Biography

Mike Schillawski is the current president of the Cornell Democrats, serving for the 2009-2010 academic year. A member of the Class of 2010, he is a Government and Economics double major. In addition to his work with the Cornell Dems, he is serving a second term as Finance Director for the College Democrats of New York.

2009-2010 Candidacy Statement

I am declaring my intention to run for the Presidency of the Cornell Democrats. I joined the club in my sophomore year, but quickly immersed myself in the organization, participating in a wide variety of activities. Countless campaign trips, helping to plan and host the 2008 College Democrats of New York Convention here, becoming involved in the state organization. I quickly became a leader within the club, serving on the current executive board. I served as the Treasurer for the Convention Host Committee, the liaison to the State Organization, and currently as Treasurer. I am currently serving a second term as Finance Director for the College Democrats of New York. I want to continue my service to the club as its President for the 2009-2010 year.

As a club, we need to return to the fundamentals. Everyone has seen our regular attendance numbers dwindle from the highs in November to now. We need to retain members by developing a long-term strategy to plan our meetings, so that we give people a reason to come. We need to try new events and reinvigorate old ones. We can design a more active media strategy to publicize the projects that we work on and speakers that we bring. We only meet once a week - we must use that time to its fullest.

The Cornell Democrats belongs to its members, and we need to involve them in its direction. This means attracting new members and encouraging occasional ones to become regulars. We can do this by opening executive meetings to members with ideas for the direction of the club and for events, giving them an active, meaningful voice in the future of the club. Furthermore, it will help promote and develop our future club leaders.