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Monday, February 11, 2008

From a Brand New Delegate

posted by on February 11 at 10:01 AM

Received on Saturday:

Thanks for all your great election reporting—I learned everything I needed to know about caucusing from the Slog!

Today I was elected to be an Obama delegate, and quite a few other people I know are either delegates or alternates for their precincts. I hope someone on the Slog will step in to tell us what to expect, because my precinct leader was clueless… she had to run next door just to find out when the next meeting would be for delegates, and that’s all the information she provided.

Never fear. The Slog is a full-service election geek help center, and we will assist you in navigating the county convention process and legislative district caucus process when the time comes. (And by “we” I mean, most likely, Annie Wagner: Stranger film editor, 2008 and 2004 delegate, and all-around encyclopedia of Democratic procedural knowledge.)

Also: You probably won’t be surprised to hear that a good number of Stranger and Stranger-connected people are brand new delegates for their precincts. I’m thinking a list of all the Stranger-minded delegates could come in very handy. (Imagine the party platform planks they could push!)

So if you consider yourself a Stranger-minded delegate, shoot me an email with “I’m a delegate” in the subject line.

Maybe you’ll never hear back from us. Or maybe someone will arrange a boozy delegate meet-up before (or after? or during?) the convention. Or maybe you people will take over the party.

RSS icon Comments

1

This won't totally help, but it gives an idea as to the "delegate flow", if you will:

http://www.43rddems.org/archives/PCCTraining/One%20sheet%20on%20the%20caucuses%202008-01-15.doc

The King County Convention (where all you delegates will go next) will be held on Sunday, April 13th at the PM IAM Hall, 9125 15th Place S, Seattle. For more information, email: suzie2004@comcast.net

Posted by Stephanie | February 11, 2008 10:07 AM
2

The legislative caucus is next on April 5. From there the county delegates will be selected.

Posted by Chris | February 11, 2008 10:08 AM
3

Oops, that is the IAM Hall, (International Associations of Machinists)

(Don't know where those extra "PM" letters, came in, sorry.)

Posted by Stephanie | February 11, 2008 10:08 AM
4

Chris is correct. You HAVE to go to your Legislative District meeting on April 5th, even if you're an alternate. You also have to have that little scrap of paper with you that's been signed by the precinct chair (yellow for alternate, blue for primary). If you forgot to get yours, get ahold of your precinct chair pronto.

Posted by Fnarf | February 11, 2008 10:22 AM
5

Fnarf, our precinct chair has all of ours.

Posted by Bellevue Ave | February 11, 2008 10:23 AM
6

Get it together!!
April 5th or April 13th?
LEgislative district caucus like the little certificate SAYS, or County convention like @1 SAYS??

IAM Hall or (if legislative district caucus) perhaps it's in my freaking legislative district??

Do nos. 1-3 above reflect something you would call "competenece??
We Democrats better learn to stop being so incredibly disorganized and chaotic. It's bad for the "we-need-gpvt-to-solve-problems brand name.

Oh and are we to assume that any Stranger delegates club is for Obama only, under the principle that most Stranger folks are for Obama therefore no Clintonistas are invited?

One does not wish to attend where one is not welcome. Usually.

Posted by unPC | February 11, 2008 10:25 AM
7

Also, the KC convention is the 19th, not the 13th. But the 5th is the one you need to be at (which wasn't discovered in our precinct until after most of our group had scattered, thanks to our semi-competent volunteer leader; hopefully everyone can make it on the 5th!).

Posted by Levislade | February 11, 2008 10:27 AM
8

I believe you don't need your little certificate, they should have your name on a list.

If you need the certificate, guard it with your life. There are rumors afloat that Vince Foster actually is NOT dead, and is going around robbing Obamatons of those little certificates under the direction of Harold Ickes and the superdelegates.

You might want to copy your ceritficate or put it in a safe deposit box, then retrieve it the morning of the next caucus.

Posted by unPC | February 11, 2008 10:28 AM
9

goddamnit unPC, everyone who is a delegate should be invited, whether they are for clinton, obama or Sasquatch. just because we dont agree on who the nominee should be doesnt mean we cant get together and drink and have fun.

Posted by Bellevue Ave | February 11, 2008 10:29 AM
10


unPC, it's not a matter of disorganization, it's a matter of transparancy.

Usually, people are apathetic and thus this process is designed for the hard-core party folks, not the public.

Now that more people are participating in this process, I'm sure it will become more apparent over time.

Posted by Stephanie | February 11, 2008 10:33 AM
11

OK, I guess I'm getting there early, since it looks like there's going to be a SNAFU at the entrance.

