After the Flood: Fixing Our Caucus System

by: chris

Mon Mar 31, 2008 at 10:54 PM CDT

Go below the fold to find out what we've thought of so far.

Question: Can a delegate pledged to Clinton switch to Obama at the County Convention?

by: D-Mac

Fri Mar 21, 2008 at 00:22 PM CDT

Thanks!

Resolutions that will be voted upon at the SD 26 Convention

by: MarkCamann

Mon Mar 17, 2008 at 00:57 PM CDT

This post constitutes the report of the SD 26 Resolutions Committee. With the permission of the BOR staff, and as chair of the committee, I am posting the SD 26 resolutions here so that:

1. Everyone will have the opportunity to read and discuss the resolutions before the convention takes place.
2. Democrats outside of SD 26 are welcome to express their views on these issues of statewide significance. (Our party can withstand healthy discussions on important issues, even when there isn't a consensus of opinion!)
3. Democrats across Texas will recognize the potential of the resolutions process in amplifying the voice of the grassroots of the party, as we have this opportunity to express our views collectively only once every two years. Because delegates assembled in convention represent the highest level of authority within the Texas Democratic Party, we can expect our elected Democratic representatives in state and federal government to pay attention.
4. There should be transparency in the actions of our committee. Our intent is to allow good ideas to defy gravity and float to the top, even if they began with only a single precinct.

County Conventions and Delegates: What next?

by: Robert Ryland

Wed Mar 12, 2008 at 03:50 PM CDT

Here in Bastrop County, things went relatively well on March 4. The polls were well-staffed, and nearly all of the precinct conventions were conducted fairly and properly. I suppose we'll all know more as March 29 approaches and we see how many credentials challenges are lodged, but I believe we had a solid crop of trained caucus-goers and chairs and that should minimize problems for us as the process goes forward.

Nearly all of the problems I've seen cited, both here on BOR and elsewhere, seem directly tied to lack of preparation and leadership at the county and precinct level. With all the  training sessions by county parties, SDEC folk, DFT and the like, I feel like I had adequate preparation for the process and a good background in the rules, but I understand this was not the case for a lot of those who wound up chairing PCs around the state. (I'm fortunate to live in a county that still has a relatively strong and active local party.)

Add to that the flurry of paranoid emails from the Clinton campaign to their caucus-goers (one Clinton supporter at my PC basically recited the most proliferated one line for line as we proceeded by the book), and some probably erroneous/rash instructions from Obama organizers to their ground troops about sign-in rules and order of business, etc., and there was bound to be trouble as the turnout went off the charts. By and large I think we had a lot of misunderstandings that were magnified by the contentiousness of this nomination process.

So as the TDP attempts to take advantage of this golden opportunity while simultaneously trying to wriggle out of a huge mess and sort out all the problems and find missing results, I'm not sure I should trouble them for some clarification as to how we proceed to allocate delegates from county to state. But I'm on the Rules Committee, so I hereby seek input from the BOR braintrust and peanut gallery....

As I read the rules here:

(d) At the County or Senatorial District Conventions, precincts shall elect their Delegates in accordance with Party Rules, and At-Large Delegates shall be selected by the Convention according to the following procedure:
(1) Either a written poll of Delegates or a roll call poll of the Convention shall be conducted to determine political preferences. The method to be used shall be determined by the County or Senatorial District Committee in advance of the Convention or, if it fails to act, by the Permanent Convention Chair. The written poll of Delegates may be either by ballot or by sign-in sheet on forms prescribed by the County or Senatorial District Committee. These forms shall require the signature of each Delegate, attesting to the Delegate's political preference (in non-presidential years) or presidential preference or uncommitted status (in presidential years). No Delegate may sign more than once. Final establishment of the poll, either by roll call or in writing, shall be the first order of business immediately following the election of Permanent Convention Officers and before the Convention conducts any other business.
(2) Upon completing the poll, results shall be tabulated by a committee appointed by the Permanent Convention Chair and composed of at least one person for each known political or presidential preference. The Chair then shall announce the tabulation results to the convention by number and percentages of votes received by each political or presidential preference. The tabulation then shall be written into the permanent records of the Convention and shall be reported as part of the minutes. The poll records, including the ballots, sign-in sheets, or roll call poll, shall be retained by the County or Senatorial District Chair as part of the official files of the Convention for at least six months. Such records shall be open to public inspection at reasonable hours upon request.
(3) Any written forms used in conducting such poll, or the announced method of polling, if by roll call poll, shall include all known political preferences (in non-presidential years) or presidential preferences and uncommitted status (in presidential years) of Delegates, but shall not limit the right of any Delegate or group of Delegates to indicate their preference in any manner which they choose.
(4) Poll results shall be used by the Nominations Committee and by the Convention as a whole as the basis for nominating and for electing At-Large Delegates so as to ensure the fairest possible representation of the Convention participants as a whole within the total delegation, without disturbing the Precinct Caucus election results. The threshold will be the lowest allowed by the National Committee (which at present is 15%).

It seems to confirm that regardless of who shows up at the county convention, the allocation of the county's delegates to state are basically set by the precinct caucus results - i.e., we do not 're-caucus' at the county convention - but that any at-large delegates can be allocated using the results of the county convention sign-in rolls
(subject to credentials challenges, I assume). In short, the at-large delegates are up for grabs to whichever candidate's supporters have the highest convention attendance - but it also sounds like this is entirely up to the county Nominations Committee.

Obviously I've been studying and ciphering, but I'm not a Rules Geek yet.

Anybody want to weigh in?

