From the column: The Dean 25
By Jennifer J. Foster
I had planned this morning to tell you all about DNC Chairman Howard Dean’s 25 appointments to the party’s Credentials Committee. Depending on how the DNC’s Rules & Bylaws Committee meeting goes today and whether superdelegates begin declaring en masse following the last primaries of the season on Tuesday, the Credentials Committee could become the grandest stage of all on the path to the Democratic presidential nomination.
But I think I’m going to stash that list for the time being and focus instead this morning on the membership of the Rules & Bylaws Committee, which will today hear arguments about and decide what to do with delegates from Michigan and Florida. Since that’s where all the attention is going to be for the next several hours, let’s look at who will have the final say tomorrow afternoon.
Information for this list is provided by TalkLeft.com, DemConWatch.com and The Huffington Post. I’ve listed the members alphabetically with their home state and candidate affiliation, if known. If I’ve had anything to add in the way of potentially helpful anecdotes, I’ve included it at the end of each member’s entry.
I struggled with the designation for those who have not yet publicly affiliated with either Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton. I decided to go with “undeclared” rather than “unknown,“ since I believe there are very few, if any, Democratic delegates out there who are truly undecided about whom to support.
So here’s the list:
Committee Co-Chairwoman Alexis Herman (Washington, D.C.); no affiliation. Served as Secretary of Labor during President Clinton’s second term.
Committee Co-Chairman James Roosevelt, Jr. (Massachusetts); no affiliation.
Donna Brazile (D.C.); undeclared. The most well-known of the bunch, Brazile advised Bill Clinton’s 1992 and 1996 presidential campaigns. President Clinton made her a superdelegate.
Mark Brewer (Mich.); undeclared. Chairman of Michigan State Democratic Party.
Martha Fuller Clark (N.H.) Obama.
Ralph Dawson (N.Y.); undeclared. One of the few undeclared superdelegates from Clinton’s home state. Introduced the resolution to strip Florida of its delegates for breaking from the DNC-approved primary calendar.
Hartina Flournay (D.C.); Clinton.
Carol Khare Fowler (S.C.); Obama. Is married to fellow RBC member Donald Fowler.
Donald Fowler (S.C.); Clinton. Is married to fellow RBC member Carol Fowler.
Yvonne Gates (Nev.); undeclared. Is rumored to support Obama. Former chairwoman of DNC Black Caucus.
Alice Germond (D.C.); undeclared. A former officer of the California State Democratic Party, she also serves as DNC secretary. Was political director for Clinton/Gore 1992.
Jaime Gonzalez, Jr. (Texas); Clinton.
Janice Griffin (Md.); Obama.
Alice Huffman (Calif.);Clinton.
Thomas Hynes (Ill.);Obama.
Harold Ickes, Jr. (D.C.); Clinton. Formerly Chief of Staff to President Bill Clinton; chief campaign strategist for Hillary Clinton’s Senate campaign and one of chief strategists for presidential campaign.Touted and voted for the plan to strip Florida and Michigan of delegates, which he now opposes.
Ben Johnson (D.C.); Clinton.
Elaine Kamarck (Mass.); Clinton.
Allan Katz (Fla.); Obama.
Eric Kleinfeld (D.C.); Clinton.
David McDonald (Wash.); undeclared. Was the first RBC member to cross-examine Florida before stripping the state of its delegates; also initiated motion to strip Michigan of its delegates. Has said he wouldn’t respond well if Clinton wanted to seat delegates based on the contests that already took place in the two states.
Mona Pasquil (Calif.); Clinton.
Mame Reiley (Va.); Clinton.
Jerome Wiley Segovia (Va.); undeclared. Is rumored to support Clinton. As an at-large delegate, says he represents the DNC as a whole, particularly the Latino voters that he has dedicated himself to organizing and representing.
Garry Shay (Calif.); Clinton.
Elizabeth Smith (D.C.); Clinton.
Michael Steed (Md.); Clinton.
Sharon Stroschein (S.D.); Obama.
Sarah Swisher (Iowa); Obama.
Everett Ward (N.C.); Obama.
That gives us 13 declared Clinton supporters, eight declared Obama supporters and seven undeclared members.
You may notice that there is one delegate from each embattled state: Michigan’s Mark Brewer is undeclared, while Florida’s Allen Katz is an Obama supporter. DNC rules prohibit RBC members from voting “on a challenge arising in his or her own state,“ so Brewer and Katz may end up recusing themselves. But it may turn out that both are allowed participate, since each can vote on the dispensation of the other’s delegates.
According to the meeting’s agenda, the morning session will feature arguments of up to 15 minutes from the campaigns, state party chairs and “each challenger;“ that’s at least 90 minutes of arguments. A lunch break will follow. Members will then “consider and debate the challenges” in the afternoon session. When it comes time to vote on the sanctions/penalties/distributions/apportionments/color of the next M&M, majority rules.
And yes, it is a 30-member committee ... I know what you’re getting at. I didn’t see any provision made for what happens in the event of a tie vote.
CNN reported tonight that all 500 public tickets for the meeting were snapped up a matter of minutes. Should be fun!
If you are interested in a little refresher about why the DNC was so upset about Michigan and Florida stepping out of their places in the presidential primary line, click here to read about the DNC’s Commission on Presidential Nomination Timing and Scheduling. It seems the 2008 calendar had its roots in a 2004 DNC resolution; the commission began meeting in March 2005.
