Berks Democrats respect the will of the voters

editor:

Berks County Democratic Committee Response to “Poll Surprise” (Reading EagleAugust 11), which disclosed the Berks County Republican Committee’s process for selecting party committee members:

It turns out that the Berks Republican Committee does not always include committee members despite being elected to serve in their precincts. People elected to the commission must first fill out a rather intrusive questionnaire and pledge allegiance to one party policy.

This appears to be a transparent attempt to homogenize the local Republican Party so that dissenting voices are not allowed within the party.

We want to make it clear that the Berks Democratic Committee is firmly rooted in the principles of democracy. Democratic committee members are elected every four years by the voters of each precinct during the primary election in a gubernatorial election year. A person who has been elected becomes a member of our committee, provided that he or she has been a registered Democrat for at least two years.

We sincerely respect the will of voters at each polling station. There is no need to fill out a questionnaire to determine if all our members think alike.

We welcome diversity in all aspects of our party, including diversity of ideas on issues. We discuss, we disagree, and we build consensus. As for who sits on our commission, we rely on voter choice.

Kevin Butter
Chairman of the Berks County Democratic Committee