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

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.

(Cross-Posted to DemNotes at www.DemNotes.com)

This afternoon in Virginia, I spent my time in two “official” meetings and one not-so-official meeting. The Association of State Democratic Chairs met, followed by a very informal meeting of all of the state party vice-chairs, and then the day concluded with a meeting of the DNC Youth Council.

The ASDC meeting was the biggest chunk of the day. Pat, Sherry and I attended, and we heard from a number of folks about efforts in place for 2008. Governor Dean kicked off the meeting with a discussion of the challenges ahead in the 50-state program and what he is hoping to see from our field plan. Following Governor Dean, the Party Chairs and Vice Chairs heard from a representative each from Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Reid’s offices. They discussed the many successes of the Congress, the challeges posed by Republican obstructionism (they were described as the G.O.P. - the “Grand Obstruction Party”), and the problems facing the leadership in getting this message out to the average American.

The congressional staff were followed by Ben Self, who is the DNC Technology Director, who gave us an impressive update of the efforts made to continue the improvement of VoteBuilder (a/k/a VAN). We finally heard from some of the national convention staff, who discussed the next 30-60 days for state parties as they make plans to come to Denver. Of particular interest was Tina Akintayo, who is the DNCC Director of Housing. All of us from Colorado have been getting questions about the housing assignments (is the hotel nice? is it near the Convention Center? etc…) In the end, though, I believe I heard Tina say on a conference call last week that every delegation got either its first or second choice for housing, so I think folks will be generally happy.

Following the ASDC meeting, the Vice Chairs got together for an informal session to discuss our work in the various states and share ideas. We had a nearly hour-long discussion, with a pledge to do something even more organized the next time the ASDC meets.

I then went over to the Youth Council meeting. There are about 20 or fewer members of the DNC aged 35 or younger. For the next 8 months, I am one of those lucky few. This meeting was a truly lively discussion of efforts to include youth outreach in each of the Presidential campaigns and further efforts to reach out to young people who want to be delegates to the National Convention. Representatives from several presidential campaigns were there, and the discussion — while noisy at times — was very productive, I think.

Tomorrow is the big day for speeches. I’ll write more about that tomorrow.

——————————

Sorry for the length of this post, but the NCEC (National Center for an Effective Congress), who does a lot of data crunching and vote analysis on a precinct-by-precinct level for Democrats, has just issued a short analysis of the state of Colorado politics. It is very interesting, and speaks volumes about the work of Democrats in counties like Douglas, Arapahoe, and Larimer counties. Mike Piel from the NCEC forwarded it to me, and gave me permission to post it to DemNotes. Again, I realize it is long, but it is good reading (even if it does skip CD-5):

Colorado Trending Blue
Since 2004, Colorado has transformed from a solid Republican state to one of intense competition where Democrats have suddenly reached parity. In the last two election cycles, Democrats have captured two House seats, a Senate seat, the governorship, and control of both houses of the state legislature. This transformation is symptomatic of a wider development across the country that has Republican strategists deeply concerned. In short, Democrats are performing vastly better in suburban and exurban areas, and this development has put Republicans on the defensive. Colorado ’s nine electoral votes could be immensely important to Democratic presidential aspirations, and the fate of the state could serve as a strong bellwether indicator of the larger race. Colorado will more than ever be a focal point of the national election in 2008. Not only is the presidential election expected to be solidly competitive, but there is also an open Senate race, two open-seat House races, and five potentially competitive House races. In the past two cycles, Democrats have experienced increasing success in key suburban and exurban areas such as Arapahoe, Douglas, Jefferson, and Larimer counties, leaving rural counties as the only staunchly conservative areas left for the GOP.

One of the most important factors in the increased Democratic success in Colorado is the growing support for the party in suburban areas previously dominated by Republicans. Arapahoe County is a solid example of this evolution. Since 2000, the voting-age population of Arapahoe County has increased by more than 42,000, and this increase has dramatically changed the voting habits of the county. In 1996, Bill Clinton received less than 43 percent of the vote in Arapahoe County . By 2002, Democratic support had increased to 46.5 percent in the Senate race. The trend of increased Democratic performance continued in 2004 and 2006. In 2004, Ken Salazar carried Arapahoe County with 52 percent of the vote, and Governor Bill Ritter outperformed Salazar in 2006 when he received nearly 60 percent of the vote (59.5 percent).

