Over 400 activists from across the state came together for the California Democratic Council and the San Diego County Democratic Party's joint Grassroots Democratic Convention held on September 26th in beautiful San Diego.



Our Grassroots Democratic Convention featured a full day of workshops, forums, and networking opportunities on Saturday.  There were morning, lunchtime, and afternoon plenary sessions where candidates and elected officials introduced themselves.  California State Attorney General (and possible gubernatorial candidate) Jerry Brown spoke during the morning session.






Convention Workshops Included:

• Ending Minority Rule in the California Legislature
• Labor - Fighting for the Middle Class
• Developing a Year-Round Precinct Program
• Cleaning Up California with the Fair Elections Act
  
• Citizen Activism and the Fight Against Blackwater
  
• Recruiting and Retaining Members
• New Technology Tools
• Media Reform and You
• California Election Trends
• Fundraising Tips
  
• Organizing for America
• Call for a California Constitutional Convention
• Candidate Training Track
• Intergenerational Leadership for Party Growth

Henry Vandermeir was re-elected president of CDC Saturday afternoon during the business portion of the event.  Heather Lacayo continues as CDC Secretary, Herb Engstrom as Treasurer, and Steve Cummings as CDC State Controller.

Our Saturday dinner event featured Congresswoman Linda Sanchez discussing the upcoming health care legislation followed by “Uncivil Liberties: A Panel Discussion on the State of Civility in Politics and Public Life”.

Saturday evening, we also presented two awards.  Jess Durfee (San Diego County Democratic Party Chair) received our "Volunteer of the Year" award for his commitment to CDC through his early and continuous support and his willingness to travel throughout the state to help with the delivery of our training program.  Working Blue received CDC's "Club of the Year" award.  This relatively new Labor Democratic club in Ventura has already raised thousands of dollars and held events with 500 in attendance.  This club has proven that when Labor and Democratic activists join forces, good things happen.

A second business session took place on Sunday morning where Henry discussed the next two year strategy for CDC.  Several resolutions were discussed at this meeting and voted upon.  The resolutions which were passed will be posted to this site shortly.

To those of you who attended, we hope you enjoyed the weekend!

To Jess, Ryan, Kendra and the entire San Diego County Democratic Party, a huge thank you from CDC for your hard work organizing and staffing the convention!  To Heather and Rosemary, thank you for your work Saturday with Credentials and to both Steve and Herb for assisting all weekend.

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