Student takes over Boone County Democratic Central Committee
Senior Mark Buhrmester will graduate in May.
April 11, 2008
Columbia resident Darlene Dixon talks with newly appointed Boone County Democratic Party Executive Director Mark Buhrmester prior to the Boone County Democratic Central Committee meeting at the Roger Wilson Government Center on Thursday. Buhrmester is graduating from MU this spring and will be one of the youngest employees on the committee.
Senior Mark Buhrmester, the former MU College Democrats president, said he could connect with other college students to get them more involved in the political process.
Buhrmester was named the first Boone County Democratic Central Committee executive director on March 13 and began work on Monday, while completing his degrees in political science and communications at MU. He held a meet and greet with fellow Democrats on Thursday evening.
“Right now it’s about learning the ropes,” Buhrmester said. “I’ve been getting to know the volunteers that work for the party and learning how to manage the office.”
Buhrmester’s job is the only paid position in the Boone County Democratic Party with the annual salary of $30,000. He said his roles within the organization include managing the office, taking phone calls from candidates, reaching out to the community and promoting the Democratic Party.
Buhrmester said because he is young, he is a good candidate to connect to the campus community.
“We need to do a better job of reaching out and bringing them into the Boone County Democratic Party,” he said. “Races affect the campus just as much as the community.”
Buhrmester is being trained by BCDP chairwoman Phyllis Fugit and vice chairman Scott Christianson, who together created the executive director position.
“After the election of 2004, the vice chair and I started talking about this position,” Fugit said. “We started raising funds to hire someone and got donors to commit to three years of funding.”
More than 30 people applied, but Buhrmester was the one for the job, Fugit said.
“He just seemed to be the right fit for us,” Fugit said. “There are a lot of things for him to learn, which he will in time.”
Senior Glenn Rehn said Buhrmester is highly qualified for the position.
“First, he learned how to manage a large number of people as the College Democrats president,” Rehn said. “Also, his work on Jim Ritter’s 2006 campaign caused him to gain a lot of knowledge about voting in Boone County.”
Rehn said Buhrmester would make his age work to the benefit of the party. Buhrmester’s work could inspire students to join organizations such as the College Democrats, Rehn said.
“Most of the leadership of the county party are adults,” Rehn said. “If you have someone who is younger, it will help students become interested and involved.”
Rehn said young people should step up and take the initiative in representing their party. He said there hasn’t been this kind of young representation in years and that it can only lead to more in the future.
“If students are more involved, that’s one more opportunity to have their voice heard,” he said. “Party members are going out of their way to make young people welcome.”
Buhrmester said he couldn’t be more thrilled with his new position.
“I’m excited to meet all the people and work with them to make sure we elect Democrats,” he said.
Buhrmester said the races in Boone County are especially competitive this year, but he is up to the challenge of promoting Democratic candidates.
The first promotional event Buhrmester will be a part of as executive director is the BCDP Earth Day outreach on April 24.
“This is a dream job for me,” Buhrmester said.
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