MyDD :: California DNC delegates seeking rank-and-file input

California DNC delegates seeking rank-and-file input

by Woodhouse, Tue Jan 04, 2005 at 09:55:24 PM EST

Left Coasters:

The California delegation to the DNC is asking rank-and-file Dems to let them know what message to take to the DNC. Here's a great opportunity for Californians to give voice to our choice for DNC Chair (read: Howard Dean).

Details in the Extended Entry.

Note the email address at the bottom for those who can't attend in person.

THE CA - DNC DELEGATION
invites you to

A meeting for grassroots Democrats to provide input to the DNC delegation from California. We'll listen to Democrats concerning topics of interest-including (but not limited to) the election, status of our party, future of our party, and election of a new DNC Chair.

SATURDAY, JANUARY 15TH/NOON - 4:00PM
Patriotic Hall
1816 S. Figueroa St, Los Angeles, CA

Patriotic Hall is south of the Santa Monica (10) freeway, about 4 blocks from the LA Convention Center. The Metro blue line (Grand Ave.) stop is 1.5 blocks away.

The DNC California delegation is looking forward to your input! Each person will be allotted two minutes to address the Delegation.

13 DNC members from CA have confirmed their attendance:

BIOGRAPHIES OF DNC PARTICIPANTS

Steven K. Alari lives in Long Beach California and is a member of the DNC National Committee Member since 1988 and a member of the DNC Executive Committee representing Western Region of the United States. Steve also serves as a member of the DNC Resolutions Committee. He is a member as well of the DNC Hispanic and Labor Caucuses. He is also a member of the California State Employees Association, Local 1000, SEIU, AFL-CIO, CLC.

Rachel Binah lives in Mendocino County and is in her fourth term as a DNC member. She has served on the State & County Central Committees for the past 20 years and was a founding member of the Mendocino Coast Democratic Club. Rachel was the Chair of the California Democratic Party's Environmental Caucus, served as Environmental Plank Chair of the Platform Committee and currently serves on the California Democratic Party's Resolutions Committee.

Mary Ellen Early has been a member of the Democratic National Committee since 1988, and serves on the Executive Committee of the DNC Women's Caucus. A former Assembly District Chair and Regional Director of the California Democratic Party, she has served on the State Party's Resolutions Committee since 1993. Mary Ellen resides in Los Angeles County's San Fernando Valley, where she is employed as an Information Systems Specialist at a community hospital.

John A. Pérez is Director of Political Affairs for the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 324 and previously served as Political Director for the California Labor Federation AFL-CIO. John was elected to represent California on the Democratic National Committee from 1996-2000 and was again elected for the 2004-2008 term of office. In addition to his activities with in the Democratic Party John serves on several Boards and Commissions. He currently chairs the California Voting Modernization Board, serves on the board of the California League of Conservation Voters (CLCV) and is President of the CLCV's Education Fund. John served in the Clinton and Bush administrations as a member of the Presidents Advisory Council on HIV and AIDS and currently serves on the Board of AIDS Project LA.

Robert "Big Red" Rankin lives in Carson with his wife of 43 years, Anna and has twice been elected as a member of the DNC. He is a member of the DNC Credentials Committee, Senior Coordinating Council, and the " fledging" Rural Caucus. He was been a delegate to two Democratic National Conventions and has served on the Democratic National Convention Platform Committee. He has been a member of the CDP Executive Board since 1993 and is a member of the Disability, Labor, Senior and Rural Caucuses. He is a active member of the LA County Party, currently serving as Labor Chair, a member of the Candidate Interview Committee and the Speakers Bureau. He is a member of the Gardena Valley and Martin Luther King Jr. Democratic Clubs. His Labor Union activities included serving twice as: Local Union President, Chair of the USWA Presidents Committee, and Chair of the Legislation Education Committee. "Big Red" is currently the Steelworker Organization of Active Retirees Coordinator for California. He is also a delegate to the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor. He also writes a column, The Voice of Labor, that has appeared in various Democratic publications since 1996.

Garry S. Shay who lives in Hollywood is serving in his fourth term as an elected member of the DNC and is a member of the Rules and Bylaws Committee of the DNC. He has been a delegate to three National Conventions and one mid-term Convention. He has served as a delegate to every CDP convention since 1974 and has been a member of the LA County Democratic Central Committee since 1973. He is the Lead Chair of the Rules Committee of the CDP and a former two-term Chair of the Los Angeles County Democratic Party. He is a former President of Stonewall Democratic Club, and currently serves as its Parliamentarian and as the Parliamentarian of the CDP LGBT Caucus. He runs and manages a list serve which may be joined at: DemocraticNewsGroup-subscribe@yahoogroups.com. His civic activities have included serving as Chair of the Transportation Commission of the City of West Hollywood and President of his the Highlands Homeowners' Association where he lives with his partner of 23 years, Burt Belant and their two dachshunds: Xena and Boomer.

