Quiet vote pleases most; some miss caucus flair

Sam Morris

Democrats vote during the Clark County Democratic Party re-do convention Saturday at the Thomas & Mack Center.

Sunday, April 13, 2008 | 2 a.m.

Morning Among Delegates

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At 8 a.m. on April 12, 2008, voting booths opened to elect delegates to the Democratic State Convention. Some 7,300 Clark County Democrats were registered to participate. And, on this do-over county convention day, everything went smoothly - the final results showed 3,442 votes for Sen. Hillary Clinton (54 percent) and 2,900 votes for Sen. Barack Obama (46 percent). But some Democrats found themselves excluded from the process, either from voting or from being heard. (See related story.)

Nevada Democratic Party

It was a quick in and out with minimal chaos. You didn’t even have to talk to your neighbors. And it ended up not really changing anything.

Stripped of the messy parts that marked its January caucus and February’s failed Clark County convention, Saturday’s Democratic Party do-over went smoothly by most accounts.

The final results showed 3,442 votes for Sen. Hillary Clinton (54 percent) and 2,900 votes for Sen. Barack Obama (46 percent).

The candidates’ relative showing, which closely matched January’s caucus results — when Clinton outpolled Obama 4,023 to 3,245 — will result in Clark County Democrats sending 1,330 Clinton delegates and 1,133 Obama delegates to the state party convention, where Nevada’s delegation to this summer’s Democratic National Convention in Denver will be selected.

Saturday’s event had some delegates pining for a simpler primary process, instead of the more complicated, interactive caucus.

“This is so much better,” said Florence Desherlia, a Clinton delegate. “It was fast, it was easy — not crowded. It should always be like this.”

Saturday’s balloting, necessary because February’s scheduled convention ended without a vote, played out like a normal election, with delegates who had been picked by the respective campaigns at January’s caucus walking into the Thomas & Mack Center concourse from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., registering and then voting anonymously using Clark County voting machines.

After the final delegate had cast her ballot about 7:15 p.m., John Hunt, Clark County’s Democratic Party chairman, led a group of volunteers in a round of applause for the mostly uneventful day.

“Elvis has left the building,” Hunt said.

Any glitches Saturday were relatively minor, largely confined to people who said they should have been allowed to vote — some with paperwork to prove it — but were turned away. Most, though, were pleased with the process, especially compared with February’s inconclusive mess.

Party officials acknowledged that the blissfully boring day for most showed the benefit of a straightforward voting system such as that used in a primary. But they said the caucus also had benefits.

“There are advantages and disadvantages to the caucus,” said Kirsten Searer, the state party’s deputy executive director.

The day of the caucus, the party registered 30,000 voters. The party and campaigns also actively recruited volunteers in each of the state’s precincts, building an infrastructure of supporters who could be tapped in the future.

Mike Warzlow, a delegate for Obama, said Clark County has outgrown the complicated caucus process, which is required by state law.

“This is what we should be doing,” he said as he marveled at the orderly process of registering to vote, compared with February’s event. “Clark County has gotten too big for the caucus process.”

Many, though, appreciate the dialogue, energy and enthusiasm that a caucus generates.

Most delegates conceded that February’s convention was poorly run, but many said they missed the speeches and enthusiasm found at the caucus and the first county convention.

“This was easy and convenient, but I love the caucus,” said Sam Detoomer, an Obama supporter. “I like the pomp. I like the yelling. This is just a basic election.”

Ruth Quigley, a Clinton supporter, acknowledged that Saturday’s event — a compromise worked out between the Obama and Clinton campaigns, the state party and the county party — was probably the best possibility after February’s event. But she said: “I miss the camaraderie of the convention, the atmosphere, the conversation. This was very clinical.”

Greg Esposito, a member of the Clark County Democratic Party’s executive committee, said the caucus has helped build and strengthen the Democratic Party. As to how it had unfolded, he admitted: “Simplicity? No.”

Stephanie Lawrence, a Clinton delegate, said the state should shift to a primary system even if it means that state tax money pays for the parties’ primaries.

The caucus and the last convention “were an absolute debacle,” she said. “This is infinitely more effective.”

Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley, D-Las Vegas, said she’s willing to listen to both sides of the argument. But she pointed out that with the state ordering budget cuts, there is unlikely to be any extra money — or interest in committing it to partisan events.

