County Democrats lay out plans
Originally published in the Daily Tarheel
County Democrats lay out plans
By Sarah Rabil
Staff Writer
April 19, 2004
HILLSBOROUGH -- The Raging Grannies kicked off the 2004 Orange County Democratic Convention on Saturday afternoon with their rendition of several classic tunes featuring anti-Bush and pro-peace lyrics, which were well received by the fiery crowd.
"Take back, take back, oh take back our country from Bush, from Bush," they sang.
People packed into the courthouse in Hillsborough for the convention following the statewide Democratic Presidential Preference Caucus to allocate delegates to the Democratic Party's national convention.
U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, won in Orange County, garnering 375 of the 1,158 ballots cast at the two polling places. Kucinich paid a visit to Carrboro on April 4 to campaign.
"Leave it to Orange County," said Barry Katz, chairman of the county's Democratic party, in reference to Kucinich winning the county.
U.S. Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., the as yet unofficial nominee for the national party, collected the second largest number of ballots, with 312 votes.
Trailing were U.S. Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., with 303 votes; former Vt. Gov. Howard Dean with 128; and the Rev. Al Sharpton with 39. One ballot was cast as uncommitted.
Of the registered Democrats in Orange County, 2.6 percent turned out for the caucus.
Edwards won the party's first-ever statewide caucus after leading in preliminary statewide tallies.
The caucus was held in place of the customary primary election because redistricting by the N.C. General Assembly forced the N.C. Board of Elections to postpone the primary until July 20.
But the Democratic National Convention is set for July 26, and such a late primary would not allow time for North Carolina to allocate its delegates to the convention.
Rather than a vote run by the elections board as would be the case in a primary, local chapters of the Democratic Party were put in charge of heading up the caucuses.
With both the caucuses and convention to organize, the Executive Committee of the Orange County Democratic Party recognized that it was not as prepared for the convention as in past years.
At the convention, U.S. Rep. David Price, D-N.C., said the Democratic Party is going to have to be united for seven hard months of campaigning until the November election.
"I don't believe we're going to face a more decisive election in our lifetime," he said.
Orange County Commissioner Barry Jacobs, who is running for a seat in the N.C. House, addressed the convention, speaking out against candidates who buy their way into office.
County Democrats also prepared a list of platforms to be submitted to the party's District Executive Committee, State Executive Committee and elected representatives.
Katz said the county has been submitting the platform and resolutions for at least 20 years and is only one of three counties in the state to do so.
"It's received with a mixture of seriousness and shock," Katz said. "Like, 'There they go again.' (But) new ideas have to start somewhere."
The resolutions originate from each of the 43 precincts and are deliberated by the county's Platforms and Resolutions Committee before submission at the convention.
"It's a completely grassroots beginning, where neighbors get together and discuss those issues that are important to them," he said.
The adopted resolutions included a call for the removal of provisions in the USA PATRIOT Act, opposition to a constitutional amendment barring same-sex marriage, a moratorium on the death penalty and sufficient funding for the UNC system to minimize tuition hikes.
"There's a lot in the Patriot Act, which I believe would suppress people's constitutional rights to free speech and assembly," Katz said. "Bush ... has exploited the word 'patriot.'"
A resolution that stuck out for Katz regarded a stance against predatory pay-day lending, which he said signaled the party's desire to look out for the poorest members of the community.
Most resolutions recommended by the Platforms and Resolutions Committee were passed without debate, but another resolution, which called for a ban on smoking tobacco products in enclosed places of employment, passed after considerable discussion and accusations of party members' idealized notions.
Bobette Eckland, a participant in the convention, said the county should stand as an example across the state.
"Orange County gets laughed at for a lot of things," she said. "Just because it won't fly, doesn't mean we shouldn't try."
For the caucus, Orange County is only one part of the 4th District which also includes Durham, north Chatham and western Wake counties.
The District Convention is scheduled for May 22 at 10 a.m., and Orange County has 113 votes at the convention. The 4th District's six delegates selected at this convention are allocated based on the congressional district-wide vote, not the county-wide vote.
North Carolina's 107 delegates to the national convention will be allocated proportionately to candidates receiving at least 15 percent of the vote statewide or at the district level.
The convention was also an opportunity to appoint people to fill several committees, including the State House Committee, the State Senate Committee, and the Grievance Committee. Members of the first two committees appoint someone to serve in the event that a House member or senator, respectively, cannot fulfill his or her duties.
Norman Gustaveson and Walter McCann were appointed to the Senate Committee. Joe Herzenberg and Robin Gallagher were appointed to the House Committee, and Eckland and Keith Cooke were appointed to the Grievance Committee.
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