I hear that Homer is a place where people assume their voice is heard and their actions influence the globe. It’s a small place, so people are pro-active and transform this assumption into truth. The District 35 Democratic Caucus on April 8 at Beluga Lake Lodge was a great example of the Brave Little Tailor, or the Litttle Engine that Could. It was my first experience at being a part of politics beyond casting a vote.

Some things I learned: A caucus can be local, state or national, and is orchestrated by a steering commit-tee. That’s me, member of the steering committee, steering as in herding and being herded into some kind of focused effort to get mutually concieved ideas to become part of a political party platform.

We used the 2004 Democratic platform as our launch pad and surveyed caucus participants for opinions and proposed changes. Then we shared our “Resolutions,” which are calls to action concerning current issues requiring immediate attention. These resolutions were forged by steering committee members and were debated and amended by caucus participants. The lingo goes something like this: Whereas, fish farming creates bad food and is harmful to salmon and fisherfolk alike, be it resolved that District 35 Democrats oppose fish farming in Alaska waters. We covered many resolutions and our final versions will become part of the mix at the Democratic State Convention in Anchor-age, in May.

So what was the process like?

Imagine your most impassioned political opinion being trashed by a dear friend at the next table. There’s only one road to compromise: hours of tedious meetings and debate with too much bad coffee and no bathroom breaks. After this, snowboarders and skiers, snowmobilers and botanists (but those poor little trees...), somehow find a way to co-exist politically and peacefully. Actually, the coffee was good and the food and homemade cookies were fabulous — and bathroom breaks were allowed.

And in addition to having to bear the pain of the process, there were special moments. Hashing out your opinions and seeing a consensus take shape on paper is especially rewarding. Then there are the many tales to be told. I heard about how the infamous Chicago Convention was transformed four years later in Miami. Male-dominated politics gave way to delegate selection based on district profiles, with a number of culturally diverse people and women showing up. The South, and all of us, were changing, after all, with the Civil Rights Movement nudging the country into truer “liberty and justice for all.”

I also heard, from Homer and Anchor Point homesteaders whose “back in the days” stories entertained and astounded. The national and local stories reaffirmed for me how much individual action counts, and I hope more folks consider playing a bit part in this thing called history.

District 35 Dems would like to thank Beluga Lake Lodge for their space and gracious service, Two Sisters Bakery for that luscious homemade bread, Dale Banks of Loopy Lupine for donating plates and utensils, Mike Hayes of Downward Dog Productions for the loan of a sound system for the band, Work in Progress for their stirring music, and Tom Collopy for his professional photograpy.

Margaret O’Connor is the communications person for the District 35 Democrats.