June 2008 newsletter
June 2008 Newsletter
What's Here
Report from the Chair June MeetingPhoto from April Meeting Delegate Selection Plan Betty the Yeti June 4 ! News from Rich Riggs Campaign News from Jason Brown Campaign What are HD 20 & 23? Felton for Polk DA General Election Kick-Off and BBQ
The Monmouth Peace Vigil continues
Links to Candidate Websites
midst of a historic wave of change of massive proportions in American
politics. Here in Oregon, at last count, we have had over 118,000 new
Democratic voter registrations since December 2007. Marion County now
has a Democratic majority, and adjacent Polk county has had over 1,100
new D’s to pull within 2000 votes of the R’s and enough Independents to
make up the difference. The trend is statewide and bodes well for
Democratic candidates who will likely ride this wave to a new and
powerful majority in the Oregon House and Senate. Additionally, Gordon
Smith is seriously threatened; to have an all-Democratic pair of
Senators from Oregon would be a big win.
As chair of the Polk County Central Committee, I am at once encouraged
yet frustrated. There is something wrong when you look at the whole
political picture of involvement because the sentiments motivating the
changes are largely focused on the Presidential race. Local
involvement, measured by county precinct committee persons filing is
not reflecting the same trend. We need D’s to know that in order to see
change in government that most directly affects us daily, work needs to
be done for state, county, and municipal elections. It is well and good
to get Barrack or Hillary elected so we get out of Iraq, work on
affordable health care, improve energy policy, and restore
constitutional balance to the federal government. But the President is
only one person responsible for one branch of government and the
Executive needs the legislature to enact the laws.
But what about local land use practices affecting our own environment,
water availability, and personal quality of life? What about our school
funding and prison expenses? Collective bargaining rights and unions
are under attack, too. We may face a dozen ballot measures in Oregon.
Local officials are more influential in creating a fair and sustainable
economy, while balancing growth and need for jobs while providing
stable and adequate funding for all our human needs and investments.
Democrats need to have volunteers and PCPs to work on local elections,
inform voters, and get out the votes for local candidates and issues.
This is a call to activism for people to join and work for county
parties. I extend a welcome to Democrats who want real change, who will
phone, staff offices, organize fundraisers, canvass, put up signs,
write letters to papers, and do the myriad of other tasks required to
elect local candidates and deal appropriately with ballot measures. The
Presidential campaigns have millions of dollars and great inspiration
behind them, but real change we need and can see must start at the
county party level and continue after the big guys leave Oregon. We can
use your help. Polk County Democrats can reach us via our site:
http://www.PolkDems.org
On Apr. 29 I asked Polk Co. Clerk, Val Unger for a Voter Registration report.
| Dems | Repubs | Con | LBT | NA | PAC | IND | Others | |
| Dec. 31 | 12988 | 16306 | 78 | 249 | 8105 | 134 | 204 | 109 |
| Apr 29 | 4348 | 16400 | 79 | 243 | 8038 | 126 | 356 | 101 |
| NET CHANGE: | +1360 | +94 | +1 | -6 | -67 | -8 | +152 | -8 |
Regular Monthly Meeting of Polk County Democrats
Thursday, June 12
Salem Electric, 633 7th St. NW, Salem
6:30 pm: Refreshments and conversation
7:00 pm: Business meeting
9:00 pm: Adjourn. Business meeting
Come to meet our candidates and help us achieve victory in 2008!
From the Monthly Meeting, March 13
Several more in last month's newsletter - but here's a nice one -
Looks like it was cheerful!
Thanks to Jackie Pierce, again, for photos.
