By NEDRA PICKLER - Associated Press Writer - April 26, 2008
WASHINGTON - A plan to award half-delegates for the disputed Michigan and Florida Democratic presidential primaries will get a hearing before party leaders
The co-chairs of the Democratic National Committee's Rules and Bylaws committee sent members a memo Friday announcing a meeting May 31 to consider the idea.
The committee stripped Michigan and Florida of their national convention delegates because they held primaries too early. DNC members in Michigan and Florida have filed challenges to restore the delegates.
Under the challenges, all superdelegates from both states would get to vote. The pledged delegates would only count for half votes.
Hillary Rodham Clinton won both contests and has been pushing for the delegates to be seated.
Her rival Barack Obama has said it isn't fair to award delegates based on the votes because all the candidates agreed to boycott the contests and his name wasn't on Michigan's ballot. Most of the Democratic candidates had their names removed, but Clinton left hers on. Forty percent of Michigan voters chose "uncommitted" rather than vote for Clinton.
Obama's supporters have suggested splitting the delegates evenly would be a fair way to handle it, since all sides want to see delegates from the two important swing states participate in the convention.
Both states, knowing the potential penalty, held their primaries earlier than party rules allowed to try have more influence in the nominating process that long has been dominated by early voters in Iowa and New Hampshire. Few figured the campaign would last as long as it has, and now that Clinton and Obama are so close in the delegate race, both states want to help choose the nominee.
Michigan lost 128 pledged delegates and 28 superdelegates, for a total of 156.
Florida lost 185 pledged and 25 superdelegates, or a total of 210.
If it were valid, Florida's election would have given Clinton 105 delegates to Obama's 67. Michigan's would have given Clinton 73 delegates, while 55 were uncommitted. That means awarding half-delegates would give Clinton 89 more delegates and Obama 33.5, with 27.5 uncommitted.
The plan would narrow Obama's lead among the pledged delegates won in primaries and caucuses. But Clinton still would not catch him in the remaining primaries.
Obama has a 154-delegate lead among pledged delegates.
The challenges were presented by DNC members Joel Ferguson of Michigan and Jon Ausman of Florida, who also are superdelegates because of their positions with the party. Ferguson supports Clinton, Ausman is uncommitted.
Ferguson and Ausman said in telephone interviews that they think half-delegates should be seated based on the outcome of the state's primary elections. That is not spelled out in their challenges and the Rules and Bylaws Committee could determine how many delegates each campaign is awarded.
"I think the allocation should be solely based on the returns on January 29," Ausman said.
Michigan's case is trickier, since Obama didn't get any votes in the state's Jan. 15 primary. Ferguson said all the uncommitted votes should count for Obama.
"The only thing that hurts my challenge is that I declared that I'm for Clinton, but this has nothing to do with Clinton," Ferguson said. "This has to do with making common sense."
He said it's only fair that the superdelegates be fully restored since they aren't bound by election results any way. The challenges argue that the party doesn't have the authority to strip superdelegates of their votes.
Ausman said as for the pledged delegates, it would be acceptable for the committee either to strip half of Florida's pledged delegates and send the other half to the convention, or to send all and give them half-votes.
The Convention Credentials Committee resolves issues about the seating of delegates, but doesn't meet until later in the summer after all the state nominating contests are over.
The co-chairs of the Rules and Bylaws Committee did not respond to messages left at their offices Friday. Party officials said it's unclear whether they will make a decision and vote on the challenges at the May 31 meeting or just discuss them.
The Clinton and Obama campaigns did not respond to requests for comment.
Read more on Yahoo News
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Friday, April 25, 2008
Lawsuit bid to take Denton mayor, two others off ballot fails
By LOWELL BROWN - Denton Record-Chronicle - April 22, 2008
A district judge on Monday allowed Denton Mayor Perry McNeill and two other candidates to remain on the May 10 ballot, after a lawsuit challenged their eligibility.
Visiting Judge David Evans said he would not intervene in an election that is under way. Early voting in the City Council races starts Monday, but city officials said they already sent out two absentee ballots.
The judge did not rule on the merits of the lawsuit, which alleges that Mr. McNeill, Mayor Pro Tem Pete Kamp and former council member Mark Burroughs would violate the city's term limits by winning another term.
The charter prevents council members from being elected to more than three consecutive two-year terms. But city attorneys say term limits do not carry over to council members who run for a different seat, including mayor, or sit out a term.
Judge Evans said future hearings could address broader issues in the case, such as how to interpret the city charter's three-term limit.
Also, the judge's decision would not prevent candidates from contesting the election after votes are cast, as the state election code allows.
Michael Whitten, an attorney for the city, said the decision did not surprise him.
"I felt all along that the law was such that no judge would have taken these candidates off the ballot," Mr. Whitten said.
Mike Sutton, Ms. Kamp's opponent for at-large District 5, expressed frustration over the decision. Mr. Sutton, who is one of five plaintiffs in the case, filed separate litigation last week challenging Ms. Kamp's eligibility. That case is pending before the 2nd Court of Appeals in Fort Worth.
A district judge on Monday allowed Denton Mayor Perry McNeill and two other candidates to remain on the May 10 ballot, after a lawsuit challenged their eligibility.
Visiting Judge David Evans said he would not intervene in an election that is under way. Early voting in the City Council races starts Monday, but city officials said they already sent out two absentee ballots.
