The Democratic Party of Virginia will be holding its convention this weekend to select, among other things, the at-large delegates to the national convention in Denver. The schedule is full of events, starting Friday evening and running through Sunday morning. A unity pass, covering a host of events, notably the Unity celebration, is available for $250. The convention is open to the public – you do not have to be a delegate to attend.
I’ll be at the convention, both as a convention delegate and as a candidate for one of the at-large delegate slots. I’m still undecided on what, besides the actual convention itself, I will be attending. (Unfortunately for me, the convention fell at a bad time, with the 16th being another filing deadline.) The cool thing is that is is close by. Holding it in Hampton is great for those of us in Hampton Roads 😉
So – who else is going to be there? What are you planning to do?
VIVIAN J. PAIGE | All Politics is Local 
Vivian you wll have my support at the convention for at large delegate. We need people like you who have the passion for their candidate and works very hard for her party.
See you in Hampton.
Vivian,
I will be there as a delegate. I wish I could go to the other events but my pockets are pretty light right now.
How many At-Large delegates will be selected this weekend? You have my vote.
Thanks, y’all. I appreciate the support 🙂 Here is a list of all of the candidates for at-large delegates. At the top of each heading is the number of male and female slots available. I’m vying for one of three slots.
I will be there as well … coming down from NOVA as an Obama delegate and party person.
Vivian, please cure my ignorance. How does this “at-large delegate” thing work?
Obama won X number of at-large delegates, and Clinton won Y. Are you running as a Clinton delegate? Would you then have to vote for Clinton on the first ballot?
Each candidate won X pledged delegates as the result of the Virginia primary. Some of those delegates are allocated by congressional district and some are elected at-large. The numbers are shown here. Somewhere on the site (can’t locate it right now) it shows the breakdown by CD. My CD only got one Clinton delegate and it was male. So as a Clinton supporter, my only option was to try to get one of the at-large delegate seats. There were 6 – 3 male, 3 female.
Note that there are 2,000 state convention delegates (pdf). This is not the same as the delegates from the national convention. These delegates selected the allocated pledged delegates at the CD level and also get to vote on the at-large delegate selections at the convention. What I don’t know is whether only Clinton delegates get to vote on the Clinton at-large and only Obama delegates get to vote on the Obama at-large, like was the case at the CD level. I assume that is the case, but don’t quote me on it as I’m really new at this delegate thing.
Now – as for voting in Denver. Again, I assume that as a pledged delegate for a candidate, you are obligated to vote for that candidate.
Some other good info on delegates can be found in this pdf.
Vivian:
I beleive that like the last convention when Edwards had pledged delegates, he sent word to them just prior to the convention in Boston to cast their votes for Kerry. So may be the case this time, but we just have to wait to see. Also, for those not going to the paid events, there will be hospitality rooms going on that are free. There are some posted and I think there will be some promoted at the last minute at the convention, so there will be stuff to do with out paying for it!
Best deal for the weekend is the UNITY PARTY hosted by the Hampton and Newport News Democratic Committees Friday night at the Holiday Inn and Conference Center from 8 PM to Midnight. It is sponsored by Newport News Mayor Joe Frank and Hampton Mayor-elect Molly Ward.
Food and drink and live entertainment (show band) awaits. We have confirmed attendees of Senator Jim Webb, Congressman Bobby Scott and Delegate Brian Moran and many other local officials. All this for $35 in advance and $40 at the door. More info follows along with online ticket order!
http://www.actblue.com/page/turnvabluepoolparty
We have a flyer is you wish to post it, Vivian!
Thanks Newport News Dem for setting this up along with the Hampton Committee.
I look forward to talking to Jim Webb. After reading his latest book, I have a few questions for him. And the weather is supposed to be nice!!
See you all there.
That’s an interesting list of candidates on the DPVA web site. Since there is only one at-large Clinton alternate and that slot is designated female, I wonder why they’ve posted the male applicants.
I also see that Nancy Spannaus made it onto the Clinton at-large list. Oh joy, the LaRouchies are back. For the sake of you Clinton caucus delegates, I hope your caucus is putting a time limit on candidate speeches.
NND – is this the flyer (doc)?
Would be nice if these things came in a format you don’t have to download 😦
Dear God Randy,
I thought they were long gone!! Don’t they have enough to do hanging out at the DMV?
I remember several years back one had a temper tantrum (seriously) at Central and interupted the meeting. It doesn’t seem like there are many but man, are they vocal!
Geesh!
Thanks, Vivian, but “My CD only got one Clinton delegate and it was male” !?
You will pardon me if I find that abhorrent.
NND
I’ve got my “TURN VA BLUE” Poolside Party – Kick off the 2008 VA State Democratic Convention Advanced Ticket
See everyone there!
Shawn
One more thing that y’all need to be aware of: just as we did in the congressional conventions, there will be separate caucuses for the Obama delegates and the Clinton delegates. So only the Obama folks get to vote on the Obama at-large delegates and only the Clinton folks get to vote on the Clinton at-large delegates.
Mouse – the Democratic Party is committed to diversity in its delegation. When they allocate delegates, they try to balance throughout the entire delegation, not just by CD. So, for example, the 1 Clinton delegate in the 3rd CD was female.