Welcome our New Board
Tuesday, March 02, 2010
Starting this week we will feature a weekly column by one of our recently elected board members. Or at least Tim will share something from time to time. Chair: Craig Niedenthal – craigniedenthal@gmail.com Vice Chair: Bob Parker VP of Membership – Patty Warren VP of Finance – Norman Berk Chair Emeritus – John Crenshaw VP Issues & Programs – TBDAbout OTMDems
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Over The Mountain Democrats is one of the fastest-growing organizations of Democrats in the South, with more than 500 members since its inception less than two years ago. Over The Mountain Democrats is dedicated to advancing through grassroots political activism its values of fairness, integrity, compassion, and economic opportunity for the benefit of every citizen in Alabama.New Leadership Structure
Saturday, July 26, 2008
By a unanimous voice vote…
the OTMDems membership in attendance approved a plan for a transitional leadership committee to develop by-laws, conduct officer elections, organize our 2008 election support efforts, foster membership renewal & recruitment, and our other important areas of emphasis - the Ministers’ Caucus, website & internet, and issues & programs for the year.
Our Values
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
FDR once said,
“The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.”
OTMDems members march in the "I Love Homewood" Day Parade May 7, 2005That, simply put, is for what we stand, and for what we'll fight. Values of simple fairness, integrity, compassion, and economic opportunity for all citizens, not just the privileged. Values that not too long ago made this nation, and our government, the admiration of the world. Values conspicuously absent from or selectively manipulated by the present party in power. Contrary to the propaganda from certain quarters about Democrats, we are not hostile to enjoying “the good life”, nor anyone being able to enjoy the fruits of their labor. We believe, however, that it is in our enlightened self-interest that the opportunities for a better life be as widely accessible as possible. It’s also the right thing to do. The late Senator Howell Heflin was fond of talking about taking pride and pleasure in climbing the ladder of success, only remember to leave the ladder down. We couldn’t agree more!What’s in the name?
Our name is taken from a casual geographical reference to those suburban communities in Jefferson County where the vast majority of our members reside.
Red Mountain, the most prominent physical landmark in the area, lies in the very center of our central city, our county, and even for the most part, our great state. Occasionally, a vague concern is expressed that our name somehow conveys a certain exclusivity or is elitist. Nothing could be further from the truth. We are Democrats, after all! Our name is a reflection, not of any sign of status or geographical restriction on membership, but rather of the fact that there are thousands of Democrats living, working, and raising their families here where most of us live - “Over The Mountain”. We simply wished to disabuse those that didn’t know better of the notion that our communities were thoroughly “red”. While most of our group hails from the suburbs of Homewood, Vestavia Hills, Mountain Brook, and Hoover, we proudly claim members from all over Jefferson and Shelby Counties. Plainly-speaking, we’re looking for donkeys, not jackasses! All this is to say that it is entirely appropriate for individual Democrats to organize according to their interests or by geographical proximity. This is typically how we select our houses of worship and the schools our children attend, even the stores where we shop. While we proudly acknowledge common ground with local chapters of the Stonewall Democrats, Jewish Democrats, the recently-formed Shelby County and Tuscaloosa Democrats, and Labor and Gender groups as well, we humbly suggest that it is the role of the national and state Democratic parties to unite us as one broad coalition to form the majority that we are in this country…How we got started
Wishing to capitalize on the unprecedented energy generated by the 2004 presidential campaign,
a few ordinary citizens determined to create something lasting and permanent from that experience. We knew that in the “Over The Mountain” precincts alone, the Kerry/Edwards ticket tallied over 17,000 votes. Our organizational meeting in January 2005 drew well more than a hundred excited participants, standing room only, most of whom had never before participated in a political organization. We came together that night to begin the process of making it socially acceptable again to be publicly identified as a Democrat in the communities where we live and raise our families. Within a few weeks, we had crafted a mission statement, which we feature prominently throughout this website. We acquired a regular meeting place, established a few essential committees, and took great pleasure in getting to know each other better. We quickly realized that bringing grassroots Democrats together here could be a very fulfilling experience! We topped 500 members in September of 2006, some twenty-one months after we organized.