BE for CHANGE

Lt. Governor Debate Webcast

Thanks to KPIX (CBS) in San Francisco, here's the full webcast of the Lieutenant Governor Candidate Debate, with Liz Figueroa, John Garamendi, Jackie Speier, John Diaz (SF Chronicle), Sue Kwon (KPIX)
and Gail Slocum, moderator.

Debriefing the CDC Convention

[Cross-posted at The Broad View]

OK. This is our site. So we can blow our own horn. Right? The CDC Convention was a roaring success!

People who've been around for a long time said it was the best convention in 15 years. They praised its organization, which is good. But particularly they praised its content, which is really really good. Because that was what we were striving for, the highest quality presentations across a range of subjects that are of critical importance to the grassroots club members who came to Santa Clara from all parts of this crazy-quilt state.

It would be impossible to thank enough the members of the team who made the convention possible. It quite simply wouldn't have happened without the wisdom and generosity of Gail Slocum, Helen Acosta, Jery Lacayo, Hilary Crosby, Henry Vandermeir, Herb Engstrom and Lucy Sells. Augie Reyes and his team at the convention center — the wonderful A/V people and the superb catering staff — made it all look easy. They are among the finest event managers we've ever worked with — unfailingly kind and unflappable. Hats off to the local volunteers. And finally, a cheer for CDC president Chris Stampolis, who gave us our head as we took leadership on the planning.

All you brilliant, insightful people who led the workshops and plenaries will get your individual thanks — but here's our ♥ to you now.*

One of the important functions of the CDC in an election year is to give its endorsement to candidates running for statewide office. The candidates for the Democratic nomination for Lieutenant Governor held a full-fledged debate on Friday night. Candidates for the other major constitutional offices joined us on Saturday evening, to make their pitch and answer our questions. On Sunday the club delegates voted, and these are the official CDC endorsements:

• Governor: Phil Angelides
• Lt. Governor: Jackie Speier
• Attorney General: Jerry Brown
• Secretary of State: Debra Bowen
• Insurance Commissioner: Cruz Bustamante
• Controller: Joe Dunn
• Treasurer: Bill Lockyer
• State Superintendent of Instruction: Jack O'Connell

Our great thanks to all of Friday and Saturday evening's participants, and to Gail Slocum and Michael Webber, who guided the respective sessions with such aplomb.

---

*Note from Ellen: sometime within the next several days I will have finished transferring the audio tapes of all the sessions to .mp3 format, and they will be available for streaming or download on the CDC website.

CDC Convention Schedule...

...for Friday and Saturday. (The detailed list of Saturday afternoon workshops is below.) Information about the Friday night Lt. Governor Candidates' Debate is here. Saturday evening's Candidate Roundtable will feature Debra Bowen, Jerry Brown, John Chiang, Rocky Delgadillo, Joe Dunn and Bill Lockyer — with moderator Michael Webber.

Would you like to download a .pdf document with photos and biographies of all our presenters? Click here.

And remember, there's still time to register at the CDC website!

Calling all Californians

To all you California grassroots activists who haven't signed up yet, here's the final list (click on it to enlarge) of the workshops we've planned for next Saturday at the 54th Annual California Democratic Council Convention. You can go to the CDC website to register. (There's a menu of prices for those who cannot be there for the entire weekend and/or who want to dine on their own.)

Hope to see you in Santa Clara!

Barbie & Ellen, Program Co-Chairs

The CDC Convention Kickoff

This just in...

The Honorable Barbara Lee, Democratic representative of the 9th Congressional District and one of the progressive movement's most eloquent and passionate spokesmen in Congress (or anywhere, for that matter) is going to address the CDC Convention at lunch on Saturday, March 25.

We are thrilled that Ms. Lee has been able to accept our invitation.

You can just see those grassroots growing

We're putting the finishing touches on the program for the California Democratic Council Annual Convention and thought we'd bring you up to date:

Kate Forrest of the Commonweal Institute will be one of our star presenters, as will Kelly Young, Executive Director of 21st Century Democrats and Brad Friedman, who's taking the investigative lead on a couple of major stories at the BradBlog. (Brad's Big Beat these days is the electronic voting machine scandals, and that's what he's going to talk about with us.)

The principal focus of the 24 workshops we've planned for Saturday afternoon of the convention weekend is the nuts and bolts of club activism — precinct organization, community outreach and coalition-building, candidate recruitment, media relations, drumbeating on issues. We've got experts on single-payer healthcare and "clean money" elections, major reforms now working their way now through the state legislature. There are sessions on education initiatives that will be on the June or November ballot, on workforce development and on critical environmental protection policies.

And of course there will be the candidates for statewide office — there's the formal Lieutenant Governor Candidates Debate on Friday evening (details are in the preceeding post); and as after-dinner speakers on Saturday, the Democrats vying for the other constitutional offices. (The CDC will make its official endorsements on Sunday.) Friday and Saturday late evenings are given over to a Spin Room with candidates, press and convention attendees.

If you belong to a Democratic club in California — if you don't, you can become a CDC member-at large — Santa Clara, on March 24-26, is the place to be...if we do say so ourselves.

---

Cross-posted at The Broad View.

Building Coalitions — our important new assignment

The California Democratic Council was founded in 1953 by Alan Cranston. Over the years, as the state's demographics and political climate have undergone changes, the CDC's character has changed as well. In its current incarnation it is the umbrella organization for all chartered Democratic clubs in the state, providing forums, grassroots training and important informational services throughout the year to the clubs and their members. In election years the membership, at its annual convention, vets and endorses candidates for state office. Over the years the CDC has experienced peaks and valleys of influence. Today, given the fossilization and near-irrelevancy of the state Democratic party, the CDC is poised to become again one of the most powerful political entities in the state — particularly vital as we strategize for the critical Congressional elections in November.

In a significant effort to raise the CDC's profile, the executive officers of the CDC (having liked what they saw at the Jefferson-Jackson Dinner), asked us to design the program for the up-coming annual convention, March 24-26 at the Santa Clara Convention Center.

We were — and are — honored. We are enormously excited about the program we are putting in place, under the theme of Building Coalitions for the 2006 Elections and Beyond. Every session — from plenaries to workshops — is designed to give attendees a "deliverable," some critical skill or body of information that will help grassroots Democrats throughout the state continue to build strength. There will be a strong emphasis on working across the blue county/red county, urban/rural divides.

We're not quite ready to reveal all the names on our list of heavy hitters, but here's a taste: on Friday evening after the opening dinner we will have a debate with the contenders for the Democratic nomination for Lieutenant Governor. (The CDC has already endorsed Phil Angelides for Governor.) Led by mega-activist Gail Slocum, the former mayor of Menlo Park, three reporters from major Bay Area news organizations will put hard questions to Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi, and State Senators Jackie Speier and Liz Figueroa.

The debate will be conducted according to the League of Women Voters' guidelines, and there will be ample time afterward for a Q & A, followed by a classic "spin room" with no-host bar and plenty of schmooze.

This is meant only as a foretaste. I'll keep the posts here current as we reveal further bits of information. And you're invited to visit the CDC website for information on how to affiliate your club with the CDC or how to become an at-large member.

More soon...

Ellen and Barbie