There has been some speculation and perhaps wishful thinking that Hillary Clinton and/or Barack Obama might make a swing out here to California around the time of the CDP convention.  There will be a bunch of super delegates floating around that the candidates could make their pitch to in person.  Plus, there is always the California ATM to make a withdrawal from.  But this from Ben Smith makes me think it is unlikely that Hillary Clinton will make an appearance.

The votes have been counted in California, but the money’s still coming in.

Hillary’s got a pair of fundraisers scheduled there: April 2 in Menlo Park and April 3 in San Francisco.

If she were going to come for the convention she would have timed those fundraisers for the weekend, not the middle of the following week.

It would be great to have them there and perhaps Obama will make an appearance.  Heck, Clinton could still come, but it seems unlikely at this point.

How about we use this thread as a roll call of Caliticians heading to San Jose in a week for the CDP Convention.  I will be there as a blogger for this fine site.  Are you coming?

UPDATE by Brian: Bob reminded me in the comments that we should remind everybody of Calitics mobile, which you can read on your cell phone. The new version even allows you to sign in and comment on diaries.  There likely won’t be much in the way of other press coverage, so Calitics will be your best source for news on the convention. So whether you are at the convention or at home, make sure you keep an eye on Calitics. And hey, if anybody needs signatures, Calitics would be a great place to let other delegates know about that.

Some folks with eagle eyes have noticed that the AP put out a story stating that the final pledged delegate count in California stands at 204 for Clinton and 166 for Obama.

Also Saturday, California’s Democratic Party finalized the delegate counts from its Feb. 5 primary. Clinton picked up two more pledged delegates, raising her state total to 204; Obama gained five, raising his figure to 166.

Well, the AP made a mistake — but it’s not in the numbers.  The California Democratic Party did not finalize the delegate counts.  The California Secretary of State finalized the election results.  Maybe it’s semantics, but I think it’s an important notation to make.

However, that number is correct.

Last week, David made his calculations and wrote about them based on the March 4 accounting published by the Secretary of State’s office.  Final certification, however, did not take place until March 8, and the final results are scheduled to be announced on Monday, March 17.  But the official Statement of Vote has been posted on the Secretary of State’s website, and the numbers have changed since the March 4 report. Every other district’s delegate count will remain the same as that calculated by David, but in CA-51 (Bob Filner’s district) the change in the final numbers was enough to prompt a delegate shift.

The March 4 numbers showed Clinton with 40,372 votes (59.2%) and Obama with 24,867 votes (36.5%) in CA-51.

But after March 4, even more votes were counted. The final Statement of Vote published by the SoS shows Clinton with 45,598 (60.2%) and Obama with 26,912 (35.6%). That change was enough to take the district from a 2-2 split to a 3-1 split.

And that took the total number of pledged delegates from David’s calculation of 203-167 to the 204-166 reported by the AP.

On a completely different topic…

While we’re discussing delegates, there’s another issue that needs to be addressed.  Before the primary election even occurred, the CDP devised a District Delegate allocation plan to ensure that there was gender balance between the District Delegates who will attend the Democratic National Convention in Denver this summer.  

The method the CDP used was simple. They put the District Delegate slots onto a spreadsheet, Numbers 1 through 241, and assigned the gender on an even-odd basis, e.g., male, female, male, female, etc., all the way from 1 to 241. Then they started at the top of the spreadsheet and entered the delegates for the Congressional Districts in numerical order, CD-01 through CD-53.

So now (and remember, this is pre-February 5) the spreadsheet looked like this:

… all the way on through Delegate 241, Female, CD-53.

So now that the election is over and the results have been certified, the District Delegates assigned to Clinton and Obama will be dropped into the slots in their Congressional Districts. The winning candidate in each CD is entered first.  

So, for instance, in CD-01, Obama received 47.2% of the vote to Clinton’s 44.9% — he will receive three delegates to her two.  So Delegates 1-3 are assigned to Obama; Delegates 4 and 5 are assigned to Clinton. That means that in CD-01’s April 13 delegate caucus, Obama supporters will vote for Delegates 1, 2 and 3, two females and one male; Clinton supporters will choose Delegates 4 and 5, one male and one female.

In CD-02, where Clinton received 46.5% of the vote and Obama received 41.9%, each will receive two delegates.  Clinton’s supporters will choose Delegates 6 and 7, one male and one female, and Obama’s supporters will select Delegates 8 and 9, also one male and one female. I think you probably catch the drift.

However, there’s a rub.  There’s always a rub.

Now that the vote has taken place and the District Delegates have been apportioned, it turns out that there are 13 Congressional Districts where a candidate only received one delegate. And in all 13 of those Congressional Districts, the candidate with just one delegate is Obama. What that means is that the District Delegates elected by the Obama caucuses in these 13 Congressional Districts are going to be restricted on the basis of gender.

