Next Tuesday, September 9th is Primary Day in the District of Columbia, and we urge you to participate in our great democracy by casting your vote. Our city and our members are overwhelmingly Democrats, so the vast majority of us will be voting in the Democratic primary. We hope you will go to the polls next Tuesday and cast your vote for DC for Democracy’s endorsed candidates:
Eleanor Holmes Norton for Delegate,
Kwame Brown for at-large council,
Mike Panetta for Shadow Representative, and
Obama4UnityBeatsMcCain slate of candidates for the DC Democratic State Committee
Ms. Norton, Mr. Brown, and Mr. Panetta are well-known incumbents who have served admirably in office and deserve our continued support. Not so well-known are the individuals running for the DC Democratic State Committee, under the slate name Obama4UnityBeatsMcCain, a unified slate of grassroots progressive candidates brought together by DC for Obama.
The DC Democratic State Committee is the official governing body of the District of Columbia Democratic Party chartered by the Democratic National Committee (DNC). The primary objective of the DC Democratic Party, as all state parties, is to elect Democrats locally and nationally and to advocate for issues within the Democratic Party platform. In practical terms, they have a great say over who represents us every 4 years at the Democratic National Convention. They set the rules for the Democratic primary and other party elections in DC. They have exceptional access to our elected officials, as well as Democratic party organizations across the county. They control access to the voter file of registered Democrats in DC, and they receive money and resources from the Democratic National Committee. In short, their potential power is great, yet many of us are disappointed that this power is not effectively used in the public interest.
The Obama4UnityBeatsMcCain slate consists of 48 candidates for the DC Democratic State Committee (2 Candidates for DC’s 2 DNC’ seats, 2 alternate candidates for DC’s 2 DNC seats, 12 at-large candidates, and 4 candidates from each ward). We will each vote for 20 candidates, depending on the ward we live in.
The Obama4UnityBeatsMcCain slate is committed to opening the doors of the DC Democratic Party and outlining a mission, vision, and action agenda that empowers Democrats in DC to become a part of the electoral process and support the election of Democrats in the region and across the United States. They are also the most diverse slate of candidates for the DC Democratic State Committee since the advent of home rule. When elected, Obama4UnityBeatsMcCain will automatically increase the representation of Young Democrats, LGBT, organized labor, Asian Pacific Islanders, and Latino’s on the DC Democratic State Committee. The slate includes several long-standing and energetic members of DC4D, as well as several able members of DC for Obama. The members of the slate are as follows (DC4D members in bold):
Democratic National Committee (DNC)
Arrington Dixon, National Committeeman
Miriam Sapiro, National Committeewoman
Douglas Sloan, Alternate National Committeeman
Regan Ford, Alternate National Committeewoman
At-Large: Jeffrey D. Richardson ~ Kemry M. Hughes ~ Alan Bray ~ Jeff Norman ~ Kenneth Ellerbe ~ John Nowicki (former Chair of DC4D) ~Kim Morton ~ Linda Nguyen ~ Kirsten Burgard ~ Robin Kelley ~ Tamela Gordon ~ Gaby L. Fraser
Ward 1: Ian Martinez ~ Jason Berry ~ Dr. E. Gail Anderson Holness ~ Oralia Puente
Ward 2: Dan Wedderburn ~ Jerusa Carl Wilson ~ Courtney Chapin ~ Paige Wedderburn
Ward 3: Shana Mosher ~ Kahlill Palmer ~ Frank Wu ~ Jocelyn Nieva
Ward 4: Tony Towns ~ Dwayne Revis ~ Faith E. Wheeler ~ Ella Gilbert
Ward 5: Carl Thomas ~ Fred Allen ~ Romaine Thomas ~ Grace Lewis
Ward 6: Howard Park ~ Deleon Ware ~ Betty Smalls ~ Rhonda Hamilton
Ward 7: Juan Thompson ~ Phillip Hammond ~ Patricia Malloy ~ Denise Reed
Ward 8: Eugene Dewitt Kinlow ~ Philip Pannell ~ Wanda Lockridge ~ Lauren Fraser
Obama4UnityBeatsMcCain’s agenda is as follows:
Organize DC Residents to volunteer in Virginia to support the election of Barack Obama and the 2008 Democratic ticket.
Develop a plan of action for educating voters both locally and nationally about DC’s lack of voting representation and self-determination (focus pressure on local and national elected officials to make ending DC’s second class status a publicly recognized priority for the city and the national Democratic Party, and join the DC Vote Voting Rights Coalition)
Develop a plan to target Democratic races regionally and nationally by coordinating volunteers from DC and fundraising to help elect DC-friendly Democrats to national and state offices.
Rebuild the DC party’s infrastructure (by developing a strategic Plan, develop long-term development strategy, supporting the establishment of active standing committees, investing in our ward and constituency caucus organizations)
The Obama4UnityBeatsMcCain slate promises to energize our local Democratic party, so please look for the slate name next to the candidates names on Primary Day (Tuesday, Sept 9th), and vote for all members of this slate! Check out their website here.
