Joining one of Travis County’s many Democratic clubs is a sure-fire way to become active in the community and involved in the electoral process. We have about two dozen Democratic clubs, many of which exert considerable influence through candidate endorsements.

One of the oldest clubs in our city is the Black Austin Democrats, currently presided over by Gerard Washington, a long-time activist with an almost institutional knowledge of city and state politics. He has been involved with BAD since he arrived in Austin in the early ‘90s and was an Obama delegate to the Democratic National Convention in ’08.

Gerard Washington (l), Andy Brown (r)

An accounts examiner at the Comptroller’s office for 20 years (after a stint in the Attorney General’s office), Washington grew up in El Paso and graduated from Washington, D.C.’s Howard University. He is deeply committed to the Democratic Party in general and to Travis County Democrats and BAD in particular. And he is happy to share his enthusiasm.

QUESTION: How did you first get involved with BAD?

WASHINGTON: BAD was a club mostly for state employees back when John Sharp and Bob Bullock were in the Comptroller’s office and Democrats owned all the statewide offices. Membership was heavily composed of state workers. In the early ‘80s, before I got here, BAD was formed as a chapter under the Texas Coalition of Black Democrats. Local chapters were formed all over the state as grassroots for the organization.

QUESTION: I know you love your work with BAD, so tell us why joining a Democratic club is so much fun and so rewarding?

WASHINGTON: Well, Democratic clubs are continuing. The Coordinated Campaign gets hot for somebody — Clinton or Obama — and then after the election is over, they’re gone. Clubs are a way to stay involved. Part of the reason that I love the Democratic Party is that we have programs to help everybody, and the clubs are a way to recruit people and get them involved in the political process. You have to be hands-on to make a difference, and where you can have the most impact is local. You really can make a difference as an individual, but you have to want to be involved, and the clubs can help you do that year-round.

QUESTION: What are some of the things BAD does on a regular basis?

WASHINGTON: We’ve always done endorsements during elections —both non-partisan city council and partisan elections. That’s pretty much been our focus since ’06. We endorsed, and the candidates used our name in their campaigns. During the presidential race in ’08, the organization was more involved in the Coordinated Campaign. We worked closely with them to make sure that BAD had input into who the outreach person was. But until recently, we weren’t really into fundraising, so we didn’t have the money to do other things.

QUESTION: That seems to have changed, right? You recently had a wonderful retirement event for Travis County Tax Collector/Assessor Nelda Spears, and BAD’s holiday parties are fast becoming legendary (this year’s BAD party is Dec. 3).

WASHINGTON: We’ve got a lot of African-American leaders in the community, and we have to recognize them. But you can’t do that if you haven’t raised money. I’m focusing on recruiting more members, raising money and increasing our visibility in the African-American community, in Austin and within the TCDP. I want to make sure we’re at the table and visible. We have a lot of help in doing that from (TCDP Chair) Andy Brown. He has really embraced our efforts to get more exposure and become more vital in the community.

QUESTION: Besides endorsements, what does BAD do during the election season?

WASHINGTON: After we got involved in the City Council elections a few years ago, we actually did work for the candidates we endorsed. We put flyers on black churches, ran get-out-the-vote ads on KAZI and in the Villager newspaper. Now we are not only lending our name, but also putting effort behind the endorsements.

QUESTION: Do you have a game plan for the 2012 election?

WASHINGTON: I would like to see us have a bigger role in the Coordinated Campaign. It’s not about whether we’re going to vote Democratic, because we are. If you get 100 of us out there, 90 of us will vote Democratic. So it’s all about turnout, and I really want BAD to have a role in increasing turnout.