Jerry Brown

The New CDP

12 Comments

I spoke to a few friends at the California Democratic Party about their recent donation that we mentioned in the open thread yesterday. It was a pretty big deal:

Jerry Brown received $2.25 million in campaign cash from the state Democratic Party’s central committee, his gubernatorial campaign reported this weekend.

The donation by far is the largest single contribution given to Brown, a Democrat and former chairman of the state party. Brown, the state attorney general and former governor, faces no serious opposition in the June 8 Democratic primary. (CapWkly)

In the past, the fund raising prowess of the CDP was shall we say, less than we would have hoped.  But, things can change, and when they do, it can sneak up on you, even us here at Calitics.  Where as the CDP used to be primarily a conduit, it now has its own financial muscle.  This $2 million check comes from the fruits of the CDP’s own labor.

So, whatever there is to be said about the governor’s race and the CDP, there is now a different relationship between the party and the elected leaders.  There CDP can now stand up on its own two legs, and that’s a good thing for progressives, especially with the current structure of Democratic leadership.

12 thoughts on “The New CDP”

  1. Kudos to John B, Shawnda, Angie, Hilary and everyone on staff working so hard to rebuild the Party infrastructure.

    And a huge salute to the revitalized Dem grassroots/netroots who have stepped up with monthly donations via Dem2010.

  2. Yes, Jerry Brown ia (unfortunately) our probable nominee, but why $2 million, and why now?  The AG has been doing pretty good at raising his own money, with almost no burn rate.

    Couldn’t the money be better spent trying to protect vulnerable seats in the Legislature, or trying to win new ones?  Or maybe pushing against Prop 14, or trying to improve the Demo brand?  Almost any option makes more sense than fattening the Crypt Keeper’s pre-primary bank account.

  3. Although I am still not convinced that the Party is as grass-rootsy as I’d like it to be, and I wrote at length about my disappointment in Burton, this is definitely a good sign and shows that he is strengthening the party.  I think with the knowledge that money is going to candidates before the campaign rather than after (a la Fabian Nunez during the disastrous Art Torres regime) should generate more contributions.

    Kudos to Burton and the leadership for turning the financial ship around.  

  5. The Ventura County Democratic Party is also doing a great job of raising money. This year we will spend more than our annual budget in the June Primary alone and we are looking forward to a strong presence in November.

Comments are closed.