Leaders Are Ready for the Team We Need
Susan Landis of Cherokee County, NC, said, "Why not?" and jumped into the race
I remember long ago hearing Eleanor Roosevelt speak to parents in my middle school auditorium in Woodstock, NY., and I see online that she was there in 1954. This memory is my link to the First Lady who believed that women’s having won the vote was not enough. In 1924 she said they had to organize and get to work for the kind of country they wanted to live in:
Only … with the power of unified women voters … can women become a real force in politics.
Her words must have reminded people of the great Women’s Club Movement of the late 1800’s, which by 1924 was weakening as women finally began to vote and to become active in public roles.
Today we have political clubs such as the National Women’s Democratic Club in Washington, DC., and in my state, the Democratic Women of North Carolina.
I live in the DWNC’s Region 1, which is made of 12 southwestern NC mountain counties. I’m a member of my local Transylvania County Democratic Women’s organization, so I’m part of the DWNC.
The Director of my region is Susan Landis of Cherokee County.
Recently Susan agreed to answer my questions about what it means to her to be an active Democrat in the far Western North Carolina mountains. I was impressed by her commitment to the people in her county, and to the Party’s values.
Q: Susan, what are your political roles beyond Director of our region’s Democratic Women?
A: I’m also Treasurer for the Cherokee County Democratic Party. For four years I was President of the Tri-County Democratic Women, for Cherokee, Graham and Clay counties. Also, I ran in 2020 for NC House District 120 but lost to our current Representative Karl Gillespie, a Republican.
Q: How long have you been in politics?
A: Always! My family often watched campaign speeches and election returns. One of my earliest memories was asking if God and Eisenhower were the same person. I knew they both had a lot of power! We lived in Arizona in the early 1960’s and went to Barry Goldwater’s kickoff campaign. Then I became busy working and raising children.
Q: Has anyone inspired you personally or politically?
A: After we retired to Murphy, NC, I watched the 2020 Democratic Convention and was deeply inspired to do everything in my power to help elect Hillary Clinton. I signed up to volunteer for her and spent the summer registering voters in downtown Murphy. I met local women and members of the Democratic Women who now are my friends and my daily inspiration. They are the reason I do what I do.
Q: How did you become a candidate in 2020?
A: I was asked to run for the NC House by a state Democratic Party officer who saw I was an active Democrat in this area. I thought, “Why not?” and jumped into the race. In my Republican county I wanted to show that Democrats are good people, not evil baby killers.
Q: What was your campaign like?
A: Covid limited me to signs, radio ads, a little speaking, word of mouth and Zoom meetings. But I had lots of support from donations, media, NC Democratic Party training, the local newspaper, and from other state candidates. I gained a new perspective on politics.
Q: What prepared you to run?
A: Becoming a candidate was as much a surprise to me as it was to everyone who knows me! I can be outspoken but I’ve always been more comfortable in a supporting role, not the main attraction. Before I was in kindergarten I learned to read by identifying words in the newspaper; I still read several daily papers. In my home town of Chattanooga, Tennessee, I worked as a school psychologist.
Today I believe that our government should be run by all of us, by the people. I see it as a civic responsibility to do all I can to protect democracy. This is what I bring to politics.
Q: What has been your experience working with volunteers?
A: I’ve seen in local and state politics that it’s hard to find people who are willing to step up, to be leaders in the party or to run for office, especially in rural areas. Standing up makes you open to criticism, unfair attacks, distortions of your positions. But to me, it’s worth the fight. All of us can contribute, whether it’s money, time, writing letters to the editor or postcards, marching in protest, however we can raise our voices.
Q: In your rural county, who steps up?
A: It often comes down to a handful of mostly women trying to do everything. In a community of older retirees, it can be exhausting. I don’t think there’s a magic formula for getting younger people involved, except getting the message out on what Democrats stand for.
Q: How do you get out that message?
A: For example, when I hear a complaint about the long wait at the local Department of Motor Vehicles, I remind the person that the DMV budget for staffing is a political decision. Another example, in my county crypto mines were disrupting neighborhoods because our Commission Board opposes zoning regulations; that political calculation has backfired on some Commissioners.
I’ve learned that many voters don’t connect the dots. They don’t realize that their basic services are controlled by people they elect, and we can remind them of this. It’s one of my personal missions, one that has gotten me in trouble at times on Facebook.
Q: What do you think about today’s politics?
A: Politics is a divisive dirty word in some circles, but I don’t think we talk about it enough. I don’t seek conflict, but I don’t shy away from it. I’ve been called arrogant because I think the Democratic Party has the high moral ground and I don’t hesitate to say so. The party has its flaws, but there’s no comparison to the Trump party of power at all costs, that seeks to take away human rights from women, children and minorities. I believe our divided political culture has been created by the Fox News organization and the fake-outraged media personalities.
Q: How do you balance being well-informed with not feeling overwhelmed or discouraged?
A: I’m an optimist by nature. I try to focus on what I can do to further the message of inclusion, hope, appreciation and all the other things that make us want to get up in the morning. I’ve been known to rant, too! But when I feel discouraged by the state of things, I know it's time to take a break from news, sit on my porch, and just appreciate the beauty all around me.
Thank you, Susan.
I’m thinking now of another American woman who responded to the call for political participation that Eleanor Roosevelt expressed long ago.
Shirley Chisolm, a Democrat, became the first African American woman in Congress in 1968, and in 1971 co-founded the National Women's Political Caucus. She said,
You don’t make progress by standing on the sidelines. … You make progress by implementing ideas.
I think it’s important to add that when just a handful of us step up to protect democracy for all of us, it’s not as effective as a large team of citizens would be. As Susan Landis told me,
Whether people can spare a little time or a lot, the Democratic Party is grateful for all the help.
This was a great article and Deda thank you for all you do!!
I am tremendously grateful for Susan Landis and for all the other women who have and still lead the way. And you, Deda, are one of them.