Chattanoogan Jane Bowen in running to lead Tennessee Democrats

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Arkansas-Tennessee Live Blog

Jane Hampton Bowen, a Democratic activist and vice president of the Chattanooga Area Labor Council, announced today she is running for chairman the Tennessee Democratic Party.

Bowen, who is also political liaison for the local labor group, said she hopes to re-energize the party, which has seen devastating losses in state contests in recent years.

"Tennessee Democrats MUST exist to achieve as a community what we cannot achieve as individuals," she said in a news release. "We must be committed to serving our candidates and citizens statewide, with a spirit of reaching out and making room."

The party, she said, "must be a civic institution that supports working families, and the Tennessee Democratic Party must make a united effort to reach out to growing demographic targets: Hispanic, female, African-American and young voters."

Noting "you build an army from within before you go to battle," Bowen said that as chairman "it would be my responsibility to bridge relationships within the party. I choose not to be boxed in to one faction of the party over another. My objective is the party, which has many faces and perspectives."