OK, maybe not everything, but a lot of important news for Democracy for Texas supporters.

First of all, the really fun stuff - DFT’s Grassroots Fundraiser at Esther’s Follies! Austin’s premiere comedy troupe will give a special performance, heavy on political humor, at 10 p.m. Thursday, June 5. Tickets are being offered to DFTers and their friends at a discounted price of $25 until May 8. After that, the cost will rise to $30. Esther’s is conveniently located on 6th Street within walking distance of downtown hotels and the Convention Center.

Second, we’ll have a DFT caucus at 11:00 a.m. Friday, June 6, where you can meet U.S. Senate candidate Rick Noriega, learn to use the online tools offered by http://TrueBlueAction.com, and share success stories with organizers from around the state.

And throughout the convention, we’ll have a DFT booth in the Exhibit Hall where you can pick up information about upcoming events, buy buttons, T-shirts, and organizing manuals, and hang out with fellow grassroots activists. Even Flat Howard will be there!

Third, if you can make a small contribution to DFT to help defray the cost of all of these cool activities- please click here. We appreciate it!

Finally, for those of you who are hoping to go to the Democratic National Convention in August, read our “how-to” guide on running for National Delegate. We can’t guarantee you’ll win, but we do promise you’ll have fun trying. We also have information about the various committee positions that you might be interested in running for at the State Convention.

If you have questions after reading the material, just drop us a note at info@democracyfortexas.org. We hope to see a lot of DFT supporters in Austin - and Denver!

by Glen Maxey, DFT Political Director

As delegate lists from the County and Senate Conventions make their way to the Texas Democratic Party, people are getting ready to compete to be the warm bodies in those highly coveted seats in Denver.

Here’s the handy guide to everything you need to know.

First, you must apply after April 21, 2008 to declare your candidacy by downloading the application form from the Texas Democratic Party site, filling it out, getting it notarized and delivering it to the TDP between April 21st and May 21st at 5:00 pm. Do not send it BEFORE the start or you’ll have to do it all over again. They won’t be returning them for re-submission, so do it right the first time. Coming in early could get yours disqualified just as coming in late would.

A point about the form:

There are three types of Delegates for which a person can run. Everyone should check the first and third category because everyone qualifies for them.

The first category is “Pledged Senatorial District” for election by your fellow Clinton or Obama folks in your Senate District. These are the 126 delegates allocated by the primary. More about this below.

The second category is for 25 Pledged Party/Elected Officials. The division of Obama/Clinton in this group will be allocated by the sign-in at the State Convention.

The Nominations Committee considers elected officials who have applied in this order: 1) Democratic mayors (even if elected non-partisan) in cities over 250,000, 2) State legislators, and 3) other state and local Democratic officials (these must be elected in a partisan election).

So who is a party official? Any SDEC member, County Chair and Precinct Chair is eligible to apply. You must CURRENTLY hold those positions.

Keep in mind, that these slots are filled in a descending priority. Even though you qualify as a Precinct Chair, the seats are gone way up the list.

The third category is for consideration as one of the 42 At-Large seats. The division of Obama/Clinton in this group will be allocated by the sign-in at the State Convention.

The At-Large delegates are used to balance the gender, ethnicity, and affirmative action goals for the delegation. These goals apply to the entire delegation of 228.

We need to end with:
72 Hispanic
54 African American
39 Youth (under 35)
21-27 Disabled
14-18 LGBT
9 Asian American
1 Native American

How many races can I compete in?

Every district has a different number of seats and those seats were allocated to Clinton and Obama based on the March 4th vote. On top of that, every district must balance gender to the best of their ability. Those assignments are in this chart:

http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pYaTYsIKgs2GQFH2uM4QnWw

Depending on where you live and your Presidential preference, you may have a better chance than someone living where your candidate didn’t fare well or there aren’t many slots.

And if you support Obama and you live in SD 3 or SD 31, you might lose just by the Clinton delegation electing someone of your gender, since the Obama delegate must be opposite gender of Clinton’s and the Clinton folks elect first.

