The DNC announced today that Sal Pace will be joining the State Partnership Program Staff. He is replacing Annajo Sanchez in the SE Region; however, we are working with the DNC to realign the counties for the next several months. We welcome Sal and his field expertise to our team.
Pat Waak
Dan Slater did a nice job of commenting in his blog on the State Executive Committee and State Central Committee Meetings this past Saturday. In spite of the weather there was a terrific turn out. It underlines the enthusiasm on the part of Democrats in the state. I personally welcome Butch Hicks as our new treasurer. He has big shoes to fill with Rep. Mark Ferrandino moving on. But Butch has been treasurer in Adams County for years and brings a ton of experience.
The next day, Sunday, Sky Gallegos and I flew to Durango for another community conversation and training. Over 80 people from La Plata, Montezuma and Archuleta County showed up to hear about the upcoming convention. They stayed for the next hour to learn about the caucus process and the DNC’s Neighbor to Neighbor project.
It was the liveliest session we have had, with tons of questions. I used part of Dan Slater’s really good powerpoint presentation, plus a new chart that Billy Compton has put together to show the total process. Dan’s presentation is up on the website so it can be downloaded. However, he is conducting a number of trainings throughout the state, as am I and Carolyn Boller. I also know that many counties are conducting their own.
Among the participants on Sunday, Joelle Riddle and Wally White, La Plata County Commissioners, were in attendance. John Whitney from Rep. John Salazar’s office was on hand. The Durango Herald called the event part pep rally. And we all agree.
After dropping Sky Gallegos at the airport, I stayed at Alison Dance’s lovely guest studio. Because of the ice and snow, I experienced what it is like to be without my winter tires. The car I was driving slid down a hill into the ditch. Luckily I was rescued by my hosts and no damage to the car or myself. The next morning’s snow storm cancelled my trips to Cortez and Dove Creek, so I spent most of the day on conference calls and my trusty Blackberry.
On Tuesday morning, Joelle Riddle and I traveled through the snow to have breakfast with Chairman Frost of the Southern Utes. We discussed how we might get some of the Democrats in the seven tribes to run for delegate. I have a list of people to confer with in the next few weeks.
It cleared enough so I could fly back to Denver and meet with Beage Atwater, who is once again directing the coordinated campaign. That was followed by a larger meeting with the DSCC and consultants. Staff is already working on outreach efforts,.
That evening a dozen members of the CDP Faith and Politics Project met with Rev. Terri Lavelle, director of the DNC Faith in Action Program, and John Kelly, who works on outreach for the same program. The night before they had attended a house party of 20 people from the Catholic community.
Our major discussion was around the upcoming seminar on Engaged Spirituality. We hope to use this event to recruit more people who would be willing to hold house parties. To follow is the information on the seminar to be held January 12, 2008.
Registration is 9:30 a.m. Program begins at 10:00 a.m.
End time: 4:00 p.m.
The event is at the Iliff School of Theology, 2201 S. University Blvd.
Denver, CO 80201. The meeting will take place in the Great Hall to the right as you enter the main entrance.
Agenda to follow:
Engaged Spirituality Forum
Faith and Politics Project of the Colorado Democratic Party
Hosted by Iliff School of Theology
January 12,2008
10:00 a.m. Native American Meditation: George Tinker
10:15 a.m. Welcome: Iliff President David Trickett
10:30 a.m. Greeting and Introduction of Keynote Speaker: Pat Waak, Chair, Colorado Democratic Party
Keynote Speaker: The Rev. Leah Daughtry, Chair of the 2008 Democratic Convention
11:00 a.m. A panel discussion: Exploring the Constitutional Mandates: Establishment Clause and Free Exercise Clause
The Rev. Ron Stief of “Faith in Public Life”
Taj Ashaheed: Executive Director of the Colorado Muslim Council
Representative Morgan Carroll, Colorado General Assembly
12:30 p.m. Lunch with Governor Bill Ritter
1:30 p.m. & 2:30p.m. Break-out Workshops
Faith and Immigration: American Hospitality and Economic Necessity
Representative Terrance Carroll, Colorado General Assembly
Dr. Miguel de la Torre
Faith and War: Superpower for Conquest or Common Good
Larry Howe-Kerr, Catholic Social Justice Activist
Pastor Ted Fritshel
Faith and Healthcare – Life-Health Issues in a Broader Context
Representative Jim Riesberg , Colorado General Assembly
The Rev. Dr. Michael Attas, Medical Ethics Professor at Baylor
Faith and the Environment – Making the Connections
The Rev. Peter Sawtell, Director of Eco-Justice Ministries, UCC
Eileen Regan, Environmental Scientist and Spiritual Director
Registration fee is $20, which includes a box lunch. You can register online at www.coloradodems.org
Contact for information: Pat Waak, Chair, Colorado Democratic Party, pwaak@coloradodems.org
It is my policy as Chair of the Colorado Democratic Party to interview all potential candidates for public office. It provides an opportunity to help them evaluate why they are running, what resources (internal as well as external) can they bring to the race, and whether there are other ways to accomplish their objectives.
