YP Political Power

Joe Wessels has an interesting column this weekend about a new Political Action Committee seeking to represent the "Young Professionals" of Cincinnati in the political process.

The part of the whole YP movement that has troubled me is the definition of Young Professional. There is the Young part, which I think can easily be be overlooked. I think "young at heart" every time. The term professional has always been the problem. "Creative Class" was a much better term, but it too ran into problems. In the article, the head of Cincy PAC Sean Parker is taking a great step by trying to broaden the the reach of YP:

Parker is a Democrat, but said he votes independently and wants Cincy PAC to be non-partisan - and more broadly define who is a young professional. Often YPs are seen as the white-collar sect. Parker wants the PAC to be more inclusive, expanding the definition to blue collar workers and artists who may have felt left out.

I think this step is the key to really making both the political effort as well as the social movement affective.

The problem is that Sean Parker is starting off on the wrong track by holding the kickoff fund raiser at Bang, a local nighclub that caters to the more affluent, to the trend obsessed crowd, and to those who seek exclusivity. If you want to branch out, I hope the next fund raiser takes place in a venue where you don't have to worry about how you are dressed, just to get in the door.