So how do I get elected?

You get elected by campaigning. Your voters are the Obama or Clinton delegates in your Senate District who were elected at the County/SD conventions. Realize that if you are in a County or SD in an urban area that includes other counties or a multi-county district in rural Texas, your voters are everyone in the SD, not just your county. Use every method you can: phoning, mailers, door-to-door.

How are the elections conducted and when?

In each Senate District, there will be a Senate District caucus beginning at 3:00 pm Friday. The first order of business is electing Committee members (one person for each committee). They are elected in this order:

1) Credentials Committee
2) Platform Committee
3) Resolutions Committee
4) Rules Committee 

5) Nominations Committee for SDEC officers and SDEC members, Democratic National Committee members, and Presidential Electors
6) Recommendation for State Committeeman
7) Recommendation for State Committeewoman
8) Nominations Committee for At-Large Delegates
9) Recommendation for Presidential Elector (2 Electors if you’re in SD 13, SD 14, or SD 23)

The caucus must recess at 5:00 p.m. After the Friday night general session, the caucus reconvenes. So expect to be up very, very late for these elections.

For a more detailed list of these offices and what they do, download this (.doc).

When all the above elections are done, we get to the election for National Delegates. FINALLY, you get to run!

At this point the Obama and Clinton folks part ways into their respective groups.
First, where necessary, there is a coin toss to decide if you have the male or female election first or second. Then you rotate genders until all seats are filled. Alternate elections are last. The candidate who won the district gets to go first where the gender is to be decided in uneven districts. For example, in SD 14 the Clinton caucus cannot elect their third Delegate until the Obama caucus elects their fifth, since Clinton is opposite gender of the Obama fifth.

Alternates were assigned gender by a drawing which has already occurred.

Anyone of the appropriate gender can self nominate themselves for each election. (You can run in every election in your SD where your gender is eligible until you finally win one or all are filled.)

There is a run-off between the two highest voter getters in each election for each delegate slot.

Where do I get a list of delegates?

Once the Texas Democratic Party has entered all the delegates into a database, the list will be available. You also might be able to get a list earlier from a local Party source if your district was wholly in one county.

The Presidential Campaigns will also be able to assist in obtaining the list.

GOOD LUCK!

During the weeks leading up to our March 4 presidential primary and in the days following, Burnt Orange Report became a vital source of information for people all over the country who were looking for up-to-date results on our primary and caucuses. Now, our friends at BOR are partnering with the Obama and Clinton campaigns, as well as local party leaders and grassroots activists, to track the delegate counts from Saturday’s county and senatorial district conventions.

This is grassroots action at its best! Here’s how you can help.

Once the final delegate counts from your convention are known, you may report the results to BOR by one of three methods:

1. Use the Online Submission Form
2. E-mail your results to results@burntorangereport.com

If you do choose to email the results, please include your name, telephone number, county or senate district, and your role at the convention (County Chair, Secretary, Obama/Clinton supporter, etc.).

In each case, you will be reporting the total number of delegates for each candidate.

Thanks for your participation, and remember - if you’re not sure what to do to win at your convention, you can find everything you need here.

Two weeks ago, many of you shared stories about your experiences at your precinct caucuses. And most of you told us you’re moving on to the next level as a delegate or alternate to your county or senatorial district convention on Saturday, March 29th.

What do you do when you get there - and equally important - beforehand? Everything you need to know to be effective at your convention is here!

Our three top tips:

▪ Meet with your delegation in advance.

▪ Expect the unexpected.

▪ Most importantly, know the rules.

If, after reading this material, you still have questions, drop us a note at info@democracyfortexas.org and we’ll get back to you with an answer - guaranteed. Where can you get that kind of service these days?

Good luck on March 29, and thank you for being a part of taking our country back!

Thousands of us turned out last night at our precinct caucuses. How many people attended yours? Who won? Did you get elected as a delegate to your county convention?

