Northeast Democratic Club: "Winning Elections One Club at a Time"

"Winning Elections One Club at a Time"

by Dick Price & Sharon Kyle

The California Democratic Council (often called “the CDC”) is the statewide association of Democratic Clubs and County Committees. Founded in 1952 by a group of legendary Democrats, including Alan Cranston, at its height, the CDC coordinated hundreds of Democratic clubs in every corner of the state, boasting more than 70,000 members. For many years, the CDC played a greater role in the success of the Democratic Party in California than the party itself.

In the 55 years since its inception, the CDC has continued to be the progressive arm of the California Democratic Party. But in recent years, it has also focused on providing training and resources to Dem Clubs. This year, at its 55th Annual Convention that just concluded at the LAX Sheraton, the CDC demonstrated that it might be re-emerging as the “go to” organization for training, connecting, and coalition building.

With over 25 workshops, the convention offered a wide array of training opportunities presented by members of the CDC as well as representatives from the Los Angeles County Democratic Party, Progressive Democrats of America, and Westside Coalition of Democratic Clubs, among others. Attendees were also offered information from issue-focused efforts such as the “Clean Money Campaign”—we found Clean Money founder Susan Lerner’s session especially instructive. Marcy Winograd and Tom Courbat also offered a solid presentation called “Election Protection” that outlined the deficiencies of electronic voting machines that California Secretary of State Debra Bowen has recently identified.

Dennis Kucinich, the only presidential candidate to make a personal appearance at this convention, left no stone unturned by delivering the kind of stirring speech that has given him the reputation for speaking the unvarnished truth when others so often seem to equivocate. But Kucinich went further by staying for a portion of the impeachment panel with Mimi Kennedy, Stephen Rohde, and David Buchanan. Ultimately, the CDC passed a resolution for impeaching both George Bush and Dick Cheney, and we understand that LA Councilmember Bill Rosendahl will introduce a similar resolution at the LA City Council shortly.

Besides Kucinich, we found the speech on behalf of Barack Obama by LA City Council President Eric Garcetti to be especially riveting as he showed how progressive Democratic leaders can transform once-blighted neighborhoods such as LA’s North Atwater Village by focusing on inclusively, coalition-building, and the delivery of basic governmental services to all residents.

Another notable perspective came from State Senator Lou Correa, who represents traditional Republican territory in Orange County—he was once the first Democrat to serve as an Orange County commissioner in 20 years—and who emphasized the need for continual outreach to community groups, not just during elections. He took evident pride in never missing a building dedication, quinceanera, or officer swearing-in ceremony, but you understood that he wants to serve his constituents every way he can, not just win elections.

The last session featured our own Northeast Democratic Club member John Cleary (and incoming president of the Stonewall Democratic Club), who debated value-based coalition with LACDP officer Ted Smith (both pictured) and others. Following that, the convention took a straw poll among presidential candidates, which put John Edwards all other contestants by a significant margin.

Outgoing CDC President Chris Stampolis plans to work with the National Democratic Party on similar club-building efforts around the country. Incoming President Henry Vandemier introduced a plan for strengthening the services the CDC can provide to Dem Clubs throughout California, moving it toward the prominence it once enjoyed. As part of that, he has asked to help with media matters. Let us know if you’d like to help us.

This was the second CDC Convention we’ve attended. Without exception, every workshop, banquet, and entertainment event was fantastic—much thanks to Cara Robin of the Westside Dem Club, who organized the event with help from Marc Salzberg and many others from their club. If you are interested in helping in getting involved and rebuilding the progressive Democratic base in California and beyond, please join your local Democratic Club or County Committee, which can be found at www.cdc-ca.com or contact the CDC at 800.446.9709.

—Dick & Sharon

Other articles by Dick & Sharon

"A Cab Ride with Xavier Becerra"
"It's Not Just MacArthur Park"
"Battling Gang Violence"
"Stormy Weather"
"Gunfire Down Below"
"The Iron Rainbow"
"The War Comes Home"
"Reporting for Duty"
"Healing the Black-Brown Divide"
"The Long War"
"Hopeless No More?"

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