This weekend, my time with the Michigan Federation of College Democrats (MFCD) came to an end–finishing a four year involvement that was such a huge part of my life. It’s bittersweet to officially become an “MFCD Alumni” but I’m confident that our new Board will raise our federation to new heights in the years to come! I was honored to serve as President during the past term and be the most senior member of the Board. This role afforded me the privilege to see up close the work that our chapters from Marquette to Detroit were doing to prepare for the most consequential election of our lifetimes. I’m proud to have worked alongside such intentional and passionate people!
Being involved in this organization provided me with memories and experiences that I will value for a lifetime–and I’ll never forget how it all started on a cold, spring morning on the campus of Albion College. I decided to go to my first MFCD statewide conference after beginning the work of reviving a College Dems chapter at Central Michigan University and being bombarded with campaign calls from the candidates running for MFCD President!
A few of the people that would be there were acquaintances from Democratic political circles but I wasn’t expecting to know many of the people. Up until that point, I spent my high school years working in and around Democratic politics but mostly with people much older than I was. I left that conference with so many new friends, a sense of community as I began my work of rebuilding a chapter at my school, and eventually was appointed to the Board that term.
This year, our conference was cancelled and elections were on Zoom but I hope that future conferences are a place where more people like me come as strangers and never leave until they are officially an alum of the organization. I’ll always be proud to have been a College Democrat!
I’ve worn many hats within the Michigan Federation of College Democrats (MFCD) including the President of the CMU College Democrats, Mid-North Regional Director for MFCD, Treasurer for MFCD, and now, the President of MFCD. During the 2018-2019 school year, I was serving in my role as Treasurer and I’m so proud of all that we were able to accomplish in my department.
These are some of the things I’m most proud of from my time as Treasurer:
✔ Authored and passed the MFCD Code of Conduct. For the first time ever, MFCD now has a policy and a reporting system in place to handle cases of sexual harassment and misconduct, discrimination, and bullying. Read the Code of Conduct here: https://michigancollegedems.org/code-of-conduct/
✔ Record Breaking Fundraising. We raised $11,285, the largest fundraising haul in MFCD history!
✔ No fines incurred. Our Campaign Finance reports were always submitted on time, avoiding costly fines that would have been taken away from our programs.
✔Unprecedented investment in our local chapters and our members. 70% of our expenditures ($7,888) was invested in the work of our local chapters and members! For the first time, MFCD has instituted programs like: Fired Up and Ready to Go Fund, money that is available for new chapters to aid them in start up costs; and the Strong Chapters Initiative, a fund made available for any chapter to apply to cover the cost of projects, programs, and anything else that would strengthen their chapter and increase the Democratic profile on their campus from swag to GOTV efforts.
✔ Transparency and Ethics being as a top priority. We’ve made our finances accessible to all members by posting a link to every Campaign Finance Report with a report about how we did financially every quarter in our Facebook group. Additionally, we’ve ensured strong oversight by reporting how much we have in the bank and what transactions have taken place at every Executive Board meeting!
At the start of 2018, I never expected to be managing one of the most competitive and most expensive State House races in Michigan until a friend encouraged me to apply for a fellowship with the Michigan House Democratic Fund. During the Spring 2018 semester, I would drive from Mount Pleasant to Lansing four mornings per week to help with a wide variety of projects in an effort to help Democrats flip seats in the Michigan House in 2018.
The fellowship eventually led to a decision to take a semester away from Mount Pleasant to try to flip the 17th State House District from Red to Blue. As a geek for Michigan politics, I knew about this district all too well: it was once a safe Democratic seat, it has the highest percentage of union households of any district in the state, and both parties were shocked when it became a Republican pick up in 2016 when Joe Bellino got swept in with Donald Trump. With good Democratic base numbers and a history of electing a Democrat to the State House with 61% and 60% in 2012 and 2014, respectively, I believed it was prime seat for flipping.
Getting ready to talk to voters in Flat Rock!
October = #knocktober
Parades = a lot of waving!
Despite our best efforts and improving upon our margins from 2016 in places like the City of Monroe, we lost.
Since the results came in last night, there are some that have watched me and Michlle work over the course of this campaign–Michelle working full time and campaigning from the time she got off until dark while balancing raising a family, and me working on campaign stuff from the moment I woke up every morning until the minute I went to bed, both of us with almost no days off–who have asked me if I felt like this was all a waste of time. The answer is an easy one: No.