Douglas County , one of the fastest-growing counties in the country, also shows some of these positive Democratic trends. The voting-age population has increased by more than 69,000 since 2000. While the Democratic gains are not as pronounced as the shift seen in Arapahoe County , there has still been a boost in Democratic support. In 2000, Al Gore received just 31 percent of the vote in Douglas County . In 2002, Democratic Senatorial candidate Tom Strickland received 33 percent of the vote, a modest improvement. In 2004, Ken Salazar received more than 38 percent. The voting trend accelerated in 2006, as Governor Bill Ritter nearly carried Douglas County with more than 46 percent of the vote. While this county remains solid Republican, consistent Democratic gains in this large population center are a direct contributor to the recent success of Democrats in statewide elections.

Jefferson County , another rapidly growing population center home to more than 350,000 registered voters, has exhibited these same voting tendencies. Jefferson County was selected as the center and main voting contributor to the new Seventh Congressional District, which was added in 2002. The voting-age population has grown by 10,000 since 2000, and Democrats have been performing increasingly well there. Ed Perlmutter, a Democrat, now controls the Seventh District; this would have been unthinkable ten years ago. In 1996, Bill Clinton received less than 44 percent of the vote in Jefferson County , but demographic shifts in the county have increased the Democratic share of the vote. In 2002, Democratic Senatorial candidate Tom Strickland got more than 47 percent of the vote in Jefferson County . Ken Salazar won Jefferson County by 4 percent in 2004, and Bill Ritter amassed more than 59 percent of the vote in Jefferson County in 2006—making a 16 percent shift from 1996 to 2006.

A final example of this voting trend is Larimer County , which has seen some of the most drastic changes. Over the past seven years the voting-age population has grown by more than 24,000, and subsequent increases in Democratic support have been seen. In 2000, Al Gore got less than 40 percent of the vote in Larimer County , which is made up of rural, suburban, and exurban areas. A major shift was already evident in this county by 2002, when Democratic Senatorial candidate Tom Strickland received more than 44 percent of the vote. The trend continues, as Ken Salazar won Larimer County with 52 percent of the vote in 2004. Bill Ritter won more than 58 percent of the vote in Larimer County in 2006, which represents an 18 percent surge in Democratic support from 2000–2006.

Implications for 2008

If current trends hold, Colorado will be a major player in the 2008 presidential race, as well as a golden opportunity for another Senate pickup for the Democrats. Beyond statewide races, there are competitive House races as well.

President : Democrats failed in 2004 largely because of their dependence on winning a great majority of the traditional presidential swing states, which left no room for error or a setback. In 2004, there were not enough targets. As the 2008 election approaches, Democrats should look to Colorado to expand the playing field. Picking up Colorado ’s nine electoral votes would be of great importance to the overall Western campaign strategy. John Kerry ended up 18 electoral votes shy of winning the presidency, which caused too much importance to be placed on Ohio . There are three states in the West that are expected to be competitive and that could offset the importance of Ohio and make winning there less crucial. If the Democratic candidate wins Colorado, Nevada, and New Mexico, all states that were decided by less than 5 percent in 2004, 19 electoral votes would be gained, which would be sufficient to make up for any potential defeat in Ohio. If present trends hold there is a good chance that Colorado could go to the Democrats for the first time since 1992.

Senate : Early polling and financial data are both extremely positive for Democrats in this Senate race. Mark Udall holds a significant advantage in money and (thus far) in support. A poll from Hill Research Consultants, a Republican polling firm, had Udall ahead of Republican candidate Bob Schaffer by 5 percent (45-40). Other polling had Udall even further ahead. Udall can also count on the support of vastly popular Democratic Governor Bill Ritter. As alluded to before, increased Democratic performance in suburban areas has been paramount for recent success for Democrats. If this trend holds, Udall is certainly the favorite.

CO-02: Incumbent Mark Udall has vacated this seat to run for the Senate, but despite its open-seat status, this race is only “potentially competitive.” The major population centers in this district are in Adams, Boulder , Broomfield , and Jefferson counties. The Second District portions of Adams and Boulder counties are solidly Democratic. In 2004, Ken Salazar carried 58 percent of the Adams County portion of the district, and both Kerry and Salazar amassed 72 percent of the vote in Boulder County . Jefferson and Broomfield remain competitive, but Democrats have performed increasingly well there over the past few cycles. Ken Salazar carried the Second District portion of both counties in 2004, outpacing John Kerry by 5 percent in both counties. Republicans lack a candidate at present, so there is little chance that they will lose this district. Any one of the three potential Democratic candidates will most likely be able to hold on to this district.