Here’s how it will break down:

Only one person of the gender listed above will be elected at those April 13 District Delegate caucus. So, for instance, a woman cannot be elected as a District Delegate in CD-18; a man cannot be elected in CD-47.

And here’s the deal. We know that there are people who really worked their hearts out for Obama and that some people will feel disenfranchised by the system that’s been put into place. That’s why we wanted to explain this early and as fully as possible. Trust me, we feel their pain. And we sincerely hope that once folks have gotten over their initial disappointment, they don’t let this deter them from jumping in and working hard in future Democratic campaigns.

In the meantime, people can always apply to be At-Large Delegates using the Form B application. The deadline to apply to be an At-Large Delegate is April 23, at 5:00 p.m.

Penny

Online Organizing Director

California Democratic Party

(Thanks CDP. – promoted by Bob Brigham)

With nine regions of the California Democratic Party having held pre-endorsement meetings last night and the other twelve regions scheduled to hold theirs on Saturday, I thought it might be helpful to offer my best/simplest explanation as to how the CDP endorsement process works. Frankly, it’s not all that simple, so hold onto your hat.

Before I get started, just to be very clear, when I talk about DSCC (Democratic State Central Committee) members, here’s what I’m talking about. There are approximately 2800 DSCC members statewide, and they come from each of the following groups in about 1/3 proportions:

• Each central committee elects DSCC members from its membership (four per central committee as a base, and then an additional one for every 10,000 Democrats in the county)
• There are twelve AD delegates from each and every one of 80 Assembly Districts, elected in January of every odd-numbered year, who become DSCC members
• Finally, all Democratic electeds and nominees are members and additionally appoint 2-6 DSCC members apiece.

Taken together, these are the people who vote and conduct CDP business at the State Convention.

Now for the endorsement process.

Endorsements for partisan offices will take place at the State Convention in San Jose, March 28-30.  This year, that will be all ADs, ½ of the SDs (odd-numbered districts), and all CDs.  Before that, though, on either March 13 or March 15, depending on where you live, there are pre-endorsement conferences.

Here’s how it works. Voters in the pre-endorsement conference are comprised of any DSCC members, central committee members who are not DSCC members, and designated representatives of chartered clubs and organizations who live within the district being considered. The number of designated representatives allotted to each club is determined by applying a formula to the number of members of each club.  

All of these folks will meet at their pre-endorsement conference (they can Vote By Mail, though not by proxy, especially as there may be time conflicts between the AD, SD or CD conferences). Candidates who are seeking a CDP endorsement must have registered with the CDP and have paid a $50 registration fee which may be paid at any time up to the conference for their race.

At the pre-endorsement conference, each candidate will be allowed to make a two-minute speech. Then a roll-call vote will take place, with the convener reading out VBM ballots.  Only one vote will take place. At the end of voting, the votes for each candidate and for “no endorsement” will be tallied.

If a candidate receives 70% of the total votes cast, s/he will be recommended for endorsement and his or her name will be put onto the consent calendar to be ratified at the General Session of the State Convention on Sunday, March 30.

If no candidate reaches the 70% benchmark, the conference will have taken the position of “no recommendation” for endorsement.

If one candidate receives over 50% but less than 70%, that race will be considered at an endorsing caucus to be held at the State Convention from 4:30 to 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, March 29.

If no candidate reaches the 50% level at the pre-endorsement conference, then there will be no caucus at the State Convention, and there will be NO ENDORSEMENT in that race.

Now, if a candidate receives 70% of the votes at the pre-endorsement conference and is placed onto the consent calendar, that candidate’s name CAN BE REMOVED from the consent calendar and an endorsing caucus required IF 20% of the DSCC members from the district or 300 DSCC members at large challenge the candidate’s placement on the consent calendar by filing a letter of objection with the State Chair no later than ten days before the start of the State Convention (this year that date is March 18).

Once the process gets to the endorsement caucuses at the State Convention, the number of participating voters shrinks, with ONLY DSCC delegates from within the district (or their qualified proxies) allowed to vote in the caucuses.

So on Saturday, March 29, from 4:30-6:00 p.m., endorsement caucuses will be held for the following races:

• Races where no candidate received 70% of the pre-endorsement conference vote but one candidate received over 50%
• Races in which no quorum was present at the pre-endorsement conference
• Races in which a candidate received 70% of the pre-endorsement conference vote but a proper challenge was filed.

Because no VBM is allowed at the convention, caucuses will be held simultaneously in like districts, e.g., all ADs, then all SDs, then all CDs. A tentative agenda will be posted at the Convention and DSCC members will receive instructions in their registration packet indicating the location of their endorsing caucuses (if any).

