Let’s Get to Know The DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee

Here are the members of the committee that is making this huge decision on behalf of the voters. Quite a motely crew on insiders, lawyers, labor officials, and “political consultants” Some interesting pedigrees on some of these people.

Chairs Alexis Herman served in the Clinton administration as secretary of labor from 1997 to 2001, but has stayed neutral in the Democratic primary. James Roosevelt, Jr. is president and CEO of Tufts Health Plan, a Massachusetts based HMO. He is also neutral. Grandson of Franklin Delano Roosevelt Members Donna Brazile is chair of the Democratic National Committee’s Voting Rights Institute and is an adjunct professor at Georgetown University in Washington, DC. She is neutral in the Democratic primary. She was Al Gore’s 2000 Campaign Manager Mark Brewer is chairman of the Michigan Democratic Party and has not endorsed a candidate Michigan Democratic State Central Committee, Martha Fuller Clark is a member of the New Hampshire state senate who was defeated in a House race against then-incumbent John Sununu (R-N.H.). Clark backs Sen. Barack Obama Ralph Dawson is an attorney with the international law firm Fulbright and Jaworski, where he is engaged in the practice of labor and employment law and civil litigation in the firm’s New York office. Dawson has not endorsed a candidate. Uncommitted Superdelegate from New York Hartina Flournoy serves as assistant to the president of the American Federation of 202/879-4400 Carol Khare Fowler is chairwoman of the South Carolina Democratic Party and is an Obama backer.   Donald Fowler is professor of public administration and American politics at the University of South Carolina and served as national chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 1995 to 1997. He backs Clinton. Yvonne Atkinson Gates was Clark County (Nev.) Commissioner from 1993 to 2007 and is neutral in the race. Retired from the  County Commission halfway through fourth term Authorities are investigating whether former Clark County Commissioner Yvonne Atkinson Gates illegally enriched herself with political contributions by hiring relatives as campaign staffers and having them return some of their pay to her. Alice Germond has served as secretary of the Democratic National Committee since 2002 and has not backed a candidate. Alice Travis Germond was elected Secretary of the DNC in 2002 Jaime Gonzalez, Jr. is an attorney and a member of the American Association for Justice and the Texas Trial Lawyers Association. Gonzalez backs Clinton. Superdelegate Janice Griffin is president and CEO of Griffin & Associates, a government affairs consulting firm (translated lobbyist) Janice Griffin is President, Griffin and Associates, a government relations and political consulting firm.   Prior to launching Griffin and Associates in 1999, Ms. Griffin was Vice President, Government Relations for Prudential Financial. She supports Obama.     Alice Huffman is president of the California State Conference of the NAACP and is founder and president/CEO of A.C. Public Affairs, Inc., a firm that specializes in public and grass roots advocacy. Huffman backs Clinton.   Thomas Hynes is a member of the governmental relations group of Chapman and Cutler LLP, where he focuses on governmental relations, commercial law, state and local taxation and local government law. Hynes has endorsed Obama. Harold Ickes. Harold Ickes is co-chair of Meyer, Suozzi, English & Klein, P.C.’s labor and government relations groups and manages the firm’s Washington, DC office. Ickes served as deputy White House chief of staff in the Clinton administration from 1994-1997. Ickes is a senior adviser on Clinton’s campaign. Ben Johnson was an assistant to the president during the Clinton administration and backs Clinton. Elaine Kamarck is a lecturer in public policy who came to the Kennedy School in 1997 after creating and administering the National Performance Review from 1993 to 1997. The former senior aide to Vice President Al Gore is backing Clinton.   Allan Katz is a Florida superdelegate and Tallahassee city commissioner who supports Obama. Katz is the only member of rules and bylaws committee who voted against sanctioning Florida and Michigan. Eric Kleinfeld. Eric Kleinfeld is a Washington, DC attorney and Clinton supporter . He practices in the areas of federal and state election, campaign finance, ethics and lobbying laws who worked on Howard Dean’s 2004 presidential campaign. David McDonald is an attorney at K&L Gates (Shorthand for Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Preston Gates Ellis LLP (“K&L Gates”) whose practice focuses on intellectual property litigation. He also regularly advises on matters of constitutional and statutory law relating to political parties and has served as lead counsel for the Washington State Democratic Party. He has not endorsed a candidate. Mona Pasquil is Northern California co-Chair of Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) for Hillary and is former deputy political director of constituency outreach for Kerry-Edwards 2004. She is backing Clinton. She was uncomfortably close to the Asian fundraising scandals that marred the Democrats’ effort in 1996 surrounding the Buddhist Temple contribitions Mame Reiley is Democratic National Committee Women’s Caucus chair and backs Clinton. You are going to find that Mark Warner and his PAC director Mame Reiley are a lot more controversial than you think they are.  In 1999 Mame Reiley by her own admission arranged a $25,000 loan from Schering-Plough lobbyist Terry Lierman to Rep. Jim Moran. Lierman at that time was lobbying Moran for an extension of the Claritin patent. The loan had several unusual features. It was below market and had no due date. When Moran paid off the loan he paid it off at a higher rate of interest than agreed to in order to mask its having been below market. Garry Shay is chairman of the California Democratic Party Rules Committee and backs Clinton. Elizabeth Smith is a member-at-large of the Democratic National Committee from the District of Columbia. She supports Clinton. Michael Steed is managing director of Paladin Capital Group, a firm which provides equity capital to small to medium sized companies. Steed backs Clinton. Sharon Stroschein heads Sen. Tim Johnson’s (D-S.D.) office in Aberdeen, S.D. and has endorsed Obama. Sarah Swisher is first vice chairwoman of the Iowa Democratic Party and an Obama endorser. Everett Ward is a North Carolina superdelegate and Obama supporter. Jerome Wiley Segovia is a Virginia superdelegate and founder of Latinos for Dean. He has not endorsed a candidate.

