Suggestion for Don Bivens: Choose Both

There are two finalists for the job of Arizona Democratic Party Executive Director and state chairman Don Bivens is deciding between the two sometime this week. His choice is between two well-known Democrats who both could do the job. But my question is this: why pick one when you can get both?

My main concern, having been an Executive Director myself, is that some people have this odd notion that the Executive Director should be a fund-raiser. That's a big mistake. The Executive Director needs to focus on strategy, candidate identification and training, providing assistance to county party organizations, and staff management. Fundraising takes up a tremendous amount of time and you really can't have one person in charge of that as well as everything else. It's an impossible task and I would strongly argue it's a recipe for failure. It's a truly bad idea.

That being said, were Bivens to chose one of the candidates, he'd get a twofer. He'd keep in the fold one of the state's best fundraisers ever doing what she clearly does best, which will be very useful in the coming election. He'd also get someone who has experience in working campaigns, developing strategy, the private sector, managing people, and someone who has the support of a broad range of state and county officials. It's a win-win.

So Don, if you're listening, chose both. The party will be better off for it.