Bear Lake County is named for Bear Lake, which lies half in Idaho and half in Utah in the Gem State’s southeastern corner. The lake itself has an unbelievable blue hue that draws anglers, boaters and sailors. And if Rich Bergman and Natalie Doolin have anything to say about it, the lake won’t be the only thing blue about this corner of Idaho.

Bear Lake County people are mostly Republican.  In the past six months, though, the Democratic Party has undergone a revival here, and Bergman and Doolin have been instrumental in making this happen.

Rich Bergman was an independent from the moment he began voting.  However, he always leaned Democratic.  His wife, Heather, finally convinced him to make it official.  He found the local politics in Bear Lake leaving him frustrated.  Organization was lacking and Republicans were repeatedly running unopposed.  So Bergman began pushing for organization and a stronger Democratic voice in the area.

When Natalie Doolin moved to Bear Lake County six years ago from Utah (where her father is the Republican mayor of Hurricane), she felt like an outsider in one of the most conservative counties in Idaho.  “Bear Lake has traditionally elected only Republicans from everything from City Council to County Commissioners,” says Doolin.  She realized that if anything was to be done, Democrats would need to organize.

In April 2009, Bergman first contacted Benny Johnson, who was the local party chair.  Johnson had felt like he was the only Democrat in the county.  Bergman started communicating with him and with Jim Hansen, executive director of the Idaho Democratic Party.  He also began reaching out to more local Democrats, who were happy to hear they, too, weren’t alone. A few months ago, Johnson stepped down as chair and Bergman was elected.

Bear Lake County has been getting some help from nearby Teton County, where Democrats are more organized. Ralph Mossman and Skip Dempesy visited from Teton County and shared a lot of good ideas that helped the Bear Lake Democrats get rallied up for what can be done in a small county. Ultimately, the Bear Lake County Democrats would like to replicate what the Teton County Democrats have achieved. The Teton Democrats established a presence by winning local elections over several cycles, and Barack Obama won that county in 2008.

Slowly, things have begun to change in Bear Lake County.  At the local Democrats’ first meeting in April, only four people showed up.  However, at their October meeting, twenty-five people were in attendance. The Bear Lake Democrats meet at 7 p.m. the third Thursday of each month at City Hall in Montpelier.

“A big step in helping revive the party has simply been letting people know that we are here and that they are not the only Democrats in the area,” says Bergman.  For their meeting in October, Bergman placed an ad on the radio and then proceeded to make many phone calls to make people aware.  Bergman recalls one woman saying, “Yeah, I heard your ad on the radio, I thought we were the only Democrats in town.”

The Bear Lake Democrats are using traditional means, like the newspaper, and non-traditional means, such as Twitter and Facebook, to let people know they are not alone as progressives in Southeastern Idaho. They also have a great new website that has maps of each precinct voting location.  They hope to have an online store up soon as well.  The party also receives a lot of help from the mayor of Montpelier, Reed Peterson, who is extremely well-liked and happens to be a Democrat.

Bergman feels it is important to have an established strong local Democratic party for several reasons.  First, it is vital to get new ideas out in the community.  Second, it will assist in pushing “through progressive ideas that will improve our roads, schools, et cetera,” says Bergman.  Third, it will help statewide and national candidates gain support down the road.

Bergman knows that the Democratic Party brand still isn’t as strong as it needs to be in his area. But he and his team are working hard to change that.  Their goal is to get involved with community organizations, such as assisting with the local food drive, collecting for Deseret Industries, placing a float in this coming summer’s parades and holding events that draw the community.  They want to show their neighbors that Democrats are good, trustworthy people.

The Bear Lake County Democrats also have begun a Drinking Liberally chapter. Turnout has been slow so far, but Bergman and Corey Doolin – Natalie’s husband, who is helping launch the group - are excited by the idea of getting together in a non-formal manner to discuss ideas.  The Drinking Liberally meetings will usually be held on the last Thursday of the month, with the next one most likely occurring in January.

The Bear Lake County Democrats are not only trying to revive the party but have also been running for local office.  Natalie Doolin, who is the secretary for the Bear Lake Democrats, recently ran for city council.   Doolin feels that her “community is most important above any political party or preconceived notion about what can or cannot be done.”  She believes that their small communities really have a lot of offer.  Doolin would like to provide the “youth with more options – by expanding after school programs and by offering additional activities, sports and recreational activities.”She would like to see the city begin to lay the framework for a community recreation center.  Doolin lost the election by 25 votes.  She realizes that living in a red state and a red county, the cards were stacked against her, but she felt that running was advantageous so that her name and the Democratic presence became known in the community.

The Bear Lake County Democrats are making great strides in reviving their party.  They are bringing much-needed progressive viewpoints to the area and demonstrating that Democrats are organized and community minded.  With Bergman and Doolin’s motivation and leadership, Democrats are on their way to becoming a significant presence in Bear Lake County.

For more information or to learn how to get involved, contact Rich Bergman at richtpc@yahoo.com or (208) 251-6927.

Katie Sluss is a volunteer at the Idaho Democratic Party. In January, she will be a graduate student in communications at Boise State University.

From left, Idaho Democratic Party executive director Jim Hansen; new Bear Lake County Democratic chair Rich Bergman; former county chair Benny Johnson; and Montpelier Mayor Reed Peterson.