Democratic Party Oregon Convention Delegates
Basic information about our delegate selection plan
The national convention will be Aug. 25-28, 2008, in Denver
The filing deadline to run for delegate was May 22, 2008
Oregon Democrats will elect 65 delegates and nine alternates
The number of delegates each presidential
candidate gets will be determined by the results of the presidential
primary in the congressional districts and statewide. 34 delegates and
five alternates will be elected at congressional district conventions
on June 7, 2008
The 1st will elect seven delegates and one alternate
The 2nd will elect five delegates and one alternate
The 3rd will elect nine delegates and one alternate
The 4th will elect seven delegates and one alternate
The 5th will elect six delegates and one alternate
19 delegates and four alternates will be elected at the state convention on June 21, 2008
12 delegates and four alternates will be elected at-large
Six delegates will be elected as Party Leader/Elected Official (PLEO) delegates
One will be elected as an “unpledged add-on” delegate
12 delegates are automatic, unpledged, delegates. They include:
Our Governor, U.S. Senator, and four members of the U.S. House, and our
six elected and appointed members of the Democratic National Committee.
The delegation must be balanced by gender. With
the guidance of the DNC, the DPO has established “representation goals”
designed to make sure the delegation reflects the makeup of Oregon’s
Democratic electorate. Those goals are:
African American, two
Asian/Pacific Islander American, three
Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual/Transgender, five
Hispanic American/Latino, seven
Native American, one
Delegates to the state convention on June 21, 2008
Each congressional district convention will
elect delegates to the state convention, which will elect the rest of
Oregon’s delegation to the national convention. The delegates will
reflect the results of the presidential primary in their district. The
numbers from each district are:
The 1st will elect 62 state convention delegates
The 2nd will elect 45 state convention delegates
The 3rd will elect 76 state convention delegates
The 4th will elect 61 state convention delegates
The 5th will elect 56 state convention delegates
There are no alternates
District convention June 7
State convention June 21
National convention Aug. 25-28
There were still more tickets
for the Betty the Yeti fundraiser - Available at the door!
[Unofficial preliminary results of the successful fundraiser: of the
189 seats, nearly 170 were sold; the Polk Democrats netted somewhere
around $1800 after expenses; and the Pentacle folks were delighted to
have us there! Update in July Newsletter.]
Pentacle Theater June 4 Benefit for Polk Democrats
Sent: Sunday, June 01, 2008 7:50 PM
Subject: Re: tickets available at the door June 4
Hello Polk County Dems,
I just saw Betty the Yeti on Friday, opening night. I wanted to take a
moment to tell all of you what a great play it is. My husband and I are
Pentacle subscribers, so we see all their productions. We thought this
one was exceptionally good. It is well written, hilarious, and yet
thought provoking. And it takes place right here in Oregon. And it is
about Oregon issues. The cast is consistently strong, the set is
fabulous, the whole production is very clever.
Those of you who have been to Pentacle before will know what high
standards their productions meet. This one is certainly no exception.
And if you have never been to Pentacle, don't miss this opportunity.
The theater is set in the middle of the woods. The stage is intimate,
with less than 200 seats surrounding the stage on three sides. You
won't be sorry you got to see this unusual play, and you'll help your
local Dems too. Please don't leave any of those tickets unsold!
Thanks,
Laurel Muller
Marion County Dems
Come join us for a night of good theater and good company on June 4,
with ticket sales to benefit our local Democratic primary winners. The
Pentacle Theatre provides a special performance of "Betty the Yeti," a
satire about the personal and political consequences of a logger
meeting Bigfoot in the woods. Tickets are $20 each, so you can treat
yourself and support your Democratic candidates at the same time!
Richard Riggs - HD 20
My website, RichardRiggs.com, has
been activated and I have been busy fundraising, seeking endorsements,
attending houseparties and canvassing. I have received several key
endorsements which include the Oregon League of Conservation Voters,
Service Employees International Union Local 503, and others. I am also
engaged in the endorsement process with AFSCME, OSEA, OEA, AFL-CIO and
many other groups.
accompanied one morning by Representative Betty Komp and over the
course of the week I knocked on three hundred doors. Lastly, the
campaign is looking for volunteers, people willing to canvass, host
houseparties, or assist with phone calls or writing letters to the
editor. [update May 26- over 2000 doors reached now, and others by volunteers]
Noted on Richard's website May 16: Visit Rich's campaign
office at 250 Liberty Street, located in downtown Salem, near the
Liberty Street & Ferry Street intersection across from the Phoenix
Grand Hotel.
training partnership. The group I have been working with is now in the
process of drafting bylaws for a non-profit so the project in Willamina
can move forward. I find it gratifying to be a part of this community
partnership gradually coming together. In some ways it is a distraction
from the campaign, but ultimately it's all about investing in people.
