(We are getting some attention with this talk. I see this as a very positive thing. We are reinforcing the best parts of the party, not tearing it down. – promoted by marchmoon)

So, you want to rescue the California Democratic party and bring it back to its grassroots?  Get involved by participating in the delegate selection meetings that will occur around the state on January 14th — either by running for a delegate spot yourself, or bringing a bunch of friends to cast votes for the right kind of people.

Here’s the basics.  Specific notification and filing procedures are going to be decided at a CDP Executive Board Meeting next weekend (Dec. 8-9).

1) First, check out this powerpoint presentation and familiarize yourself with the internal structure of the party (click on the “download” link at the lower right of the post).  It’s a little dated in that now, the “Assembly District Committees” have been replaced by the delegate selection meetings described below.  But the majority of the information is still quite accurate.

2. Second, clear your calendar for the afternoon of January 14th, and ask all your friends to do the same.  That’s important — power comes from numbers.  Showing up by yourself won’t carry much weight.

3. Third, find your Assembly district in the list here, and figure out who the chair is.  Is it someone you know?  Friend, foe, or unknown?  (And if you don’t know what Assembly District you live in, you really have no business running for an elected position within the party.  Seriously.)

4.  Contact this person, and ask that they be sure to inform you (as required by CDP bylaws) no later than December 21st of the:

  – date, time and place of the meeting,
  – the rules for participation in the meeting
  – the filing deadlines and rules for candidates for delegate.

(In fact, CDP bylaws require that these conveners of the AD Election meetings must make a reasonable effort to make this effort known to all registered Democrats in the District.)

5. If you want to run for delegate, CDP bylaws provide for “a filing period 12 days prior to the AD Election Meeting” — with details of that yet to be worked out.  So if you want to run, plan to file something with someone in late December.  Your AD Election meeting convener should provide you with this info no later than December 21st.  And you should forward it to every Democrat you know, and ask them to show up.

So there you have it.  One details come out from the Executive Board meeting, I’ll do my best to get another diary up with that information.  Many thanks to Tom Brown and other hard-working DFA supporters and grassroots delegates who’ve been leading the charge to open this process up since 2004.

Now, how many people can YOU get to show up on January 14th?