Note: I would have posted this earlier in the day, but I wanted to give the Key Arena rallygoers a chance to see it and respond to it.
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By now, the entire known world has heard that Washington's precinct caucuses -- the first of three steps leading to the selection of the majority of our state's delegates to the Democratic National Convention -- will begin at 1pm tomorrow, Saturday, February 9.
Many Washingtonians participate here on dKos, so I thought it would be interesting to hear from WA Kossacks about where each of us is going to be meeting tomorrow. Who knows ... some Kossacks might discover that they can meet other Kossacks at the very same site!
Below the fold are some specific questions. Please give a shoutout for your fellow WA Kossacks to see!
P.S. Please Recommend, so others will get a chance to see this...
Along with the questions, I'll give you my answers. Please offer your own caucus information in the comment threads!
What are your LD and precinct?
43rd LD, precinct SEA 43-1348.
What is your caucus location?
B.F. Day Elementary School, in Seattle's Fremont neighborhood.
If you know, how many delegates will your precinct elect?
10 ... my precinct is large and very Democratic.
If you know, how many precincts caucus at your location?
We'll have six precincts at B.F. Day.
How many previous presidential caucuses have you attended?
One, in 2004.
Are you the Precinct Committee Officer?
Yes, I'm the elected PCO.
Will you have any special Party role at the caucus location?
I'll be both an area coordinator for the entire site and the caucus leader for my precinct.
Will you have any special role with one of the campaigns?
No. I'm not involved in any of the campaign organizations.
Do you hope to be elected as a delegate representing your candidate from your precinct?
I'm not sure, as I have no strong candidate commitment. I might sign in as "Uncommitted".
Do you think you have a good idea of how the caucus will operate?
Geez, I'd better! There are a few ambiguities in the rules, but I believe we'll be able to keep things cool and calm.
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It bears repeating for the umpteenth time that:
THE PRIMARY ON FEBRUARY 19 IS MEANINGLESS FOR DEMOCRATS. IF YOU WANT TO EXERT INFLUENCE ON WASHINGTON'S DELEGATION IN DENVER, YOU MUST ATTEND TOMORROW'S CAUCUS.
Any registered voter may participate in the caucuses, and you can even become a registered voter by filling out a voter registration form at the caucus. A 17-year-old who will turn 18 by November 4, 2008 may also participate fully. Several tools are available to explain the caucus process and to help you locate where your precinct will be holding its caucus:
I hope every Washington Kossack has a great time at the caucuses! Please be nice to the people running them ... every one of them is a volunteer, doing what they're doing because of their passion for the Democratic Party and the democratic process. If the crush is overwhelming, and if the scene is chaotic, please stay calm, please be gentle.
Even better, it would be immensely appreciated if you'd offer to help out in some way. Whether that means setting up or taking down tables and chairs, or getting extraneous paper into recycling bins at the end, or helping direct attendees to the right precinct caucus, or helping to run the caucus itself with your PCO, or a hundred other possibilities ... it'll be a real contribution beyond your participation in the presidential nomination process.
Oh, you might consider making a donation to reimburse your local Democratic organization for the expense of holding the caucuses. Your LD organization fronted the money to rent spaces, buy supplies, and run caucus training sessions. My own LD organization, for example, put up something like $11,000 so that our voters would have places in which to gather for the caucuses. Please put a check or some cash into the remit-envelopes that I'm sure your LD will have available tomorrow afternoon.
And, finally, stay with, even join, your local Democratic organization. Attend their our meetings, work to build their our strength and influence. We need to elect Democrats now and into the future, and every person who participates in that effort brings us that much closer to achieving our goals for our nation and our world.
That means reelecting Governor Gregoire (I sure as hell don't want a repeat of the 2004 cliffhanger, even if it made me a minor dKos celebrity at the time). It means electing Peter Goldmark as our Commissioner of Public Lands. It means electing Darcy Burner to Congress from WA-08, and turning that Eastside district into the sort of Democratic stronghold that Jay Inslee has built in WA-01, Adam Smith has extended in WA-09, Rick Larsen is building in WA-02. It means doing our damnedest to knock Rob McKenna off his pedestal in the AG's office, and Sam Reed out of the SoS position. And that doesn't even scratch the surface of LD and county and city/town offices.