Chris Stampolis is in his second term representing California on the DNC and he serves as Secretary for the DNC's Western Caucus. Chris recently was elected President of the California Democratic Council, the statewide organization of Democratic clubs and county committees. Originally from Los Angeles, Chris now lives in Santa Clara, where he serves as a Trustee on the West Valley/Mission Community College District Governing Board and just completed six years on the City Planning Commission. Chris is married to Anna Song and they take daily direction from 2-year old Nicholas, cat Goatee and rabbits Coco and Cinnabun.

Norma J. Torres lives in Pomona has been an appointed member of the Member of the DNC since September, 2001, and is a member of the DNC Hispanic Caucus. She is also a member of AFSCME Local 3090, AFLCIO, and was just elected to my second 4-year term to the Pomona City Council, District 6. Norma hopes to be elected as the Assemblymember from the 61st State Assembly District in 2006. Her WEB page is http://www.normatorres.com/.

as well as Jeremy Bernard, Inola Henry, Mona Pasqual, Christine Pelosi, and Roz Wyman, whose biographies have not as yet been received.

If you cannot attend, please feel free to provide your input by e-mail to: DNCListeninghear@aol.com, or, send written input, by mail to : L/O Pam Cooke, 6454 Van Nuys Blvd., Suite 209, Van Nuys, CA 91401.

This event is expected to be audio webcast ( http://www.makethemaccountable.com/) and picked up by both print and video media.

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Permalink :: 10 Comments :: Post a Comment

Democrats need to listen to needs of working poor (3.00 / 1)

They still seem out of touch. Not as much as the GOP, certainly, but I get the feeling that none of them know what it is like to be poor.

Social Security is really important.

With health care and pensions already a nightmare, the government cannot steal millions of Americans only remaining shred of retirement security.

To accomplish this we MUST raise the top tax bracket back to the historic/normal OECD levels.

(Duh...this seems like a no-brainer..but..)

by ultraworld on Wed Jan 05, 2005 at 12:31:09 AM EST

promoted to front page (none / 0)

Hey Jerome and Chris, I've noticed everyone is looking for the details of the four regional meetings. If somebody pulls it together and posts a diary can we get it promoted or included in the next cattle call? I'm concerned that nobody seems to have the 411. I think they're trying to get people to go to events like this instead of the full regional meetings. I'm going to the Sacto one, even if I have to sniff my way there. But reading it on MyDD would be easier.

Bob Brigham Blog

by Bob Brigham on Wed Jan 05, 2005 at 12:38:26 AM EST

Re: promoted to front page (none / 0)

Yea, if/when I get the info, I will post it, but I believe you are correct.

by Jerome Armstrong on Wed Jan 05, 2005 at 01:03:43 AM EST
[ Parent ]

if/when (3.00 / 0)

MyDD can get the world-wide scoop on the exit polls but can't find out where our Party meets??? WTF Sad day, very sad day.

Bob Brigham Blog

by Bob Brigham on Wed Jan 05, 2005 at 01:13:40 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: if/when (3.00 / 0)

LOL, yea, I should try harder I suppose...

by Jerome Armstrong on Wed Jan 05, 2005 at 01:16:19 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: promoted to front page (none / 0)

We (Driving Votes) have a few folks looking into it. So far, the Dems haven't been jumping at the opportunity to disseminate the info, but who knows, maybe location/time haven't been determined yet. As soon as I find out I'll post a diary about it. Hopefully that should be soon.

by Woodhouse on Wed Jan 05, 2005 at 02:51:07 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: promoted to front page (none / 0)

can I catch a ride?

Bob Brigham Blog

by Bob Brigham on Wed Jan 05, 2005 at 02:53:39 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: promoted to front page (none / 0)

Absolutely. Send me an email: leighton@drivingvotes.org. Just found out the location of the Sacto meeting, but time is TBD. Once I figure out the same for St. Louis (the only one I'm still missing), I'll post a diary with all of them.

by Woodhouse on Wed Jan 05, 2005 at 03:22:22 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: regionals (3.00 / 0)

I am also looking for the Sacramento info. But so far I only found this :
>The St. Louis session is to be held at the Airport Marriott on Jan. 15.

