Asia Pacific Non-Country Committee (Non-CC) Candidate Information

Asia Pacific Region Non-CC Candidates

The Asia Pacific Region Non-Country Committee Voting Representative will serve alongside the more than 250 other voting representatives from DA's country committees to discuss and vote on DA business – such as Resolutions, Platform, and International Officer leadership elections at global meetings.

This initiative was spearheaded to ensure that all members of Democrats Abroad have representation and a voice in our global organization. The role of Non-CC Voting Representative is an exciting development for the growth of Democrats Abroad (officially named DPCA) and the enfranchisement of DA members who currently do not have representation in the DPCA body. 

Please review the candidate statements below before voting for your regional representative.

Candidate Discussion Forum

The public Candidate Forum Google Group is open for Candidates and Voters from Non-CC countries who would like to get to know their candidates better.  

https://groups.google.com/a/democratsabroad.org/g/noncc-candidate-forum-2023

Anyone is invited to view the discussion, but only eligible Non-CC voters can be added to the Forum to post questions by selecting the "Ask to join Group" button at the top of the page.  (If you do not see the button, send an email request to: [email protected]

Voting and Election Meeting

Balloting will be held via electronic Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) ballot (with a PDF ballot available upon request) between:

March 10th to 22nd – closing at Midnight voter’s local time

The Asia Pacific Region ballot link was provided in the direct email sent to all eligible Non-CC Voting members with the subject: Meet Your Voting Rep Candidates and Vote! sent March 10. Note: You must provide your Full Name and the special Voting ID number included to be able to cast a vote. Reminder emails with your personal voting information and ballot link will be sent between now and March 22nd.

The Asia Pacific Election Reporting Meeting will be held:

 Saturday, March 25, 2023 6:00am EDT/ 11:00 CET/ 18:00 Hong Kong

On WebEx with the following link: 

https://democratsabroad.webex.com/democratsabroad/e.php?MTID=m3fec82f74bf6f746a6f7401176230def

Meeting Password = nonccelect

If you have any questions or difficulties regarding the voting process, please contact the Nominations and Elections Committee (NCC-NEC) at: [email protected]

_________________________________________

Asia Pacific Candidates for Non-CC Voting Representative

Anne O’Connell

Kazakhstan 

For the past two presidential cycles, and midterm campaigns in between, I have been an active member of DA in both China and Kazakhstan.  During the 2016 election and 2018 midterms, I held several voter registration drives in Chengdu, China.   In addition, I was a very active phone banker  and attended trainings in Beijing.

My company transferred me to Atyrau, Kazakhstan in 2020 where I continued to run informational sessions virtually showing people how to vote from overseas.   I continued to phone bank and help out the AP region as best I could in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2021, I joined the Global Women’s Caucus, Reproductive Justice Committee, where I currently serve as secretary.  I compile the minutes, schedule the meetings, and remind members to call in.   In 2022, I was also the secretary for GOTV-AP, where I did much of the same.   In addition, I ran many phone banking action hours and voter registration trainings for people in the AP region.

I believe that I have an abundance of experience within the DA organization that qualifies myself for this position.  As a classroom teacher for over 30 years, I have an established track record of organizational skills, problem solving techniques, and ability to work with people of different backgrounds and ideologies.

My priority and objectives as a DPCA Voting Representative is to reach out to the expat communities in this region and establish some sub-committees of volunteers to run face-to-face and virtual events.  I would like to continue the phone banking action hours and encourage others to join in.  I have many contacts in this region as a result of my work with GOTV-AP and years living here.

I hope you consider my application for this position!   I have enjoyed working with the country chairs through my work with GOTV-AP.   Several of them have encouraged me to apply for this position, and I am so humbled by their support!   I hope I can live up to their expectations.

Thank you again for this amazing opportunity to apply.  

_________________________________________

Johanna Kristine Best Miller

Malaysia  

My name is Johanna Miller. I think I would be a suitable DPCA voting representative because I have been active in Democratic politics since I was 18. My degree in Political Communication, from the University of Oklahoma, helps me to communicate effectively regarding political and policy objectives. 

I am qualified to be the DPCA Representative because I have been involved in party politics since 2004.  After graduating, I worked on several federal House and Senate elections in Oklahoma. For example, as field coordinator, I directed volunteers who knocked on doors and made phone calls to voters. This work gave me experience with the Democratic party computer systems used to track voters and do outreach. Additionally, as finance director, I facilitated fundraising activities like letter writing and special events. In 2008 I was elected to represent Oklahoma as an Obama delegate to the national convention.  Next, we moved to Texas in 2009 and I became the Victoria County party secretary. In 2012 we moved to Abilene, TX and I was elected as an Obama delegate to the 2012 national convention. During this time I also served as the local county party office manager. In 2020 we moved to Abu Dhabi, UAE and I volunteered to help with the local presidential primary. Finally, in 2022, we moved to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

As DPCA Voting Representative, my priority would be increasing activities for regional democrats. This includes “Voting from Abroad” informational sessions, voting registration drives, social gatherings, and running local primaries in presidential election years. My objectives would be to increase participation in party politics, and increase regional participation in elections. My previous experience with Democratic party politics makes me uniquely qualified to be the next DPCA Representative from the Asia Region.

_________________________________________

Dennis Gray

Cambodia  

I joined DA in 2007 while living in Australia, where I was active in the Sydney chapter. I served on the IT team as a business analyst and technical consultant for nine years. 

I also served as deputy RVC Asia-Pacific and Vice-Chair, DA Vietnam. I have attended several global meetings throughout the years. I currently live in Cambodia where I am on the organizing committee to establish DAKH as a compliant country committee again. I would like to keep contributing to DA as a non-committee country voting member where I can use my previous experience and skills in further service. 

_________________________________________

Asia Pacific Region
Candidates and Voters must be residing in a “Non-CC” country to participate in this election.