At the endorsing caucus, the numbers required for endorsement change: Non-incumbent candidates will need 60% of the vote and incumbents will need a simple majority to secure the caucus recommendation for endorsement. Only one vote per district will be taken. A candidate who reaches the required threshold will receive the caucus recommendation for CDP endorsement.

At this point, there is a mechanism for challenging the endorsing caucus’s recommendation. After the endorsing caucus makes its recommendation, a formal objection may be filed.  It must be signed by at least 300 credentialed members of the DSCC on a form which will be available at the end of the endorsing caucuses and must be filed with the State Chair no later than 11:00 p.m. on Saturday evening. If a formal objection is filed, each candidate is entitled to designate one observer who may be present during the verification process.

Finally, those candidates who have been recommended for endorsement at either the pre-endorsement conferences before the convention or by the endorsing caucuses at the convention will go onto the consent calendar to be ratified by the convention body in the General Session on Sunday, March 30. Even candidates that received 70% at the pre-endorsement conference and did not have their race challenged are not endorsed until the vote on the consent calendar takes place on March 30.

As a disclaimer, the information I’m providing is my best understanding of the process.  The CDP Bylaws, of course, supersede any representation that I’ve made here.

If you have any questions about how the whole process works, I’ll be happy to try to answer them.

Penny

Online Organizing Director

California Democratic Party

Ventura County Democrats deserve a huge shout-out from all of us. On Monday, their Registrar of Voters announced that the number of registered Democrats has surpassed the number of registered Republicans, turning Ventura County blue. Here’s the announcement from the Ventura County Democrats website:

The Republicans have held the advantage for over 20 years in the county. Just 4 years ago, that advantage was a daunting 16,000. Today Dems took the lead, with 439 more registered Democrats than Reps.

The numbers are as follows:

• Dem: 150,066
• Rep: 149, 627
• DTS: 69,987

We’ve got a great team in the local Dem Party and more are joining us to get involved in this exciting Presidential election year. Congrats to all involved who made this happen!

Hmm. Do you think it’s a coincidence that the very next day after this announcement was made, Tom McClintock fled his home in Ventura County, making the 418 mile trip up to CA-04 in search of a red district?  

We’ve been writing for the last couple of weeks about the important role that Democratic County Central Committees play throughout the State of California.  The stunning gains being made in Democratic registration are just one example of their great work.  But you know what? These Central Committees are only as strong as their members.

Up in Tom McClintock’s new home, CA-04, there are nine counties (count them — Butte, El Dorado, Lassen, Modoc, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Sacramento and Sierra). Their Democratic County Central Committees are also working hard to register Democrats and support Democratic candidates like Charlie Brown — and we hope that they’re successful in chasing Tom McClintock out of CA-04, as well.

But each one of those Democratic County Central Committees needs the help of committed, hard-working Democrats in their communities. Several of these County Central Committees in CA-04 don’t even have enough candidates running for office to make it onto the ballot.

Even the mighty Ventura County Central Committee needs your help. According to their website, four out of five districts in Ventura County still have vacant slots; overall, just two days away from the end of the filing period, they are six candidates short of having a complete Central Committee.

Time is running out. The deadline for filing to become a candidate is this Friday, March 7, at 5:00 p.m. But it’s not too late to get started. Just head on over to the CDP website to get all the information on how you can file before Friday to run for your Democratic County Central Committee.

Who knows — if we all work hard enough at organizing, maybe Tom McClintock will be left with nowhere to run!

Penny

Online Organizing Director

California Democratic Party

Cross posted on Daily Kos

Last week we wrote a diary encouraging Democrats throughout the State of California to roll up their sleeves, get involved, and run for a seat on their local Democratic County Central Committees.

Since that time, a group of East Bay grassroots activists (a few of whom are Caliticians!) has put together a video talking about what motivates them to work through their local Democratic Party and why they think YOU should run for your Democratic County Central Committee.

Time is running short, though. The filing deadline to run for your County Central Committee is next Friday, March 7 at 5:00 p.m.  To beat that deadline, you’ll need to go to your County Registrar of Voters, register as a candidate and get copies of petitions.  Then you’ll need to gather 20 valid signatures from registered Democrats in your district.  You MUST turn in your signed petitions by March 7.

For a complete guide to the process, please go to our website at www.cadem.org/countypartyfaq.

In this critically important election year of 2008, there’s no better way to get involved with other committed and hard-working Democrats throughout your community and across the state.  

Penny

Online Organizing Director

California Democratic Party

Hey You, especially you in the Bay Area, are you busy March 28-30? Want to help out at the California Democratic Convention? Well, grrreat, because apparently they need 800 of them. There will be opportunities for volunteers to attend General Session and hear some of the speakers.

