Tim Nelson is a Des Moines-based campaign staffer.

The Iowa Democratic Party’s State Central Committee will choose the party’s next chair this Saturday, January 28, so I wanted to take a moment to explain why I am backing State Senator Sarah Trone Garriott’s campaign manager Brittany Ruland for the role.

First things first: I want to clarify that my support for Brittany isn’t in opposition to Rita Hart.

Rita is a competent leader whose heart is in the right place. I just believe Brittany is the leader we need at this moment.

Brittany is an experienced and talented campaign manager. She has been on the ground organizing for years. I’m pretty sure she could cut turf in her sleep.

As an organizer/campaign manager/professional hack person, I have often felt a disconnect between the Iowa Democratic Party and my own work on the ground. There isn’t much in the way of a unified message or coordination.

In an era where the party may be dealing with more limited resources, a lack of coordination is unbelievably wasteful. I cannot tell you how many times I have texted a number that another campaign had texted earlier that day, or had a canvasser hit the same doors a bunch of different campaigns had knocked earlier the same week.

Brittany understands these organizing issues in a way only someone who has managed campaigns can understand. 

If we are to win, which should be the one and only goal of the party moving forward, we need a state chair with an organizer-driven mentality focused on efficiency, bold tactics, and field-oriented strategies.

Brittany is that candidate in this race.