CHRIS REDFERN Introducing a candidates' forum in Cleveland in April.

If you're a progressive activist in Ohio, it's gotten hard to avoid Chris Redfern. The state representative from Catawba Island was elected chairman of the Ohio Democratic Party late last year, taking over in January. Since then, he's been on the road most of the time, rallying the troops and setting an example for a newly expanded field staff that's in the process of revitalizing what was once a moribund organization.

Ohio was famously a "swing state" in the 2004 election, and a beehive of activity for John Kerry's presidential campaign. But most of that activity was outside the established party structure, with most of the glut of newly minted activists working through the Kerry campaign itself or an independent organization such as MoveOn.org and America Coming Together (ACT). The ODP seemed to be the weak link.

Redfern's work to strengthen it is a reflection and a beneficiary of an effort being spearheaded by the Democratic National Committee.

Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean may have seen his presidential aspirations wilt with his famous, media-amplified scream during the January 2004 primary, but he was elected chairman of the DNC in February 2005. And he launched an organizational effort which may be key to overhauling the Democratic party, making it more responsive and building an organization to rival the well-oiled Republican machine. It's already had an impact in Ohio.

After taking over at the DNC, Dean created and implemented his "50-state strategy." While provoking grumbling among some party insiders, it aimed to maintain the energy and commitment aroused by the 2004 campaign to build a permanent activist network. It went against the typical Democratic party game plan of focusing on the states where it had the biggest concentration of voters, while ignoring the so-called "red" states.

"We started consultations with the state parties after Dean became chairman in February 2005," says DNC spokesman Damien LaVera. "He immediately began the process of evaluations, talking to each state to find out what they needed. We've committed roughly four people to each state, based on what that evaluation showed."

Redfern says Kerry carried 17 counties in the '04 election, but under-performed in the others. "In Clermont County a Democrat running for president is expected to get 31 percent of the vote. Kerry got 29 percent. He under-performed in 65 counties. If you win overwhelmingly in Cuyahoga County, you still have to run better in 65 counties. And because we haven't had a strong state party, we've seen county structures fractured, and rural and suburban areas become weaker."

In response, the ODP has implemented a "88-county strategy" that reflects the DNC's 50-state strategy.

"It recognizes that every county is important to the political environment," says ODP Communications Director Brian Rothenberg. "We're building organizations in each county using DNC-funded field staff."

The DNC funding allowed the ODP to launch its enhanced field program last year, paying for five field staffers and support functions, such as research, training and developing voter files. It focused especially on parts of the state where the party wasn't strong.

"It's easy to gather a couple of hundred people in Toledo for Ted Strickland," says Redfern. "But when you get 75 people in Wauseon on Saturday morning — Fulton County has no elected Democrats at the county level. I'm seeing it all around the state."

The party enjoyed some successes last year in local and county races. "In Lancaster County, we won seats we never won before," says Rothenberg. "We won trustee seats in Fayette County. Locally we got a lot of trustees elected, and city campaigns went well."

But Redfern wasn't content, and when he took over the state party's helm in January, there were changes and an increase in field staff. The ODP created six regions, each with its own staffer who works with activists and elected officials to increase fundraising, grow the volunteer base, contact voters, recruit candidates and coordinate events. They're overseen by a seventh staffer, Sarah Topy.

"The field staff on the ground today are different than those on the ground last year," Redfern says. "I let some people go. I have high expectations and they weren't meeting them in terms of the number of meetings attended, the number of voters contacted, how many times they met with county officials."

In looking at new hires, he said he was looking for "someone who doesn't look at the time clock, someone who understands that running a field campaign is a full-time commitment. Most have worked on campaigns or organizations that worked on campaigns, but I took a chance on a couple of younger people right out of college. In Northwest Ohio, we have Michell Domke, a very young activist, but she had the enthusiasm. She came out of college very committed and ready to go."

That staff works with about a dozen other field staffers who are part of what's called the "coordinated campaign," in which all statewide candidates solicit commitments and pool resources to fund a network that works on behalf of the entire slate.

"In the past, the coordinated campaign WAS the field campaign," says Rothenberg. "There have been coordinated campaigns for years but just during campaign season. They would start in June, ratchet up around Labor Day and after the election, [the campaign] would be dismantled and go back to basic functions. What you have now is a year-round structure that started earlier, so during elections, you're building on something that already exists. The lists are there, the contacts are there. Sarah and her staff can tap into existing structures. People are sensing a year-round culture that has given people more contact with the party. The volunteer base has increased a lot. People involved in 2004 with groups like ACT want to stay engaged."

Cuyahoga County isn't included in the six regional territories, although it has two coordinated campaign staffers and will soon get a third. Rothenberg says that's because of the concentration of Democratic organizations already here.

"The campaigns have blanketed the area. [Senate candidate Sherrod] Brown's got a lot of folks there, so does [gubernatorial candidate] Ted Strickland. There's a concentration in Cuyahoga County of headquarters and staffs, and we don't need a parallel structure. We've got Arnold Pinkney as a consultant and the coordinated campaign can fill the gaps."

Redfern vehemently denies that, while trying to increase Democratic participation in traditionally Republican rural areas, the party has turned its back on Cuyahoga County or will do so.

"[The Plain Dealer's] Brent Larkin said I was not going to be committed to Cuyahoga County," he says. "I've been in Cuyahoga County 72 times this year — I wrote it down in my red book. I'm not going to cede any area of the state to the Republicans."