 

 

Former Michigan Governor Jim Blanchard Speaks on Behalf of the Clinton Campaign

Governor Blanchard speaks on the behalf of the Clinton campaign and asks the DNC Rules and Bylaws committee to make Michigan’s results count. He states that if Barack Obama is the nominee he will campaign for him, but raises the issues of how do we honor the votes of Michigan. A bi-partisan law was enacted to create a primary on January 15th in Michigan.  He states that the candidates who took their names off the ballot voluntarily made a strategic error. He said the pledges that the candidates signed did not give campaigns a good reason to take their names off the ballot, and not all candidates took their names off the ballot.  He also stated that the uncomitted slot on the ballot gave voters a choice and their perference was registered, 50% Clinton, 40% uncommitted. He believes that that is how the votes should be allocated 

Former House Minority Whip David Bonior Takes Michigan’s Case to the DNC Rules and By-Laws Committee

David Bonior makes his case for Michigan and their exclusion on from the Democratice Committee.  Mame Reilly speaks that the integrity of the voters should be honored. Honoring the vote,  which is flawed.  Bobior respects the integrity of the vote, but the fact that Obama was not on the ballot, and believes splitting the Michigan Delegates 50-50 between Clinton and Obama

Clinton Supporter Speaks to DNC Rules and Bylaws

State Senator Arthenia Joyner (D-FL)  speaks on the Florida Challenge on behalf of the Clinton Campaign. She believes that Florida Democrats have the right to have their voices heard and their votes counted. The record breaking turnout in the Democratic Presidential Primary despite the sanctions placed on Florida by the DNC Rules and Bylaws committee. She believes that despite the sanctions, the votes of Floridians should not be discounted and dismissed. She believes that Florida’s votes should be counted, particularly in light of the 2000 vote counting fiasco in Florida.  The Republican controlled legislation supported a bill that  would create a verifiable paper trail for voting machines in Florida.  Tagged on to that bill, was an ammendment which moved Florida’s primary date from February 5 to January, making it hard for Democratic members of the legislature to vote against the bill. ‘We are missing the people” she says, in terms of the voters of Florida, and believes the 1.5 million Democrats who voted in the Florida Primary should lose their voice and votes because of the actions of the Republican controlled legislature to move the primary date.  “Florida Democrats are demanding that their votes be counted” she says, “It’s our responsibility to see that happens”.  “You (DNC) have the ability to seat the entire Florida delegation.”

Florida Continues to Make its Case Before DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee

Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL) speaks to the DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee speaks on behalf of the Florida Democratic Committee. He says he is there to give voice to the people of Florida.  He says Floridians are concerned with having their vote count, and having it vote as they intended.  He believes that the January election results should be honored. His preferred solution is to seat the entire Florida delegation, reinstating the maximum number of delegates under the rules.  Two million Democrats cast their ballots. Senator Nelson said the voters did not move the primary date, the Republican legislature did. He says Floridians in particular are sensitive to having their votes count.  He tells the stories of individual Floridians who took it upon themselves to get elected delegates, campaign for their candidates, despite being told that their votes would not count due to the penalization of Florida for moving it’s primary date. He challenges the committee not to get in the way of people who cast ballots of people, reaching an equitable solution.  The dispute about these delegates should be resolved today, says Nelson.  He says that part of what keeps people involved is the hope that this election will be different. He says he hopes that the committee will hear their voices and count their votes.

Florida Makes Its Case Before DNC Bylaws Committee

Florida Democratic National Committee member Jon Ausman makes the case for allocation of Florida’s delegation. His case seems to hedge that the superdelegates shall be seated because they are charter delegates and the rules and charter of the Democratic National Committee state that the DNC members are automatically delegates and the sanctions do not apply to charter delegates. He is arguing that all superdelegates should be seated as full delegates. The rule of 50% of pledged delegates seems to be acceptable to Florida. Mr. Ausman argues says there is no rule in the charter of the Democratic Party that says the superdelegates can be diminished in size or role of at the convention. The committee is now questioning Mr. Ausman. Don Fowler, former DNC chairman Don Fowler disagrees with Mr. Ausman, saying superdelegates have the same perogative and power that elected delegates have, no more, no less.

DNC Committee on Rules and Bylaws Meets in Washington – It’s On

The Rules and Bylaws committee meeting has commenced in Washington to decide the Florida and Michigan delegates. Howard Dean, James Roosevelt, and Alexis Herman are addresssing the committee before discussion begins.  It’s live on CSPAN.  http://www.cspan.org/watch/cs_cspan_wm.asp?Cat=TV&Code=CS

The Florida challenge to the committee is being discussed first.