The next County Convention will occur in 2012.
The information here is for historical and informational purposes only.
The new platform can be viewed here.
Please arrive early in order to register. A pancake breakfast will be served starting at 8:45-9:30am. After 11:00am, a sandwich lunch will be available. Meals are $5.00 each.
Call to Meeting, Draft Platform, Convention Agenda and Rules
- The call to meeting, draft platform, agenda and rules are all at the bottom of the page for your review.
- You may submit platform planks and resolutions for consideration at the convention. Please submit to Jim Eddy, Platform Chair, at jimeddy@techline.com, or call him at 580-1226 if you have any questions.
- If you need guidance on writing a resolution, please review the Resolution Template at the bottom of this page.
- If you need guidance on writing a platform plank, please review Walk the Plank Workshop at the bottom of this page.
- Legislative District Caucuses: We will break into separate caucuses for each of the legislative districts in Grays Harbor County (only the portions of the19th, 24th, and 35th legislative districts within the boundaries of Grays Harbor County.
- At the caucuses, the alloted delegates and alternates will be elected to go onto the state convention. At the state convention, the delegates will help draft the state's Platform.
- You may run for delegate or alternate if you are (1) willing to publicly declare that you are a Democrat, and (2) both reside in and are registered to vote within the boundaries of both the legislative district and within Grays Harbor County. You may also vote on delegates/alternates under the same conditions.
- County Convention: Anyone who is willing to publicly declare they are a Democrat and both reside in and are registered to vote within Grays Harbor County may participate in our convention including voting on resolutions and platform.
Caucuses and conventions are grassroots politics at its best.
- Anyone may attend, observe, and offer input. Anyone may offer resolutions and platform planks for consideration.
- However, only registered voters may vote on resolutions, platform, or delegates.
- The voter must be registered to vote in the jurisdiction that is hosting the caucus/convention in order to be able to vote.
- If a registered voter does live in the jurisdiction, they can participate but not vote. (Example of jurisdiction: If the convention is held in Grays Harbor County, one must be registered to vote in Grays Harbor County in order to vote).
- 17-year-olds who will be 18 in time for the next general election (in November), have full participation rights even though they are not yet a registered voter and will have a vote, as long as they also live in the jurisdiction.
- Attendees will be required to sign-in in order for us to verify your credentials.
- Credentials means that we will verify you are a registered voter within our jurisdiction.
- The sign-in form means that you agree with this statement on the form: "I consider myself a Democrat and am willing to proclaim this publicly". (Note: While we will not use your name in any public manner, the proceedings are a matter of public record and we are required to allow public review, if requested.)
- There are no fees for attendance (We would appreciate a donation to help defray our costs.)
- There is no obligation to join or commit to a long-term involvement with the Democratic Party. (However, we always hope you will choose to join and/or become active. We could use you and you could have a lot of fun, too!)
- We do expect those who are elected as delegates to attend the state convention (and the congressional district convention in presidential election years only) to honor their obligations as a delegate. No further obligation is required.
What are conventions?  In presidential election years only, there is also a national convention. Anyone willing to sign a registration form stating they consider themselves a Democrat can participate at the county convention providing input into the platform or resolutions, and can submit resolutions for consideration. However, only those registered to vote in Grays Harbor County can vote on platform planks and resolutions. People elected as delegates at their legislative district caucus will proceed onto the state convention to work on the platform and resolutions at that level. Additional opportunities exist during presidential election years. Please see "What are caucuses?" to the right for further details. | What are caucuses?  In presidential election years only, there are also congressional district caucuses. Non-Presidential Election Years Delegates elected at their legislative district caucus will move onto the state convention to consider resolutions and platform planks. Presidential Election Years Delegates elected at their legislative district caucus will also
Delegates elected at the congressional district level, go onto the state and national conventions. The state convention allows for one last opportunity to elect delegates to represent Washington State at the national convention. Anyone interested in serving at the national convention who has not yet been elected as a delegate is encouraged to contact the Washington State Democrats to find out how to proceed. |
In many parts of the state, the LD caucus is held on one day and the county convention occurs on a later day. Some of you may have read about this and be confused at the way we are doing things here in Grays Harbor County.
Grays Harbor County is divided between three LDs: the 19th, 24th and 35th. As you can see from the maps, these LDs are fairly large and we believe less people will participate from Grays Harbor County if they have to drive the longer distances required to attend caucuses held elsewhere. The 19th LD typically meets in the Longview/Kelso or Long Beach areas, the 24th in Port Angeles, and the 35th in Shelton or Bremerton. Some of these locations are a 3-hour drive from Grays Harbor County, some less, but none are as convenient for people who want to participate as meeting in Grays Harbor County would be. For further convenience, so people don't have to give up additional Saturdays in order to participate, we hold the LD caucuses and the county convention on the same day.
How will this work?
On the day of the county convention, we will separate into three different caucuses for each LD. Those voting in each LD will elect delegates and alternates for their LD only. The number of delegates and alternates elected for each LD is determined by the proportion of the entire LD's population residing within the boundary of that both that LD and Grays Harbor County. This is not a new process. Grays Harbor has been doing it this way for decades. It makes good sense and it comes with additional benefits beyond just saving a few hours of driving for people.
What are those additional benefits?
This process gives Grays Harbor County a greater voice at the state convention when considering platforms and resolutions. We are guaranteed more votes that could make the difference when voting on an issue is close. And more delegates also means more bodies to lobby other delegates potentially pulling more votes over to pass resolutions about issues impacting rural counties like Grays Harbor County.
If all delegates are elected at LD meetings held with the LD-as-a-whole outside of Grays Harbor, several things could happen. First, less Grays Harbor Voters will probably attend meaning less people from Grays Harbor are running to be a delegate. Second, there's no guarantee that anybody from Grays Harbor would be elected as delegates.
People tend to vote for people they know and are comfortable with. The greater turnout of voters from Longview/Kelso, or Port Angeles/Port Townsend, or Shelton/Bremerton means that more people from those areas will be running as delegates and voting on the delegates. It's even possible that all delegates are selected from those areas. And Grays Harbor would have no delegates at the state convention.
In conclusion, this system provides easier access due to being held locally and guarantees a strong contingent of delegates elected from Grays Harbor County. It's a double-win!