Sanford-Hunt Legacy Drives Future of Tar Heel Democrats

Sanford-Hunt Legacy Drives the Future of Tar Heel Democrats
By Wayne Goodwin, 26 Aug 2007

The State Executive Committee meeting yesterday in Greensboro was, once again, a celebration of what the North Carolina Democratic Party is about.

In addition to considering each of the recommended resolutions and action items (passing some, referring others back to committee, opposing others), Democrats from all across the Tar Heel State made much from their pilgrimage to Guilford County.



There we gathered, organized, rejoiced, reflected, and inspired.

We shared how our religious faith and values guide us in doing what we believe is right for North Carolina.

We learned about the growing intricacies of election laws, and witnessed what is driving our various candidates for 2008 to offer themselves up for public service.

And - as at last year’s Sanford-Hunt gala - many Democrats hoped to hear Governor Jim Hunt proclaim that he, once again, would be a candidate.

Alas, that last part was not meant to be.

Governor Hunt – personally and through the legacy of his leadership in education and emerging issues - has mentored a growing farm team for our State’s Democrats. Both that Hunt farm team and its accomplishments will expand as its candidates successfully seek the Governor’s Mansion and other Council of State positions next year, not to mention U.S. Senate and Congress, and inspire yet more folks to walk firmly in the footsteps of great leaders such as Terry Sanford.


Yes, our political party has many accomplishments of
which to be proud.

Those achievements will replicate as the Sanford-Hunt farm team continues to step up to the plate.

And, the home runs we Democrats will hit will far outlast those of Barry Bonds.

Truly, our best years are still to come.

STATEWIDE REGIONAL TOWN MEETINGS SUCCESSFUL: Democrats Strident in Developing "Action Items"

STATEWIDE REGIONAL TOWN MEETINGS SUCCESSFUL:
Democrats Strident in Developing “Action Items”
18 August 2007

By Wayne Goodwin

Over the course of 4 weeks (July-Aug 2007) I trekked hither and yon across the Tar Heel State as part of my chairing eleven regional town hall meetings.

Under the aegis of Chairman of the Platform and Resolutions Committee for the North Carolina Democratic Party, I reviewed 190 resolutions submitted from Democrats with town hall attendees.

From a minimum of six to a maximum of 60+ attendees each, folks considered and deliberated and prioritized the proposed resolutions. These folks - some of the most diehard of Democratic activists mind you, and all willing to show up for 2+ hours each on a weeknight - contributed insightful comments to the process. For a non-Statewide election year the numbers pleased me. As a comparative barometer, attendance ranged from six to 125 in 2006.

So what was on the minds of Democrats in the Asheville, Charlotte, Durham, Fayetteville, Greenville, New Bern, Raleigh (twice), Wilmington, Windsor, and Winston-Salem regions this year?

►They are opposed to our current continued warring presence in Iraq.
►They love and fully support our military troops and their families.
►They yearn for America to regain its respect and position in the world.
►They believe the State must be a dedicated leader in firmly urging conservation, use of renewable non-fossil fuel sources, and developing a strategy shaped by the unquestionable process of global climate change.
►They demand campaign finance reforms and efforts that result in vastly-improved ethics in government.
►They declare that special interests and legislators should not strip away the rights of consumers by divesting the Commissioner of Insurance of his dual authority to maintain low insurance premiums and a viable insurance market in North Carolina.
►They believe that the Electoral College is antiquated and undemocratic in an age of 24-7 news and more-educated voters.
►They demand universal health care coverage.
►They assert that Congress and the People must seek impeachment charges against Vice President Cheney and President Bush (in that order) for their actions of the last six years, and that if impeachment proceedings are not appropriate now then the bar will be raised so high – or low, depending upon how you look at it – that the function of impeachment will have been rendered moot for generations to come. (Bluntly, if lying about consensual extramarital sexual relations is actionable, then why not lying about the cause of war – and consequential military deaths in Iraq - and subverting privacy rights of every American civilian and politicizing the U.S. Department of Justice?)
►They demand the repeal of the Patriot Act or significant revisions thereof.
►They believe in a living wage, and the right to collective bargaining by public employees.