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AFSCME, the public employees union, officially endorsed Jason Brown for House District 23 in March. AFSCME endorsed Brian Boquist in 2006. The Statesman-Journal endorsed Jason May 6: "Running for the second time, he has a good sense of district issues." |
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focussed, including Monmouth, Independence, West Salem and a section of
the Liberty Heights area in SW Salem, and areas geographically between
those points.
counties: the downtowns of Willamina and Sheridan and south from
there;northeast to the edge of West Salem; Falls City and Dallas, then
across SE Polk, avoiding towns, through a rural strip of south Marion
County to Jefferson and the western city limit of Stayton; back to
Dallas and down Kings Valley road avoiding Philomath, around to Monroe,
then east to Halsey and Harrisburg in southern Lane County. It is
virtually impossible to drive to all of HD 23 without driving through
5, count 'em, five, other House Districts.
Dear Friends:
We had a very successful primary campaign, and now it's time to begin
planning for our November 4th general election victory! Please join
me this Friday, June 6 at 6:00 p.m., for a fall campaign kick-off
meeting at Felton campaign headquarters, 2737 Fillmore St. NW Salem,
OR 97304. We'll debrief the primary campaign and discuss plans for
our fall efforts. We'll have hot dogs and hamburgers--fancy political
fare!
Please RSVP: (503) 371-0374 or aronmichele@comcast.net
I look forward to seeing you and hearing your ideas.
Aaron
Monmouth Peace Vigils - every Wednesday 5-6 pm
News from the Anti-War / Impeach Bush weekly demonstration
We've decided to keep on doing it, at least for now. The vigil reached
some new numbers in the last month. May 9 marked a full year of the
weekly vigil / drive-by demonstration. There were eight people on the
sidewalk, including two high school girls who had just walked up and
asked if they could protest too (of course!) and enthusiastically
flashed V-for-peace signs at all the passing cars. 211 cars / carloads
containing something over 300 people / responded positively with waves
and horns, and 5 negatively.
May 28 was also somewhat of a new statistic. The crew on the curb was
down to a hard core of 3 and a dog, while 137 cars - something over 200
people - responded positively, so over 200 people took part. And there
were Zero negative responses. When we began a year ago responses ran
about 30-to-1. Apparently the negatives are giving up, either on Bush
or on us.
The drive-by demonstration and Peace Vigil continues every Wednesday, 5-6 pm, at Main Street Park in Monmouth continues. It is a cheerful event.
A wealth of information lurks below. Poke any photo or highlighted name.
House District Candidates
| House District 20 | House District 23 | |
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| Richard Riggs | |
Jason Brown |
Uncertain - more later, we hope!
U. S. 5th Congressional District. (former Rep. Darlene Hooley's seat).
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State Sen., Ex-State Rep., Veterinarian & Farmer |
Note: The Republican candidate, Mike Erickson, has already loaned his own campaign over $1,000,000.
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State House Speaker, Ex-Non Profit Group Executive
& Ex-Congressional Budget Analyst
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| Secretary of State | Attorney General | State Treasurer | ||
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State Senate Majority Leader, Ex-State Rep. & Attorney |
Law Professor, Ex-Assistant US Attorney, Ex-Congressional Aide & USMC Veteran |
State Sen., Agribusinessman, Ex-Republican & 2006 Gubernatorial Candidate |
Secretary of State: Rick Dancer (R) - Ex-TV News Anchor
Treasurer: Allen Alley (R) - Businessman & Ex-Gubernatorial Aide
Attorney General: (apparently none declared)
For a complete guide to Oregon candidates (and some nice old buttons) see http://politics1.com/or.htm
Contributions or material for the newsletter are needed and welcome.
Send to Truman Price, truprice@wvi.com , (503) 606-360V (V= numeral 5)