Running for office is an awesome responsibility. An additional responsibility of the officers of the party is to be respectful and helpful. We try very hard to do that. Not everyone is pleased with the outcome. But leadership means that you seek the common good.
(Cross-Posted to DemNotes at www.DemNotes.com)
First, an apology: As many of you know, I was in Northern Virginia a couple of weekends ago for the Winter DNC Meeting. I promised to blog about all of the Presidential candidates and their speeches. I actually spent about 45 minutes writing a very long and detailed post that evening; however, when I hit the “Submit” button on my WordPress site, everything disappeared. I had not backed any of it up. I completely lost all of it. I have not had any time since then to re-create it, and now it is kind of late to do so.
To summarize, though, the candidates did a wonderful job. While I have endorsed Senator Obama, each of our candidates reinforced my feeling that we will be well-served by whomever we select as our nominee in Denver in August. There was also a lot of concern in the hall for the reports of the hostage situation at Senator Clinton’s office in New Hampshire, and I can tell you that I had a short conversation with the New Hampshire Chair, Ray Buckley, later that evening — he looked both exhausted from the day’s stresses and relieved that the hostages all got out without physical harm.
It was a great DNC meeting, and the last one before we meet again the day after the Convention adjourns in Denver in August.
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Saturday was an opportunity for our State Central Committee and State Executive Committee to meet and get some last-minute business done before the caucuses. There was not anything really controversial going on, but we still had a great crowd anyway — even with snow falling throughout the state. That really impressed me — we used to wring our hands to make quorum at meetings just a few years ago, but even with bad weather and no controversy, we still made quorum easily for both meetings. Some of that is due to a rules change I helped bring about that changed the way we calculate quorum, but I think that a greater reason for it is that we have more folks who are truly excited about the opportunities we have to change Colorado and to change America in 2008 and beyond.
We approved the 2008 CDP budget — and we also noted that 2007 was the best off-year for fundraising in our Party’s post-Amendment 27 history. Rep. Mark Ferrandino, our extraordinarily capable and diligent Treasurer, attended his last meeting as Treasurer as we selected another quite able-bodied soul to fill his spot: Adams County Dems’ Treasurer Butch Hicks. I worked with Butch on the Site Selection Committee, and I know he will do an outstanding job as our new Treasurer, although he does have huge shoes to fill.
We handled a few other housekeeping items — a couple of minor rules changes, and formal approval of the delegate allocation to the counties for the State Assembly and Convention. Several Presidential campaigns had representatives there (Obama, Clinton, Edwards, Biden, Kucinich), and we also heard from our Congressional candidates in attendance. Senate President Peter Groff gave his first speech to the Central Committee in that role, and we also heard from the always-eloquent Speaker Andrew Romanoff. Finally, we heard some inspirational words about our role as the host state party for the National Convention from DNCC CEO Leah Daughtry.
After those meetings, three of the Congressional Districts held their meetings. The 2nd CD had a packed meeting where they debated when and where to hold their Convention and Assembly, finally deciding to hold it a couple of weeks prior to the State Convention and Assembly, in Westminster. Following those meetings, there was VAN training, and I led a training for some county party leaders on how to prepare for and hold the caucuses and county convention / assembly.
