Anita Smithson, a white woman wearing jeans, a grey campaign t-shirt, and a vote hat stands near a pond during GOTV season and smiles for the camera. She’s holding a white and blue Vote placard.

Hi! My name is Anita Smithson, and I am running to be your next DFL State Party Secretary.

I am a lifelong DFLer, first getting involved with politics shortly out of high school in Hutchinson, Minnesota. My first experiences with activism were during 2002 protests, inspired by our late Senator Paul Wellstone, against the authorization of and ongoing Iraq war. I was briefly active in party politics in 2007-2008, as a young renter in the suburbs of Eden Prairie and Edina; and found ways to volunteer and advocate for our DFL values outside of the party until 2016. Since 2016, I have been an involved member of the DFL in Bloomington, Minnesota.

In addition to involvement with the DFL, I worked hard in my community to advocate for our shared DFL values through my work and volunteerism in a variety of ways: local and school board elections, volunteering with Bloomington Pride MN, as an appointed member of a municipal commission, and as a community leader and organizer.

I am running to be our next DFL Secretary because I believe that our Minnesota DFL can and will be a place for all of us - but we must see inclusive leadership from the top in order to make it our reality. I have spent my life advocating for our community, and finding ways to bring people together across areas of divide to accomplish great things. I look forward to doing this as your next DFL Secretary.

I will:

  • Perform the core functions of the DFL Secretary role, including taking thorough meeting minutes, moderating our State Central Committee listserv, and preparing in memoriam presentations to honor DFLers who have passed.

  • Learn more about my vision for the role here.

In addition, I hope to exercise my leadership beyond the role to benefit DFLers across our state:

  • I will listen and learn from DFLers across our state to ensure that the party is meeting our needs and allocating our resources equitably.

  • I will advocate for full inclusion for all members of our party. This includes working with Party Officers, staff, and DFLers to expand accessibility to our party through captions, interpreters, fully accessible meeting spaces, default accommodations for sensory needs, just to name a few.

  • I believe there is a place in our party for all members who seek to give their volunteer time to our big tent organization. I commit to only taking on roles within my capacity, and making space for current members and future leaders to rise into leadership roles within our organization - at all Organizational Unit levels, Community Caucuses and Outreach Organizations, and in party leadership roles including the State Central Committee (SCC).

  • I will utilize the party building and campaign building skills I have developed through trainings with Women Winning, Vote Run Lead, and FairVote Minnesota to share best practices as we organize in every Senate District across our state.

  • I will defend and advocate for our Caucus and Convention Process, fight for the integrity of our endorsement processes, and receive feedback on how we can make our endorsement process more accessible to new candidates and new members of our party.

  • I will advocate for race/class narrative framing with party messaging and in my interactions with members of the community.

  • Is there something that matters to you that I haven’t considered? I’d love to talk about it! AnitaSmithsonDFL@gmail.com

Relevant Experience & Involvement

Minnesota DFL - volunteer in multiple roles, including Senate District 50 DFL Communications officer, Stonewall DFL board member, State Central Committee member.

Volunteer - Bloomington Human Rights Commission, current Chair, member since 2020. I am most proud of my work to advocate for and ensure the passage of an ordinance to protect LGBTQIA+ and Disabled youth from Conversion Therapy.

Bloomington Pride MN - volunteer festival planning committee and current volunteer Board Member. Working with community members, stakeholders, and partner organizations to plan and implement the annual Bloomington Pride festival since 2021.

Indivisible MN03 - past volunteer Board Member. We were instrumental in creating the conditions to flip MN03 in 2018, leading several demonstrations at our former Representive Paulsen’s office, creating the Indivisible MN03 Light Brigade, and working with a coalition of advocates and organizations.

Volunteer Pro-Choice Clinic Escort.

Volunteer Coach for running club to empower girls and non-binary youth.

RCV Bloomington & Fairvote Minnesota volunteer, advocating for Ranked Choice Voting statewide including presenting at the 2024 DFL State Convention.

Planned Parenthood - volunteer Storyteller. Worked with Planned Parenthood to share my story utilizing Title X funds to access low cost or free reproductive healthcare services prior to the implementation of the Affordable Care Act.

Volunteer Campaign Manager for several ballot initiatives in Bloomington: Vote YES on Taprooms & Distilleries, Vote NO to Save Organized Collection, and 1, 2, 3 YES Bloomington (local sales tax initiatives).

Founding Member of Blooming Strategies LLC, consulting with candidates and organizations on electoral and movement building strategy.

Campaign Manager for Lona Dallessandro for Bloomington City Council, Jen Westmoreland for Hennepin County Commissioner, Julie Greene for MN House; and Campaign Staff for Jenna Carter for Bloomington City Council, Mary for Hennepin County Attorney.

Photos are not implied or explicit endorsement, they are a representation of the work I have done over the last decade to gain progress towards our DFL values.