The judge did not rule on the merits of the lawsuit, which alleges that Mr. McNeill, Mayor Pro Tem Pete Kamp and former council member Mark Burroughs would violate the city's term limits by winning another term.
The charter prevents council members from being elected to more than three consecutive two-year terms. But city attorneys say term limits do not carry over to council members who run for a different seat, including mayor, or sit out a term.
Judge Evans said future hearings could address broader issues in the case, such as how to interpret the city charter's three-term limit.
Also, the judge's decision would not prevent candidates from contesting the election after votes are cast, as the state election code allows.
Michael Whitten, an attorney for the city, said the decision did not surprise him.
"I felt all along that the law was such that no judge would have taken these candidates off the ballot," Mr. Whitten said.
Mike Sutton, Ms. Kamp's opponent for at-large District 5, expressed frustration over the decision. Mr. Sutton, who is one of five plaintiffs in the case, filed separate litigation last week challenging Ms. Kamp's eligibility. That case is pending before the 2nd Court of Appeals in Fort Worth.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Media bashes Clinton despite win
It's worth watching the short commercial to hear this exchange about what the media is saying about Hillary staying in the races? Is the media biased? What is their motivation?
Friday, April 18, 2008
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
District convention results challenged
By AMAN BATHEJA - Fort Worth Star Telegram - April 15, 2008
Local Hillary Clinton supporters have filed more than 35 written challenges to the results of the Senate district conventions that chose presidential delegates March 29.
The challenges question the legitimacy of some delegates who were elected during muddled Senate district conventions statewide. The deadline for filing challenges was Monday.
The state convention, scheduled for June 5-7, is the final step of the Texas Democratic Party's complicated caucus process, in which 67 of the state's 193 pledged delegates are doled out. The remaining 126 pledged delegates were elected based on the March 4 primary vote: Clinton won 65, Obama 61.
The Clinton campaign has acknowledged that she likely gained fewer delegates than Barack Obama at the Senate district conventions but has not conceded a majority of the state's overall delegates, who also include 35 superdelegates.
Obama appeared to gain more delegates at all three district conventions in Tarrant County.
Most of the challenges allege that proper parliamentary procedure was not followed or that some delegates were improperly elected.
Clinton supporter Jason Smith of Fort Worth filed several challenges. He said that problems at the district conventions, as well as at the precinct conventions on the night of the primary, disenfranchised too many voters to be accepted as valid.
"Any process that allows some people to vote twice while denying that same opportunity to the disabled and to those who work nights is a constitutionally invalid system," Smith said. "Any constitutional law professor like Barack Obama could tell you that."
Faith Chatham of Arlington sat on the credentials committee for the Senate District 9 convention in Arlington, which was assigned to verify delegates' eligibility. She said there were so many violations of state party rules that the results shouldn't count.
"We should throw out the delegates and go with the primary vote," said Chatham, a Clinton supporter who filed several challenges.
State Rep. Lon Burnam, D-Fort Worth, an Obama supporter, said the Clinton challenges amount to grasping at straws.
"They're beginning to come off like poor losers," Burnam said.
Hector Nieto, spokesman for the state party, said Monday that the party had received more than 50 challenges from both sides but could not give a precise estimate.
A credentials committee will resolve the challenges before the state convention, he said.
Read more in the Fort Worth Star Telegram
Local Hillary Clinton supporters have filed more than 35 written challenges to the results of the Senate district conventions that chose presidential delegates March 29.
The challenges question the legitimacy of some delegates who were elected during muddled Senate district conventions statewide. The deadline for filing challenges was Monday.
The state convention, scheduled for June 5-7, is the final step of the Texas Democratic Party's complicated caucus process, in which 67 of the state's 193 pledged delegates are doled out. The remaining 126 pledged delegates were elected based on the March 4 primary vote: Clinton won 65, Obama 61.
The Clinton campaign has acknowledged that she likely gained fewer delegates than Barack Obama at the Senate district conventions but has not conceded a majority of the state's overall delegates, who also include 35 superdelegates.
Obama appeared to gain more delegates at all three district conventions in Tarrant County.
Most of the challenges allege that proper parliamentary procedure was not followed or that some delegates were improperly elected.
Clinton supporter Jason Smith of Fort Worth filed several challenges. He said that problems at the district conventions, as well as at the precinct conventions on the night of the primary, disenfranchised too many voters to be accepted as valid.
"Any process that allows some people to vote twice while denying that same opportunity to the disabled and to those who work nights is a constitutionally invalid system," Smith said. "Any constitutional law professor like Barack Obama could tell you that."
Faith Chatham of Arlington sat on the credentials committee for the Senate District 9 convention in Arlington, which was assigned to verify delegates' eligibility. She said there were so many violations of state party rules that the results shouldn't count.
"We should throw out the delegates and go with the primary vote," said Chatham, a Clinton supporter who filed several challenges.
State Rep. Lon Burnam, D-Fort Worth, an Obama supporter, said the Clinton challenges amount to grasping at straws.
"They're beginning to come off like poor losers," Burnam said.
Hector Nieto, spokesman for the state party, said Monday that the party had received more than 50 challenges from both sides but could not give a precise estimate.
A credentials committee will resolve the challenges before the state convention, he said.
Read more in the Fort Worth Star Telegram
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