Posted by Fnarf | February 11, 2008 10:34 AM
12

@7: That is incorrect. The King County Convention IS on April 13th! (It WAS on the 19th, but was changed because it was too close to Passover.)

If you see any place where it says the 19th, let the King County Democrats know: suzie2004@comcast.net

Posted by Stephanie Pure | February 11, 2008 10:36 AM
13

no need for the freaking out.

1] The dates are on the back of your delegeate certificate:

Apr 5: Legislative District Caucuses
Apr 19: County Conventions
May 17: Congressional District Caucuses
June 14: State Convention
Aug 25-28: National Convention

2] My PCO said that the certificates should not be necessary. You signed the PCO's delegate sheet. He/she has your info and will contact you about where your Legislative Caucus will be held.

3] If you're still worried, go to www.wa-democrats.org or call 206-583-0664 to get your PCO's info. I'd say if you haven't heard from your PCO by April 1, you might want to be proactive and give 'em a call.

Posted by chops | February 11, 2008 10:38 AM
14

If you want to see for yourself, visit here:

http://www.kcdems.net/calendar/

Posted by Stephanie | February 11, 2008 10:41 AM
15

And for anyone reading this outside of the Puget Sound region, it's probable that you will caucus by Legislative District at your county convention rather than attend a separate Legislative Convention.

For instance, this is how Clark and Cowlitz do it.

When in doubt, I would urge people to google around for their local party web site.

Posted by stilwell | February 11, 2008 10:44 AM
16

Well, regarding the County Conventions (Apr 13 or 19), that would be nice have cleared up when we are at the Legislative Caucus. My PCO did mention a change in date due to Passover, but that was not relected on the certificate.

And not everyone from the Legislative is going to the County, anyway.

Posted by chops | February 11, 2008 10:46 AM
17

Stephanie's right -- the County Convention date was moved. She's wrong that it's the next thing you go to -- that's the LD meeting.

The wrong date for the County Convention is printed on the back of EVERY SINGLE ONE of the little certificates. Major fuckup. I have a feeling I'll be needed even though I'm only 3rd alternate.

Posted by Fnarf | February 11, 2008 10:46 AM
18

According to the state party calendar, the King County Convention has been moved to the 13th and the others have not. The King County calendar is a little misleading on this point.

http://www.wa-democrats.org/index.php?page=events&m=4&y=2008

Posted by stilwell | February 11, 2008 10:48 AM
19

Unfortunately, those little blue and yellow delegate/alternate slips were printed before the County Convention date was changed. I crossed out the bad date and wrote in the correct one on all of the slips I signed and handed out, but I don't think that was done by very many other PCOs or caucus chairs.

To reiterate, the King County Convention -- where the platform and resolutions will be considered -- will be held on SUNDAY, APRIL 13, not Saturday, April 19 (Erev Pesach).

And your Legislative District caucus -- where your Obama/Clinton status means something -- will take place on SATURDAY, APRIL 5, at some large venue within your LD.

Posted by N in Seattle | February 11, 2008 10:51 AM
20

My bad--apologies

April 12th--King County Convention
April 13th--Snohomish County Convention
April 19th--Other County Conventions

State Party Calendar

Posted by stilwell | February 11, 2008 10:52 AM
21

"unPC, it's not a matter of disorganization, it's a matter of transparancy."

Actually it turns out that it is a matter of disorganization, if not ineptitude, by @1 telling people wrong information like "The King County Convention (where all you delegates will go next) [warning: wrong infiormation] will be held on Sunday, April 13th [warning: wrong infiomration]."

It's also pretty telling that when someone makes a 100% legitiamte compalnit of incompetenece and disinformation, the reaction is yet more disinformation, here, the claim that it was "transparency":

"unPC, it's not a matter of disorganization, it's a matter of transparancy. Usually, people are apathetic and thus this process is designed for the hard-core party folks, not the public. Now that more people are participating in this process, I'm sure it will become more apparent over time."
Yes, especially when people speak up and correct the erroneous infomration that was put out not because "new people" are flocking in , but because insiders don't have their facts together and then don't have the self esteem to just say they got it wrong.

If people had relied on the eroneous info they would have skipped the legislative district caucus, too, so they would not have been set straight there.

This is truly a generic problem among Democrats, and government types, the inability to acknowledge incompetnece or to take on fixing it.

You can't fix things when still in denial. And of course, it's far easier to be patronizing to the person who ponits out the incompetence and erroneous information.

