I applaud our President on his leadership on this important defining issue for the LGBTQ community. As an openly gay man I appreciate the thoughtful respect President Barack Obama demonstrated for our community by evolving his personal position on this issue to recognize the need for full marriage equality for all Americans.

I want to thank the community of activists who have worked so hard on this issue. In Clark County the Stonewall Democrats of Southern Nevada have lobbied tirelessly to gain support among all constituent groups. The local support for marriage equality certainly has created a fundamental shift in our culture bringing us closer than ever to our goals.

We must remember the fight is not over. We still have important work to get done. Today we gained the most powerful ally in the free world on the side of equality and we owe it to future generations not to let this opportunity to build a better nation pass.

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I hear from pundits all the time who claim that we Democrats have an enthusiasm gap this election cycle. Well, if they came to our convention on Saturday, they saw what I saw – ENTHUSIASM!

From Satin Danielle’s amazing rendition of The Star Spangled Banner through some amazing candidate speeches and even on to party business, I was so impressed with the level of energy, excitement and passion shared by all. Sitting up on the stage I can tell you that being able to experience that level of excitement was something that I will always remember.

If you have ever planned an event of this size, you know it doesn’t happen on its own, it takes a team. So please indulge me a moment so I can share with you the acknowledgement of the team. These are but some of the amazing volunteers who helped make our convention happen.

Convention Coordinator: Greg Esposito

 Credentials Chair: Christine Kramar

 Sponsors and Program: Anna Veverka

 Volunteers: JT Creedon

 Platform: Lynn Goya

 Rules: Sherri Grotheer

 Parliamentarian: Patrick Patin

 Stage Manager: Randy Soltero

 Sergeants At Arms led by Johnathan Abbinett

 Our Union Partners: Carpenters, IATSE, Culinary

 Photography: Audrey Dempsey, Christopher Preciado

 Volunteers

 Sponsors

 The Riviera Hotel and their amazing staff!

 The Clubs and Caucuses chartered by the Clark County Democratic Party

 The Executive Board of the Clark County Democratic Party

But, in the end, I want to thank each and every one of you for being there! Your enthusiasm, passion and dedication to the Clark County Democratic Party and to the outstanding group of candidates that we heard from on Saturday are what will make the difference and Keep Nevada Blue on November 6.

Thank You for your enthusiasm!

Chris Miller

Chair, Clark County Democratic Party

Attorney General Biden, who is the son of Vice President Joe Biden, has joined our own Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto in taking on and prosecuting banks and mortgage services who use scrupulous and at times fraudulent measures to foreclose on Americans and toss them out of their homes.

Attorneys General Biden and our own Cortez Masto are one example of the difference between Democrats and Republicans: while we work to hold banks accountable and stop them from preying on innocent families, Republicans have continued to insist on giving big banks tax breaks and have fought every effort to regulate the banks and protect consumers.

Attorney General Biden is also leading an effort to strengthen Delaware’s anti-bullying laws. “Kids deserve to be safe at school, but we need to fully understand the challenges we face in order to hold bullies accountable, prevent future incidents, and help students – both bullies and victims – stay on the right path,” Attorney General Biden recently stated. “This legislation addresses the gaps in Delaware’s laws that have led to uneven and inaccurate reporting.”

Clark County Democratic Party County Convention

Saturday, April 14, 2012
Registration time: Friday, April 13, 6 – 9pm
Satruday, April 14, 8am to noon

Pre-registration online at http://clarkcountyconvention2012.eventbrite.com/?ref=ecount

Call to order Saturday, April 14, 2012 – 10am
Riviera Hotel and Casino
2901 Las Vegas Blvd South
Las Vegas, NV 89109

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Beau Biden

2012 Convention keynote speaker

Delaware Attorney General, Major US Army National Guard, and son of our Vice President Joe Biden.

Las Vegas, NV — Clark County Nevada, home to 74% of Nevada’s registered Democrats, will welcome Delaware Attorney General and Army National Guard Major Beau Biden to the Clark County Democratic Party’s county convention on Saturday, April 14, 2012, as thier keynote speaker.

Attorney General Biden, who is the son of Vice President Joe Biden, has joined our own Attorney General Catherine Cortez-Masto in taking on and prosecuting banks and mortgage services who use scrupulous and at times fraudulent measures to foreclose on Americans and toss them out of their homes.

Attorney General Biden is also leading an effort to strengthen Delaware’s anti-bullying laws. ”Kids deserve to be safe at school, but we need to fully understand the challenges we face in order to hold bullies accountable, prevent future incidents, and help students - both bullies and vicitms - stay on the right path,” Attorney General Biden recenlty stated. “This legislation addresses the gaps in Delaware’s laws that have led to uneven and inaccurate reporting.”

This convention is another step on the road to reelecting President Barack Obama. Up and down the ballot Nevadans will have a choice. A choice between electing people who are looking out for their best interest, or voting for the same anti-government extremists whose ideology says give big business a tax cut, deregulate their industry and pray for the best.”

