The Democratic State Convention this year is going to be fun and exciting. Governor Deval Patrick will be the keynote speaker. It will be great to have a sitting Massachusetts Governor address us. Other big news is that every paid delegate can bring a guest at no charge. The party sent out this accouncement…
I want to call your attention to a great opportunity to get more people involved in the State Democratic Party. In an effort to open the 2007 Action Agenda Convention to many grassroots activists, every paid delegate will be allowed to bring a guest at no charge. Delegates who choose to invite a guest should register at www.massdems.org or contact the party office at (617)776-2676.
In a move forward, the “Delegate Guide”, formerly known as the “Call to Convention” , is accessible on-line. This has been discussed on BMG in the past, and is now a reality. Anyone who is interested in learning more about the Convention, and possibly attending as a guest of delegate, can read about it here. Kudos to John Walsh for making this information accessible and available to all.
I can’t speak for all the candidates in the Fifth Congressional District, but it’s a good guess that they will be present. Certainly the candidate that I have endorsed, Jamie Eldridge, will be pressing the flesh. This is likely to be a great chance to meet all the candidates. Whether or not you live and vote in the Fifth, this is a chance to get involved in a race that will make a difference for all of us. Special elections are great opportunities for activists.
For first time delegates, or anyone, the regional group, the Middlesex and Worcester Democratic Coalition, is conducting a delegate training and Convention overview session on May 8, at 7:00 PM at the Portuguese Club, at 13 Port Street, Hudson, MA. People tell me that this has been very helpful in past years.
So if you would like to attend the convention, and don’t know any delegates, contact your local Democratic Chair. If for whatever reason, there are no opportunities in your community, please contact me and I will work to connect you with a delegate so that you can attend as a guest. I can be reached at KateDonaghue@aol.com .
A few highlights of the convention, not in the Guide, include the pre-convention party in Springfield on Friday evening. Lt. Governor Tim Murray, together with the Springfield Legislative Delegation invite you to a Pre-Convention Party on May 18th at 8:00 PM at Center Court in the Basketball Hall of Fame, 1000 West Columbus Avenue, Springfield, MA. Join them for light hors d’oeuvres, music and cash bar. There are not final details on the workshops, but they will cover a variety of topics.
So come to hear Governor Patrick, come to meet Congressional candidates, come to learn how to be a more effective activist, come to network, come to party, but do come!
I imagine all the “front-running” presidential campaigns will have some presence there, too. I’ll be passing out richardson stickers, and be the one guy holding a Richardson sign. It was at the 2003 Mass Dem Conv. that for the first time I seriously considered Dean’s message after meeting with a couple supporters.
Could you manage to hold a Gravel Rocks 2008 sign too? In my absence, someone needs to advocate for the unelectable candidates (kind of like Deval in the beginning).
You advocating a Richardson-Gravel ticket?
Although Senator Gravel did suggest that Colbert was on his short list for VP.
Sorry . . .
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Have any convention credentials been mailed out yet?
I was helping run the Dean table at the 2003 convention – it was the first time I went to a Massachusetts Democratic convention (though I stayed outside, didn’t have a pass to go inside). I wonder if we talked then?
I talked to a guy passing out popsicle sticks outside te garage stamped “Dean for America”. I don’t think we talked until Jan. 2004 in Cedar Rapids.
John Walsh was at the Progressive Democrats of Somerville annual meeting last week, and he brought this up. He said that he had just started his new job with the party, too late to make major changes for this year’s convention, but if he could guess what our most common complaint about it would be, it’s that people pay too much to be delegates. He agrees. It costs a lot to hold the convention but “we should not balance our party’s books on the backs of grassroots Democrats”. In addition to the free guest per delegate, there’s also a new low rate for non-delegate guests for this year. And he intends to lower the cost for delegates by next year.