"What qualifies you, in terms of your organizing work, to represent progressive values on the E-Board? or Why should progressives on the CDP E-Board vote for you as a DNC delegate?"
I became involved in Democratic Party politics before I was old enough to vote when,
as a high school senior in 1972, I supported George McGovern in his campaign for the
Presidency. Ever since, I have devoted most of my spare time to helping elect
Democrats to public office and ensuring a fair and open Democratic Party. I have
served at all levels of the Democratic Party. I have served as President of the
Stonewall Democratic Club in Los Angeles and Chair of the Los Angeles County
Democratic Party. I am currently serving as a member of the Rules Committee of the
DNC; Lead Chair, Rules Committee of the California Democratic Party and
Parliamentarian of the Los Angeles County Democratic Party.
My primary involvement and passion within the Party has been from a rules
perspective. This is because it has always been my conviction that the best and only
way to ensure grass-roots participation in the Party is through its Rules and
Bylaws. Party structure can either serve to expand or contract participation. I
believe in ensuring the fullest and most diverse participation possible.
We will be electing nineteen (19) members of the DNC at our Executive Board Meeting
during the weekend of June 13, through June 15, 2008, in San Francisco. In the past,
Presidential Campaigns simply decreed who our representatives would be. It was not
until I authored the current bylaw provision on election of DNC members that the
Executive Board has been given full and complete control over the election of DNC
members. This is but one example of my commitment to assuring the fullest possible
participation of Party members in Party affairs.
I believe I have served you and the California Democratic Party well over the last
sixteen years as a DNC member. In that time I have attended every meeting of the DNC
and of the Western States Conference of the DNC.
During my first term I was appointed to the Rules Committee of the DNC, and I was
re-appointed after my re-election in 1996, 2000, and 2004. I am the longest serving
Californian on the Rules Committee.
The following is a list of some of my accomplishments and activities:
1. Serving as a member of the Rules Committee of the Democratic National Committee I
was able to:
A. Expand the Delegate Selection Rules to provide for inclusion of Persons with
Disabilities, Youth, Senior, and LGBT Communities among those who must be addressed
in State Outreach Programs and who must be given priority of consideration for
At-large Delegate seats in order to increase their participation to levels
commensurate with their presence in the Democratic Electorate,
B. Bring about at least a four fold increase in the number of States and Territories
that have goals for their State Delegations to the Democratic National Convention
for the LGBT Community, increasing them from 16 in 2004 to 50 in 2008; and bring
about a five fold increase in the number States with goals for their State
Delegations to the Democratic National Convention for the Persons with Disabilities
Community increasing them from 7 in 2004 to 34 in 2008.
C. Help form the Gay and Lesbian Caucus of the DNC along with current California
delegation members Rachel Binah, Alice Huffman, Hon. Carol Migden, Keith Umemoto and
Roz Wyman, who were particularly helpful in making this caucus a reality. [NOTE:
There were many people involved in this process. These are the current California
members who had direct, hands on, involvement, spoke out in favor of the creation of
the caucus, and/or helped to eliminate opposition.],
D. At the direction of the Executive Board of the California Democratic Party,
eliminate the phrase "philosophical persuasion" from the list of categories subject
to non-discrimination in the Charter of the Democratic Party of the United States.
2. Editing, along with Mary Ellen Early, the "California DNC Press", our
delegation's newsletter on events occurring at the Democratic National Committee and
its various meetings. I have written an article for nearly every newsletter since I
was elected to the DNC in 1992. Most recently, I have been writing on the activities
of the National Rules Committee, helping to keep everyone informed on the various
rules changes,
3. Along with other members of the delegation, helping to bring the 2000 Convention to Los Angeles,
4. Fighting to insure that the California Primary could be used to determine
national convention delegate distribution after Proposition 198 converted our state
primary to an "open primary" system, and
5. Testifying against Proposition 198 (Open Primary) in Federal District Court,
which was eventually overturned.
6. Keeping our own CDP Bylaws in compliance with National Rules.
7. I have shown a commitment to the grassroots of our party in Party affairs:
A. As CDP Rules Committee Lead Chair, I authored the current system of electing
California’s members of the DNC by way of Executive Board vote, thus keeping control
of the election of the DNC members "localized" as opposed to the former system of
election by the National Convention Delegation, which in reality vested control of
the delegation in the hands of the Presidential Candidates’ Steering Committees.
B. I have supported a proposal to expand the state elected membership of the DNC to
help balance out the numerous elected officials and direct appointments that have
been added over the last several years.
C. I have repeatedly pledged to abide by any direction the CDP Executive Board may
give its delegation members and have carried out that pledge when called upon to do
so.