I’m a believer that every experience in life can teach you something and expand your perspective. In fact, I keep a Google Document to write down things that have worked on campaigns and haven’t worked because we can always take away something that makes us better. Throughout the course of the campaign I’ve gained more experience, met incredible people, and came to better understand working class districts with strong union membership that have shifted to the Republicans. We need to do a better job at showing folks in districts like this that Democrats still are the ONLY party that will champion the cause of working people and their families.
My only regret about this campaign is that we weren’t able to bring it home for the people of the 17th district and make us one seat closer to a Democratic majority in the State House. We worked hard, gave it our heart and soul, knocked on many voters doors three times, and voters were saturated with our message on TV and online. While it provides minimal comfort, I can at least rest assured knowing that there was very little more we could have done that would have resulted in flipping this seat in 2018.
This was taken on my favorite day of the campaign: 60 people canvassed in every corner of our district all at once!
It was an honor and a privilege to come down to spent most of 2018 in Monroe, Michigan; work with the Michigan House Democratic Fund with the goal of winning back a majority in the House both as a fellow and a Campaign Manager for nearly a year; and I can’t wait to see the good work that will be done by the six amazing individuals that flipped a seat from Red to Blue this year. I’d be remiss if I didn’t thank some people that helped me along this journey: Yvonne Morrision for being our super volunteer who did more to get us the votes we got in this campaign than nearly anybody when you consider the tremendous amount of time and effort she gave, Linda Lauer for allowing me to live at her house for a couple weeks so I could be near the office and in-district when I my car was being repaired, Mike McCollum for hiring me as a fellow and encouraging me to become a manager for a targeted race this cycle, and Josh Sabo for always being an incredible resource and having the best sense of humor (literally don’t know what I’m going to do without his jokes and hilarious comments).
Yvonne and I were ready for Day 1 of GOTV (Get Out The Vote) before the sun rose!
When talking about losing his first race for Congress, President Obama said , “… the thing that got me through that moment, and any other time that I’ve felt stuck, is to remind myself that it’s about the work. Because if you’re worrying about yourself—if you’re thinking: ‘Am I succeeding? Am I in the right position? Am I being appreciated?’ – then you’re going to end up feeling frustrated and stuck. But if you can keep it about the work, you’ll always have a path. There’s always something to be done.” Folks, there is always something to be done and more work to do. Let’s get going!
My emotions were running high after the Election of 2016 because it became more than Republican vs. Democrat, I viewed the election as a referendum on all the values I fight for every day as a Democrat, as a person who cares about social justice, and even as a follower of Jesus Christ–it broke my heart to see 81% of White Evangelicals vote for President Trump.
However, in the midst of our anguish there was something stirring in America. In big cities and small towns, Liberal colleges and even more Conservative colleges, there seemed to be an angst among millions of Americans ready to let the world and those most disenfranchised by the incoming Republican administration know that this is not what we stand for! The level of civic engagement seen from the moment he took the oath of office is what truly makes America great and it continues to give me hope that the path of least resistance that I believed so many Americans were taking, particularly Americans in my generation, wasn’t going to have the final say. Donald Trump thought he’d “Make America Great Again” by building walls, demonizing and bullying people, rigging the economy further for the rich and well-connected, and playing the game of divide and conquer, however, what he’s actually done is motivate people to engage in their government to stand up for progressive values and resist his policy agenda! The hopelessness that clouded my mind in the days following election day has been replaced with hope that this new spring of activism will translate into electoral success for my party in 2017 and 2018.
Where does my life at Central Michigan University play into this all? Our university falls within a county that voted for President Obama in 2012 and flipped to the Republican column for President Trump in 2016. We’re at the heart of a State House district that’s held by a Republican but is one of the most competitive in the state. I recognized that a higher Democratic turnout on campus would be integral for victories in our county. On campus there were demonstrations organized by groups like Central Michigan Action, a group working to promote progressive change through direct action; a protest against Trump’s Immigration Executive Orders by the Muslim Student Association; and so many more groups on campus resisting the agenda being peddled by the Republican administration. In addition to groups on campus, Mount Pleasant community members started organizing their own events to resist this agenda through organizations like Forward Action Michigan and Indivisible. The organizing by progressive groups that were technically “nonpartisan” got me thinking about what I hope to see this activism result in ,and as a person with a commitment to advancing the ideals of the Democratic Party it was clear to me that without the party having a strong presence on campus to ensure that this anger turns into votes for Democrats, we won’t be able to dig ourselves out of the hole we’re in.
Democratic Party politics has been my bread and butter for years and building Democratic organizations to be a vehicle for electoral success has been where most of my political experience is in, so I got to work. With the help of a handful of other committed Democratic activists on campus we restarted the College Democrats at Central Michigan University and are currently developing a plan to have a strong presence on campus moving forward!
