Name: Tom Schmid
Gender: Male
Office: Counsel
Member since: 2013
Residence: Japan
Biography:
I was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri and studied business and German at Washington University in St. Louis. In 2004, I earned my law degree from the University of Missouri, became a member of the Illinois bar, and began practicing law in and around Chicago. My practice was diverse but focused on business law and commercial litigation. Since 2010, I have served as Chief Counsel and owner of a family-owned real estate rental business. In terms of politics, I was a poll watcher during the 2008 election, became active with my local party, and was on the verge of becoming a precinct captain when I made the decision to move to Japan for family reasons. I have lived in Japan since 2012, where I am a contractor for the Japanese Ministry of Justice and support their international activities in the field of crime prevention and criminal justice.
Links to MYC video.
Describe your volunteer work with DA and cite your greatest DA accomplishment.
I learned about DA in 2012 during my quest to start a chapter of Drinking Liberally in Tokyo. I’ve gone to the pub at the same time nearly every month since then to meet like- minded liberals and explain how to vote from abroad. In 2013, I was elected as Secretary and then as Chair in Japan. In 2015, I was appointed to the Global with Presidential Primary Team, and then chaired the Rules Committee and the Credentials Committee for the 2016 Global Convention. In July 2016, I was appointed as International Treasurer. In February 2017, I was appointed to chair the Bylaws Committee. My proudest moment was leading DA Japan as we planned, publicized, and led a 650-person march through Tokyo on the eve of the 2017 Inauguration. To me, this was a sign that DA Japan had risen to a new level by accomplishing what we never thought possible.
Why are you running for this office?
I’m running for Counsel because I believe I can help DA transition into the new era of Democratic politics being ushered in by Tom Perez and Keith Ellison. We must operate with the highest standards of transparency, inclusiveness, and substantive and procedural fairness. Having lost the presidential election and with Democratic control of state legislatures and governorships at an all-time low, our party needs to be rebuilt by shifting emphasis locally to our grass roots supporters. As we do this, we know that ideas and concerns will not always be the same. It is important that our leadership, particularly International Counsel, remains committed to an organizational environment that is fair and respectful of differing views within the party, and we must never allow leadership to advance their own personal or political self-interests above the interests of the organization. I will work to ensure that DA remains a “big tent” for political and social ideas and that leadership places the interests of our organization first. The reality and perception of fairness will help us expand our membership and will encourage engagement in our brand of politics.
How will your skill sets and experience contribute to DA’s success?
First, I have experience at virtually all levels of DA, including grass roots organizing, country committee leadership, chairing three global committees, and serving on the International Executive Committee. As Counsel, I’ll bring a firm understanding of our organization’s goals based on experience. Second, my legal experience as a transactional attorney and a litigator is broad and relevant to DPCA. In addition to drafting and negotiating contracts, I have extensive experience advising for-profit and non-profit business entities on matters of organizational structure, business development, and litigation strategy. Based on my current experience on the Executive Committee, I plan to commence a review of internal procedures and record keeping to enhance officers’ access to key information for making management decisions. Finally, I have an established record of working in teams both as a member and as a leader. I will always do my best to ensure that key decisions are taken by consensus.
If elected what are the three top issues within DA you will work to affect and how?
First, as the political minority, it is imperative that we remain unified. We need to reach out to all segments of the Democratic Party and empower them to participate. Exclusion —even the perception of exclusion—can cause infighting that distracts us from our mission of advocating the policies we believe in. I will work to ensure transparent governance of our organization and to avoid or resolve any conflicts of interest that arise. Likewise, I will work together with and reach out to local counsel to ensure these standards are met. Second, as Treasurer, I’ve become familiar with issues of FEC reporting and compliance. As these issues are critical to DPCA’s financial transparency and governance, I believe that the role of International Counsel needs to be involved in keeping DPCA in compliance by working closely with the Treasurer. Finally, our internal procedures can be improved so that officers have better access to information for making management decisions. As Counsel, I will call for a review of our internal procedures and work with fellow officers to ensure that management information is shared in a way that is not overly burdensome but is easily accessible to decision makers.
What three planks/issues are you the most passionate about to include in the DA 2020 Platform and and why?
The United States must be actively engaged in global affairs to promote and protect human rights, democracy, and the rule of law, among many other critical issues of global concern. But the inability of our government to adequately address issues of domestic concern has eroded our credibility overseas. Take guns for example. Americans overwhelmingly support common sense reform, but even the slaughter of innocent children is insufficient to overcome the lobbying and financial power of the you NRA. To truly turn the tide of American politics, I believe that we need to purge excessive amount of corporate money that does, in fact, buy votes at all levels of politics. Income inequality must also be addressed to ensure that a vibrant middle class has the freedom and security it needs to start new businesses, invent new products and services, and consume goods and services that drive our economy forward. This requires access to affordable health care and child care, living wages, a commitment to social security, among others. Finally, we must have an inclusive society that embraces the broadest spectrum of people and beliefs if we hope to have a peaceful and harmonious society.
What can Democrats Abroad do to increase its profile among voters globally and and better work to elect Democrats?
