KBAD New Leaders (1)

KBAD Seeks New Leaders To Serve on Executive Board

New leaders needed to take KBAD into the future

Kyle/Buda-Area Democrats (KBAD) has come a long way in the three years it has existed as a formal organization. 

While a small group of loyal Democrats operated informally under the Kyle/Buda-Area Democrats moniker before 2016, the disastrous election of Donald Trump spurred an effort to turn it into an organization equipped with the tools and structure needed to turn out Democratic voters in our area and elect good progressives to office in Hays County and beyond.

As more local Democrats began to regularly show up for KBAD meetings in 2017, a steering committee was created to research organizational structures and develop a set of bylaws, which were adopted in December 2017. The first officers were elected in January 2018, providing KBAD with its first elected leadership to make decisions and guide the enthusiastic volunteers in our communities who were motivated to elect more Democrats and turn Hays County blue!

KBAD has been fortunate to have some amazing and selfless board members since then. They have dedicated their time and efforts to the essential work of organizing area Democrats to win elections against an entrenched Republican Party that for decades has amassed power through gerrymandering and the backing of corporate interests. 

In 2018 we helped turn Hays County blue, a feat some people doubted could happen at that time, and then kept it blue in 2020. Our extensive get-out-the-vote efforts in 2020 contributed to Hays County making national news for becoming the first county in the nation to surpass its total 2016 voter turnout in late October, with another week of early voting plus election-day turnout still to come. Hays County also had the largest increase in early-voting turnout (+35%) among all Texas counties.

Several board members will not be running for reelection in January 2021, presenting our membership with new leadership opportunities to guide KBAD into the new post-Trump era. While we have made substantial progress toward keeping Hays County a reliably blue county, we still have much work to do to make that vision a reality and to elect Democratic congressional representatives and statewide officials. 

We are now seeking individuals who can apply their talents, time and energy to grassroots organizing as KBAD executive board members. The continued success of our action-oriented Democratic organization will depend on our ability to recruit board members who can effectively address the needs of our residents to ensure they will turn out to vote for Democrats in upcoming elections.

Roles and Responsibilities

The following are descriptions of some of the duties and responsibilities of each position on the KBAD executive board. The chair may reassign some responsibilities depending on the strengths, experience, and desires of the individuals holding each position. 
 
CHAIR — The chair calls for executive board or special meetings as needed and presides at all meetings. The chair may also appoint committees, subcommittees or task forces. It is helpful for the chair to be a good communicator to help keep members engaged, to create social media and website postings, and to act as emcee at KBAD-hosted events such as candidate forums. The chair provides reports at meetings of the Hays County Democratic Party’s executive committee and often acts as a liaison between KBAD and the various candidates’ campaigns during elections. The chair also moderates the KBAD Facebook group with the assistance of the secretary and approved volunteers. The chair must exercise good judgment and discernment to help guide decisions of the organization and act on behalf of the organization as needed.
 
VICE CHAIR — The vice chair presides at meetings and performs the duties of the chair in the chair’s absence, performs other duties as assigned by the chair, and succeeds to the office of the chair if the office becomes vacant during an unexpired term. It is helpful for the vice chair to recommend and develop special projects or other activities of particular interest and to remain involved in all board communications and activities. 
 
SECRETARY — The secretary records and maintains the minutes of all meetings and submits them to the chair within 30 days of the meeting, sends all meeting notices, helps to create and send e-newsletters, and works with an appointed webmaster as directed by the chair to update and maintain the KBAD website. Other responsibilities include sharing or creating social media posts, assisting the treasurer with maintaining membership lists, promoting events and outreach efforts through Mobilize and social media, assisting with technology-related issues such as running Zoom meetings, updating calendar systems, and helping the chair moderate the KBAD Facebook group.
 
TREASURER — The treasurer collects all dues, donations, and PAC contributions; disburses the organization’s funds as needed; keeps updated records of all monies received; acts as the agent and recordkeeper for fundraising activities; and presents a written report on the finances at all meetings or when requested by the chair. The treasurer must timely file all financial reports required by the Texas Ethics Commission, or any other entity requiring reporting, to ensure that KBAD remains in compliance. Other duties include maintaining a list of dues-paid members, reconciling bank statements, making bank deposits, staying up to date with TEC compliance reporting requirements, working with the KBAD secretary regarding membership renewal notices, checking the PO Box for mail, and creating a member sign-in sheet for in-person meetings. This position requires the ability to work with spreadsheets, attention to detail, and good number sense and organizational skills.
 
DIRECTORS AT-LARGE — The three directors at-large attend meetings, vote on proposals, and perform other duties as assigned by the chair. Assigned duties depend on an individual’s interests and skill set. For example, one director-at-large may act as events chair, who helps to coordinate logistics for KBAD events such as candidate forums, holiday parties, and special projects as assigned by the chair. Other directors may prefer to be more engaged with social media, data analytics, website blogs, or marketing campaigns, among a host of other possibilities.

Application Process

Any dues-paid members who are interested in serving on the KBAD executive board should submit a brief biography to the nominations committee. Biographies should include, at a minimum, current and past employment information, qualifications for the position sought, and a statement of commitment to the goals and ideals of KBAD and the Democratic Party. Also include any particular skill sets such as database management, website design, graphic design, fundraising, writing, speaking, community outreach, administrative skills or accounting.

Send biographies to Deborah Chavez, chair of the KBAD nominations committee, at [email protected]. The deadline to submit a biography is Friday, January 8, 2021. The election will occur at the KBAD meeting on January 24, 2021.

KBAD New Leaders Mixer Meeting

Sign-up for a Zoom social hour to learn about becoming a new KBAD leader on Dec. 16 at 6 p.m.
Join members of the Kyle/Buda-Area Democrats leadership team for a casual social hour to discuss opportunities to take our action-focused club into the future. We are currently recruiting talented new leaders to join KBAD's executive board before elections are held in January.
Please register in advance to join this Zoom meet up and get to know the current and potential new board members.

Executive Board Structure

Learn more about KBAD's leadership structure by reading our bylaws.

Current Board Members

Learn more about our current board members.