Even if a primary replaced the caucus, there still would be a need for a county convention and a state convention.

But many caucus precinct sites failed in January to pick a delegate, creating at least some of the confusion at February’s convention, as campaigns tried to fill the room with their supporters to improve on the previous month’s performance.

Many others blamed poor planning for missteps at the caucus sites and at Clark County’s first convention attempt.

Searer said the most important thing is preserving the state’s early slot in the presidential nomination process, which this year earned Nevada an unprecedented amount of attention from the Democratic candidates and the national media.

Discussion: 3 comments so far…

By Jgeremia

4/13/08 at 10:48 a.m.

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I find it questionable that William Stanley (Convention Chairman) and Dwayne Chesnut (County Chair) are both Hillary delegates. They ruined the real county convention and then set it up so we could not address our fellow delegates at the Thomas and Mack center. I believe it was an attempt to slow the momentum Obama had. They also gave the wrong address for the first Platform committee meeting and when I showed up the room had nothing but Hillary supporters and a poster on wall for Hillary!
By Johnathan_Abbinett

4/13/08 at 12:27 p.m.

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"Jgeremia" errs in stating that Dwayne Chestnut is the County Chair - he's one of the may Clark County Vice-Presidents on our Executive Board - it would help greatly if everyone would do a due diligence and get the facts straight before they start maligning a person's character and talking trash and spreading rumours founded in fiction!

We have thousands of new people that simply do not know how the American political system works, let alone how it is supposed to be conducted under Nevada law - so, we have a massive challenge ahead of us in educating so many newbies - that's a wonderful problem to have to resolve!

The fact of matter is the NSDP (Nevada STATE Democratic Party) is over all 17 COUNTY Parties - and for too long the NSDP has been under-funded, under-staffed and under-supported by a small core of volunteers. The Democrats, that is to say the everyday people, need to step up and start doing their part to build teams in THEIR Precincts, State Senate and Assembly Districts and Congressional Districts - we must stop this dysfunctional co-dependent attitude and unrealistically expecting someone else to do our civic duty! There's a lot more to politics than just voting. Only well informed people are able to vote intelligently, and use their time wisely to volunteer and work smart, first, and hard second - that's the paradigm shift we all need to make to take back our government, elect progressive candidates and win on our issues!

The January 19th Caucus, run by the DNC and the STATE Party (NOT the COUNTY Parties) got unfairly blamed with some 30% of Precincts NOT selecting delegates and completing their agenda responsibilities - and they were only partly at fault - the greater fault fell on the people in THEIR own Precincts not stepping up and doing their duty - it was NOT just the fault of our State Staff - and it was no fault of our County leaders like John Hunt, or Bill Stanley!

We need over a thousand people to step up, get oriented and trained to be competent Precinct Captains - and, hopefully,

Guys like John Hunt and Bill Stanley believe very passionately in Democratic principles and doing the right thing - that's why we recessed the County Convention - to prevent further failure!

Yesterday, I was so proud to see the NSDP State Staff, the Clark County Staff, both Candidate's Campaign's Staff (as well as staff from Harry Reid's and Shelley Berkley's offices and others), supported by hundreds from our Central Committee and lots of Volunteers at-large, finally, working together in a spirit of civil, adult, co-operation and TEAMWORK!

In the future I hope we go to a Primary, but I'd fully support having a well organized Caucus, first, FOLLOWED by a Primary - all we have to do is change the law and make sure the Political Parties pay for their partisan activities (and ask nothing from the taxpayers) - we're Americans and Nevadans, we can do BOTH!
By Johnathan_Abbinett

4/13/08 at 12:34 p.m.

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SORRY! I got interrupted, I meant to finish my thought on the need for over a thousand Precinct Captains, by saying "and hopefully, these new Precinct Captains will be smart enough to recruit a couple of Precinct Lieutenants to help them as well as a half-dozen or so Precinct Sergeants so, they have a well informed TEAM of THEIR neighbors working together!

In today's busy world, that's what it's going to take get the necessary work done - nothing less!

This is a historical time and it can be a phenomenal time IF the people do more than just show up and yell - there's important work to do and every serious citizen is needed NOW!

As the great, late, Paul Wellstone said "WE ARE THE LEADERS WE'VE BEEN WAITING ON!"