The main purpose of the LD caucus is to elect delegates to the state convention and Congressional District Convention. (There may also be discussion of resolutions which is the emphasis of the county conventions.) The LD caucus is similar to a precinct caucus, though with approx 1,000-1200 attendees.
Delegates spend perhaps an hour signing in, and indicating their candidate of choice. Each side gets to address the entire body for perhaps 2-3 minutes. Delegates can then switch teams. After the recount of support, Obama and Clinton delegates break off into their own groups. Obama people who want to go to the state convention (and Congressional District Convention) give speeches to fellow Obama supporters, and there's a written ballot for delegates and alternates. (It's at the Congressional District Convention that most of the pledged delegates are selected for the Democratic National Convention.) Then the Obama/Clinton groups rejoin to discuss resolutions.
There needs to be some coordination in distributing flyers, posters, etc. We need to ensure that if delegates can't go, that alternates are contacted and can go. As Claire notes, below, it may be wise to just have all alternate delegates appear at the LD caucus. Since the registration line will be long and slow moving, we may want to have people walking up and down the registration line, handing out literature and trying to persuade other delegates to switch sides. As far as ensuring that only dedicated delegates are chosen to attend the next round, I don't believe anyone in the grassroots organization can decide which candidates are sufficiently dedicated. It can be emphasized to Obama supporters at the LD that we only want to elect second round delegates who are absolutely committed to Obama, and have a long track record of supporting him. But I think that the selection should be left entirely to the first round delegates at the LD caucus. None of this is rocket science, but does require good group communication and teamwork.
========================================================================
Below are some ideas forwarded to me by Claire Petersky, which I'm re-posting with her permission:
Since many of you could not make the delegate training that happened Saturday afternoon at the Redmond Public Library, here's some main points that I'd like to communicate to the group as whole who may be delegates or alternates: 1. Alternates are **highly encouraged** to come to the legislative district caucuses, along with the delegates. If you delegate has to leave "early" for any reason, you can take his/her place. It is vital to have the Obama votes there at the LD convention, just as it was at the precinct level. 2. When you go to your legislative district meeting, be sure to go early. Just like they had unprecedented crowds at the precinct caucuses, they may have have similarly large crowds at the LD caucus. If your LD caucus starts at 10:00, you may want to come at 9:00 to get in line and be processed. At some point they will cut off the processing, so if you come late, you may not be counted. 3. Expect to spend a long time. All day. Bring a sack lunch, water, crossword puzzles, your iPod, whatever you need to make it through the day. Some LDs might have food available for lunch, but maybe not, so bring food. 4. If you want to make it up to the next level (congressional district), you have to be elected from the LD level. You might want to devise a 1 minute speech (really, no longer, lots people will want to make speeches), that says why you're particularly deserving. Be sure to have your name as a part of the speech so your fellows know who to vote for. 5. You can find out who your fellow delegates/alternates are from your legislative district - ideally, it'll be up on the website. Contact them in the next few weeks to find out. It would be helpful for you to know who else in your precinct is coming. Why? a. Each of us needs to get the above information out to all the Obama delegates. If each person in their precincts contacts the other delegates/alternates, they will know to come early, bring a lunch, etc. b. Although the LDs will contact each delegate/alternate via mail, if you contact them too, it reminds them how much we are counting on their participation. c. You can carpool to the conventions with your neighbors. If there's huge crowds, parking will be tight, and we all want to shrink our carbon footprint, right?
================================================
Additional thoughts by Claire:
A couple more points about alternates: 1. An alternate for one candidate cannot be sat if a delegate from another candidate does not show up. (i.e. An Obama alternate can not replace a Clinton delegate who does not attend) 2. It is not a 1-to-1 relationship between delegates and alternates. In other words, Alternate 1 does not only align with Delegate 1. It works more like this (example only): Let's say you are in precinct "Aqua" and Aqua received 3 Obama delegates and 3 Obama alternates. For the sake of this example let's list them as: Delegate 1: Roberto Delegate 2: Sue Delegate 3: Maria Alternate 1: Akiko Alternate 2: Lisa Alternate 3: Tom If a delegate from precinct Aqua doesn't show up, then one of the alternates from that precinct takes their place. The criteria are: 1. Same precinct 2. Same gender as highest preference 3. The order the alternate was elected / listed on the delegate report form So, if Roberto didn't show up, the alternate to be sat would be Tom. Why would it be Tom when he is third on the list? Because of condition #2, gender. Tom is the first male on the alternate list. If Sue didn't show up, Akiko would be sat. Why Akiko, because she meets the gender match criteria and is the first female on the alternate list.
From the LD caucus on through the remainder of the caucus you will find efforts to develop and maintain a gender balance in the delegate population. This supports the rules of the Washington State Delegate Selection Plan, starting with point “b” below:
From the Washington State Delegate Selection Plan
Apportionment of District-Level Delegates and Alternates
a. Washington State’s district-level delegates and alternates are apportioned among the districts based on a formula giving equal weight to the average vote for the Democratic candidates in the 2004 presidential and gubernatorial elections. (Rule 8.A.; Regs. 4.11., 4.12. & Appendix A)
b. The state’s total number of district-level delegates will be equally divided between men and women as nearly as possible. The overall variance between men and women cannot exceed one. (Rule 6.C.(1) & Reg. 4.8.)
Link to the full (60 page) document:
http://www.wa-democrats.org/pdf/2008%20WA%20Delegate%20Selection%20and%20AA%20Plan%20-%20DNC%20Approved%20Final.pdf
Comments are closed for this post.
