James Gee has promised county committee members that he’ll seek their input if they elect him as the Mercer County Democratic Chairman tomorrow night, and to show them what he means, he’s set up a new website that includes an example poll.
Gee, a veteran Democratic strategist, says he’s “trying to convince people in this party that we can do better.”
“This is how I would govern,” he said. “Part of modernizing the party is taking advantage of new technology as it emerges. I would use digital polls to get a sense of where the party is on issues and help determine how to best use our energy and influence.”
He faces Ewing Councilwoman Jennifer Keyes Maloney in a race for the open seat. The incumbent, Janice Mironov, is stepping down after eight years as county chair.
Gee has promised financial transparency, the empowerment of party committees, and independent leadership.
“We need a chairperson who is not an elected official, who can promote democratic values without fear of reprisal,” Gee stated. “Mercer County has always been the gold standard of unbossed, independent, progressive values in the state, and we need leadership committed to that tradition. In times like these, we need a leader of the party that is concerned about the party first, not their own re-election.”
Before opening his own government affairs firm, Gee served as chief of staff to Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-Ewing). He ran her first congressional campaign twelve years ago, and Watson Coleman has endorsed Gee’s bid for county chairman; Mironov is backing Keyes Maloney.
A former deputy chief of staff to Gov. James E. McGreevey, Gee chaired the campaign of Rep. Analilia Mejia (D-Glen Ridge) in New Jersey’s 11th district earlier this year, and was a key advisor to Nakia White Barr, who ousted incumbent John Cimino in the Democratic primary for county commissioner earlier this month.