CO-04: The Fourth District has been trending Democratic over the past three cycles. Marilyn Musgrave’s margin of victory has steadily decreased over the past three cycles, but 2006 might have been Democrats’ best chance to defeat her given the political environment. Angie Paccione lost by a mere 3 percent due to a number of factors.

Paccione performed well in Larimer County , which is essential for any Democrat. She amassed more than 54 percent of the major party vote, which was a large improvement over Stan Matsunaka’s performance in 2002 and 2004 when he failed to carry the county. In addition to Larimer County , Paccione performed reasonably well in Boulder County , receiving nearly 54 percent of the vote. However, in both Larimer County and Boulder County , Paccione ran well behind Governor Bill Ritter’s numbers, which suggests that even though she performed well in both these counties there is room for improvement. For example, Paccione received nearly 5 percent less than did Bill Ritter in Boulder County , and more than 3 percent less in Larimer County . Modest improvement in these counties could put this district increasingly in play.

Another factor that led to Paccione’s defeat is one that was symptomatic of many close defeats for Democrats in 2006: Democrats expanded their performance in urban and suburban areas, but did not improve in rural areas. The Fourth District comprises mainly rural counties where Paccione failed to improve on past cycles. For example, her share of the major party vote ran behind Stan Matsunaka’s 2004 share in Cheyenne , Logan , Morgan , Washington , Weld, and Yuma counties. Slightly increased performance in these counties would have given her a real chance to win the race.

Musgrave has toned down her rhetoric so far this term, which will make her more difficult to beat. However, slight improvements in rural areas, coupled with extended success in Boulder County and Larimer County , could flip this seat in 2008.

CO-06: Tom Tancredo’s retirement will make this a much more competitive race, but winning this gerrymandered district will take a strong moderate candidate who can attract a decent number of Republican votes. The Sixth District pulls in the most conservative parts of Arapahoe, Douglas, and Jefferson counties. In 2004, John Kerry and Ken Salazar ran well below their countywide percentages in the Sixth District portion of these counties. For example, Ken Salazar received 52 percent of the countywide vote in Arapahoe County in 2004, but just 47 percent in the Sixth District portion of the county. The same scenario played out in Jefferson County where Salazar performed more than 4 percent worse in the Sixth District portion of the county in comparison to his countywide performance. Mike Coffman’s entrance into the race will make this district even harder to win, but will lead to a Democrat taking the position of Secretary of State.

CO-07: Ed Perlmutter’s 13 percent victory in this district has led Republicans to essentially abandon the district. No opponent to Perlmutter has surfaced as of yet, and it is likely that he will be reelected.

(Cross-Posted to DemNotes at www.DemNotes.com)

We are now just about a month out from the first actual votes in the Presidential race (maybe even sooner - I understand that some absentee ballots in Feb. 5 states may be in voters’ hands as early as December). Iowa is revved up for January 3, and the Democratic Party is anxiously awaiting the results of the early primaries and caucuses (including Colorado’s Feb. 5 caucus) to see who our nominee will be.

I’m here in Vienna, Virginia — a suburb of Washington DC — for the Winter meeting of the Democratic National Committee (DNC). Several other Coloradans are here, as well. Last night, I enjoyed a couple of drinks with DNC Members Mannie Rodriguez and Maria Handley, as well as CDP Executive Director Sherry Jackson and DNC members from Kansas and New Mexico. Pat Waak stopped by on her way out to dinner to say hello, as well. No matter where you go around here, the talk is about the Presidential race; Mannie was doing everything he could to talk up his candidate, Senator Clinton, while the New Mexico folks were pressing hard to get in some of the finer points about why supporting Governor Richardson was so critical.

The meetings start slowly with a few this afternoon: the Association of State Democratic Chairs will meet, followed by the Resolutions Committee and the Youth and Senior Coordinating Councils. I spoke to the Senior Coordinating Council a couple of years ago about what we’re doing in Colorado, and I’m a member (at least until next July) of the Youth Coordinating Council.

Tomorrow, though, is the big show. Hopefully, you will get a chance to catch some of the meeting on C-SPAN. I believe the coverage will start around 8 am Mountain time. Nearly every Presidential candidate will be here to speak to the DNC; Governor Richardson and Senators Edwards, Dodd and Obama will speak to us in the morning session. In the afternoon, we’ll hear from Rep. Kucinich and Sens. Biden and Clinton. Speaker Pelosi will also be addressing us, and the DNC will also hear from a very special guest — Colorado Governor Bill Ritter — about the work we are doing to prepare Colorado for next August’s nomination of the next President of the United States.

