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The California Democratic Council’s 54th Annual Convention, held in Santa Clara, March 24th to 26th, drew 250 representatives from perhaps three dozen Democratic clubs from throughout California. Joining delegates from other LA County clubs, NEDC’s two representatives were the only ones from the City of Los Angeles....



Following Friday’s orientation session the three Democratic candidates for lieutenant governor—John Garamendi, Liz Figueroa, and Jackie Speier—debated, with Speier narrowly winning the CDC’s endorsement.

Saturday featured 24 workshops on such topics as improving club management and communication; improving club finances and fund-raising; and recruiting diverse groups for membership. Other topics focused on such initiatives as Single-Payer Healthcare (SB840), Clean Money (AB583), Preschool for All, and Community College.

After dinner that night, candidates for statewide office Debra Bowen, Jerry Brown, Rocky Delgadillo, Joe Dunn, John Chiang, and Bill Lockyer debated, with Brown winning endorsement for attorney general, Bowen for secretary of state, Dunn for controller, and Lockyer for treasurer (absent Cruz Bustamante was endorsed for insurance commissioner and Jack O’Connell for superintendant of instruction).

Highlights and Lowlights
At Saturday’s lunch, Rep. Barbara Lee (D—Oakland) gave a rousing speech that was worth the trip by itself. As the only member of Congress to vote against the resolution authorizing President Bush’s rush to war in 2001, Lee reminded us what it means to be a Democrat. Similarly, Jerry Brown’s emphatic performance during the Saturday debates made many of the same points in an equally stirring fashion.

Many of the well-attended workshops drew favorable response as well. We found the issue-focused sessions—those on single-payer healthcare and clean money—to be especially effective, as was the chance to network with committed activists.

Less impressive was the unbalanced representation. The average age for attendees was well past 60; ours may have been the only club to represent the City of Los Angeles; and the number of blacks, Asians and Latinos could be counted on two hands.
Having said that, it appears the CDC is trying to recover some of its lost lustre; putting on this convention was a step in the right direction. Program Cochairs Barbie Deutsch and Ellen Dana Nagler did an outstanding job with the plenaries and workshops.CDC Secretary Henry Vandermeir deserves special thanks for his help in setting up the NEDC’s new Web site, as does President Chris Stompolis, for his cordial welcome. (See www.cdc-ca.org for more information.)

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