Dan Wood: The Eponymous Weblog

Yesterday was the first day of the 2005 California Democratic Convention, and as hoped, I am able to blog a bit, in an attempt to share the experience with readers who, like myself only a few months ago, are hardly aware of such an event like this taking place.

The entire convention goes from Friday mid-afternoon until Sunday afternoon at a breakneck pace. Getting there, I wasn't sure what kinds of activities I would be able to participate in. (In spite of a schedule being made available, what were all these things listed?) Fortunately, my direction was set almost on arrival, when I found out from fellow delegate John Kang that one of the resolutions that I had written [A resolution is a single page set of "whereas" and "be it resolved" statements that express a set of principles] was going to be discussed in the Resolutions Committee, and as the author, I should be on hand to discuss and defend what I wrote.

The Resolutions Committee was packed, both with committee members and (for lack of a better term) audience members. Fortunately, my resolution (which encouraged the party to appropriately frame issues in terms of our values, rather than using the "right wing" language constantly dominating the media; see Rockridge Institute or FrameShop for details) was not passed there due to really being a matter of "organizational development" so it will be heard by a different group. So not bad for my first try.

Another resolution I wrote concerning equal rights of marriage, which I learned had been passed around and then co-submitted by seven other Democratic Clubs and Assembly District committees around the state, was marked as being an "affirmation" — essentially, redundant so no need to pass it. So no big deal.

I was able to cut out of that committe (which lasted hours and hours more; many of the resolutions written by our local group passed!) and go to the "Computers & Internet" caucus meeting. Not that interesting, though there were some presentations for entries to a contest sponsored by Gubernatorial candidate Steve Westly. The first two systems presented for gathering volunteers and keeping track of events looked somewhat interesting; the third presentation seemed just a little suspect, especially when the presenter prounced "blogs" as "B-logs"! Westly himself dropped in and gave a stump speech that did not impress me much, and I managed to ask a hard question about how would he unite California's "red" and "blue" counties ... with not much of a satisfactory answer.

After dinner at a nearby restaurant with some folks from back home (walking past the stadium where an LA Lakers game was getting underway), the convention center had a dozen or so hospitality suites, sponsored by various candidates for state office and other groups like SEIU and a teachers' organization. This part was pretty cheesy, I thought. Still, it was just a chance to walk around and talk to people. (To me, that's what differentiates a conference from a convention: A conference can work for you if you are totally pasive; a convention is nothing if you don't network.) I ran into a lot of people that I got to know last year from my political activites; it's heartening to see how many new people have gotten involved into taking this political party to a better place — I heard that 30-35% of the delegates here are new to this.

Mostly it's a lot of fun, and I'm learning a lot ... some good news and some bad. The most annoying thing is the followers or crackpot Lyndon LaRouche (No, I'm not providing a link!), hanging around like mosquitoes at twilight.

Saturday will be the main day of the convention. I expect total exhaustion by the end of the day!