and it would behoove the party to consider offices central to different regions in the state, like other large counties and like the Valley, where - if I have this right - there is already an office set up in McAllen. But the Texas Democratic Party should partner with local organizations, as well.

A woman who identified herself as a psychologist spoke up and asked what the motivations were that made people vote Democrat. She noted that people rarely vote from reason or logic, but very often, that “it’s just the way our family has always voted.” Lillian replied this was above her pay grade and what concerns her more is that between 2020 and 2024, “1.8 million Democrats stayed home: why are we losing Democrats?”  

Another question was how to fundraise against the well-oiled money machine of the Republican Party and the PACs that support it. Also, it feels like that there’s a “data gap” between the different Democratic groups that isn’t being addressed. It was here that the focus on the loss of a base elicited an answer that I have wanted to hear for a long time. Dollars aren’t the sole answer; voters have lost trust in the party through neglect and lack of engagement. As far as money goes, partnering with organizations and finance counsels across the state would address that issue, and as far as data goes, apparently not everyone makes use of the Texas Voter File. To be sure, training is required to make full use of it, so for many of those who don’t use it, that would be a first step; but this is where the data gap could begin to close.

Another observation was that “who controls the narrative, wins.” As the woman who said this noted: “[Trump] is in everyone’s head.” Again, Ms. Schecter emphasized person-to-person contact: meet the disinformation head-on in daily life. It really does come down to “direct voter contact.”

Following on that, another observation was that the Republicans are winning the information war and that legacy media is incapable of addressing issues with any meaningful detail, nuance, or granularity. A two-part question grew out of that: 1) can there be a more sophisticated sharing platform or strategy to meet the misinformation and 2) How do we change the perception in voters’ minds of the Democratic Party?

There was more discussion among the ranks than any definitive answers, but one thing is apparent; relying on the media does not work in Texas. There just isn’t enough bandwidth and honestly, as - I think it was Lillian put it, most people just hear noise. I’m not sure I want to, myself, but she did suggest tracking down Bill Maher and Rahm Emmanuel’s conversation. Apparently, they discussed the issue and it might be worthwhile.

Another question was what was her takeaway from Beto’s campaign in 2018. She said that Beto was about the best speaker she had ever heard. She disagreed with his strategy in that he didn’t spend a lot of time among the party, but that he did speak to everyone. He went everywhere and where he went, he had volunteers situated who would get the word out and get people to attend. 

Lilian also stated that the Democratic Party in Texas needs to position itself, not as the minority party, but as the opposition party.

How do you identify a candidate like Beto? “Look within; you might be that candidate.” It might be your kids’ teacher, your next-door neighbor. 

I don’t know that this was in answer to a specific question, but Lillian did stump for the ROADWomen (I joined!) and joining the Harris County Democratic Party for starters. The HCDP Blue Report is a monthly report worth getting. Also, Annie’s List is a critical resource for women who may want to run for office, offering training and more.

As an aside, albeit that she is running for Texas Democratic Party Chair, she doesn’t like running for office and doesn’t like public speaking. She had me fooled; she was far more articulate than comes across here!

On the way to wrapping up, a former salesman spoke up to answer the psychologist’s question. He said that people don’t buy a product based on facts, they buy based on emotion. He added that the Republicans sell fear and people buy the fear, based on the fear they possess already, that’s been instilled in them already.

Lilian Schecter countered: “Fear keeps us at home; hope gets us back in the ring.”

So that was my Tuesday evening and I really hope that all Houstonians reading this, please consider attending a Democracy Cafe, a ROADWoman meeting, or any of the other groups and organizations in the Greater Houston Area. There are about three dozen altogether. You don’t need to join them all, but supporting three or four with minimal sustaining memberships or donations helps invigorate these groups and grows a stronger party.

Now, my turn. Over the years, I left the party during Obama’s second term because the Dems refused to play hardball with Mitch McConnell. We know how well his obstructionist strategy worked and it never — NEVER — needed to be that way. Unfortunately, the Democrats didn’t understand how much had changed regarding civil discourse and tactics by then, and we saw how the GOP ran roughshod over the weak kneed Democrats. I gave up. I’d still vote mostly Democrat and Independent, but it annoyed me, no, it pissed me off to see the political power that should have been used lay useless like a battery laid out to rust.

I’m not reluctant to realign myself with the party at the local and state level. The Democrats in the Senate don’t seem to have a clue, but those in the House of Representatives do, and I believe that owes much to how much more engaged with their constituents Congressional reps tend to be. Lizzie Fletcher is a dream and while I disagree with her ties to the oil industry, there’s much else about her that I support and admire.

On that last note; one thing that Lillian pointed out is that many voters are single-issue voters. This has been a gripe of mine with the American electorate for years. Yes, I may part company with this or that representative over specific issues, but if they are responsive and they listen, and they communicate to their constituents, you have a winner.

To be sure, on any given day, I am far more to the left than most Democrats. Put me down on the Sanders/Ocasio-Cortez end of the spectrum and you have some idea. Actually, I’m farther than that, but Chomsky doesn’t run for office and I know he would excoriate me for throwing in with the other wing of the corporatist-military machine. However, I believe that we have greater possibilities of building a new party out of the shell of the old, to borrow from the IWW. In the meantime, we need visionaries and pragmatists in confronting the dismantling of the country’s services and social network. There is a possibility that if we make it through this period, we might wind up with a stronger social network, but we are going to have to put capitalism and exploitation behind us, and yes, that is, indeed, a much larger ask for most Democrats.

I’ve set links throughout, but here they are for your reference or if you prefer pasting into a browser instead of selecting them in the text. I hope to see some of you at a meeting or two or more.

Please avail yourselves of the resources among these links. Grassroots organization and word-of-mouth are crucial, but so is your support in other ways;  volunteering, phone banking, postcard writing, whatever is within your capacity.

ROADWomen: https://www.roadwomen.com/; a great place to start!

Harris County Democratic Party: https://www.harrisdemocrats.org/: An invaluable resource. Also, check out the number of clubs and organizations under this umbrella: https://www.harrisdemocrats.org/clubs

Lillie Schecter for Chair. https://www.lillieforchair.com/

Congressional Representative Lizzie Fletcher: https://fletcher.house.gov/

Harris County Commissioner Precinct Four Lesley Briones: https://cp4.harriscountytx.gov/Briones