Local Democrats  were fortunate that the California Democratic Convention was held in the nearby city of San Jose at the Convention Center. It was an exciting time and we were able to hear from many of our elected Democratic legislators as well as party leaders.

I especially enjoyed the address from Speaker-Emeritus Willie Brown, Jr. His speech highlighted the progress the Democratic Party has made through Presidential campaigns over the years. He stressed how important it is that our party has invited full participation and increasing inclusion of all members of our society. I found his words to be enlightening and it made me proud to be not only a Democrat, but a California Democrat. (Brown’s speech is on the last half of this video clip, which contains other speeches as well, including SF Mayor Newsom's.  http://tinyurl.com/5tw6mz)
 
For other CDP Convention speeches and workshops, go www.cadem.org  and click on “Video Links” under State Convention on the left side of the page.

April 13th brought the opportunity to participate in the Presidential Delegate Selection Caucuses for both the Clinton and Obama Delegates. The results for our 13th Congressional District were very exciting for our club. Two TCDF members will be going to the Democratic National Convention in August, Jan Giovannini Hill, as a Clinton Alternate, and Toni Shellen, as an Obama Delegate. We appreciate the support of our Democratic friends who helped elect us! We promise to wear big hats to the convention and wave wildly to our friends back home. For complete results of these elections, see:   www.cadem.org   Clinton Caucus ResultsObama Caucus Results

Statewide more than 23,000 Democrats showed up on that Sunday afternoon as 2,500 candidates tried for the 241 available slots. Democrats can be hopeful and proud that there is such a high level of interest and participation in this Presidential race.

As exciting as this race is, I know that we can become frustrated when we see the Republican nominee, John McCain (“McBush”) out there already campaigning for the General Election, while we still await our official Democratic nominee. Patience is certainly not one of my virtues, but more experienced voices at the CDP Convention reminded us that we have to let the system work. We will have our nominee. Then we will make history.