Blue Mass Group

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Arthur Powell UnPledged DNC Delegate

By

Arthur Powell

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2008

Senate District Coordinator Clinton for President

Campaigned in NH, Maine and Rhode Island

Foreclosure Seminar with Cong. Niki Tsongas

2007

Member of the state party’s executive committee

Co-Chair state party’s Communication Committee

North Shore Democratic Challenge

North Shore Democratic Speakers Series

Volunteered with Niki Tsongas Campaign

2006 (and each election since 1996)  

Coordinated Campaign- Organized for the entire Democratic ticket  

Staffed a regional campaign office in Beverly

2005-2006

Senate District Coordinator Patrick for Governor

2004

Senate District Coordinator Kerry for President

Political Safari- Organized a political tour of NH for local Democrats  

Previously organized similar tours in 1996 and 2000

2003

North Shore Democratic Symposium    

Mass. Dem. Future Bob Smith Award recipient

2002-present

Elected to the Massachusetts Democratic State Committee    

100% attendance at DSC meetings

North Shore Democratic Update- email newsletter with over 2000 subscribers

1996-present

Elected Ward Chair –

Beverly Democratic City Committee  

1990

Beverly Democratic City Committee –

initial membership

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Comments

  1. Please explain what an “unpledged delegate” is and does.

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    p>I would love to hear why you personally want to be an unpledged delegate, and attend the DNC in Denver.

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    p>Thanks!

  2. At Saturday’s DSC meeting, one man and one woman will be elected as “unpledged” delegates.

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    p>For each spot, there will be exactly two candidates nominated from the floor. So basically, John Walsh has to decide who he wants to recognize to nominate for these spots.

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    p>Once the two men are nominated, the DSC members will vote on who gets the spot.

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    p>This gets repeated for the woman’s spot.

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    p>Unlike all of the other delegates elected on Saturday, these are “unpledged” delegates. That means that they are not being elected on behalf of primary voters who chose between Clinton and Obama, but rather on behalf of the Democratic Party of Massachusetts. In ordinary years, these spots allow for the election of strong Democrats who have not been involved with a Presidential campaign.

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    p>This year, the “unpledged” delegate elections have turned into a contest between the Clinton and Obama campaigns. For example, if the nominated candidates include one Obama supporter and one Clinton supporter, the election will probably come down to whether there are more Clinton or Obama supporters on the Democratic State Committee. Of course, John Walsh could tip this either way by only having supporters of Obama or Clinton nominated.

  3. I wish I could vote for you at the Massachusetts Democratic State Committee, but I am not a member. (I voted for you at the caucus.)  I know you have worked very hard over the years to get Democrats elected and your Northshore Democratic Update newsletter is a great source of news about Democratic activities for those of us on the Northshore and elsewhere.  

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    p>Hopefully, John Walsh will let the voters decide and not try to affect the outcome.  (I have deep respect for John Walsh; I cannot imagine he will try to affect the outcome.)

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    p>Best of luck to you.  

    • Under the rules, John Walsh has to make a decision (and hence affect the outcome).

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      p>Exactly two men, no more, no fewer, will be nominated for the position of unpledged male delegate. Since John Walsh is the chair of the meeting, he will have the power (and responsibility) of deciding who to call on for those nominations.

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      p>He can decide to have one Clinton and one Obama supporter nominated, two Obama supporters, two Clinton supporters, or even potentially undecided delegates. He could look to the campaigns to see who they want, or he could choose two committed Democrats independent of who the campaigns want. Or he can punt and recognize the first two people he sees in order to nominate.

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      p>But he has to choose. He can’t duck this decision.

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      p>I would be curious to know if he has tipped his hand as far as what he’s going to do. I would think that Arthur and other candidates for this spot would have contacted John to find out what it will take to get accepted.

      • Powell was a candidate for Clinton Delegate at the 6th CD caucus. Is the Clinton Committee supporting him for unpledged? If John Walsh may take one Clinton and one obama, wouldn’t he consult with the Clinton Campaign on their preference?

        • These delegate spots are designed to be elected independently of the campaign committees, becoming in effect elected superdelegates.

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          p>So John Walsh has no responsibility to consult with the campaign committees. If he wants to have the race between a Clinton supporter and an Obama supporter, he can do that, while retaining his power to determine which specific individuals get the nominations.

      • What level of rules are nominations limited to two, state or national party?  (If you can provide citation and/or link that would be great.)  Seems to me anybody should be able to run and do a runoff if no majority.  I consider John Walsh to be a fair guy, but if these really are the rules it’s almost asking for back-room deals, bossism, etc.  Frankly, I’m not sure I would even want this power if I were Chair.

        • Effectively the chair had the power to select who would be at his side in Denver.  Johm Walsh was courageous and allowed the DSC to choose.  A great move considering the history of back room dealing.

