Democratic National Committee

DNC Member Elections: December 7th, 2008

The Democratic Party of Oregon's State Central Committee elected three Democratic National Committee members on December 7, 2008. No more than two of the DNC members may be of one gender.

The DPO will elect its chair, vice chairs and secretary at its organizational meeting in the first quarter of 2009.

The candidates who filed were: Mike Radway, Wayne Kinney, Gulzar Ahmed, Lupita Maurer, Laura Calvo, and Martha Perez

If you have any questions about the election, the process, or the DNC, please contact Wayne Kinney.

DNC Background

The Democratic National Committee is made up of 450 Democratic leaders. State parties elect 250 of them. The chair of the DNC appoints 75, and the other members are appointed by organizations that have an affiliation with the DNC.

Oregon has six DNC members at this point. Four are elected by the Democratic Party of Oregon's State Central Committee. They are:
DPO Chair Meredith Wood Smith
DPO First Vice Chair Frank Dixon
DNC Member Jenny Greenleaf
DNC Member Wayne Kinney

Two are appointed:
Sec. of State Bill Bradbury, elected to the DNC by the Democratic
Secretaries of State, and
Gail Rasmussen, the vice president of the Oregon Education Association,
appointed by DNC Chair Howard Dean

Jenny Greenleaf and Wayne Kinney were elected by the DPO State Central Committee in December 2004. Their terms are up with the election on Dec. 7.

Because Democrats have performed very well in Oregon, we have gained a seat on the DNC, and the DPO will elect three DNC members instead of two. The DPO's State Central Committee will hold elections for chair, vice chairs and secretary when the Party holds its organization meeting in March. The chair and first vice chair of each state party are DNC members.

DNC member duties

DNC members are expected to attend the meetings of the Democratic National Committee and cover their own travel costs. There are two a year, usually lasting three days. They start on a Thursday and end on a Saturday.

In general, winter meetings are held in the Washington, D.C., area, and summer/fall meetings are held in other parts of the country. Oregon's delegation is also a member of the DNC's Western Caucus, which meets during DNC meetings, and generally holds a meeting of its own in the spring or summer of each year on a weekend. In both cases, meetings of the actual committee are brief. DNC meetings in particular are very formal. There are lots of caucus and committee meetings and opportunities for training during the meetings. There are plenty of opportunities to get to know DNC members from other states, to share information, and to learn from each other. DNC members are also automatic delegates to the Democratic National Convention, along with Democratic members of Congress and governors.

In Oregon, DNC members are more involved than in many states. Recent DPO bylaw changes have given DNC members duties as officers in the state party's Administration Committee. That means that in addition to the chair, vice chairs, secretary and treasurer, the DNC members help govern the Democratic Party of Oregon.

Meetings are held, in general, every other week, and as a DNC member, you will be in frequent contact with other DPO officers and staff. You will have assigned counties for which you serve as a liason to the DPO. You will be asked to help with events and fundraising, expected to be available for county chair and executive committee meetings and conference calls, to lead special projects, and attend statewide meetings and conventions. You will be expected to participate fully in governing the Party. DNC members are also automatic members of the DPO's State Central Committee. In most ways, your duties as a member of the DPO Administration Committee will have more impact, and you will be more involved, than you will be in your duties on the DNC.

Previous DNC News:

The five congressional districts held conventions on June 7, 2008, and the state held its convention on June 21, 2008, to select delegates from Oregon to the 2008 National Convention in Denver.(Bob Thorn has kindly provided some pictures from the state convention.)

Members of the Oregon Delegation can find information about the Convention and visiting Denver here.

Here are the results from the voting. Congressional Districts are shown in parentheses.

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