(paging Dr. Maxey....paging Dr. Maxey...)

Run your precinct convention like a pro

by: MarkCamann

Wed Feb 27, 2008 at 11:42 PM CST

It is crucial that each convention be conducted properly, because 67 national convention delegates will be elected through the process that begins with the precinct conventions in Texas. Every precinct throughout the state is in need of a precinct convention chair who understands the rules and can run the convention properly.

This precinct convention chair doesn't have to be the "precinct chair" who was elected in 2006, or a candidate for precinct chair whose term, if elected, will begin this year on April 28. Any Democrat who participates in the precinct convention can be elected as the permanent convention chair. And, if you know what needs to be done, that could be you.

The Rules Committee of the Bexar County Democratic Party has created an online training session on precinct convention procedures.  Check it out here.

(While I contributed to this training module, the principal creators were Zada True-Courage, Ian Straus, Larry Meads, Dick Waits, and Nancy Timmer-Froment. My congratulations to them on a job well done!)

DFT - How to win your Precinct Convention for Barack Obama

by: blackandblue

Fri Feb 22, 2008 at 10:43 PM CST

There are some fundamental statements in this document that totally WRONG.  I hope no one shows up with this document in hand and expects to take over a precinct convention as this "handy" piece of paper implies.  

A Guide to Resolutions in the Texas Democratic Party Convention Process

by: MarkCamann

Thu Jan 24, 2008 at 09:31 AM CST

Structure of a resolution
1.  Give the resolution a title that indicates not merely the topic, but also the position to be advocated (i.e., instead of "Resolution on Vouchers for Texas Schools," it would be better to put "Resolution Opposing Vouchers for Texas Schools").
2.  List the reasons for the resolution at the beginning, each reason being in a separate paragraph beginning with the word "whereas" (capitalized, italicized or in boldface).
3.  List each action to be taken in separate paragraphs introduced by the words "be it resolved" (capitalized, italicized or in boldface).
4.  Use semicolons to separate each paragraph, and avoid periods.  A well-written resolution should consist grammatically of a single sentence.
5.  Keep the resolution brief.  It should fit easily on a single page.
6.  At the end of the resolution, write: "Submitted to and Adopted by Precinct ___ in ____ County, Texas, Senatorial District ___, on March 2, 2010" and leave a signature line for the precinct convention secretary, who will sign it if the precinct convention adopts the resolution.

Example of a well-written resolution:

WHEREAS we believe every Texan has the right to participate fully and equally in society and enjoy its benefits and freedoms; and

WHEREAS lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) Texans suffer pervasive discrimination in employment, housing, public accommodations, and education because of homophobia and a lack of legal protection; and

WHEREAS non-discrimination laws help to ensure that LGBT people have equal access to the same opportunities and protections granted to others, such as the ability to work in an environment where people are judged by their job performance, not their sexual orientation or gender identity; and

WHEREAS the State of Texas does not have a statewide non-discrimination policy covering sexual orientation and gender identity,

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Texas Democratic Party supports the passage of comprehensive non-discrimination legislation that would make discrimination based upon sexual orientation and gender identity illegal in employment, housing, education and public accommodations.

Submitted to and Adopted by Precinct 2084 in Bexar County, Texas, Senatorial District 26, on March 7, 2006.

_________________________________
Convention Secretary

Suspending the Constitution: Tuesday's Vote

by: Glen Maxey

Mon Jan 29, 2007 at 04:01 PM CST

Tomorrow the House will consider a suspension of the Constitution.  This is a traditional vote taken to speed up the process of being able to "get to business" which really just means being able to vote on bills on the floor.
The framers of the Constitution probably never thought we'd be dealing with 6000+ bills and resolutions each session so they set out a leisurely pace.  Thirty days of filing, thirty days of committee meetings, and then the rest of the session for floor action.  The only bills that can be voted on during this first sixty day are emergency appropriations and things the Governor makes an "emergency" through a proclamation.  (Mind you that the definition of emergency is in the eye of be beholder and/or the lobby).

Keep in mind that even with this suspension, little floor action ever happens in the first sixty days anyway. Moreover, the Speaker and Calendars committee strangle the Calendar on purpose (not just this one, but all Speakers and Calendar Commitees since the beginning of time).  When the Calendar gets backed up and there is little time, then it's no longer the Calendars Committee that is killing the bills…it's the "process and the clock". 

Damn clock has killed more member's legislation than any other thing in history.  Only thing folks forget:  all of this is planned for a train wreck on purpose.  Those who control the clock, control the process, and thereby control the agenda and outcome.

At the same time, a jammed agenda can kill a lot of bad legislation, too.  When you take time to deal with Appropriations, Sunset Bills, and the high profile stuff, it leaves few slots for run of the mill bills by Joe Bob Legislator.  And in this House, good guy legislation won't get set from the git-go, so clogging the Calendar in a broad brush sense kills lots of bad policy.  There is an argument for playing the leadership's game against them.

Tuesday's vote takes 120 firm votes meaning that 120 people must be in their chairs pushing a green button.  Conversely, 30+  red lights and/or absent members will keep non-emergency bills from hitting the floor until the 60th day.

So this is what the  debate is  about:  Whether to reign in bad legislation  by thirty members beginning the process of clogging the Calendar now.  This argument says shaving  a month's floor action off this agenda might be a good thing. 

And as someone said in another post, "Let the Governor put a very public "emergency" stamp on the lobby and right wing agenda.  Guarantees that they get to take ownership of it if they have to create an emergency to get it to the floor.

What's your opinion? Comment and vote.