We Miami-Dade Democrats are electing new officers to four-year terms.
- When: Wednesday Dec. 3, 6 p.m. for sign-in, 7 p.m. to start.
- Bring a photo ID, especially if you're a newly elected member.
- Where: Miami Association of Firefighters Local 587, 2980 NW South River Drive in Miami
- Google Maps link: 2980 nw s river drive miami fl - Google Search
- What: Elect officers of our Democratic Executive Committee, the Miami-Dade party leadership.
Several offices have more than two people planning to run, so there may be runoffs. Be prepared for a long and lively night with your Democratic friends.
Here are the positions and candidates as known to this blog Monday afternoon:
For Chair:
--BJ Chiszar
--Eric Copeland
--Dave Patlak
For First Vice Chair
--Daisy Black
--Bess McElroy
For State Committeeman
--Bret Berlin
--Brad Brown
--Dr. Thomas Pinder
For State Committeewoman
--Ann-Lynn Denker
--Verna Lewis Edington
--Teresa Gevalda
--Millie Herrera
Secretary
--Charlotte Klieman
--Fanny Olmo
Treasurer
--Paul BartholeFor Program Vice Chair
--Elizabeth Collins
For Outreach Vice Chair
--Henry Crespo Sr.
A resource for the rules: The Bylaws, on MiamiDadeDemocrats.com.
This may be risky but I’m going to suggest also that candidates can post platform info by adding a comment to this blog post.
3 comments:
This is Millie Herrera, candidate for DEC State Committeewoman. I have been a member of the Miami-Dade DEC since 1995, president of the Democratic Hispanic Caucus of Florida since 2000, and a delegate to the 2000, 2004 and 2008 DNC Conventions. I have established relationships with many of the other county DEC members and officers, and will work to bring more resources to Miami-Dade County for voter registration, grassroots organizing and candidates. I will also work to fill more precinct committeeman and women positions so we can build a stronger Miami-Dade DEC to keep Florida Blue in all future elections. If you have any questions, please contact me at 305-972-4162.
Millie Herrera
On November 4th, change won. It was our efforts that made this possible. We made history because ordinary people registered voters, made phone-calls, canvassed, hosted house parties, and signed up to be a part of a Neighborhood Team. But even with all our efforts, change did not come to us here at home. Miami-Dade went overwhelmingly for Obama, but we lost all three congressional races, some state house seats, and Amendment 2 passed. I’m running for Chair of the Miami-Dade DEC because I believe it is time for a change; it is time we focused on grassroots activism and community organizing; it is time we started winning local elections and stopped the GOP’s dominance over absentee ballots; it is time we win back the State legislature and stop them from gerrymandering our districts.
As a retired Commissioned Officer with 24-years active military duty in the United States Coast Guard, I served as 10th District Commander of the American Legion. I am also a life member of the Disabled American Veterans. I volunteer with the Miami VA Hospital Jewish Chaplain. In 2006, I ran for U. S. Representative in the 18th Congressional District against Ileana Ros-Lehtinen. We raised over $100,000 for that campaign, but lost. I worked at Best Buddies, a non-profit that helps people with intellectual disabilities. In June, I left to devote myself full-time to the Obama campaign. From 2007-2008, I raised over $100,000 for Obama. My wife, Maryanne, was elected Congressional District 18 Obama Delegate, and we attended the Denver Democratic National Convention. Our 2 children and 7 grandkids live in Lexington, Kentucky.
During the campaign, I signed up to be a Neighborhood Team Leader. We registered thousands of new voters at citizenship ceremonies, on buses and whole families in parks and on the beach. I championed absentee voting and drafted our county slate card. I coordinated Early Vote events in Miami Beach and headed the October 27th Early Vote March. On Nov. 4th, we delivered 70% of the vote to Obama on Miami Beach including my home precinct #48, where I am DEC Committeeman.
