Candidates Night
At least nine candidates are slated to appear at the Democratic Party Candidates Night on Thursday, April 10. This is an excellent time to meet the candidates and see what they are really like, without the filtering of the media. The event is at the Astoria Events Center, located at 9th & Commercial Street in Astoria. In addition to the candidates, a raffle will be conducted which has great prizes. The grand prize is a lithograph, signed by President Clinton and Vice President Al Gore.
The event begins at 6:00 PM and will end around 8:00 PM. Food and drink may be purchased at the venue, which is part of the Shipyard Bar & Grill.
Update on the Neighbor to Neighbor Program
DPO Executive Director Trent Lutz and Field Director Jesse Bonticou attended the March CCDCC meeting, and presented the background to the Neighbor to Neighbor program, which is driven from the Democratic National Committee (DNC). Many were expecting to receive their list of 25 people to arrive shortly thereafter.
Unfortunately, Jesse was the owner of the task to distribute the data, and he as moved to the Obama campaign, effective immediately. The Democratic Party of Oregon is down to two field directors to cover the state (at the beginning of the year, there were four).As you can imagine, two people can not administer the Neighbor to Neighbor program, which explains why the data did not arrive.
Autumn (one of the remaining field directors) recommends that we suspend the Neighbor to Neighbor program for a few months. She suggested that we focus on registering Non Affiliated Voters (NAVs) and independents for the month of April. We also have an excellent candidate (Jim Scheller) for County Commissioner in District 2 (south Warrenton and Seaside north of Broadway) that needs help. After the primary, the new software for tracking contacts will be in place, which is the true enabler of the Neighbor to Neighbor program. Please contact Larry Taylor if you need contact information for your neighborhood, including walking lists.
Candidates Needed for Gearhart City Council
The Gearhart City Council will interview candidates to replace a recent resignation from the council. The open interview process will occur at 6:00 PM on April 10. If you live in Gearhart, we encourage you to consider submitting your name. For more information, you can call Gearhart City Hall at 738-5501. Applications can be obtained at the Gearhart City Hall , 698 Pacific Way.
If the city council loses a quorum due to another resignation, the replacements will be selected by the Clatsop County Commissioners.
Replacing Richard Lee
Candidates seeking to be appointed to the position vacated by Richard Lee must reside in District 3, which takes in the portion of Astoria east of Fifth Street to 28th, southeasterly of Denver Avenue and south of platted West Niagara Avenue. It also includes the communities of Miles Crossing, Jeffers Gardens, Fort Clatsop, Lewis and Clark, Youngs River, Olney, Green Mountain and part of Walluski. The commissioners have 45 days in which to replace Lee after the recall has been certified. County Manager Scott Derickson has proposed a replacement process for the remaining commissioners to follow, so stay tuned.
Derickson is also soliciting questions from across the county to be asked of candidates seeking to replace Richard Lee. He would like to have the questions as soon as possible, so they can be reviewed in preparation for the April 9 regularly schedule meeting at the Judge Roy Boyington Building (857 Commercial Street in Astoria), which will start at 10:00 am.Questions can be sent to the attention of Scott Derickson, 800 Exchange Street, Suite 410, Astoria, OR 97103.
State Platform Convention and State Central Committee Meeting April 11 – 13
Chelsea Clinton and a representative from the Obama Campaign will be speakers at the DPO Dinner on April 12 in Eugene Oregon.
Saturday begins at 7:30 am with the State Central Committee Meeting, followed by training sessions on Neighbor to Neighbor, Media Training, and the VAN/Vote Builder computer database training.The first Platform Convention session (to which delegates were elected) occurs Saturday afternoon.
Sunday begins at 8:30 am with First Congressional District meetings, followed by more Platform Convention meetings, and will conclude mid-afternoon.Although only delegates may vote, anyone may register and participate in the training sessions and attend the dinner.
The full agenda as well as online registration is at: www.DPO.org
Register to be a Delegate to the First Congressional District Convention - June 7
To support and vote for your local delegates to the Democratic National Convention, you must register by April 22nd. Any Democrat is eligible. Instructions and online registration is at: http://www.oregondemocrats.org/2008_convention_plan
CCDCC Events
Due to Candidates Night, there will be no April Dems Meet Dinner at El Mariachi. The regularly scheduled CCDCC meeting will be on April 28, at the Chisholm Community Center in Seaside, 1225 Avene A. The evening begins at 6:30 PM, and the guest speaker will be Wayne Kinney, DNC committeeperson representing Oregon.
Contributions
Many thanks to contributors Jackie Branch and Leon Jackson, for helping cover the April Expenses! We have accomplished 15% of our fundraising goal for 2008. Remember – your contribution is a tax credit up to $50 per person that is a tax credit, and 100% returned to you when you file your tax return for 2008.
You can contribute thru our web site – www.clatsopDemocrats.org, or send checks to CCDCC, PO Box 859, Seaside, OR 97138. |