*** Statement on Culinary Union Rally at Red Rock Casino Tonight***

CLARK COUNTY DEMOCRATIC PARTY STANDS WITH UNIONS AND WORKING PEOPLE

Las Vegas, NV – With the Culinary Union protest for workers’ rights at the Red Rock Casino tonight, the Clark County Democratic Party passed a resolution in strong opposition to the attacks that are being made on labor unions and collective bargaining today.  Chair Chris Miller had the following statement:

“We speak for the right of workers everywhere to form and join labor unions in order to negotiate collectively for fair wages and benefits for themselves and their families.  We urge people everywhere to recognize the many contributions labor unions have made and will continue to make to the universal common good.

Labor unions are based on the inalienable natural right of free association. Labor unions promote social justice and the common good.  Labor unions defend the vital interests of workers and their families.

Workers have a right to bargain collectively for fair wages and benefits.  Employers who refuse to pay a just wage are guilty of a grave injustice.  No one may deny the right to organize without attacking human dignity itself.

Bottom line, the attack on labor unions and collective bargaining must stop immediately!”

The Clark County Democratic Party is proud to stand strong in the fight for the rights of working people and unions everywhere.

You can find more about the Clark County Democratic Party at clarkdems.com.  This release can be found at http://clarkdems.com/830/statement-on-culinary-union-rally-at-red-rock-casino/

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March 22, 2012

A RESOLUTION OF THE CLARK COUNTY DEMOCRATIC PARTY

WHEREAS, the right of collective bargaining is the backbone of union strength in the United States, the “or else” against the power of  employers to fire workers who are unwilling to work for low wages and in unsafe conditions, and

WHEREAS, the 8-hour work day, the 40-hour work week, weekends off,  worker’s compensation and collective bargaining itself all began in Wisconsin, and

WHEREAS, the wages, benefits and safe working conditions negotiated by unions have translated into equal benefits for non-union workers as well as union workers and their families, and

WHEREAS, for over one hundred years the Democratic Party has been the staunch ally of labor unions and the working people in the United States, and

WHEREAS, the Republican Party has sided with corporate power against America’s working people, beginning with the Taft Hartley Act in 1947, and most egregiously with President Reagan’s assault against the Air Traffic Controllers union in 1982, and

WHEREAS, most recently, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker has declared open war on Wisconsin’s unions and their established collective bargaining rights, and

WHEREAS, Tea Party Governors in Ohio, Iowa, Indiana, Idaho, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Oklahoma are mounting similar attacks against the unions, and

WHEREAS, unions are the only counter balance against the unlimited corporate political spending unleashed by the Roberts Supreme Court’s “Citizens United v. FEC” ruling,

NOW THEREFORE, THE CLARK COUNTY DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF NEVADA RESOLVES AS FOLLOWS:

1. We affirm our solidarity with the Culinary Local Union 226, Clark County Education Association and all of the unions of Nevada.

2. We resolve to create and distribute a press release showing our support of unions and their collective bargaining rights.

3. We further affirm our future support for Nevada’s unions and their collective bargaining rights.

4. We call on our State Democratic Party to assert their support of unions and their collective bargaining rights.

“The Road We’ve Traveled” Screening

Thursday, March 15, 2012 5:00 PM – 8:00 PM (More info here)

I hope you are as excited as I am about the 2012 election cycle! It is going to be our opportunity to use our voices and our votes to fight back against a dangerous foe. Together we will beat an opponent that is determined to suppress working Americans, wage war on women’s rights, and grow the income gap between the middle class and the ultra rich.

The Clark County Democratic Party convention is the next step in the 2012 election cycle. A Democratic voting process that will return Barack Obama to the White House, keep Senator Harry Reid in the majority, and elect our representatives to congress. I urge you to attend this year’s convention and invite your friends and neighbors. We promise to have an exciting convention that will energize you through Election Day.

Obviously convention space costs money to rent. We are hoping that sponsors will help us with the cost, but we still have to ask for attendees to make a donation if they plan on attending. Pre-registering will help us manage the check in process and make sure that instead of standing in long lines you are in the convention, meeting candidates.

If you pre-register, or make your donation on the day of the convention, the money will go to cover the cost of the event. The CCDP has committed that your donations will also be used to have voter registration events to help with Nevada’s very competitive senate seat as well as Red To Blue’s top rated congressional districts NV-03 and the new NV-04.

So on April 14^th please be part of the movement. Pre-register to attend the Clark County Democratic Party Convention, invite your friends to meet the candidates that will be representing us in Washington DC as well as here locally, and lets stand together as we say “Yes, We Can Do It Again!”

Greg Esposito

Convention Coordinator

If you are a delegate and your plans have changed and you DO NOT intend to attend the convention please cancel at this link.

If you are a delegate or an alternate for the convention and your information has changed please edit at this link.