If you are interested in volunteering, please complete the volunteer form by March 12, 2008 for best availability.In order to volunteer at the State Convention, you must sign-up in advance. There will also be a mandatory meeting for all volunteers Thursday, March 27th, 2008 at the San Jose Convention Center.

If you have any questions, please call Christopher Guerrero, Volunteer Coordinator at (916) 442-5707 x 318 or email volunteer AT cadem dt org.

So, any other thoughts?

(While in some big city counties, these races are intense and expensive, there are a LOT of other counties where just a little work can make a big difference – promoted by jsw)

Many of you probably remember when Gov. Howard Dean issued his now-famous citizens’ report card:

• If you vote you get a “D”
• If you donate money to your candidate you get a “C”
• If you do all of that and volunteer you get a “B”
• But if you do all that and run for office, then and only then do you get an “A.”

Well, we’d like to start out by saying that our hat is off to all Democrats running for office, like Gary Pritchard for his “A” performance in California’s SD-33.  

But Gary doesn’t have to be the only Calitician to earn an “A” this year. We are in the midst of another electoral race, one that not very many people know about, but one which is of utmost importance to California Democrats.  

Now is the time for everyday Democrats across the State of California to make the decision to run for their County Central Committees; the filing deadline is March 7. Sadly, we know the most common response to the previous sentence is likely to be, “Huh.”

So what, exactly, are Democratic County Central Committees? What do they do, and why is it important for you to run for a position on one of them? Well, the CDP has compiled a handy FAQ page to answer those questions.  

More on the flip.

Long story short, Democratic County Central Committees are the local organizing arms of the Democratic Party. From the FAQ:

What is a Democratic County Central Committee?

The County Central Committees encourage the growth and success of the Democratic Party within their county by coordinating and promoting Party activities. Additionally, they also recruit and work for the election of Democratic Party candidates throughout their county. Many County Central Committees open campaign headquarters; in fact, several County Central Committees establish permanent offices and hire staff.

What do County Central Committee members do?

During their term, County Central Committee members organize activities throughout their county. They hold informational meetings; they raise funds for their projects; they plan and implement voter registration drives; and they facilitate the different Democratic campaign operations within their county.   County Central Committee members are elected every two years.

Here’s why it’s important for YOU to run for your local Democratic County Central Committee:

Over the years, the Democratic Party has relied on the participation of committed Democrats in each county to conduct voter outreach and to build and invigorate the party.  Your local Democratic Party is only as strong as its members; so if you want to join with other active, hard-working Democrats and take on a bigger role in your community, roll up your sleeves and get involved!

Democratic County Central Committees fulfill other important obligations.  During each term, they elect delegates from among their membership to the Democratic State Central Committee (DSCC). Those delegates then conduct the business of the California Democratic Party.  There are approximately 3,200 DSCC delegates, and about one-third of them are elected from the County Central Committees.  The formula that is applied is as follows:  each Central Committee elects four at-large delegates; then they elect further delegates at the rate of one per 10,000 registered Democrats in their county.

Those County Central Committee DSCC delegates then go to the statewide California Democratic Party conventions, where they vote on resolutions, candidate and proposition endorsements, and the party platform.

Members of the Democratic County Central Committees will be elected in the June 3 primary.  The Democratic Party needs active and committed Democrats throughout the entire state to fill these Central Committee positions.  So if you want to get involved and participate in your local Party, the deadline to apply to become a candidate and earn your Howard Dean “A” is on Friday, March 7.  Go to the California Democratic Party website to get the full rundown.

“Election by election, state by state, precinct by precinct, door by door, vote by vote… we’re going to lift our Party up and take this country back for the people who built it.”

— Gov. Howard Dean, Chair, Democratic National Committee

Penny

Online Organizing Director

California Democratic Party

(Some quick action – promoted by shayera)

Earlier today, dday posted a diary about the confusing ballot that will be handed out to Independent (Decline to State) voters who request a Democratic ballot in Los Angeles County.  As dday pointed out, those DTS voters will have to mark their ballot twice in order for it to be valid — they’ll have to fill in the bubble next to their candidate AND fill in the bubble on the line marked “Democratic.”

A few hours ago, the California Democratic Party sent out the following email to Decline to State voters in Los Angeles County in an attempt to alert them to this problem:

Now, the San Jose Mercury News has quoted the LA Registrar of voters as follows:

“It would almost be counterintuitive for someone to miss,” said Dean Logan, the acting county registrar. “We have put this information in voter education materials, and we’ve provided real clear instructions.”

Huh… Looks like yet another case of “Blame the voter.”

In the meantime, you can either call the Secretary of State’s office at 1-800-345-VOTE(8683) or the California Democratic Party headquarters at 1-916-442-5707 with questions or problems.

Penny

Online Organizing Director

California Democratic Party