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          p>But John Walsh permitted there to be a contest between a constitutional officer and a mere mortal.  The result makes me proud of our party for letting the DSC members decide.  Walsh could have decided effectively by fiat.

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          p>Arthur thank you for making it possible for John Walsh to be courageous!  No one can underestimate the monumental impact that this has on the state party.

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          p>I have slways been proud to be an American and a Democrat.  Today, though, I am super proud because the people through their party represenatives made an excellent choice.

          <

          p>  

    • Patrick et al,

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      p>I have been told that the “maximum” of two candidates was a typo and there is no limitation on the number of candidates who could be nominated.

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      p>The Party has had this reviewed by the DNC.  The number of nominees will not be limited to two.  

      • Apparently if I had kept my fingers away from the keyboard for two minutes longer I would have seen this comment and not made the comment above.

      • Are you sure of this, Kate?  Page 11 and 12 of the Delegate Selection Plan read more closely like the original interpretation.

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        p>The power of the chair is the power of recognition!

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        p>Bob Peters

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        p>Lexington – DSC – 4th Middlesex District

      • I thought this was a little weird, but I read it literally. In other states, such as New Hampshire, the party chair has complete control over the nominees (and in that case, only has to nominate one person).

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        p>Four years ago, Auditor DeNucci and AG Coakley got these spots; I seem to remember that they were the only candidates nominated.

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        p>Do you know what the balloting process will be for Saturday? Will it be the standard multiple ballot process that the state committee uses for all other elections?

        • http://vps28478.inmotionhosting.com/~bluema24/s…

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          p>I covered some of this in my post early Monday and will attempt to further clarify here. Bob referred to the minutiae of the Party process so here goes.  

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          p>All contested races will have written “signed” ballots.  Since DSC members represent a constituency, it is not a secret ballot.

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          p>My understanding is that given the nature of these elections, it will be a sequential ballot process. Each group will have individual ballots.
          Someone could theoretically run for Unpledged, PLEO, At-Large and Alternate, if not successful in one round, then going on to the next level.  There are also mandatory gender balance goals to meet.

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          p>In the races in which we have separate Clinton and Obama elections, the Clinton elections will happen first since she won the state.  Since gender balance has to be taken into consideration, we will not be able to move from Obama PLEO to Clinton At-Large until the PLEO election is final.  

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          p>So the process will be:
          – DNC Members (terms will began AFTER the convention so this has no impact on delegate count).
          – Unpledged delegates
          – Clinton PLEO
          – Obama PLEO
          – Clinton At-Large (separate ballots for male and female)
          – Obama At-Large (separate ballots for male and female)
          – Clinton Alternate (separate ballots for male and female)
          – Obama Alternate (separate ballots for male and female)

          • Thanks for your answer. What I was actually wondering about in terms of multiple ballots was not how many races there will be but how many ballots within each race.

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            p>For example, in Arthur’s race for male unpledged, will there be a single ballot with plurality winner, or the traditional multiple ballots until someone gets a majority? The delegate selection rules specify the latter for the congressional district caucuses, but to my knowledge are silent on all of the other elections.

            • The information that I have from John Walsh, is that it will be by majority vote, thus there will be multiple ballots if a candidate does not get 50% + 1 on the first ballot.  For those who follow the arcane details of DSC process, I thought your question was on a “universal” ballot, like we did for the DSC add-ons.  

  4. Someone told me Arthur Powell is running against Tim Cahill for unpledged delegate. Is that true?  If so, Arthur is the more deserving candidate…he works hard for the party…Tim Cahill works hard for Tim Cahill.  

    • HLPeary, the answer to your question is that Arthur and Tim are both running for the same seat.  

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      p>Kate

  5. Arthur Powell works very hard for the party.  He has earned this abd his judgement would be outstanding!

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    p>Go Arthur!

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    p>

  6. I have really enjoyed reading through the questions and comments that have resulted from my initial post.  

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    p>To those of you that have expressed support and encouragement, I am so appreciative.  

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    p>As activists, I think it is fair to say that we are not looking for attention or public recognition.   We are just trying to draw attention to those who we feel are the best possible candidates and help them get elected so that we can have fair and honest representation.  

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    p>If I am fortunate enough to be elected delegate, it will be my job to work closely with supporters from both campaigns to begin a focus on unity.   I expect that before long, our party will have a nominee, and together we need to support that person.  

    • There are very few Democrats in this state more committed to party unity than Arthur. Many people talk about it, but I can’t think of anyone who has done more to help create it than he has.

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      p>If I was a member of the Democratic State Committee (and I’m not, despite what many people think), I’d be voting for Arthur  on Saturday. I hope that my elected representatives on the DSC vote for him (which I suspect they will).

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