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A few other notes:
First, several people have asked me when I will be giving the next caucus trainings. While we are still working on a few other dates to firm up, here are the ones that have been set. On Friday evening, Jan. 11, I will be doing a training in Estes Park. The following day, Jan. 12, I will be conducting trainings for Larimer Dems in Loveland and for Weld Dems in Greeley. On Sunday, January 13, I will then be doing training in Park County, at the Jefferson Community Center. On Monday, January 14, at 7 pm, I will be doing training in Summit County (I’m assuming I will be in Frisco). The following evening, January 15, I will be doing the training in Rocky Ford. Then, on Saturday, January 19, I will be doing training here at home in Canon City, for Fremont County and the surrounding counties. Finally, on Wednesday evening, January 23, I will be conducting training for the counties in HD 63 in Alamosa.
So far, those are the ones that have been affirmatively scheduled. If you’d like for me to come to your area, please drop me a note and we’ll try to find a date that works well for everybody.
Second, Jay Fawcett, who ran an outstanding campaign for the 5th CD, and who forced the Republican Party to spend hundreds of thousands of national dollars on a district that they assumed was safe, is working hard to retire his debt from that campaign. Here’s a note from Jay:
ActBlue has reactivated my campaign account for the purpose of debt relief. I made a principled decision to pay all vendors and salaries first and I succeeded. But that leaves the campaign owing me about $70,000 I have been asking support to get to $50,000 on ActBlue by 15 December, after that I close out the campaign and move on. Any help and suggestions you can provide will be appreciated. Please spread the word and the web site.
Jay Fawcett
If you can, please visit the ActBlue site and help Jay as much as you can. I know he will appreciate it.
Coming back from the DNC meeting, we had the opportunity to hit the ground running. Monday night Sky Gallegos, Deputy CEO for Intergovernmental Relations of the DNCC, and I conducted a community forum in Fort Collins. It was standing room only, with representatives from Larimer, Weld and Morgan Counties in attendance.
The meetings that Sky and I are doing include an opportunity to discuss what will happen at the Democratic National Convention next year, as well as caucus training and the DNC’s Neighorhood Leader program. The questions were centered around volunteering and ways to promote your local community to incoming visitors. For some fun commentary, check out www.demconvention.com. They have a blog with video interviews.
However, the caucus training was important as well. About 60% of the audience had been to caucus before. The rest were really learning about caucuses and how to become delegates. Adam Bowen, Larimer County Democratic Chair, said that there were lots of new faces in the crowd. And we recruited about 15 new neighborhood leaders.
On Tuesday, Dick Wadhams and I made presentations to the Denver Lions Club. A packed lunchtime group listened to us talk about the importance of caucuses in Colorado and the changes we expect to see with the coming year’s participation. My prediction is that we will have a record turnout in 2008 because of all the Presidential candidates working in the state, the early date for our caucuses, and the interest in becoming a delegate to the National Democratic Convention in Denver.
On Wednesday, over 200 people gathered at A Spice of Life conference center in Boulder. The DNCC held a community conversation with Leah Daughtry, CEO of the DNCC, and Rep. Alice Madden, Colorado House Majority Leader. The big announcement was the introduction of Andrea Robinson, who will be in charge of “greening” the national convention. I also had a few moments to explain the caucuses and how one could become a delegate.
Other upcoming events:
1) The Colorado State Executive Committee and State Central Committee will be meeting on Saturday to approve next year’s budget, elect a new treasurer, and handle party business.
2) There will be Faith and Politics House Parties on Monday evening. On Tuesday of next week, we will host a larger meeting at the CDP at 6:30 P.M. Rev. Terri Lavelle and John Kelly from the DNC’s Faith in Action Project will be here.
3) The Faith and Politics Seminar is scheduled for January 12, 2008 at Iliff School of Theology. Speakers will include Leah Daughtry, Governor Bill Ritter, Rep. Terrance Carroll, Rep. Morgan Carroll and Rep. Jim Reisberg.
4) Sky Gallegos and I will be hosting a community conversation and training in Durango, Sunday, Dec. 9, 2007 at the Durango Community Recreation Center (Peaks Room). The event will go from 1:00 P.M. to 3:00 P.M.
5) I will be visiting with Montezuma County Dems in Cortez at The Main Bookstore in Cortez at 10:00 A.M. on Monday, Dec. 10, 2007.
6) And I will be having dinner with the Dolores County Dems at the Blue Mountain Cafe in Dove Creek at 6:30 P.M. that evening.
Hope to see you at one of these events.