Mark Brewer, former Chairman of the Michigan Democratic Party, speaking to our chapter!
My team should be so proud of all that we’ve accomplished in the last month and the plans we’re working on for the 2017-2018 school year. We’re living in unprecedented times in an ever increasingly divisive political environment, and for lack of a better term, it’s a weird time to be a Democratic leader on a college campus. It’s undoubtedly exciting but still weird nevertheless. Now more than ever, it’s important that I apply the leadership principles that I’ve learned at the Leadership Institute to my political leadership.
Let’s fire up for democracy and Democrats! Let’s fire up for activism, political organizing, grassroots campaign, and GOTV (Get Out The Vote)! I’m fired up and ready to go, and I hope everyone else is too!
My Mom and I with President Jimmy Carter and First Lady Rosalynn Carter
When I consider the qualities I strive to display as a leader: a servant of others, humble, kind, loving, encouraging, honest, staying true to my values when they’re tested, a builder of consensus, a mediator of conflict, and an agent of positive change my mind turns to President Jimmy Carter.
In October of 1924, he was born in a town of 600 people in Southwest Georgia. The son of parents who were far from well off, he spent his childhood doing chores around the family peanut farm and playing outside with his friends.
This boy turned into a man and joined the Navy where he was working up the ranks when all of a sudden, his father died. When he and his wife, Rosalynn, went back to Plains for the funeral Carter was amazed at the difference his father made in the lives of so many. People would come and tell him about different things his father did–things he never knew about. Carter felt as though he could make more of a difference in Plains than he could make pursuing a naval career, so he left the career he’d dreamed off since childhood to serve his community. For years, Jimmy Carter carried on his father’s legacy–operating the family business, teaching Sunday School, serving the community in as many capacities as possible, and keeping very busy with a young family.
Amidst the fight for civil rights and social transition in the South, his leadership became evident. On the local school board he took a risk that was sure to impact his reputation and business– he supported integration of the races. The consequences of his decision were manifest in the declining profits of his business due to boycotts and backlash with his white customers. In fact, in the late 1950s Jimmy Carter was the only white man in Plains to not be a member of The White Citizens’ Council. One day, three of his friends even came to him to try and convince him to join “for his own good”, they even offered to pay his dues–Carter refused. It was that principle based leadership that guided the rest of his political career.
The first time he ran for Governor, he fell short, but in 1970, he won. In his first address to the people of Georgia as their governor he declared, “The time for racial discrimination is over.” Jimmy Carter represented a new, young generation of more progressive and inclusive leadership in the South. And at just the right time, after the scandal of Watergate and diminished public confidence in our government, he started an underdog campaign for President. “The Peanut Brigade”, a group of his friends and neighbors in Plains traveled with him to primary states and told everyone about “their friend and neighbor Jimmy Carter who is running for President.” Without much funds, the campaign didn’t even have enough for Carter himself and senior staff to book a hotel room ,so everyone stayed in the homes of supporters across the country. He promised the country that he’d never tell a lie to them, campaigned on his scandal free leadership record, and committed to build “a government as good as its people.” After all the country had been through, a plain spoken, honest man of faith who promised to restore trust in the government was exactly what the country needed–the campaign of 1976 revolved more around the personal character of the candidates than any particular issue.
As President, he took on the role of peacemaker in the world and negotiated a historic peace treaty between Egypt and Israel, one that has kept the countries at peace with each other ever since. His cabinet and appointees to federal judge posts included a record number of women and minorities, he recognized the need for alternative energy before it was mainstream, and never dropped a bomb to secure a resolution to global conflict. An example of leadership during his Presidency was after the Iranians took Americans hostage. His chief priority was to get the hostages released and brought home safely. At this time, it would have been advantageous to his re-election bid and popularity ratings to drop a bomb and be visibly aggressive with the Iranians but he wasn’t going to drop a bomb to get re-elected, especially considering it put the lives of the hostages in danger. Instead, he spent the last days of his Presidency without sleep, negotiating their release and at the end of his Presidency, they were released!
