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5th District Democratic Convention
April 26, 2008 • Mid America Center • Council Bluffs, IA

Delegates, alternates, and youth delegates elected at their county conventions in March will come to Council Bluffs to the Mid America Center to conduct party business. Candidates will speak and platform issues will be debated. We will also elect delegates to the national convention, and to serve on the Iowa Democratic Party central committee.

The site for this year’s convention is the MidAmerica Center, commonly called the MAC.  It’s a wonderful facility that we will be sharing on April 26 with several other organizations, so there will be a lot of movement and activity all around us that day.  MAC rules prevent us from placing signs around the building or in shared hallways inside the facility.  Please see a member of the Arrangements committee on Convention Day if you need to hang signs in the Hall we will be using, or for the location of assigned tables for candidates. You will be able to enter the facility at 7 a.m. to hang signs--they may only be hung with blue painters’ tape.  

ENTER THE MAC THROUGH DOORS MARKED “CONVENTION CENTER” ON THE SOUTHEAST CORNER OF THE FACILITY.

Registration of Delegates and Designated Alternates will begin at 8 a.m. and proceed until 9 a.m. when the Convention will open.  Registration of late-arriving delegates will continue until 10 a.m.; at that time, open seats will begin to be assigned to Alternates. 

In addition to our main Convention Hall (Room A) we will be using Rooms H, I and J as a waiting area for Alternates and for small group break-out rooms.  Morning coffee will be available in the break-out rooms, and snacks and lunch will be handled through the concession stand at the MAC. 

The official "Call to Convention" is posted below for you to print.

OR

Printed Copies of the Call to Convention will be available
when you register the morning of the convention in Council Bluffs.

Documents You Can Download and Print
All Documents are in PDF Format, Ready For You to Print

 

April 25, 7 to 9 PM

Holiday Inn
2202 River Road
Council Bluffs, IA

Pre-Convention Reception

Delegates, alternate delegates and candidates are welcomed to attend a pre-caucus reception, put on by the Pottawattamie County Democrats and the 5th District Convention committee. Cash bar will be available.

 

Notes from 5th District Chair, Dave Neas:

We had a productive and efficient series of meetings on Saturday, March 29, to plan our Fifth District Convention.  Here are the major developments and decisions: 

1.     The roster of Convention Officers was confirmed and completed.  Here are the officers:

Convention Temporary Chair:  Ryan Sewell

Parliamentarian:  Dan McGinn

Sergeant at Arms:  Les Lewis lewisl515@yahoo.com

Convention Temporary Secretary:  Jody Ewing jody@jodyewing.com.  Assistants arranged to help Jody: Brianna Schwenk and Megan Arellano

Arrangements Co-Chairs:  Susan Slauson sijs11@cox.net  and Bonnie Leiserowitz bonnil@cox.net

Credentials Chair:  Monica McCarthy monicadem@iowatelecom.net

Rules, Nominations:  Bill Biede YANKEESFAN47@COX.NET

Platform:  Al Wegman alwegman@hotmail.com

2.      Wireless Internet IS available at our venue. 

3.       Voting for Delegates from the Preference Groups and on other contested matters will be done this year by voting machine, subject to our determining the cost.  The state party will assist us in obtaining a scanner and have piloted the system to be used at the Polk County Convention, where it performed admirably in counting votes for a convention of 1200 people.  A state party staffer trained on the scanner will be at our convention to run it; the system does provide paper ballots and a paper trail that is auditable, and there will be a PowerPoint to show the delegates exactly how to cast their votes to prevent ballot spoilage. 

4.       Bill Biede of the Rules/Nominations Committee is working on obtaining a Keynote Speaker, who will be scheduled right after lunch. 

5.       The Rules/Nominations Committee is working on time limits for Presidential Surrogates and other candidates.  The rule will appear in the Convention Call. 

6.       The Arrangements Committee is working on reasonable signage limits for the convention hall.  The criteria will be fairness, compliance with the restrictions imposed by the Mid-America Center, and ease in cleanup after the convention. 

7.       Credentials will have specific rules for seating alternates.  All Delegates who are unable to attend should make every effort to contact an Alternate and provide him or her with the appropriate credential designating the alternate to sit in the delegate’s place.  All alternates must be in the same preference group as the delegate they are replacing. 

8.       ONLY DELEGATES will be permitted on the area designated as the “Floor Area.”  Observers, unseated alternates, and Press will have access to the hall for reasonable observation of the convention business but may not enter the floor area reserved for delegates. 

9.       The CONVENTION CALL will be sent to delegates and alternates electronically this year, by vote of the Arrangements Committee.  The electronic call will comply with the provisions for electronic distribution contained in Article XII, Section 9 of the Party Constitution.  Specifically, the following safeguards and alternatives will be provided: 

a.       A separate paper credential with an Alternate Designation Form and instructions for receiving a paper call will be mailed no later than 14 days prior to the start of the convention.

b.      The electronic booklet will be published in a platform-neutral format and be easily available for public download.  The credentials document will contain instructions fro downloading the booklet.

c.       The electronic booklet is NOT a credential or alternate designation document.  Possession of a convention booklet without the alternate designation document is NOT evidence that the possessor has been elected a delegate.

d.      Any delegate requesting a paper copy must be furnished such a copy no later than 7 days prior to the convention.  No charge will be imposed for a paper copy.  The credentials document must contain information on how to obtain a paper copy and the responsible party to contact to get a paper copy of the convention call.

10.  The PLATFORM COMMITTEE had reports for 16 of the 32 counties.  We made substantial efforts this year to get all platform reports from the counties.  Eighteen people attended the initial platform committee and assisted in the work of that committee, reports Platform Chair Al Wegman.

A big thank you to everyone who participated, and to the Pottawattamie County folks who provided the venue and were such good hosts.

Dave Neas
District Chair

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