"Transparency" - ha!
Kind of like when you debate a GOP conservative about something and they go "Raith! Faith! It's my faith, you can't challenge me!!"

Posted by unPC | February 11, 2008 10:57 AM
22


#17: Yes, scheduling a county convention on a major holiday in the first place was an mistake.

Posted by Stephanie | February 11, 2008 11:00 AM
23

Oh and now it turns out that every single one of those little certificates has the wrong date for the county convention?

Is that due to transparency, too?

No one made any announcement at my area on Saturday about that.

PRetty ridiculous when the problem with the first date was it is a religious holiday and the issue was aired many, many months ago by Jewish Democratic PCOs and the County Democrats just blew them off.

Seriously, if we cna't run our own party in an organized way without multiple latyers of bullshit, how do we expect the public to trust us to run the government to actually solve problems like FDR did?

Posted by unPC | February 11, 2008 11:02 AM
24

As a PCO who supported Obama but was too busy helping out other precincts to get elected as a delegate, I'm a bit worried that a lot of the Obama delegates in my area might not show up at the Legislative District caucus, because they don't fully understand that the delegate proportions can change at each level depending upon delegate turnout. I also forgot the actual date of the KC convention during all the confusion, so it's likely a lot of people will miss that unless they're contacted.

My plan is to contact everyone in my precinct and everyone in other precincts in my area that don't have a PCO, regardless of which candidate they supported. I suspect the campaigns will also do their best to contact delegates. So things should be OK. I'm heartened by the fact that Obama had a full slate of delegates and alternates, while Clinton's supporters barely found enough people for all delegates and had a lot of empty alternate slots.

Also, to add my two cents to the pile: you don't need the signed form to get into the legislative caucus. I almost think its purpose is to make the delegate selection feel more official so that people will take it more seriously, because otherwise its most important feature is the list of dates on the other side. The legislative district caucus is where the next level of delegates are selected. The county convention is for the party platform, party rules, and other party business not related to delegate selection. So it's not as big of a deal if people can't make it to that date.

Posted by Cascadian | February 11, 2008 11:07 AM
25

Now N in Seattle is saying the county con is on the 13th? But the calendar says the 12th? Maybe I should get my sleeping bag and camp out down there just in case?

Posted by Fnarf | February 11, 2008 11:08 AM
26

The LD caucus is *definitely* the next step in the process, and in getting yourself elected to the next level (State Delegate) which puts you on the road to Denver.

I was a Dean delegate to the National Convention in Boston in 2004, and I can tell you that the process from here on out gets longer and more intense.

If you are a delegate or alternate, you can go to the LD caucus on 4/5 - but be forewarned, it's a looooong day.

You'll sign in, and assuming it's like 04, listen to lots and lots of resolutions being debated and voted on. At the end of the day you break into candidate groups (again) and vote on who goes to the State convention as delegates and alternates.

At every step of this process you are whittling down large groups into ever smaller ones, but maintaining (or hopefully, increasing) the proportion your candidate has moving forward.

If you are a delegate or alternate, you can expect to 1) hear from the campaigns - even the opposing one, trying to get you to switch and 2) expect to spend some of your own time or money trying campaigning for yourself for the next level.

In 2004 I spent prolly $200 sending letters introducing myself to the other delegates. In the end, I had a lot of support, but it took striking a deal with other friendly delegates to get myself elected as an Alternate to the Convention. And then - the miracle happened - someone from the WA State delegation didn't come, and I was seated as a Delegate every night.

It's a long, fun, exhausting, wonkish, life-changing process.

If you want any advice, email me at lwinner@gmail.com.

Posted by el ganador | February 11, 2008 11:10 AM
27

unPC, the local party organizations run the caucuses. It's all done at the district level, with PCOs bearing the biggest burden at the precinct level. These organizations are all-volunteer and are operating on shoestring budgets. For example, my district spent about $2K on all of its caucuses, and only $140 on the location for my precinct. That's $10 per precinct, or something like 15 cents per caucus voter. (We raised nearly $10k on Saturday, though, and the excess will go to put on the upcoming LD convention and local organizing for the November elections.)

You can't extrapolate from any of this to infer anything about the organizational ability of the party at the national level. They're almost two entirely different organizations, which is part of the reason there's such a disconnect between the grassroots and the elected officials. The way to change that, and to get more organized caucuses and local party activities in general, is for more people to become active. Only 40% of our precincts have PCOs, and only about half of those do a measurable amount of volunteer work. If you don't like the results, and you're not volunteering, then you are part of the potential solution.