If you wish to be an alternate delegate, there are a limited amount of spaces available on a first come first serve basis. Please complete the information here. Make sure to indicate you want to be an alternate delegate in the status area.

(For security purposes you will enter your email address at the links above and a confirmation will be sent from which you can edit your profile.)

You must attend this convention if you intend to run as a delegate to the state party and plan to run as a delegate to the national Democratic convention.

IF YOU PLAN TO RUN FOR THE NATIONAL CONVENTION, YOU MUST TURN IN THIS FORM BY 10AM ON APRIL 14TH

Final selections to the national convention are made under the Nevada State Democratic Party delegate selection plan. Please review this document here. It may be helpful to indicate to our chair that your intention is to run for one of the 44 open spots from the state of Nevada. This policy is administrated by the Nevada State Democratic Party for comments or questions about the delegate selection plan, please e-mail delegateselection@nvdems.com. The Nevada State party convention is June 9th in Las Vegas. The national convention is in Charlotte North Carolina the week of September 3rd.

The following activities will take place at the Clark County convention:

• Voting on the Clark County party platform
• Speakers
• Training Sessions
• Candidate meet and greet

Please allow 10 days after the caucus to process the delegate information before inquiring about your status.

The party will be contacting you via email with information about the caucus. If your email address has changed please contact us via the help ticket system on the right with your old email address, your new address, and if possible the delegate number you were assigned at the caucus.

Please hold onto your delegate form.

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If you are interested in volunteering for the convention please sign up here.

The Henderson Democratic Club meets at the Painters’ Union Hall—1701 Whitney Mesa (Turn onto Ramrod, just north of the intersection of Mountain Vista and Sunset; building is on left.). The entrance is on the left (West) side of the building. All Democrats who live or work in the Henderson, Nevada area are invited to join our club, and meetings are open to the public.

You can watch segments of the Agenda online below:

 Clark County Democratic Party Chair Chris Miller has a lot of work to do in 2012. His organization is responsible for organizing democrats in support of a growing list of Clark County races including assembly, state senate, four county commission seats, and judicial positions. “All seats are partisan in our county. While a candidate may not be able to advertise their political affiliation for a county seat; those candidates still need our support” notes Chris as he views the long list of races requiring his attention.

Link to list of Clark County Races 2012

In the Nevada Democratic party structure there is Organizing for America responsible for re-election of the President of the United States. The
Nevada State Party focuses on organizing the caucus and the election of Senate and congressional candidates. The Clark County Democratic Party is
the largest in the state with a focus on all races within Clark County from those positions which serve in Carson City all the way to local city and
county offices. Clark County Democrats are responsible for supporting the longest list of candidates in the state while remaining neutral on
individual contested primary races.

Since taking office last August Chris Miller and his new board have worked to make engaging with the party easier for all interested community members.

No other political organization in the state has the online outreach plus activities of Clark County’s clubs and caucuses. “I want every interested voter to find information about our party and its candidates quickly. Every voter should feel engaged and included in the county party process” Chris notes pointing to the list of social media assets actively maintained by the party which has more than doubled in his tenure. In addition to community members available to attend meetings a growing force of online activists work with the party.

This year’s caucus will be a little different for Clark County Democrats. Everyone seeking to be elected as a delegate will still need to attend the caucus meeting, yet engagement in the party platform process is open to all Democrats even if they cannot make it to the meeting. This year the platform submission process and submitting names to become members of the central committee will also take place online. Priority will be given for open seats to those who attend the caucus, but the party will not shut out voters who could not make it to the meeting.

“This year’s platform should reflect the concerns of the citizens of Clark County. I want to see this as a bottom up process where our platform committee considers the voices of a diverse community of voters. The platform we vote on at our convention will be a reflection of our collective values.”

A goal of the party is to have a captain in every precinct charged with informing Clark County voters about local issues.

Moving forward to the county convention the party will remain in touch with delegates online and has launched a help ticket system to allow all participants an opportunity to have tracked resolution to any concerns that arise during the process. Clark County Democrats are back and ready for 2012 to keep Nevada blue.

Clark County Democratic Party is not providing a bus to Carson City due to the NASCAR weekend the same weekend which has used up the demand of all Union bus transport companies in the region for this weekend along with passenger shuttle vans.

At this time we are only collecting information from those whom are willing to provide rides to the meeting.  Once we have offers those opportunities will be listed on the website along with a form for those interested to have their information forwarded to the host.

Until we have participants offering to drive we will not be collecting information from those who need a ride so that no one relies on a carpool to get them to Carson City if we do not have drivers willing to provide transportation.

Your carpool is confirmed when you have made connection directly with the person offering the ride and you have both confirmed back to Clark County Dems that the arrangement works for you both.

If you need a ride check back to this page as opportunities will be posted on a daily basis as volunteers step forward. Again, we will not be collecting names in general. Do not rely on the car pool system to your detriment if you are able to make other arrangements.

ONLY USE THE FORM BELOW IF YOU ARE OFFERING A RIDE