The accomplishments of his Presidency are tremendous but he’s been under appreciated and overshadowed at times by political figures with bigger egos and less knowledge on the issues. The way he’s reacted to his Presidency being a punching bag for Conservatives tells me more about his character than anything anyone can ever say, he’s not retaliated and complained about the undeserved criticism but instead doubled down in his efforts of making the world a better place. In 1982, he established The Carter Center with the mission of “Waging Peace. Fighting Disease. Building Hope.” He envisioned The Carter Center to be a place similar to Camp David, where the conflicts and issues afflicting the world could be addressed. The Carter Center has continued President Carter’s legacy as peacemaker in the world because he travels across the globe to help facilitate peaceful resolution of conflicts. The Carter Center keeps track of all the conflicts brewing in the world, even those that many Americans have never heard about and they act as a mediator and a vehicle in which peace can be achieved. The center also monitors democratic elections in countries that haven’t chosen their leader democratically before and ensures the integrity and transition to democracy in developing countries. Perhaps the most famous work of The center is the eradication of diseases like the Guinea Worm. President Carter focuses in on specific diseases that exist in the poorest countries but not in the developed world because we know that with proper handling, many of these diseases can be eliminated. The center researches the causes of the disease and works with small villages across the globe at how they can effectively end these diseases that kill so many. That’s just a small snapshot of what the Carter Center does and it’s only a portion of what President Carter is up too–in addition to his continued role as a global change maker, he spends his time building houses with Habitat for Humanity and serving his community and church, including teaching Sunday School almost every week.
The lives he saved and enhanced, the communities and villages he’s helped thrive, the peace he’s waged, and the inspiration he’s provided to thousands of people can be seen everywhere. From the people of Mali who have knighted him, the people of Ghana and Nigeria who’ve made him honorary tribal chief, and in the faces of the children across the world who’ve been named “Jimmy Carter” because of the positive role President Carter has played in their lives. It’s seen in the faces of his neighbors in Plains that smile as they tell you a story about him, in the lives of everyone who’s worked with him, and in the work of the thousands who’ve been inspired to serve. As President Bill Clinton stated before awarding Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn the Presidential Medal of Freedom, “Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter have done more good things for more people in more places than any other couple on the face of the earth.”
His record of lifelong leadership and service are a model for the type of leader I’d like to be. His Christian values that I share have been evident in Carter’s decisions and he’s remained true to them even when they costed him. A lot of the good he does in our world goes unnoticed and brag about his good works because he recognizes that he’s imperfect, that he’s called to serve and love people humbly and no good work improves his standing in the most important thing to him, his faith. He knows that his good works are the fruit of the work God is doing within him. He took courageous, unpopular stands because he chose what was right over what was popular. These stands hit him in his finances and political career but that didn’t matter. Carter decided to keep serving and keep doing good in our world even after defeat because for him, the work he’s doing is bigger than himself. In his book Living Faith he says, “I’ve felt strongly the need of something more permanent and profound than a successful career, being President, or even my relationship with Rosalynn. Jesus’ acceptance has given me this.” President Carter doesn’t seek attention and recognition because he’s already been given assurance of the most important thing.
Earlier this month I had the privilege of attending his Sunday School class and in the short time that I sat in the same room as President Carter I saw his best qualities exemplified. His warm smile and encouraging heart made each guest feel welcome and his insistence that nobody stands up or applauds for him showcased his humility. A church member and friend of the Carters told us that the last thing he wants is the Bible lesson being about him. Instead he wants it to glorify God and lead those in the audience to deeper understanding of faith in Jesus Christ. During Sunday School he quoted Philippians 3:4-9 which says, “If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless. But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith.” In other words, Paul was doing everything right in the eyes of humans but all of it paled in comparison to knowing Christ.
My faith is the most important aspect of my life, just like President Carter, and many of the same causes that he’s passionate about are similar to the causes I’m passionate about. I wanted to write about Carter because I identify with him on so many levels. He’s a leader who’s led within the institutions and causes that I hope to dedicate my life to and his unwavering values have guided him through it all. When I think about what I want my legacy to be it makes sense that I would look to President Carter as one of my role models. I’ve been reading his books lately and hearing about his personal experiences with faith, politics, humanitarian work, and even simple issues that we all face in life. These books inspire me and I do my best to incorporate his advice into my own life and leadership style.
President Carter has done so much good in this world and been a leader. He’s led countries to peace, he’s led villages to rid out disease, and he led his state and town out of the dark days of segregation. All the personal costs he endured,all of the work, and his rejection of easy solutions to search for the right solution distinguish Carter as a leader people want to follow. However, any reasonable person would wonder what motivates a person to do all that he’s done. Jimmy Carter is a global peacemaker, humanitarian, and servant. He’s lived a full life and held the most powerful position any person can hold yet he considered all of it a loss compared to his relationship with Jesus and honoring God in everything he does. That’s why he does what he does. That’s why he choses humility over pride, love over hate, action over complacency–it’s why he was building a house for Habitat for Humanity and continuing to teach Sunday School in the midst of being diagnosed with cancer at 90 years old. For those reasons and more, President Carter is a leader and a role model to me.
Some pictures of me in Georgia to see Jimmy Carter:
Ethan Petzold 