Yesterday was a great first step in creating a better party organization. We had five people fill out forms to become PCOs in my area, doubling our PCO representation from 1/3 to 2/3. Almost every one of those people supported Obama, so it's his campaign that has created the potential of building our party. The question is whether people will follow through. I'm cautiously optimistic.

Posted by Cascadian | February 11, 2008 11:22 AM
28

Hey unPC, I'm just a neighborhood volunteer, not a party hack, so lay off.

Anyway, it looks like we have a major information breakdown here.

Eli, it sounds like some reporting has to be done 'cause we all think the other person has the right info. I give up!

Posted by Stephanie Pure | February 11, 2008 11:25 AM
29

What I suggest is going to your LD meeting on the 5th (the 36th meets at 10am at Ballard High) and hoping that the party, uh, volunteers have their story straight by then and get someone with a loud voice to announce it clearly. A dweeb with a 1-watt PA didn't cut it on Saturday. I have the loudest voice in Christendom if anyone needs me.

Posted by Fnarf | February 11, 2008 11:38 AM
30

As I remember it from 4 years ago when I was a delegate from my precint, you'll go to both the legislative and county conventions. The county convention struck me as optional. You listen to a lot of local politicians speak. The legislative convention is the important one where delegates from the precinct caucuses compete to become delegates to the state convention. You don't need to compete, you can just vote. This involved sitting around for a long time on bleachers (ours was at Roosevelt High) and listening to all the competitors give their one minute speeches. We also listened to a lot of resolutions, and people from the audience kept refining the wording of those. I think it helps to be a lawyer if you're into that.

Posted by poltroon | February 11, 2008 11:53 AM
31

Also, as I remember it, precinct delegates are all invited to the King County convention even if they don't move on as delegates beyond the legislative district. You're invited, but there isn't really a purpose for you there. I don't remember any delegate selection going on at the county. It was just a lot of speeches by county officials. The April 5th meeting is all about delegates.

Posted by poltroon | February 11, 2008 1:00 PM
32

see you at ballard high, fnarf. i'll keep my ears open for you.

Posted by chops | February 11, 2008 1:14 PM
33

I think this link describes fairly well how some county conventions do select delegates, but King County's doesn't, because it's done at the legislative caucuses in that case.

Posted by poltroon | February 11, 2008 1:16 PM
34

Hey el ganador (LW) - I thought that was you. The description made it fairly clear to me. Remember your fellow alternate, sitting next to you on Monday night, who helped you get your laptop on the convention center's wireless? *waving*

Posted by Geni | February 11, 2008 1:49 PM
35

Fnarf:

Now N in Seattle is saying the county con is on the 13th? But the calendar says the 12th? Maybe I should get my sleeping bag and camp out down there just in case?

All I know is what I read on the website of the King County Democrats. That seems like a reasonably good place to look for information about a meeting of King County Democrats. They say that it's on Sunday, April 13, 2:00pm, at the IAM Hall, 9125 15th Place S, Seattle.

Maybe I'll see you there.

Posted by N in Seattle | February 11, 2008 3:35 PM
36

It is easy to sit back and complain after the fact, but it would have been far more pro-active for those who don't like how the organization is run to get involved. We all knew this was going to be a highly-attended year. I have run caucuses before, and the paperwork is a huge headache, even more so when it has to be done for many times the usual volume. Next time, plan ahead and volunteer either with at the Legislative District level, County level, or State level. Your energies will be put to far better use.

Posted by Molecule | February 11, 2008 4:27 PM
37

N in Seattle: that's one excellent data point. But here's another: the STATE Dems say it's on the 12th: http://www.wa-democrats.org/index.php?page=events&view=eventdetail&eventid=518 and they also say Snohomish is on the 13th, all other counties are still on the 19th (no Jews in Pomeroy, I guess).

It would be nice if they could get their act together.

Posted by Fnarf | February 11, 2008 5:07 PM
38

The reality is that the State Dems have no say in the matter. The King County Dems get to host it.

And, since someone here (me) is a KCDCC person, you can be darned sure I'll make sure that the King County Dems and 43rd Dems websites have the correct info ...

This is why they mail you an Official Call when you're a Delegate or Alternate - so they can update it with more accurate information. You also get an email (unless you didn't fill in the email portion of the Delegate Reporting Form).

K?

The State Dems do seem to hate Jewish holidays for some reason ... always scheduling things during them ... at least for the last few years ...

But I don't think it's intentional.

Posted by Will in Seattle | February 11, 2008 5:17 PM
39

"(me) is a KCDCC person".

I should have known. No wonder the situation is hosed.

Posted by Fnarf | February 11, 2008 5:40 PM

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