Tomorrow is filled with a number of other meetings, as well. The Rules and Bylaws Committee will be meeting in the morning, and they always have interesting news. The Rural Council will be meeting, as well, and the Hispanic Caucus will be electing a new chair. We will conclude on Saturday morning, with a few more caucus meetings and other trainings.

I’ll write about today’s meetings this evening. Again, though, try to record the DNC meeting tomorrow — the candidates really work hard to put together a good speech for the DNC meetings, since all of us are automatically delegates to the national convention and they want our votes.

(Cross-Posted to DemNotes at www.DemNotes.com)

I forgot a couple of VERY key points in the last post that Colorado Democrats need to know about the hotel assignments (for those on e-mail, my apologies for three in one day).

First, please, please, please do not call the Grand Hyatt in a mad dash to book your rooms. They won’t have any. All of the rooms have already been set aside by the DNC for the Host Committee. A barrage of phone calls to the Grand Hyatt will just unnecessarily upset their staff. Furthermore, if you think you may be a delegate, don’t worry. If you are elected a delegate, you will have a room if you want it (and want to pay for it — they aren’t free). Instructions on how to reserve your room within the DNC / CDP room block will come to you with plenty of time once you are elected in May.

Furthermore, please, please, please don’t call the Colorado Democratic Party about the room block. While the CDP has some degree of control over the room block, nearly every room in our block will be taken by delegates, alternates, and standing committee members. Any rooms left over will go to other key elected officials. No matter how much you push or beg, Sherry Jackson, Pat Waak and everybody else at Headquarters just can’t make a room appear. If something changes, the Party will make an announcement — but that is unlikely to happen.

Finally, if you really, really want to be a part of the delegation fun at the Grand Hyatt, while we can’t promise you a room, we can reserve a place for you at the always-exciting delegation breakfasts. Every year, we have national figures stop by and chat with our delegates while we eat breakfast and hear of plans for the day. In 2004, for example, we had members of the Kerry family, Senator Max Cleland, fmr. Sec’y of State Madeline Albright, Rep. Dennis Kucinich, Donna Brazile, and Sen. Tom Daschle each address us during breakfast. Demand for such a spot will be heavy (delegates and their families, of course, will be welcome to all delegation events such as this for free), so the price to attend is reflective of the demand. You can become an Ambassador and be a part of every delegation breakfast, or you can become a Host and attend one delegation breakfast. For more information about either of these wonderful (and limited) opportunities, go to the CDP website at:
http://www.coloradodems.us/events/dineatourtable

(Cross-Posted to DemNotes at www.DemNotes.com)

As I indicated at the end of my post earlier today, the DNCC has announced the housing assignments for the Democratic National Convention in Denver next August.

First, some background: Somewhere between 17,000 and 19,000 rooms across Denver have been blocked off by hotels in the metro area for the Convention. Of these, around 6,000 to 7,000 are set aside for state delegations. The ones that are set aside for delegations are all in one of three areas: Downtown, Tech Center, and Stapleton. This summer, nearly every state sent a representative to Denver to tour hotels in those three areas and make their preferences known to the DNCC. Since September, the DNCC has been working on a complicated puzzle, trying to take into account the preferences of the delegations (some wanted close hotels, some wanted cheaper hotels, some wanted hotels with a lot of amenities, and some were limited to the largest hotels, etc.) and the available hotels.

Today, the DNCC announced the assignments.

For starters, the Colorado Delegation will be staying in a pretty good downtown spot: the Grand Hyatt. (Note that this is not the newer Hyatt Regency, which will be the DNC’s Headquarters Hotel; no delegation is staying there). Here’s an interesting point: normally, we share our hotel with one or two other delegations. In 2004, we shared the Wyndham in Boston with the Georgia delegation. However, according to the press release from the DNCC, no other delegation is staying at the Grand Hyatt. The full press release is available at:
http://www.demconvention.com/a/2007/11/delegation_hote.html

Some other notes of interest:

