Jul 1, 2022 2 min read

As an elected member of the Washington County Democratic Committee, it is shocking to see how broken the party is.

We have lost every county elected position. Even the coroner switched parties. Larry Maggi is a Democrat. By law, we have to have an elected minority commissioner. We have now lost all the legislative seats and congressional delegation as well. One exception is Pam Snyder from Greene County, and her district includes a small piece of Washington County. She is retiring and the seat will soon be held by a Republican as well.

Our Democratic Party has not met the challenge, and I regret to say the Democratic Committee is no more than a club of just 58 elected members. We should have 350 elected members. Worse yet, a few of the 58 hold all the positions like a prom court. Alternate views and opinions are not well received. So we are left with a club that loses election after election.

Party affiliation doesn’t matter in local government. Paving roads, providing public service, fighting for the needs of a community as I do in North Franklin, is done without anyone caring whether their local elected official is Democratic or Republican. Certainly that is the case in North Franklin, where my Republican colleagues have made me chairman.

However, the work of a broken Democratic committee is a concern. For those who disagree with my view of the Democratic Party of Washington County, you need to only look at our elected committee. We have two elected committee members from North Franklin in addition to myself, and one is my wife. There are just four in the entire city of Washington and none in Monongahela, Charleroi, Donora, Canton, and just one in California.

If we are to recover as a Democratic Party, don’t look to the committee. Our club is pretty ineffective and has little influence to make a difference!

Bob Sabot

North Franklin Township