Can Sharon Quirk-Silva hang onto the 65th A.D. in 2014?
The Democratic Party of Orange County (DPOC) is hosting a full day of Leadership Training on Saturday, June 22, 2013, from 10 am to 5 pm, at the Carpenters Union Hall located at 1918 W Chapman Ave, in Orange.
This comes at a depressing time for the blue party as their leader, President Barack Obama, has been awash in one scandal after another and his administration has turned into a massive threat to our civil liberties.
The DPOC has some real soul-searching to do. They didn’t challenge Orange County Supervisor Janet Nguyen, a Republican, last year so she was easily re-elected. Now she is the OC GOP’s major challenger for the 34th State Senate seat that is being vacated by termed out State Senator Lou Correa.
Why didn’t the Democrats challenge Nguyen last year? Because they were busy running against each other for the 69th Assembly District – that race was a bloodbath with three Democrats, including Tom Daly, Santa Ana Councilwoman Michele Martinez and labor leader Julio Perez. Daly won in the end but Perez and Martinez blew a small fortune. Either one should have run against Nguyen instead.
The DPOC did pick up the 65th Assembly District seat last year that went to Sharon Quirk-Silva, and they hung onto the 47th Congressional District, with Alan Lowenthal. But they were not competitive in the 72nd Assembly District and Irvine’s Sukhee Kang got creamed by John Campbell over in the 45th Congressional District.
The challenge for the DPOC in 2014 will be hanging onto the 65th Assembly District while trying to pick up the 34th State Senate District. And you can bet that Daly will face challengers from the left and the right so the 69th Assembly District could be in play again.
The DPOC also saw blue candidates blow a ton of money in Santa Ana, where Councilman David Benavides made a big mistake by challenging Mayor Miguel Pulido. The race was never in doubt as Pulido soundly thrashed Benavides, just as he beat fellow Democrat Alfredo Amezcua in 2010. But both Benavides and Amezcua wasted thousands of dollars that could have been used to help other Democratic candidates.
As for the leadership training, it will consist of a variety of political workshops intended for club/party leaders and activists who want to advance their leadership roles in the Democratic Party or are just getting started in politics!
Tentative Schedule:
— The California Democratic Party Structure
To get involved with the party and rise through the ranks, you need to know the structure and the roles of the various arms of the party. Learn about the state officers, committees, caucus’, clubs, county DCCs, regions, etc.. You will also learn how you can best help out the Orange County Democratic Party
— How to Run a Meeting: Robert’s Rules
Whether you are a club president, member, activist or a candidate, you should know the basics of parliamentary procedures. Most organizations, profit and non-profit, political or non-political, abide by these rules whether it’s a local club, state party, or a city council meeting.
— Fundraising Fundamentals and Guidelines
What are the donation limits? Who do I contact? Why do people donate? And many other questions answered. This workshop is a must for all activists and candidates.
— Club Finances: How to Stay Out of Jail
Learn the does & don’ts of political finances. Club leaders, treasurers, members, candidates should all have a fundamental idea of political finances.
— Increasing and Keeping Your Membership
Now that you have your club or organization put together, how to go about finding members & volunteers, and more importantly, how do you motivate and hang on to them? Learn the strategies and tools used to help grow your organization.
— Using MOE
Learn how to use the Democratic Party’s voter database system to increase membership and target voters for outreach and organizing.
— Effective Use of Media
Learn the ins and outs of communications. Develop relationships with newspapers and other publications. Earned media, paid media, press releases and other topics related to publicizing your organization or your candidate.
This GRASS ROOTS politics training. It how the Tea Party began. Watch for the blowback when the “Tom Daly’s of the world begin to be challenged by the Alex Flores of the world begin to question the “old guard”. Never mind, he can’t vote, has an AA degree and is poorly spoken, they (the DPOC) are on a mission to capitialize on undereducated US born children coming to the polls near you soon (well maybe).