– For the home states of our “front-runners” for the nomination, the New York delegation is staying at the Adams Mark; the Illinois delegation is at the Marriott City Center; the North Carolina delegation is at the Doubletree Denver Tech Center; and the New Mexico delegation will be at the Crowne Plaza, Downtown.
– California is also at the Adam’s Mark; Texas is at the Radisson Denver Southeast.
– Governor Dean’s Vermont delegation is at the Magnolia Hotel.
– Where will you see the most delegations? The Stapleton Doubletree and the Four Points by Sheraton, Southeast both have four delegations each staying at their properties. Alabama, Georgia, North Dakota and South Dakota are staying at the Stapleton Doubletree; Alaska, Minnesota, Puerto Rico and Rhode Island are at the Four Points Southeast.
– Our neighbors besides New Mexico? Wyoming is the Hyatt Place at the Denver Tech Center; Utah (who got the first priority during the lottery) is at the Warwick; Arizona is at the Hyatt Regency in the Tech Center; Oklahoma is at the Embassy Suites Southeast; Kansas is at the Doubletree Tech Center; and Nebraska is also at the Embassy Suites Southeast.
– Finally, if you want to see some of the Party’s rising stars, you should hang out near the Wyndham at the Tech Center or the Downtown Courtyard by Marriott around breakfast time. The New Hampshire delegation is staying at the Wyndham; the Iowa delegation has the Downtown Courtyard. Aspiring presidential hopefuls beyond 2008 often work to stop by each of those two delegations to speak to their delegation breakfast meetings.

Whew! With every passing day, this dream of holding the National Convention in Denver becomes more and more real, doesn’t it?

(Cross-Posted to DemNotes at www.DemNotes.com)

Well, tonight we pack up and head out on the road for a day on the Western Slope and in the San Luis Valley tomorrow. I will be giving caucus training in Glenwood Springs, Montrose, and Saguache. Take a look at a map — it won’t be a short drive. At least I’m looking forward to getting to the Hot Springs pool later tonight in Glenwood Springs for some relaxation.

We start at 10 am tomorrow (Saturday) in Glenwood Springs. There, I’ll be delivering a presentation on the caucus process at the RE-1 School Administration Building First Floor Conference Room. I’m told that the building is at the corner of 14th and Grand Avenue in Glenwood. We hope to see folks from Eagle, Pitkin, Rio Blanco and Mesa Counties, in addition to Garfield county Dems.

Then, I’ll be whisked away toward Montrose. I’m told I’m not even allowed to stop for lunch — lunch will be eaten in the car! At 2 pm, I’ll give the same presentation in Montrose at the Montrose County Library, 320 South 2nd Street in Montrose. We’re hoping to see folks from Delta, Ouray, San Juan, and San Miguel counties join Montrose Dems at this event.

Finally, I’ll head back east, to Saguache. At the Oasis Restaurant in Saguache (right on the highway), I’ll be giving the caucus presentation to Sagauche Dems, and we are hoping to have others from the San Luis Valley join us there. The Saguache training is set for 5:30, although I will likely not get there until at least 6:00. The event in Saguache includes either an enchilada platter or a chicken fried steak dinner for $20.00. If you haven’t RSVP’d for that event yet, you should do so ASAP to M. Esther Grant at 719-256-5490 or Jackie Stephens at 719-530-1356.

Then, of course, I’ll head home. If I can find internet access and a breath on Sunday, I’ll try to write about my adventures then — otherwise, you’ll just have to wait until Monday!

But that’s not all of the CDP Democratic fun going on in the Western Slope on Saturday. If you’re up in the northwest part of the state, you may want to consider stopping by Steamboat Springs. At 11:30, State Chair Pat Waak will be joined by Sky Gallegos from the DNCC (Democratic National Convention Committee) for a forum on the National Convention and a caucus training / neighbor to neighbor training. That event will be at Olympian Hall, 845 Howelson Parkway, in Steamboat.

See you there!

(Cross-Posted to DemNotes at www.DemNotes.com)

Lots of stuff to write about today — but the first thing is a procedural key to electing Colorado’s delegation to serve at the Democratic National Convention in Denver. Today, the State Party received word that the Colorado Democratic Delegate Selection Plan is in full compliance with the rules of the DNC and its Rules and Bylaws Committee. Political Director Bill Compton and Secretary Carolyn Boller did the yeoman’s work on this effort, and we now have an officially-sanctioned plan for electing our delegates.

In reality, there really wasn’t much doubt that the DNC would approve our plan — it was “conditionally approved” in August — but there is always a sigh of relief when the DNC finally gives its stamp of approval, and our staff can focus on other issues — such as electing Democrats across Colorado. Kudos to the DNC, because they acted very quickly. The revised Plan was submitted this morning, and Pat Waak received the approval letter this afternoon.

