Landree Brotherton New Hamblen County Democrat Chairman

I've seen no local reports about the newly elected chair of the Hamblen County Democrat Party, Landree Brotherton although the newly designed state party website ran a feature on him and his work for the party:

"Landree Brotherton has been interested in politics for as long as he can remember. However, his first leadership position resulted from being at the right place at the right time. Brotherton recalls, “Our county party saw the need for a Young Democrats group and began the process of creating one. I happened to see the ad in the local paper and decided I would go to the meeting. A couple meetings later, I found myself as the treasurer of the newly minted Hamblen County Young Democrats.” During the 2004 election cycle, he knocked on doors, stuffed envelopes, put up yard signs, and worked the polls for a local Assessor of Property race and for State Representative John Litz. From that point on, Brotherton was hooked on politics.

As a Freshman at Tusculum College, he and a few friends founded a chapter of the College Democrats, was elected Vice President of the Chapter, and later served two terms as President. Brotherton also became involved with the Tennessee Federation of College Democrats (TFCD) and was twice elected as the TFCD Membership Director on the State Executive Board.

During the 2005 Hamblen County Reorganization, he was elected to the Executive Committee, and in 2006, Brotherton served as an intern for Harold Ford, Jr.’s Senate Campaign in Northeast Tennessee. He also worked extensively with Rick Trent, the Democratic nominee for Congress in the 1st District. During the 2008 election cycle, he served as campaign manager for Rob Russell, 1st District nominee for Congress. He also managed the Hamblen County Democratic headquarters and worked tirelessly to elect Barack Obama.

When asked why he is a Democrat, Brotherton replied, “[Because] Democrats believe in equal opportunity for all citizens, affordable healthcare and K-College education, maintaining a strong economy while being fiscally responsible, in protecting social security, and in being stewards of our environment. Finally, I’m a Democrat because Democrats believe in honoring our veterans, in maintaining a strong national defense, and in politics of inclusion - bringing ALL Americans together.”

Brotherton believes he has the energy and the enthusiasm to make a difference in our county by engaging a younger generation of Democrats in the party in various ways. He points to the dedicated core of party activists in Hamblen County as the base upon which to build the party and notes that they don’t “hesitate to embrace change or younger folks coming in.” Though he admits that their weakness, like that of many other county parties, is fundraising (especially given the current economy), he stresses that the Executive Committee is very creative and has already begun working on a number of fundraising ideas.

Brotherton concludes, “Overall, I am excited about the job ahead. I know there is a lot of work to do, and as I said in my acceptance speech, ‘It begins today!’”

Brotherton also mentioned the new county Democrat web site here. (Note: I did see mention of this story on PostPolitics in Nashville too.) Brotherton is also writing the Hamblen Democrat page on the state web site as well.

Others elected in the local party gathering include:

Vice Chair - Dr. Micah Westmorland

Secretary - Andrew Cox

Treasurer - Lisa Litz

Chairman Emeritus - Stephen Bales

Candidate Recruitment Committee - Jack Horner, Chairman

Advertising Committee - JB Elmore, Chairman