These are a smattering of the issues tackled by authors of these resolutions, mostly adopted by county and district Democratic conventions this year. The ones referenced, above, were most prevalent.

If you would like to have an advance personal copy of the complete Resolutions compilation that will be considered at next Saturday’s meeting of the State Executive Committee meeting, then please email me at gwaynegoodwin@gmail.com, post an entry on my WAYNE’S WORLD blog (www.eighthdistrictdemsnc.blogspot.com), or call me at (910) 997-9790. The document will be posted also on the website of the NC Democratic Party this week. I plan on posting it myself at WAYNE’S WORLD by mid-week.

That document is the work product of the last meeting in Raleigh before the full P&R committee. During the 5+ hours that evening our committee - and those persons with us by phone - slogged through the process of determining which resolutions to recommend for adoption and which ones were duplicates, moot, in conflict with our Party Plan of Organization, etc. The investment of time of these persons proved vital.

We should also express our appreciation for the many other folks who participated in or assisted in the process. In addition to the town meeting attendees, these dedicated Democrats include Jerry Meek, Caroline Valand, Sallie Leslie, Jerimee Richir, all members of the P&R Committee, the county chairs who hosted each town hall meeting, and everyone who invested their time, talents and energy into drafting resolutions over the last six months. Special recognition goes out to Richard O’Brien of Randolph County who attended many of the regional town hall meetings across North Carolina this year and in the two previous years. Last, but certainly not least, I thank my family for granting me the time to work on this process again.

Personally, for someone passionate about what we stand for as Democrats, I found the 2,000 miles added to my car’s odometer and the cerebral connections with fellow partisans spanning North Carolina well worth the effort.

After all, resolutions allow us Democrats to express ourselves on the issues of the day - whether they concern our nation, our state or our own local community. Resolutions are ways to educate and inspire. But more importantly, they are also calls to action.

Let us now persuade our fellow citizens to answer these calls to action. Remember, the 2008 election and our future is in our hands. Onward and upward!

# # #

NC Democrats & Wayne Goodwin to Hold Regional Town Meetings

July 6, 2007

Dear North Carolina Democrat:

Now that the 2007 congressional district conventions have been held and resolutions passed by those districts have been referred to me and the NCDP Platform and Resolutions Committee, we are now at the time when two vital things occur:

(1) The Platform and Resolutions Committee schedules its work session in advance of the August 25th State Executive Committee meeting in Greensboro; and,

(2) As chairman of the Platform and Resolutions Committee, I announce the schedule of Regional Town Hall Meetings. These regional meetings are opportunities for Democrats to gather together to discuss, comment on, and recommend resolutions that were either passed by one or more district conventions, submitted by an NCDP auxiliary group (whether official or unofficial), submitted by the public at large, submitted by the Resolutions Committee, or submitted by the NCDP chairman.

Do note two additional items. First, because there is no State Convention in odd-numbered years and we adopted a thorough Platform last July, this year we will only consider resolutions. No amendments to the Platform will be considered until 2008 in advance of the State Convention. (This is not to be confused with any proposed amendments to the Plan of Organization, which arise through a separate process and committee.) Second, because we only address resolutions this year, then we are able to start a little later with our regional town meetings than in previous years.

These meetings have been quite successful and productive in the recent past. In 2005 and 2006 more than 300 persons each year participated in the meetings all across the State. We also received hundreds of resolutions and proposed Platform amendments, all indicative of a vibrant Party membership resolute in taking a stand and in taking action on matters of interest to them. I have been very pleased with how inclusive and more efficient we have been with the process during these two years. It has also been pleasing to note that our Democratic legislators, State officials, and Congressional leaders have received the adopted resolutions and Platform as well. This is a vast improvement over years past. We have more improvements to make but the key to success lies with you.

