COMMENTARY: Bankrupt Leadership
by Jerry Mitchell, executive director, North Alabama African American Chamber of Commerce (NAAACC)

(ABOVE) Jerry Mitchell, executive director, NAAACC.

When do the words bankrupt and leadership go together? Never, unless you are discussing the Alabama Democratic Party in 2013. Bankrupt simply means that you cannot pay your debts, while leadership refers to those who would direct or guide the organization.

A recent article in AL.com reported the Alabama Democratic Party is almost bankrupt and is facing a growing debt of nearly a half a million dollars while having less than $20,000 of total cash in hand. Nationwide our nation's top Democrat, President Obama, has had little difficulty in raising funds for two successful political campaigns. So what's up in the state of Alabama?

Alabama Democratic Party State Chairman Mark Kennedy blames the insolvency on the banning of PAC-to-PAC transfers by the Republican-led majority in the legislature in 2010. According to Kennedy the dollars given by political action committee transfers were the financial lifeblood of party. Kennedy is quoted as saying, "Unlike the Republicans, we just as a party have not developed the kind of broad donor base a modern political party needs and the Republicans have." That statement alone tells you he and his leadership team have failed.

Chairman Kennedy tells us that since he became chairman in 2011, one of his key goals has been stabilize the party financially and begin the type of outreach to potential donors to grow the party in communities across the state. Obviously, the record shows that he and his leadership team are not getting the job done. The party is broke, there are no democrats that hold statewide offices, and White male democrats have gone into hiding, largely distancing themselves from President Obama's national success.

The outreach efforts such as they are have been weak and ineffective. Anyone recall the state and local elections of 2012, where in many instances republicans ran unopposed. Except for efforts to re-elect the president, I saw little from state democrats to recruit young people, nor have I seen any major efforts to reach out to the business community, in particular the Black business community, a group that generated billions in revenue according to the 2010 census.

In many circles I know that the popular belief is that things run in political cycles. That may be true to a degree at national political levels, but states, southern state politics especially, are a different animal. Just look at our neighboring state of Georgia, which started trending "red" in the 1990s and is now under total republican domination without any change in sight for the future.

Good leaders recognize when a strategy is not working and make adjustments. If leadership cannot get the job done, stakeholders (i.e. members of the party) must demand replacements. In 2013 and beyond the Alabama State Democratic Party cannot go forward with bankrupt leadership.

ABOUT NAAACC
The NAAACC annually serves over 500 business. The NAAACC serves as a vehicle to enhance African American Businesses and other historically underutilized businesses by identifying business opportunities. providing a resource base, and encouraging members to do business with each other. The NAAACC is affiliated with the National Black Chamber of Commerce, Which is headquartered in Washington, DC. For more information visit us at http://www.naaachamber.org/

Contact J. Mitchell at www.facebook.com/naaachamber.