If you were a precinct chair, exactly how many forms did you have to fill out? A prize goes to the person who fit the most number of people into the smallest amount of space.

Share your stories with us in the comments to this post.

Then stay tuned – we’ll have details about how to win your March 29 county convention soon!

By now, we’re pretty sure you know that Texas has a 2-step process for selecting delegates on Election Day Tuesday, March 4, right? While primary voting allocates 2/3 of the delegates to the national convention, another 1/3 of the delegates are selected at precinct caucuses that occur at your polling place at 7:15 p.m. March 4. To have the maximum impact, you need to do both.

Download our handy guide, “How to Win Your Precinct Caucus” (pdf). It tells you step-by-step what you need to do. Print it out and take it with you to your caucus!

We also encourage you to attend a training sponsored by the Obama campaign. They are being held around the state - click here to find one in your area and take your friends! If you don’t find a location near you, keep checking back, as trainings are being added frequently.

Turnout on March 4 is expected to set records. We strongly encourage you to vote early February 19-29. You may attend your precinct caucus even if you vote early.

We asked, you answered. Loud and clear. The winner of our presidential poll is Senator Barack Obama, with 73.2% of the 2,760 votes cast.

As much as the margin of victory, we were impressed by the passion of Obama voters and their excitement about the future. In a world where cynicism about politics has become the norm, it is refreshing to see optimism, hope, and the belief that each of us can make a difference. Or, to paraphrase Senator Obama’s comments last week: “We are the ones we’ve been waiting for.”

It’s a particular joy to watch the young people who are engaged in this campaign, many of whom cut their political teeth in Howard Dean’s campaign. They’re not just talking, they’re assuming a leadership role. We couldn’t be prouder.

But it’s not just young people. One slightly older Obama supporter told us:

“I’m a 73-year-old Yellow Dog Democrat and this is the first time I have been truly excited with a candidate for president since 1960.”

We understand. We’re “fired up and ready to go” ourselves, and looking forward to working with everyone - regardless of your preference in the poll - to elect a Democrat in November.

In December, we ran our first presidential poll. At that time, there were a lot of choices, but the field has narrowed. Who is your candidate now — Clinton or Obama?

Few of us would have guessed back when the Lege was arguing over the primary date that leaving it on March 4 would actually allow Texans to have a voice in who our nominee will be, but we do. So tell us who you’ll be working for over the next 26 days!

If there is a clear preference among our supporters, DFT will endorse the winner. But it’s all up to you. Who should be our next president?

Voting ends at midnight Wednesday, February 13.

P.S. Please make a $5-10 online contribution to offset the cost of this poll!

Last week, twenty-six people came out on a cold night in San Marcos to talk about starting a Democracy for Texas meetup. Their enthusiasm for getting involved was inspiring, and we’re looking forward to helping them turn Hays County even bluer!

Are you looking for a way to get more involved in this election cycle, to be part of something bigger than yourself, to help get Democrats elected in 2008?

Let us help you start your group! DFT currently has 22 local groups in its statewide network, and we want to add more. We’ll give you all the tools you need to get started.

Just drop us a note at info-at-democracyfortexas.org and we’ll take it from there. Remember: Getting together with like-minded people is the best way to make things happen!

Senator Barack Obama, with 32% of the vote, is the winner of our first Presidential poll, followed closely by former Senator John Edwards, with 29%. With a combined 61% of the vote, it’s clear that DFT supporters know a progressive candidate when they see one!

Why did so many DFTers support Obama? Here is a sample of your comments:

“Obama is the one who puts principle above winning, whose style is that of a statesman and who can unite the country and rise above partisanship.”

“Obama has the unique experience, vision, and character to unite our divided nation, restore America’s standing in the world, and inspire a new generation of community activists, organizers, and leaders.”

“I find the same kind of optimism in Barack that I did many years ago in our beloved John Kennedy. We need a change and to greet the future with energy and hope.”

“Obama inspires me and gives me hope that the status quo in D.C. will really change.”

Our congratulations to Senator Obama - now let’s see what happens in Iowa!