The Obama campaign recruited, activated, and inspired thousands of new democratic activists. We need to keep this momentum going. With renewed Obama energy, I will work even harder to strengthen the Democratic Executive Committee. My vision is to build a vibrant grassroots Democratic Party for the long term that actively fundraises, promotes, recruits, and elects Democrats for offices up and down our ticket. As DEC Chair, I would implement the following strategies:
• Organizing: grow our grassroots club/caucus system by involving existing Obama Neighborhood Teams.
• Activism: implement our aggressive absentee ballot program and continue voter registration to expand democratic margins.
• Fundraising: use and grow the Obama grassroots donor base, and tap into our big donors through surrogate events.
• Listening: seek views from focus groups and develop our message to the specific needs and issues in Miami-Dade.
• Technology: link social networks like Facebook and MyBarackObama to organize, recruit, and coordinate events.
• Winning: activate clubs/caucuses and neighborhood teams to campaign for Democratic candidates up and down our ticket.
I’ve been with Obama from the start because I believe we need a change in this country. But “change doesn’t come from the top down, it comes from the bottom up.” It begins with us. It begins with you.
I bring Obama energy, Obama campaign experience and Obama organizing and fundraising to serve as your DEC Chair. I ask for your vote at the DEC Organizational Meeting at 6:00 pm, Wednesday, December 3rd, 2008 in the Firefighters Union Hall, 2980 NW South River Drive, Miami.
• DEC Outreach Vice Chair ’04-‘08
• Miami Beach Dem Club President
• Camp Obama Graduate June 2007
• Obama Volunteer Organizer ’07-‘08
• Obama Neighborhood Team Leader
• Obama Finance Team ($100K+)
Democratically yours,
Dave Patlak
Candidate for Chair
Democratic Executive Committee
Paid political advertising for and approved by Dave Patlak for DEC Chair
Email from Brad Brown:
To: Democratic Precinct Committee Persons
From: Brad Brown, Committeeman Precinct 813
Subject: Florida: State Committeeman
I respectfully ask your consideration of my candidacy for State Committeeman from Miami-Dade. I want to bring the spirit and thoroughness of the Barack Obama campaign to our Party’s efforts in Florida. I believe this important, because while our state and National Democratic representatives are of overall outstanding quality their numbers are too few to lift our state from it close to bottom position in critical areas such as education.
I began volunteering for the Obama Campaign in 2007 and in the 2008 primary season worked as a volunteer in New Hampshire, South Carolina, Texas, Pennsylvania and North Carolina. During the Presidential campaign in Florida I was a Team Captain. I was inspired to run for Precinct committeeman by an e-mail from the campaign. I am retired from a career with the Federal Government, coming to Miami in 1984. These positions restricted my ability to be active in partisan politics but my positions for most of my career (ending as a member of the Senior Executive Service and as Southeast Regional Director for NOAA Fisheries) placed me at the interface with Federal and State elected and appointed political officials, because of the intense concern about issues such as the science behind fisheries regulations and the restoration of the Everglades ecosystem. I had staff located around the coast of Florida and supervised two laboratories within Florida in Miami and Panama City. It also gave me extensive experience throughout the Caribbean Basin, an area from which much of Miami-Dade population originates.
I have a long history of involvement in the civic arena in areas that interface with the political process. I have held numerous leadership positions in the NAACP including being elected President of the Miami-Dade Branch. I am currently First Vice President and Chair of the Political Action Committee. I have been involved in working for the passage of legislation and in voter registration, voter education and get out the vote campaigns. I have managed a number of these campaigns. I have also been active with the NAACP at the State level.
Other relevant experiences include serving on the Miami-Dade Community Relations Board where I am still involved as a Past Chair. I have been appointed to Advisory Committees to the U.S. Civil Rights Commission in three states and as Chair in both Massachusetts and Florida. The latter making me well aware of conditions throughout the state.
I believe my skills and experience will serve Miami-Dade well as your State Committeeman and allow me to help bring the Obama campaign edge EXCITEMENT, ENTHUSIASIM AND EXPERTISE to our efforts in Florida
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