In addition to overseas voter registration, Democrats Abroad provides Americans overseas with the opportunity to participate directly in Democratic Party politics. This form of participation, and the impact we have on US elections, is newsworthy, and I believe that we can enhance our outreach and building brand recognition by following three key strategies: (1) enhancing our global messaging through traditional, online, and social media and increasing our profile through highly publicized events overseas; (2) raising the profile of Democrats Abroad domestically in the United States by collaborating with state parties and the DNC so that Americans who move overseas know about Democrats Abroad before they leave; (3) relying on the local knowledge and resources of our grass roots volunteers across the globe, through the expansion of country committee chapters, implementation of precinct captain programs, etc.
How can DA work best with the Democratic Party and the Democratic National Committee to represent the issues of Americans living abroad? What can be enhanced or improved in this relationship?
During his campaign, DNC Chair Tom Perez noted the lack of support that DA has received from the DNC, and he made a number of commitments to us. These include providing State Party Partnership funds to ensure that DA can enhance its operations and reach, as well as the creation of a Voter Protection and Empowerment Office (VPEO) staffed with legal experts to address voter suppression and issues surrounding implementation of the MOVE Act and UOCAVA. To begin with, we must continue to follow up with the DNC to ensure that these commitments are honored. As Counsel, I will support our efforts to secure necessary funding, and I intend to take a central role in liaising with the new VPEO. I will also advocate for (1) DA representation on the DNC Executive Committee, (2) the implementation of DNC-funded training programs for state parties, including DA, and (3) the enhancement of information sharing and technical assistance from the DNC.
What will you do to grow DA and ensure greater overall participation by Chapter Members?
First of all, in terms of participation, I believe the role of Counsel is to ensure that the organization follows its own rules, acts in the best interests of its members as a whole, and treats all of its members in way that is fundamentally fair. If the DA membership believes that the organization is treating them fairly, it is bound to increase participation as a result of the trust that our members have in DA’s governance and procedures. In this sense, as I have done as Chair of DA Japan, I will always put the interests of DA as an organization ahead of my personal political interests. Secondly, from the perspective of rules, I would like to see DA adopt the most expansive and inclusive rules on participation to set an example for the Democratic Party back home.
Endorsement from Bill Barnard
I write in support of Tom Schmid for the position of Legal Counsel for Democrats Abroad.
I was very much aware of Tom's role at our international meeting in Berlin, having attended all the meetings of the challenge committee he chaired.
Tom was impressive in his calm and measured manner. In all candor, I was on the other side of the substantive matter at issue, but Tom's clarity of mind and argument and his balanced and considered assessments were clearly evident. All who were there left feeling that the hearings were conducted fairly.
William Barnard
DAUK Oxford
Endorsement from John Eastwood
Tom Schmid has the intelligence, organizational knowledge and fundamental fairness that will make him an excellent international counsel for Democrats Abroad. At last year's Global Convention in Berlin, many of us saw the great skill, fairness and respect he brought to his chairing of the Rules Committee, and in the months since then I've hugely appreciated his great care in supporting unity and building up opportunities to engage active progressive members. Having served as international counsel during past divisive times, I appreciate how well Tom encourages people to work across lines in smart, cooperative ways.
John Eastwood
DNC Member
Former International Counsel
DA Taiwan
Endorsement from Alex Montgomery
I recommend that the DPCA elect Tom Schmid as the next International Counsel. I’ve worked closely with Tom at both the regional and global level, and he has proven that he has the skills, character and commitment to be an outstanding International Counsel to Democrats Abroad
The primary duties of an International Counsel are to provide solid, clear and practical legal advice to DPCA members, Country Committees, and the Executive Committee, and to resolve internal disputes fairly. Tom has proven his ability to do both in the many roles he has assumed over the years.
As Chair of the current Bylaws Committee, Tom is intimately familiar with our governing Charter. As Chair of both the Rules Committee and Credentials Committee in 2016, he helped resolve disputes brought both by country committees and by the presidential campaigns. Not only did the issues get resolved quickly, the parties involved also felt the process was fair, professional and open. As a member of the Global Presidential Primary team in 2015 and 2016, Tom helped write the rules and processes that led to more primary votes cast in a Democrats Abroad primary than ever before.
There are many people in our organization with the legal background and experience to provide legal advice and fairly arbitrate disputes. The role of DPCA International Counsel, however, is also a full voting member of the Executive Committee, and as such requires a team player who can help us effect policy change and elect Democrats. Tom Schmid has demonstrated his ability to deliver votes and build our constituency at the local, regional and global level. As Chair of Democrats Abroad Japan, Tom nurtured a strong team of volunteers that shared responsibilities and worked professionally. And it paid off. Japan grew its membership significantly under Tom’s leadership. On the eve of the inauguration, 650 activists joined their march in Tokyo, kicking off a wave of national news reports.
Tom has also helped grow the region. He and Democrats Abroad Japan hosted an incredibly successful regional meeting where he brought leaders from across the country to share experiences with the other Asia Pacific countries in attendance.
Tom’s work at the country committee level has also had an impact on Democrats Abroad globally. For example, Tom initiated a precinct level outreach and GOTV effort to ensure that they were making personal connections with people wherever they lived. That effort has become the model for many country committees across the globe.
—Alex Montgomery (Hong Kong) Regional Vice-Chair Asia-Pacific and Communications Director