Here is what I know:
The Massachusetts Democratic Party holds a training on processes and procedures for becoming a Massachusetts delegate to the Democratic National Convention. (Saturday, 10 am, Malden Housing Authority, 89 Pearl St., Community Room, Malden)
I don’t know if preregistration is needed, if there is a fee, etc. But I bet someone on this Blog knows!
Please share widely!
john-e-walsh says
Please come.
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p> Trainings will be held in each congressional district. More details will follow.
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p>John Walsh
Chair
Massachusetts Democratic Party
amberpaw says
I am still learning how things work, and appreciate all help.
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p>I note that someone posted – on the thread about the caucuses for the State Convention that they could not find a link or site for the Fitchburg caucus – where is the best place for those doing a last minute check for locations to look? Hopefully, Kate or someone knows – I am following DDemDispatch and the State Committee sites as best I can.
alexwill says
if so, why at the exact same time as most towns had their caucuses for the state convention?
sabutai says
…but when I looked into this 4 years ago, it seemed that delegates would be those pledged to a particular candidate, and that candidate’s campaign has to approve of that person. Also, delegates are only won if they break 15% in the state’s primary. I’m sure if Edwards had any Mass. delegates you’d have a great shot at such a post, but who would you look to vote for in the convention?
amberpaw says
Dear Sabutai:
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p>First, I still plan to vote for John Edwards. Many of us plan to do that, each for our own reasons. In my case, it is because even though John suspended his campaign, he remains my preferred candidate. Will Edwards, despite not running during Super Tuesday have 15% in any congressional district? I do not know. But I will follow my heart and sense of honor in this manner.
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p>Second, even if I am not seeking to participate at this time, others may be. If the information is available at this forum, it may make the difference between participation and non participation for someone else.
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p>Third, I really just want to understand the process.
sabutai says
…and if you go to the meeting not backing any particular person, your voice will be heard. There are times I wrestle with voting for Richardson or Clinton.
patricka says
I attended the training session in Lynn for the 6th CD.
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p>There were about 40 people there, with Congressman Tierney and representatives of the state party.
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p>It was a informative meeting, dealing with the nuts and bolts of running for delegate.
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p>The nuances of running for delegate weren’t covered, and these are somewhat harder to figure out.
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p>If you want to run for delegate, the most important thing that you need to have is some connection to your preferred candidate’s campaign. This is because the campaigns have the right to restrict the number of people running for delegate in support of their candidate.
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p>Let’s do this by example, at least with a hypothetical. In each CD, the results of the primary voting will determine which candidates get how many delegates. Let’s say that the results are such that out of 6 delegates in CD6, Clinton gets 3 and Obama gets 3, and that they are allocated by sex so that Clinton gets 2 men and 1 woman, while Obama gets 2 women and 1 man. The 6th CD will also get an alternate, who will be a man. The alternate would go to the candidate who had the most votes in the CD.
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p>On April 5, there will be 2 caucuses in the 6th CD, one to elect Clinton delegates and one to elect Obama delegates. They will be held at the same time in different places. Any Democrat can attend one of the caucuses, even Edwards supporters like me. So lets focus on the hypothetical Clinton caucus.
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p>Anyone who is interested in running will have to submit a letter to the State Party indicating that they want to run and which candidate they support. It does no good to sign up as a supporter of any candidate who doesn’t get any delegates, so the effective choices are limited to Clinton and Obama. This letter is due by March 13. At that time, the State Party verifies the registration status of all potential delegates and sends each campaign the list of potential delegates for that candidate.
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p>So lets say that fifteen men have signed up to run for Clinton delegate in the 6th CD. The campaign has the right to cut that list down to 6 (three times the 2 men that can be elected) and return the list to the state party by March 25. In many years, the campaigns don’t particularly care who their delegates are, but with the tightness of this year’s race, it is much more likely that they will cut the list to the six men who have the closest ties to the campaign.
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p>So it does no good to run for delegate if you can’t muster up the support of the Massachusetts branch of the campaign that you support, or you could be on the outside looking in before any votes are cast.
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p>At the caucus on Aptil 5th, the list of approved prospective delegates will be on the ballot. These people will get a chance to speak to the group, and then we’ll vote. Since any Democrat can attend the caucuses, winning the delegate seats is a matter of getting more of your supporters there than the other guys or gals. It doesn’t matter if you are Clinton’s state party chairman or chairwoman; if some other Clinton supporter gets more people to vote for them, you’re out and they’re in.
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p>The 32 statewide elected pledged delegates (20 at-large and 12 party leaders/elected officials) are elected by a similar process except that the electing body is the Democratic State Committee. Again, the campaigns have a right of review on these prospective delegates and, in practice, the campaigns make up slates of delegates to fill these positions.