Release for Guest Commentary Section in the Humboldt Sun Newspaper
by Interim PR Chair Patrick Henigin
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It Ain’t Over ‘til It’s Over – Local Democrats meet Feb. 23
If you thought that the Nevada caucuses were over and done … think again! The January Caucuses were only the first part of a trilogy of events. Next are the County Conventions, and after that, the State Convention. Until the State Democratic Convention concludes, we won’t know exactly who will receive how many “Delegates” going into the Democratic National Convention.
At the Caucus in January, Humboldt Democrats came together in their precincts to select Delegates to the County Convention. In all, 90 Delegates were selected. Those 90 Delegates (or their Alternates) while attending the County Convention on February 23rd will select 12 Delegates who will attend the State Democratic Convention which will be held on May 17-18, 2008 in Reno.
We encourage any Humboldt County Democrat to attend the County Convention. However, only Delegates, or Alternates who have been upgraded to Delegate (because the actual Delegate is absent), will be eligible to vote on the convention floor. If you attended the Caucus in January, but weren’t selected as a Delegate, you are eligible to serve as an Alternate on an as-needed basis. So please, by all means, show up, register and support your candidate. If you did not attend the caucus, you can still attend the Convention, but only as an “observer.” You would NOT be eligible to serve as either a Delegate or an Alternate, but it doesn’t mean you couldn’t talk to one or more of them to let them know your views on issues being discussed.
Now, having explained all that, I did it for a reason. You see, while the credentials committee at the convention will attempt to replace an absent Delegate with an Alternate from the same precinct who supports the same candidate as the absent Delegate, that may not happen. Any Alternate who is selected is not “bound” in any way to support the same candidate as the absent Delegate. So, it’s important that Delegates attend to ensure their candidate is effectively supported. Alternates are encouraged to register early on Friday since Credentials will be selecting using the registration timestamp when selecting Alternates.
Now you see the reason for the title of this article. While we had a given number of Delegates for each Candidate coming out of the Caucus, that could all change and be quite different coming out of the County Conventions, especially since one candidate has subsequently dropped out of the race and a re-alignment will need to take place at the Convention similar to what took place at the Caucus.
Humboldt County Democrats will hold their convention this coming Saturday, February 23rd, at the Sonoma Heights Elementary School. Early Registration will take place on Friday evening, February 22nd from 4-7 PM. The doors will open on Saturday morning at 8 AM for additional registrations. The Convention will begin promptly at 10 AM and will conclude when all business has been conducted. Please arrive sufficiently early to ensure you have ample time to make it through the registration and credentialing process and are seated by Credentials on the Convention floor before start of business at 10 AM.
It should prove to be an interesting day. You’ll have a unique opportunity this election year to actively participate in the process of not only selecting Delegates to represent your candidate at the State Convention, but you’ll be able to provide your input and/or stamp of approval on platform issues you think our Democratic Party should pursue, like health care, Yucca Mountain, alternative energy, and a host of other matters. We’ll also be electing Officers and Chairs for our local organization, so if you’d like to take a leadership role in our local democratic organization, please step up and be counted. This is an opportunity for all registered democrats to make their feelings known and influence local, state and national policy.
For more information about the County Convention and our local Democratic organization, please check out Blog: http://humboldtdems.wordpress.com/