Reflections on my first Iowa Democratic Party State Convention

By Steven Erickson, M.D., Cedar Falls Ward 3, Precinct 1 Precinct Committee Member, and Member of the Precinct Committee Member Support Team

June 27, 2026

For those of you who wonder if getting active in the Democratic Party is the right move, I have some thoughts.

I have been voting for Democrats almost all my life. At 17, my parents directed me to the Republican Precinct Caucus in 1972 in Minnesota. By showing up, I became a Delegate to the County and Regional Convention. I nominated a friend, who became Delegate to the State Convention. I had a “Re-Elect the President” sticker on my high school binder. We all make mistakes in our youth.

In 1976, I worked for a third-party candidate who was more liberal than the Democratic nominee that year, Senator Eugene McCarthy of Minnesota.  He advocated for ballot access fairness for independent candidates. He wanted to end restrictive state ballot access laws, mandate a shorter work week, decrease defense spending, increase civil liberties, and stop the waste of resources due to dependence on automobiles.   He received only 0.91% of the national popular vote in the general election in 1976, but my efforts netted me a kitchen table discussion with Senator McCarthy about the future of the country, which I will never forget.

After a time-consuming career in Internal Medicine and raising three children, retirement gave me time to get involved in politics again. In 2020, I campaigned and caucused locally for Pete Buttgieg for President, and Liz Mathis in 2022 and Sarah Corkery in 2024, both for U.S. Congress. The insights and excitement of experiencing democracy in action and speaking with voters door to door, showed me that connecting with people can change the outcome of elections.

After the devastating losses of 2016 and 2024, it was clear to me that Democrats needed an organization that functions from the ground up to make victory in 2026 and 2028 possible. I volunteered to be a Precinct Committee Member. The structure of the Black Hawk Democratic Party starts with representation by Precinct Committee Members (two from each precinct) to the monthly Central Committee meetings at the party headquarters downtown Waterloo (open to all Democrats!). There, we learn about what the organization is planning, how to get involved, and hear from candidates for office. The next representation options are to serve as Delegates to the County, Regional and State Conventions. I elected to go that route!

At the Iowa Democratic Party Convention on June 13th, a total of 423 Delegates gathered at Roosevelt High School in Des Moines. The atmosphere was very positive, and the entire slate of statewide candidates gave rousing speeches. It was inspiring to see that the Primary Election had chosen very qualified people to win the Midterms next November. It was also revealing to see democracy at work in the party. Delegates carefully reviewed and voted on proposed changes to the party constitution and the extensive Platform. Most of the platform was not contentious, as it had been refined with many hours of work by the Platform Committee. There were additional Constitutional Amendments and Platform Planks proposed by the Delegates at the Convention. After discussion, including arguments by three Delegates opposed and three in favor of proposed changes, some of the votes were very close. There was an election of a State Accessibility, Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion (ADEI) Chair from a field of three candidates. Democrats are never completely united on every issue, but they are united in our goals.

There was transparency in the entire process, and I think everyone left believing their investment of 10 hours of their time was worth every minute.

We have a lot of work to do to win all the races in 2026, and an important job to do to build an organization that will ensure 2028 has a better outcome than 2016 and 2024.

That work begins with becoming part of the process. Not every Precinct in Black Hawk County has a Precinct Committee Member. We need to make sure everyone in the county has a champion to organize our efforts to protect democracy and work toward a better country for all.

Everyone can do something to help. Please join us. Click on the Volunteer Button on the web page to join the effort to win back America. We can change the world, one voter at a time. There has never been a more crucial time to get involved.

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