Wednesday, January 17, 2007

Reorganization of the 43rd LD

Originally slated for last (Tuesday) night, the reorganization meeting of the 43rd District Democrats was postponed due to “weather”.  Meaning that there was perhaps an inch of slushy snow on the ground at mid-morning Tuesday.  In Seattle, that constitutes a snow emergency, and all activity comes to a halt.  By what would have been the start time of the meeting, the streets were clear and the temperature was appreciably higher than the freezing point of water.

But I digress…

The reorg meeting has been rescheduled for tomorrow, THURSDAY, JANUARY 18.  Details on the time (call to order at 7:30pm, following a social hour that starts at 6:30pm) and place (University Baptist Church, 4554 12th Ave NE in the U District ... the usual meetingplace for the organization) may be found on the 43rd District Democrats website.  Also on the website, you’ll find an up-to-the-minute list of announced candidates for the anticipated roster of Executive Board positions, as well as an annotated draft of the proposed by-laws for the organization.

In brief, biennial reorg meetings are called to order by a representative from the King County Democratic Central Committee, because in essence the LD organization does not yet exist.  The KCDCC representative presides over the debate and vote on the by-laws that will govern the operation of the organization during its two-year existence, as well as the process of nominating and voting for a new Chair.  Only elected Precinct Committee Officers (PCOs) chosen during last September’s primary—see lines 604-674 of this spreadsheet for the list—are eligible to vote for the Chair and a small number of additional officers.  Once the new Chair has been elected, s/he replaces the KCDCC rep as presiding officer for the remainder of the electoral process and the meeting agenda.

As I write, it appears that leadership in the 43rd will soon be passed to a significantly younger group of Democrats than in recent years.  The known candidates for Chair, Vice Chair for Elections (a newly-configured role), and Vice Chair for Communications and Technology (an expanded and somewhat altered role) are all in their 20s!  In a Legislative District that includes both the University of Washington and Seattle University, and is also the most Democratic LD in the state, this is an exciting and positive direction.  I’m more than happy to step away from the E-board, on which I served for the last two years, in favor of the younger and more energetic group that will lead us into the next presidential election season.

Again, here’s the skinny on the rescheduled reorganization meeting of the 43rd District Democrats: