North Carolina Democratic Party Elects New Officers
Submitted by Graig on Sat, 01/31/2009 - 2:47pm
David Young has been elected the new chair of the North Carolina Democratic Party. He was elected with a majority of the vote on the first ballot, and his election was affirmed with a voice vote. He replaces Jerry Meek, who did not run for re-election.
I'm posting live from my iPhone. I'll try to add comments as I can.
- Graig's blog
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Second Vice Chair
Delmas Parker has been re-elected as second vice chair. He ran unopposed.
We're waiting on results of the election for first vice chair.
First Vice Chair
Stella Adams has been elected first vice chair. She defeated incumbent Dannie Monthomery.
Third vice chair
Tony McEwan has been elected third vice chair.
Secretary
Kathy Knight has been elected Secretary.
Thanks, Graig
It doesn't sound like there was a lot of drama. That's good. Fill us in on any details when you get a chance.
***************************
Vote Democratic, the ass you save may be your own.
Stella Adams.
Why is her name so familiar to me? Yes, I could Google it I guess....
Jesus Swept ticked me off. Too short. I loved the characters and then POOF it was over.
-me
Stella
Her maiden name was Artois. She married Sam Adams. They have a son, Beck, a daughter, Corona, and a dog named Bud.
Your brain is already at a Super Bowl party.
stellllllla?
hahaha
Leigh
A Smut-Filled Tome
long time progressive advocate
Stella is a long time progressive advocate from Durham. She runs (ran?) the North Carolina Fair Housing Center.
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http://twitter.com/Jerimee
So is she a progessive
So is she a progessive Democrat or a Progressive Democrat?
I'm a moderate Democrat.
"Progressive"
Huh...."progressive" on this blog is just a fancy word for "liberal".
I'm sure you know that.
The best thinking is independent thinking.
"Liberal"
And "liberal" is a code word for "socialist".
If that's what you really think "Progressive" is after spending time on this blog you need to do a little more "independent thinking".
Why put that on here?????
Why would you try to put words in my mouth? What does that accomplish? It serves absolutely no purpose and you know very well I don't believe that way.
Absolutely NOTHING I have said points to that.
I was going to question your level of intelligence for posting that, but decided otherwise.
The best thinking is independent thinking.
Why?
Why would you make a throwaway comment that "progressive" on this blog is just a fancy word for "liberal"? If you didn't mean it there were no obvious clues to irony. Whether or not you mean it you can hardly be oblivious to a modern context where "liberal" is a knee jerk smear referring to anything to the left of the user and meaning anything to the left of Lenin.
Oh, my goodness
I listen to C-SPAN regularly...CNN regularly...CBS regularly. I am an email member of John Kerry and regularly get emails from both Clintons. On all of these venues, people on the left (predominantly democrats) are referred to as "liberals". Now, if you don't like that reference or that label, then you have that right. But, when someone uses it along with sooooo many others in the U.S. when they're talking about people on the left side of the political spectrum...you're wrong to tell them they're saying they're actually calling people "socialists" or any other kind of "knee jerk smear" (using your words).
You appear to have very thin skin on this. I personally believe that the democratic party has changed their left-leaning beliefs to be identified as "progressive" rather than "liberal" because "liberal" became somewhat of a negative connotation, especially during the republican/conservative years in America.
Now, you can trash me all you want for believing that or get defensive whenever someone says something like what I said. Like I said, that's your right. However, you have no right putting words in my mouth or telling me I mean something I don't.
The best thinking is independent thinking.
Skin
My skin's pretty thick. I don't see anything constructive from lumping progressive and liberal together. Many Democrats may be liberal but fewer are progressive. Liberal is a euphemism for for a relative position on a two dimensional political scale between left and right, usually to the left of the user of the word. Progressive is a somewhat more three dimensional in my mind. I'd like to think that someone to the right of me could be progressive.
The original question was, as I understand it, a genuine one about whether the candidate was progressive in general or specifically a member of PDNC.
Wish that was how this all began
Now, if you'd have presented that at the beginning of our "conversation", it would have been a short-lived discussion.
But, in any case, all's good. I'm not sure everyone looks at the liberal vs. progressive issue as you do, but I do see how you feel about it.
You already know how I feel. So, if it's okay with you, let's leave it there.
Thanks.
The best thinking is independent thinking.
Agreed.
I think that is a good distinction to make. The left/right politics are liberal vs. conservative. 'Progressive' is indeed a different axis from liberal vs conservative altogether, which also means that it is not the property of Democrats or Republicans. Heck, the world needs more progressive Democrats AND progressive Republicans.
Smitty there is a national
Smitty there is a national organization that I believe is called Progressive Democrats of America or something like that. They are a PAC. There is a state branch of this orgainzation called Progressive Democrats of North Carolina. They are not a part of the Democratic Party. Anyone registered as a Democrat is a member of the Democratic Party but PDNC has specific objectives and you don't have to be a member of the Democratic Party to be a part of their organization. On many issues I would probably be considered a lower case "progressive" but of course on other issues I'm fairly conservative. I am not a capital letter "Progressive". My question was as to whether the person mentioned was upper case or lower case. I imagine many of the contributors here are members of PDNC and there's nothing wrong with that but there was an effort statewide just a few years ago to kind of "take over" the party from the precinct up. The way they went about it in my county left a pretty bad taste in my mouth. So there are definately different meanings to the word progressive.
I'm a moderate Democrat.
PDNC
I don't think Stella is a member of the PDNC, but I'm not sure.
I am fairly confident that Stella beleives in human rights as declared in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which is why I describe her as progressive. I haven't asked her.
FYI, while leaders rarely pay little more than lip service to UDHR, the United States officially affirms the document, even while it denies collective bargaining rights (among others) to many citizens.
Even as partisan and short-sighted of a leader as Bush didn't want to deny the hopeful vision articulated in the UDHR.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights can be thought of as the Bill of Rights of the Planet Earth, please read it if you're not familiar with it.
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http://twitter.com/Jerimee
Okay my question is how many
Okay my question is how many of these are members of PDNC? I know Delmas Parker is but are there any others. Was there an attempt to rewrite the plan of organization in order to allow issue based auxillaries within the counties?
I'm a moderate Democrat.
No.
The only amendment to the plan of organization was one to take care of the problem of the legislative policy committee never getting anything done, because they can never get a quorum, because the elected officials never show up for meetings. It makes them ex officio members; if they go, they can vote, but if they don't, it doesn't prevent a quorum.
PDNC
I believe Delmas is the only official member of the PDNC. Two of the PDNC endorsed candidates lost: Luke Hyde and Kevin Smith. The PDNC has had some good ideas through the years but have never really seemed to take off.
No endorements for Chair
The PDNC did not endorse anyone for Chair.
The PDNC did endorse Kevin Smith and Stella Adams.
They held a meeting just prior to the SEC meeting, and it seems that all PDNC members are on the SEC.
dancewater
http://dancewater.blogspot.com
http://warnewstoday.blogspot.com
http://facesofgrief.blogspot.com
How many of you are there?
How many of you are there?
I'm a moderate Democrat.
about two dozen
more or less - I didn't count.
dancewater
http://dancewater.blogspot.com
http://warnewstoday.blogspot.com
http://facesofgrief.blogspot.com
email of support of Hyde
I seem to remember an email sent out by a PDNC member saying the PDNC supported Hyde.
Did the PDNC endorse Parker?
Thanks for the updates! I
Thanks for the updates! I was starting to wonder how long it would take for the information to trickle out.
Elections reports
Thanks Graig. I for one appreciate the information, and I'm sure others do as well.
Sweet Union Dem
Close your signature em tag
.
Signature em tag?
I told you I was challenged. I don't know how I opened it. I'll call Betsy. Thanks.
Sweet Union Dem
Editing Sig
Go into My Account/ Edit/ Signature Settings
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You will see [em] at the beginning, (substitute < for [ and > for ] ).
At the end there needs to be a similar related closing tag [/em], (substitute < for [ and > for ] )
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Democratic while undramatic
I thought it was a pretty open process, despite Young's late entry to the contest. It contrasted to the tight race Jerry Meek won two elections ago, when then-Governor Easley simply announced his choice and expected it to be rubber-stamped. Young was recruited for the job by Perdue, but she also showed up personally at the meeting, as did LG Walter Dalton, who also backed Young. Young worked the election hard personally, traveling the state, and made it clear he wasn't taking his selection for granted. I think that he left a positive impression with most SEC members, and as a result won handily over two credible opponents, Luke Hyde and Dannie Montgomery.
You may recall Stella Adams from a previous SEC election as well. She narrowly lost to Montgomery then, and has continued to work her statewide contacts since then--to obviously productive results.
The other close choice of the day came at third vice chair, where two very capable and appealing younger Dems pitched for the same post. McEwen won on the basis of his broad experience across the state, including a very strong turn as statewide president of the Young Dems, in which he organized successful door to door canvasses for Democratic candidates in multiple counties, including Ty Harrell in Wake and Heath Shuler in Buncombe and McDowell. Kevin Smith also left a positive impression, and I look for him to continue a trajectory of prominent leadership posts. This was a contest in which "both of the above" might have carried a majority if it had been a voting option.
Delmas Parker at second vice chair and Kathy Knight at secretary round out what I see as a very capable leadership team.
Dan Besse
Mystery italics
Betsy, James--the italics for these comments are a mystery to me. If you can identify why they're suddenly appearing in my posts despite my efforts to edit them out, please let me know. Thanks.
Dan Besse
Mystery
Sweet Union Dem has an open tag in the signature. I've noticed it before. I'll try to get it fixed.
Update: I used to be able to edit in the comment but the sig is now appended separately. SUD will have to change this. In the meantime I'll try something else.
Open Tag
My name started appearing after my computer crashed and I got it back. I don't know what I could have done to start it, and I sure don't know what to do to make it stop. I was going to bring it up with Betsy, and she can confirm that I'm blog-challenged. But I'm not going to post anything that I'd be ashamed for my name to be associated with, so I'm not worried about it. If anybody can tell me how to remove it, though, I will.
Sweet Union Dem
Sig edit
If you want to get rid of it just go My Account/ Edit/ Signature Settings and delete what you see in the "Signature Settings" box, then save.
sig edit
Okay. Will do.
Sweet Union Dem
You did it!
Looks like you did it. Thanks.
Kevin Smith is a bright and rising star
I was so very impressed with his speech that I gave him my vote even though I found Tony McEwan quite endearing and obviously more popular. Too bad they weren't running for different seats.
Progressives are the true conservatives.
Kevin Smith
Kevin Smith is the president of the African American Caucus, and a hard working advocate. We're blessed to have him.
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http://twitter.com/Jerimee
So I'm wondering, how do you
So I'm wondering, how do you become a member of the committee that met and elected these people?
Getting on the SEC
The SEC is the State Executive Committee, and they are chosen at the County Convention.
So, to get on the SEC, go to your precinct meeting and sign up to be a delegate to your County Convention. At the County convention, have a friend nominate you to be on the SEC. The number of slots available vary by county, based on the number of Democratic votes in the last election. In Buncombe it is 20 for SEC - and we have 10 men and 10 women, and the Party encourages a diverse background among the SEC (so we try to make it racially diverse, too).
Sometimes, the number of people who volunteer is less than the number of slots, but often it is more. The County Convention then proceeds to vote on who they want to be on the SEC.
If you are elected or appointed to the SEC, you will have to go to the SEC meetings generally held somewhere between Greensboro and Raleigh, but they could be anywhere in the state. There are usually three meetings per year. If you cannot make a meeting, then you have to send a proxy. If you miss two meetings in your two year term on the SEC, they will boot you off.
Getting elected really depends on how many people know and like you, which reflects how much work you have done for the Democratic Party on the local level. If you do not get elected, contact the SEC members and the County Chair and let them know that you would be willing to be a proxy.
dancewater
http://dancewater.blogspot.com
http://warnewstoday.blogspot.com
http://facesofgrief.blogspot.com
have to say
I have never read the Plan of Organization - I just started going to the precinct meeting in 2004 and went onward from there. One of my main motivations for being on the SEC was that I was involved with the NC Progressive Democrats and knew they would be holding meeting also..... so going to the SEC also allowed me to go to the NCPD meetings. And the Democratic Party Annual Convention is also an SEC meeting weekend, along with NCPD.
Sometimes they meeting are quite lively.... I remember in 2004, the progressive shut down the Annual meeting, since the old guard could not tolerate talk about legalizing hemp and revoking personhood rights for corporations. It kinda blew them away. Since then, we have passed resolutions to impeach bush, cheney and gonzales, a resolution for the NC House to file articles of impeachment on the same, single payer healthcare for all, and a bunch of progressive resolutions..... that have gone nowhere. In 2005, we elected Jerry Meek.
But it made those meetings quite lively for awhile. Yesterday's meeting was pretty sedate.
dancewater
http://dancewater.blogspot.com
http://warnewstoday.blogspot.com
http://facesofgrief.blogspot.com
So that's where all those
So that's where all those kooky counterproductive resolutions come from.
I'm a moderate Democrat.
Resolutions are carefully
vetted by a very non-kooky process and non-kooky people before being submitted. They originate and gather force from precinct meetings all over the state. They are voted on by Democrats and only if passed, adopted into the platform.
Huh, if I were you, I'd be far more concerned with the fact that the resolutions are the real voice of the people, they are duly voted on by the rank and file of the party and consistently ignored by our Democratic representatives in Raleigh.
Get your priorities in order.
Progressives are the true conservatives.
resolutions
And resolutions are taken so seriously by the party. Hell, Eugene Barufkin couldn't even get anyone to support his call for a committee to report on what the party was doing in reaction to the resolutions passed at past meetings.
We have at least gotten a verbal
commitment from our new Chair, David Young, that the problem of losing a quorum before these things are brought to the floor will be addressed in the future. Please tell me you heard him say that too.
Progressives are the true conservatives.
Well my comment was at least
Well my comment was at least half way intended as a joke but........ I just recall at a 2nd district convention not to long ago several resolutions offered that were off the wall, far, far, far left pie in the sky things that didn't really speak to the point of view of the majority of Democrats in the 2nd district. If passed they would have served no purpose but to tie the hands of Bob E. and provide ammunition for the Republicans to portray the party as out of touch extremists. There is always a danger of a vocal and well organized minority becoming too powerful in the party if others sit by and watch it happen.
I'm a moderate Democrat.
Of course there's that danger
but it's a sausage making process, if only the organized minority is interested enough to show up, then that's who gets to choose the flavor. (see right-wing evangelical Republican politics circa 1990's)
Progressives are the true conservatives.
It seems to me that the "kookiest" resolutions
come out of the District Conventions. There were some wacky ones at the 6th District convention that Momoaizo and I attended a few years ago (2 years, mo?)
I'm pretty sure that there was a statewide committee after the district conventions and before the SEC meeting to meld together similar resolutions, etc. It was actually a very democratic process, and I was impressed with the final product that came out of that committee. I've got that document somewhere. Wayne Goodwin, now Insurance Commissioner, was chair of that committee.
I don't agree that they were "kooky" or "counterproductive"
at all. They were all well thought out and well written and came from a desire to improve our lives and our state. I guess the "kookiest" would be the hemp production - which was voted down because of how "we might look" to the Republicans.
Well, I am not impressed by scaredy-pants who worry about what those Republicans might think or say. But then, I realized that the "WMDs in Iraq" was a pack of lies in 2002 and that our economy was going to tank BIG TIME back in 2005.
And growing hemp would be a valuable cash crop in 2009, if we had enacted it.
OH WELL - when the economy does finally tank BIG TIME (and we ain't seen nothing yet) just remember it was what the Republicans thought (and put into law) that caused this..... and it was those "kooky" folks calling themselves PROGRESSIVES who knew that this was going to happen and were ignored for years.
Want to know where things will go from here? go read this:
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/02/02-0
And here is why the Dems should have listened to the Progressives and impeached bush/cheney:
Iraq's Shocking Human Toll: About 1 Million Killed, 4.5 Million Displaced, 1-2 Million Widows, 5 Million Orphans
dancewater
http://dancewater.blogspot.com
http://warnewstoday.blogspot.com
http://facesofgrief.blogspot.com
I think you are giving
I think you are giving yourselves a little too much credit. Plus the way the people in your organization tried to covertly take over the party a few years ago did little to make the rest of us Dems some of whom are "progressive" want to work cooperatively with you. Sorry but that's the way it looks to me.
I'm a moderate Democrat.
Same as RangerKing
I'd like to know as well. I have nothing but time, brains and effort to use for the Democratic Party here in NC. I just need to know where I can help out and what I can do. Voting on these folks is a great priority as well. I just want to be involved in any way possible. Anyone have ideas?
P.S. I love writing on BlueNC - as this is a great way to get started too.
-- A liberal originally from Yadkin County. Did I just blow your mind?
Precincts
I believe it starts with attending Precinct meetings. There may only be a handful of people and you get yourself voted up the food chain.
Precinct meetings are set for
Precinct meetings are set for the week of March 8th and as greg noted you work out from there. Often there are only a few people in attendance and would welcome someone willing to hold a precinct office. Attend the county executive committee meetings and you will probably get recruited to serve on a committee, help organized a party function, or man a booth at a local gathering. It all starts at the grassroots!
I'm a moderate Democrat.
Precinct meeting
In Buncombe, the precinct meeting is set for February 28 at 10 AM. Date and time could vary by county - I recommend calling your county chair and asking for date and time and place (usually, the polling place) and to find out if your precinct is organized. IF it is not organized, have a long talk with the county chair on how to get it organized and get busy!
dancewater
http://dancewater.blogspot.com
http://warnewstoday.blogspot.com
http://facesofgrief.blogspot.com
I'm sure you'll begin to hear
I'm sure you'll begin to hear about me sooner or later. I'm trying to get my precinct organized and hopefully will be elected as its new chair. I'm a new voter and 18, but I'm also eyeing the third vice-chair of my county's party. It's all about networking and as a young, aspiring teacher and an aspiring politician I have to start somewhere.
Awesome, RangerKing
You're right, it's a great place to start, and I know at least in my county, we've had a difficult time finding a young person to serve as a county officer. I suspect you will be welcomed with open arms.
awfully glad you asked
The short answer is: attend your precinct meeting!
The more complete answer is a bit difficult. We have spent a lot of time trying to make this easy to understand quickly.
The formal rules are contained in the NCDP Plan of Organization: http://ncdp.org/north_carolina_democratic_party_plan_of_organization_con...
My (failed?) attempt at a cliff's notes version is listed here: http://ncdp.org/content/organizational-chart-NCDP
Here is a pdf of that chart: http://ncdp.org/files/ncdp-organizational-chart-2009.pdf
Please let me know what I can do to make this stuff easier to quickly understand. Email me at jerimee.richir@gmail.com if you have an idea about how we can better educate democrats on how to get involved and make decisions for their party.
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http://twitter.com/Jerimee
getting the word out
I think it would be worthwhile to write up a simple explanation on how to get involved with the Democratic Party, beyond working for a candidate, and have it published in local papers.
Of course, an enterprising journalist could write up how to get involved in the Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians, and Greens. That would be an interesting read.
dancewater
http://dancewater.blogspot.com
http://warnewstoday.blogspot.com
http://facesofgrief.blogspot.com
How to become a SEC Member
Quick Answer on how to become a SEC member: Get elected at your county convention.
Detail in the NCDP Plan of Organization Section 4
---
Ed Ridpath
www.EdRidpath.com
yup - thanks Ed!
Let me know if you have any ideas on how we can better disseminate this info.
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http://twitter.com/Jerimee
I will not talk out of school publicly
but I hope that the new leadership (not that the old did not) places some sort of oversight on county parties to ensure that they and their precincts are in full compliance with the Plan of Organization.
Sometimes counties and precincts decide they can skirt the P of O to inflate the active precinct count. While their intentions are good, it should be made clear that the Plan and Bylaws are not merely recommendations.
Amen!
We are very fortunate to have someone overseeing precinct organization and she won't let a precinct consider itself organized - or others consider them organized who might be trying to pull a fast one in order to get elected to county office - unless the P of O has been followed explicitly.
***************************
Vote Democratic, the ass you save may be your own.
Hey, appriciate the info Huh
Thanks, Huh, and I learned something here from that.
My point, however, wasn't about there being two kinds of "progressives"/"Progresives". My point was that in many cases, people that used to consider themselves liberals or were previously identified as liberals changed that identification to "progressive" because liberal became somewhat of a negative, especially during the Bushman hayday.
It was all I was saying and somehow went way out of proportion.
I still believe that, by the way. No, I don't expect many to actually admit to that, but then, lots of "neocons" won't admit to that identification either even though they truly are.
I do appreciate that. If you stay on BlueNC at least part of the time, you'll learn stuff.
The best thinking is independent thinking.