Look for the final version of the Delegate Selection Plan — which is the authority for the rules in the process of electing delegates from the caucus to the national convention — on the CDP website soon!

—————————–

In addition, the State Party released to county chairs the numbers of delegates from each county to the state and multi-county district conventions / assemblies a couple of weeks ago. Because of the anticipated increased interest in attendance due to the national convention in Denver, we decided to increase the delegate base — the total number of delegates that are split among the counties — to 5,000 instead of the 4,000 we’ve used in the past few assemblies / conventions. The delegation numbers are based on the vote for Bill Ritter in 2006 across the state. I’ve got a copy of the document on DemNotes here:
http://www.demnotes.com/wp-content/DelegateCalcs08dft3.pdf

A few notes: Denver still has the largest delegation, at 684 delegates; however, Jefferson County is not far behind, with 672 delegates. Rounding out the top five are Arapahoe, with 553 delegates; Boulder, with 474 delegates; and El Paso, with 390 delegates. Every delegation, regardless of the county size, is guaranteed 4 delegates. Several counties have the 4 delegate minimum this year (although fewer counties than normal): Baca, Cheyenne, Crowley, Custer, Dolores, Hinsdale, Jackson, Kiowa, Lincoln, Mineral, Phillips, San Juan, Sedgwick, and Washington.

If you download the file, you’ll also see delegation numbers for the Congressional Districts, other multi-county districts, and numbers for the members to the State Permanent Organization and Credentials Committees (the Platform Committee was selected out of the various House Districts at their reorganization meetings in February / March of this year).

————————————

Finally, what is up with the Colorado Republican Party? While you can get a bevy of information about all sorts of things from the CDP website at www.coloradodems.org, our Republican counterpart has been “under construction” for the entire tenure of GOP Chair Dick Wadhams. I recall attempting to check out their website around the time of the Party elections, and it looks the same as it does now: just a message: “coming soon - the new Colorado Republican Party online”. Hmmm…. I guess they must be too busy with the ideological purity testing in their laboratory to work on outreach to Coloradans.

That’s fine with me.

For more information, please see this PDF document.

We’ll post more information as it becomes available.

(Cross-Posted to DemNotes at www.DemNotes.com)

This afternoon, at the Fall Meeting of the Association of State Democratic Chairs, we continued to have some very productive training and sessions for the Chairs, Vice Chairs, and Executive Directors of the various state parties here in Kansas City / Overland Park, KS. After posting the last message to DemNotes, I rushed downstairs back int our meetings, where we learned more about how to effectively run coordinated campaigns. It’s a little bit harder to run coordinated campaigns (indeed, in past years, we’ve been prohibited from using that phrase, “coordinated campaigns”) in Colorado with our more restrictive campaign finance rules, but we tend to still run plenty of field efforts with buy-in from our statewide races, such as the US Senate race and the Presidential campaign.

After that discussion, we heard more about planning as a state party for the Convention in Denver. The panel for this presentation featured a good variety — a state chair, a pair of long-time executive directors, and two folks from the DNCC (Cameron Moody, who directs operations for the DNCC; and Sky Gallegos, who is the Deputy CEO for Intergovernmental Relations for the DNCC). There was a lot of discussion of how to prepare delegates for what a convention will be like, especially new delegates, and how state parties need to properly plan to spend a week-plus in Denver. (Advice from the Utah E.D.? Drink lots of water the week beforehand.)

We ended the evening with a bus ride across the state line to the Truman Library, in Independence, Missouri. I’m a big fan of Harry Truman — as some of you know, I occasionally perform as Harry Truman for county parties. So it was quite a blessing to be treated to this wonderful event — the Library was opened exclusively for the ASDC crowd, and we had the place to ourselves. Ironically, the Missouri Democratic Party sponsored our lunch today in Overland Park, Kansas (where the speaker was the Lt. Governor of Kansas), while the Kansas Democratic Party sponsored our reception at the Truman Library in Missouri!

In any event, both of the state parties involved in co-hosting this ASDC meeting have been wonderful to their guests. Midwestern hospitality is alive and well, and this has been a very productive week for your Colorado Democratic Party leadership here this weekend. We head back tomorrow afternoon; hopefully, I’ll get back in time to attend the Jefferson County Dems’ annual Eleanor Roosevelt dinner tomorrow night at the Sheraton Denver West. If you’d like more information, you can visit the JeffCo Dems’ website at:
http://www.jeffcodems.org

Maybe I’ll see you there!