And this for the South:

>DNC Southern Caucus Meeting
Saturday, January 8, 2005
Sheraton Gateway Hotel
1900 Sullivan Road
Atlanta, GA 30337
5:30PM - 7:00PM

by candace in sonoma on Wed Jan 05, 2005 at 02:25:22 AM EST
[ Parent ]

What we're doing in Minnesota (none / 0)

We've been doing something similar in Minnesota. These events should be happening in every state. Here's my description of the first listening session we had in December, originally posted at dkos, along with reflections on what worked and what didn't, which might be helpful for Democrats planning similar events in other states.

The first struggle to bring much-needed reform to the Democratic Party is over the new DNC Chair. Since a crucial part of the reform is encouraging the participation of the grassroots, we need to find ways to play a role in the choice of the Chair, which is officially up to the 440 members of the DNC. In Minnesota, we've got something going that could serve as a spur and model for other states.

We're putting on a series of four Listening Sessions with Minnesota's DNC members - where they do most of the listening and we do most of the talking. Hosted by the Progressive Caucus, a new group within the DFL (Minnesota's own version of the Democratic Party), the Sessions are forums for everyday DFLers to voice their vision of where the national Party should go, how the DNC and its Chair should realize that vision, and who should be the new DNC Chair.

We had the first event on December 3, and it was a huge success. People in other states should pressure their DNC members to do the same kind of event.

Over three hundred people showed up on relatively short notice for a Friday evening meeting. The discussion was vigorous and civil, critical and always constructive. It was amazing how determined people were in the wake of the devastating election and given the terrible shape the Democratic Party is in.

Four of our six DNC members, including the state Party Chair, showed up, and they paid real attention to what we had to say. Though we are apparently exceptional in Minnesota in that we elect our DNC members rather than have them appointed, if you can get even one DNC member in your state to agree to come to a Listening Session with the grassroots, you provide an incentive for others to show as well.

The basic idea was to have a discussion for any and all grassroots DFLers about the direction of the national Party in general, the qualities we want in a DNC Chair, and who we think might fit the bill. The idea was also to set a precedent and demonstrate to the state Party that, the election over, the grassroots intend to remain integrally involved in shaping the direction of the Democratic Party both in Minnesota and nationally.

The format was as follows: After brief introductions from the organizers, the moderator, and the DNC members present, anyone who wanted to talk simply lined up at one of the two microphones and spoke for one minute. The first hour or so was dedicated to a discussion of what the national Party needed to do to be more successful and what roles the DNC Chair should play in that process. The last portion of the discussion was devoted to specific people for the position. Then the DNC members each spoke for a few minutes, and finally (an improvised item) we took a straw poll for DNC Chair among likely candidates. Though DNC members were to have the opportunity to respond to specific questions posed to them with one-minute answers, they were not free to interject themselves into the conversation at will. The emphasis was on the participation of the grassroots DFLers present. (In fact, in my view, this element worked a little too well: almost no questions were posed to the DNC members, so that when they had their opportunity to speak at greater length at the end, they endorsed this whole process in general terms and were not compelled to respond specifically to things we had said.)

The DFLers there were amazingly well-prepared and both thoughtful and passionate in their remarks. Among the notable points that came up were calls for: continuous off-year organizing in all 50 states, stronger support for state parties from the DNC Chair, recognition of the power of the grassroots, an overhaul of the primary process, election reform for fair and transparent results, and the need for a more comprehensive, visionary message framed in persuasive ways.

Not surprisingly, Dean was most frequently mentioned and overwhelmingly won the straw poll of participants, with Simon Rosenberg coming in a respectable second.

The things that I think worked really well at the forum and are worth emulating are: emphasizing the participation of the grassroots by limiting the role of the DNC members (with the qualification noted above); limiting each person's remarks to one minute; structuring the discussion around the role the new DNC Chair should play in reshaping the Party, rather than around specific candidates for the position. One modification I would advise: even though everyone was well-prepared in general, because people seemed not super-clear on what the DNC and its Chair really does and can do, the conversation tended more toward a general discussion of the direction the national Party should take. This was supposed to be a significant component of the discussion, and it was great as far as it went, but there could have been more discussion of the more concrete things the DNC Chair should do to move the Party in that direction. I think providing participants, perhaps at the outset, with more information on the DNC and its Chair might facilitate that part of the conversation.

by Lomonaco on Wed Jan 05, 2005 at 12:31:40 PM EST

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