Working for Us

A collage of images. Top left: Anita and Sen. Alice Mann smile at a convention; top middle: a photo of the DFL 2024 State Convention; top right: Anita and Rep. Julie Greene smile with another volunteer in front of the DFL GOTV Bus; bottom right: Anita and Sharon Billings smile at Pride; bottom middle: knocking with the coordinated campaign in 2022; bottom left: Anita smiles for a selfie while knocking for David Gottfried.

Dear DFL State Central Committee Members,

I am looking forward to our DFL Business Conference on March 29 in Edina. My very own Senate District 50 is looking forward to hosting you! As I’ve been talking with SCC Members on the phone and at events, I’m energized by the passion you have for the work you are doing in your districts, and for all of the great ideas you’ve brought forward about how I can serve you as our next party Secretary.

I wanted to outline a few more details about my platform and the vision I have for the role.

Transparent. Thorough. Timely.

This means that SCC members should have the draft minutes in a timely manner; within two weeks of a meeting. The minutes should be detailed enough to provide a clear record of the business accomplished; with any action items or significant changes highlighted so we can easily find the information we need to know and enable us to bring relevant and timely information back to our Organizing Units. Additionally, I will engage State Standing Committee Chairs to establish a process to ensure their reports are included or summarized in our meeting minutes; their work is instrumental to the progress of our party, and it’s reasonable to expect details of their reports to be included in our minutes from the day. Finally, I would establish an online library of our minutes, working with party staff to set up a secure folder within Google Drive or something similar, so members can access past meeting minutes and to enable a better archive of this information, available to all of us.

I will proactively onboard new members of our State Central Committee, explaining their role in the party, where they can find SCC materials, provide a Roberts Rules cheat sheet, and detailing the rules for membership and moderation of our Google Group listserv. I know from personal experience that it can be overwhelming to join the body for the first time, and I am excited for the opportunity to improve that experience for others.

In addition to ensuring new SCC Members are onboarded, I will provide trainings and templates that secretaries in Organizing Units across our state can utilize to make their jobs easier. We have a wealth of institutional knowledge in our party, so facilitating these sessions with other secretaries is a great opportunity to share, learn, and develop our bench of party leaders.

Our DFL Secretary has the important task of honoring those who have passedthrough an In-Memoriam presentation at our State Convention. It is important to me that this is a year-round activity, and to facilitate that, I will create and promote a year-round submission form so that we can meaningfully collect this information in real-time. Especially given all the work that our party chairs accomplish over the course of the year, my goal is to make In-Memoriam submissions a part of our role all throughout the year, instead of a rush to complete them in the weeks before our State Convention.

Aside from the vision I have for the defined role of DFL Secretary, I look forward to using my professional and personal leadership skills to serve our party. My day job is in Third Party Risk Management, and on my team I provide leadership in oversight activities, training, communication, and project management. Outside of work, I am a wife, a mom of three, a rescue dog mom, a volunteer coach, non-profit leader, door knocker, communications director, municipal Human Rights Commissioner, gardener, and so much more. I am a curious, inclusive leader, with a drive to do the work alongside of you across our state. For my entire life, I have always stepped up to say “How can I help?” and then I get to work, and that is a tradition that I would continue as your next party Secretary. I also pride myself on my listening skills, and I believe we all have the capacity to lead in our own ways. It’s important that our party makes space for new leadership and fully represents the communities we serve. I look forward to being a megaphone for the many great ideas coming out of our local units, and being your biggest cheerleader as we meet the moment in 2025 and 2026, and do what it takes to win in each district around our state.

If the vision I have shared for how I will serve you as our next DFL Secretary is one that excites you about our future – I would love to earn your support and your vote at the DFL Business Conference on March 29. Please reach out if you have any questions or ideas for me. It’s been an honor to have these conversations with you.

In DFL Solidarity,

Anita Smithson, Candidate for DFL Secretary

anitasmithsonDFL@gmail.com
anitasmithsonmn.com

SD50 DFL Communications Officer
SD50 DFL SCC Member
Stonewall DFL Communications Officer
Nominations Committee member