D. I founded and publish Garry’s DemocraticNewsGroup on Yahoo!Groups, located at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DemocraticNewsGroup/, my list-serve "Newsletter",
containing news stories on a multitude of subjects, information about the Democratic
Party, current events, and other topics from computer tips to the rare piece of
humor I find interesting. My postings reach many thousands of people.
I believe these activities illustrate my commitment to serving the California
Democratic Party and keeping you informed of the activities of the Democratic
National Committee. Because of commitments like this, and our delegation members’
involvement and desire to work together to achieve what is best for California and
the Nation, we have one of the best delegations to the DNC.
.
Local Democratic Clubs:
Stonewall Democratic Club – Currently serving as Parliamentarian. Positions
previously held: President, Administrative Vice-President, Budget and Finance Chair,
Bylaws Committee Chair, Membership Chair, and Newsletter Chair,
Action Democrats (winner of its 2006 Distinguished Achievement Award)
West Hollywood Democratic Club
Los Angeles County Democratic Party:
In l973 I was appointed as an alternate to the Los Angeles County Democratic Central
Committee and won election in my own right in 1974. I have served continuously since
then. The LACDCC has twice elected me to serve as its Vice-Chair. Seven different
Chairs of the LACDCC have appointed me to serve either as Chair of the Committee's
Rules Committee, its Parliamentarian, or both. I have also been elected as a
Regional Vice-President and have been selected by my then local delegation as
"Democrat of the Year." I was elected as Chair in July of 1996 and re-elected in
1998. I am currently serving as its Parliamentarian.
California Democratic Party:
I have been a member of the Democratic State Central Committee and its Executive
Board since 1978. State Party Chairs O'Neil, Kelly, Smith, Pelosi, Brown, Angelides,
Press, and Torres have all appointed me to serve either as a Co-Chair of the State
Party Rules Committee, or as one of its members. I have been a member of that
committee continuously since 1979, having the longest tenure of any of the
Committee's members.
I authored the delegate selection procedures for the 1982 National Mid-term Convention.
After the CDP won the right to make Pre-primary endorsements, State Party Chair
Betty Smith appointed me to Chair the Rules Revision Task Force to develop a
proposal for By-law amendments regarding endorsements. This Task Force reported its
recommendations to the Rules Committee. Most of these were eventually adopted by the
Executive Board.
I authored the bylaw which ensured that the State Party Executive Board would have
the power to elect the California Delegation to the DNC and that they would not be
appointed by the Presidential Campaigns, as they had been in the past.
I have presided over three major periods of review and revision of the CDP Bylaws
necessitated by changes in the law, with nearly all recommendations being accepted.
I have also served as Parliamentarian of the Lesbian and Gay Caucus of the Party and
am a member of the Progressive Caucus.
I was appointed by Art Torres to serve as a Deputy Chair of the Party.
National Democratic Party:
On the National level, I have been an alternate to the 1980 Democratic National
Convention and a delegate to the 1982 National Mid-term Convention as well as the
1992, 1996, 2000 and 2004 National Conventions.
After having been appointed by State Party Chair Dick O'Neil as a temporary member
of the Rules Committee of the 1980 Democratic National Convention, I co-authored the
National Party's sexual orientation non-discrimination clause. At the 1982 Mid-Term
Conference, I authored the Platform Planks on sexual orientation non-discrimination.
The 1984, 1988, and 1992 State Party Executive Boards have each elected me to serve
as one of California's representatives on the Rules Committee of the National
Convention.
As a result of my efforts, the National Party amended its Delegate Selection Rules
so as to adopt outreach programs for Persons With Disabilities and the LGBT
Community in 2002 for the 2004 Convention and Inclusion Programs in 2006 for the
2008 Convention which call for achievement of full participation of these groups
based upon their presence in the Democratic Electorate. As a result, 50 of the 56
States and Territories now have goals for LGBT delegates; previously, this was only
true of 16 jurisdictions.
The State Party Executive Board has elected me four times to serve as one of
California's representatives to the Democratic National Committee.
I am currently serving as a member of the Rules Committee of the Democratic National
Committee.
Professional and Governmental:
I am an attorney by profession. I graduated from Southwestern University School of
Law in 1980 and have been a practicing attorney for the last twenty-seven years. I
am currently an Associate at the Law Firm of Chernow and Lieb, practicing Workers'
Compensation law.
I have been involved in local government as well. I served on the West Hollywood
Transportation Commission for over ten years, often as either Chair or Vice-Chair.
LAUSD School Board member Caprice Young appointed me to serve on a Commission of the
LAUSD for Gay and Lesbian Youth.
I would like an opportunity to serve you again in this regard. If re-elected, I
promise that I will strive to represent your issues and make your concerns heard on
the DNC. I pledge to follow any instructions which the Executive Board might give to
its delegation. I hope that I can count on your support for re-election to the
Democratic National Committee.