Accordingly, the work session of the full Platform and Resolutions Committee is hereby set for 6 p.m., Thurs., August 9 at NC Democratic Party HQ in Raleigh. Attendance is open to the public, as always. We will allow for participation by conference call and email as needed.

As for the schedule of the Regional Town Hall Meetings themselves, the dates and locations are:

July 16
Raleigh
Wake Co. Democratic Party
NC Dem. HQ, 220 Hillsborough St
6:30 pm
Contact: Jan, 919-828-5656 admin@wakedems.org

July 25
Winston-Salem
Forsyth Co. Democratic Party
Southside Library, 3185 Buchanan Street
6:30 pm
Contact: Fred, 336-391-2381 fterry@triad.rr.com

July 26
Asheville
Buncombe Co. Dem. Party
Buncombe Co. Dem. HQ, 951 Fairview Road
6 pm
Contact: Kathy, 828-645-0906, hq@buncombedems.org
tandem9@charter.net

July 30
Charlotte
Mecklenburg Co. Dem. Party
TBD (one of the libraries), Location to be determined by July 12
6:30 pm
Contact: David, 704-579-2006 erdman@charlotte-nc-law.com

July 31
Fayetteville
Cumberland Co. Dem. Party
Cumberland Co. HQ Library,
Pate Room, 300 Maiden Lane
6 pm
Contact: Roberta, 910-484-7936 RWADDLE@nc.rr.com

Aug 1
New Bern
Craven Co. Dem. Party
Golden Corral Buffet & Grill Restaurant
400 Hotel Dr (near Hwy 70 and U.S. 17)
6 pm
Contact: Rachel, rparnell43@suddenlink.net

Aug 2
Greenville
Pitt Co. Dem. Party
Sheppard Memorial Library, Conf. Rm B
530 Evans Street
6:30 pm
Contact: Johnny, 252-321-7743 rousejohnny@hotmail.com

Aug 7
Windsor
Bertie Co. Dem. Party
Bertie Co. Courthouse
Courthouse Square, downtown Windsor
6:30 pm
Contact: Penny, 252-794-2968 dgtptt@earthlink.com

Aug 8
Durham
Durham Co. Dem. Party
Durham Co. Public Library, SW branch
near Orange Co. line; 3605 Shannon Rd.,
http://www.durhamcountylibrary.org/locations/s.php
7 pm
Contact: Kevin, 919-416-0445 kmf@nc.rr.com

Aug 9
Raleigh
NCDP PLAT. & RESOLUTIONS COMM.
NCDP HQ, 220 Hillsborough St.
6:30 pm
Contact: Wayne, 910-997-1301 gwaynegoodwin@gmail.com

Note: At the time of this printing we were still trying to select the best date for the Wilmington regional town meeting. If there is sufficient interest, we may schedule one in Lexington. Furthermore, you will note that one site is still to be determined (TBD), as we await further input from the county or regional party leaders. Regardless, we are “locked in” on the dates. Watch your email and the NCDP website for updates. Feel free to contact me as well as indicated below.

Please pass the word to members of your respective county Party membership, especially precinct chairs and officers. We would like to equal or exceed attendance this year as we prepare for the August 25th State Executive Committee meeting where we will act on the work done by the Platform and Resolutions Committee. If you have any questions or concerns or resolution suggestions, then please feel free to email me at gwaynegoodwin@gmail.com or call me at (910) 997-1301, or you may fax me via the NCDP at (919) 821-4778 (remember to put my name on the fax). For your convenience I have also enclosed a copy of the material on how to construct a resolution, as found in the NCDP County Chairs Handbook.

In closing, let us recall that resolutions are how we as Democrats collectively express ourselves on issues of the day – whether they concern our Nation, our State, or our own local community. They are ways to educate and inspire; more importantly, resolutions are calls to action.

Thank you for your dedicated service to the North Carolina Democratic Party, and answering this call to action!

With warmest personal regards, I am

Very truly yours,

WAYNE GOODWIN
Chairman, Platform and Resolutions Committee

Enclosure