Do you want to go to the Denver Convention, but you're not sure how to get in?  Why not volunteer???  The Democratic National Committee Convention organizers are accepting volunteer sign-ups now. 

For more information and to sign up, go to: http://www.demconvention.com/volunteer-2/

# # #

LACYD Endorses...
 
Thank you to everyone who  attended and voted at our endorsement meeting on Thursday, April 18!  The event was a big success thanks to our Executive Board, our candidates and the surrogates who spoke on their behalf, and most of all, our members who showed up to vote.

We had nearly 100 ballots cast, and we're pleased to announce the results. LACYD is proud to endorse:
 
SD-23: Lloyd Levine
SD-25: Mervyn Dymally
 
AD-46: John Perez
AD-52: Isadore Hall
AD-54: Tonia Reyes Uranga

For the race in AD-40, no candidate reached the required threshold for endorsement.
 
LACYD also voted overwhelmingly to endorse AB1819, as well as the California Dream Act.

If you signed up as a member to be able to participate in the endorsement meetings, we thank you for your participation, and we hope that you will continue to stay involved in LACYD by joining a committee and attending any one of our events this upcoming year.
 
Congratulations to our endorsed candidates!

FROM THE DYMALLY CAMPAIGN:

---

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Nam Le, four411@gmail.com

(Los Angeles) Mervyn Dymally, 52nd District Assemblyman and candidate for the 25th Senate District seat election which will take place on June 3, 2008, announced that the Los Angeles County Young Democrats (LACYD) recently voted with an overwhelming 74% of the vote to endorse Dymally for Senate.

LACYD, an organization comprised of young workers, young families, and young people who are committed to the Democratic values that make America strong and provide opportunity for all, determined that Dymally is the candidate who will best represent their interests in Sacramento as a California Senator.
 
"Assemblyman Dymally has a solid record of championing issues that are important to young people and we are proud to offer our endorsement to Mr. Dymally," said Becca Doten, President of the Los Angeles County Young Democrats. "He has sponsored legislation that kept tuition costs at an affordable level for community college students, has fought for health care for all of California's youth, and, as the Chair of the Assembly Committee on Health, has been at the center of the movement to deliver affordable healthcare for everyone.  Through his work, doors have been opened and lives have been improved for countless young people throughout the state."
 
Dymally has indicated that health care and education are at the top of the list of priorities he will continue to address as a member of the California Senate. He has already achieved measurable gains in favor of the Compton Unified School District, Compton Community College, and the Charles Drew University of Medicine and Science.
 
"I am delighted that the young democrats have chosen to endorse me for this important race." Dymally said. "Younger voters have been energized across the nation with two very exciting and historical democratic, presidential candidates.  Their level of political consciousness as well as their level of involvement is greater than it has ever been.  I am very proud to have their support."

# # #

JUNE PRIMARY ENDORSEMENT MEETING, Thursday 4/17!
 
LACYD will be holding its endorsement meeting for the contested state legislature races in the June primary this Thursday, 4/17, at Vitello's Restaurant in Studio City:
 
4349 Tujunga Ave
Studio City, 91604
 
6:30--Credentialing Opens
7:15--Program of speakers commences
7:30--Credentialing Closed
 
The closing deadline will be enforced, so please show up on time.
 
Each candidate (or a designated representative) will be allotted 2 minutes to address the membership.  While you may cast your ballot and leave before the end of the program, we encourage you to stay and listen to the candidates before casting your vote.
 
To be able to vote, you must be an eligible, dues-paying member of LACYD by Monday, 4/14, at midnight.  If are not an LACYD member, but are eligible to be one (35 years of age or under, a Democrat, and a resident of Los Angeles County), you must register and pay dues by the deadline above by going to http://www.lacyd.org/membership.php.
 
We will be holding endorsement votes on six races.  For each race, the Executive Board has recommended endorsement of the following candidates:
 
SD-23: Lloyd Levine
SD-25: Mervyn Dymally
 
AD-40: Bob Blumenfield
AD-46: John Perez
AD-52: Isadore Hall
AD-54: Tonia Reyes Uranga
 
For each race, the recommendations of the Executive Board can be confirmed by a simple majority (50% + 1) of the members present and voting.  To overturn the recommendation of the Executive Board, a non-recommended candidate must receive two thirds of the vote.
 
In addition, we will also be taking up the issue of endorsements for AB1819 (youth voter registration) as well as the California Dream Act.
 
Please join us for Thursday's vote!

This was posted on "California Progress Report" today.  Enjoy!

http://www.californiaprogressreport.com/2008/04/democrats_makin.html

Democrats Making the “Year of the Young Voter” Real in California

By Becca Doten
Political Director
California Young Democrats

This weekend Democrats of all ages converged on the San Jose convention center to listen to speakers and panels, participate in trainings and conduct Party business. Throughout the weekend there was a special buzz of excitement – that of the Young Democrats who were a part of this important convention.

You might have caught us wearing red CYD t-shirts or stickers with the phrase, "Year of the Young Voter" and the Chinese character for young, or seen us at the Assembly District Endorsement Caucuses or on the Convention floor. But no matter where you were, you'd be sure to see these young activists participating and engaging in the process. This year, more than ever, is a year that young people are getting involved in the political process. Not just as voters, but as active members of the Democratic Party.

It's important not to discount how critical it is that we're seeing this increase in young voter turnout and activism for the Democratic Party, because when young voters vote, the chances are they're going to vote for the Democrat – and this cuts across gender and race differences. This can't be said about any other age group. In 2008, 47% of young voters self-identify as Democrats and only 28% self-identify as Republicans – and the 47% who identify as Democrats is up from 40% in 2004, a year that young people ages 18-30 were the only age group to support the Democratic ticket for President.

One just has to look at the Super Tuesday numbers to see the increased impact of young voters on the Democratic Party. Nationally more than three million young voters cast a vote or caucused, with over two million votes cast for a Democratic candidate compared to only 900,000 for Republicans. Additionally, nearly every Super Tuesday state saw a dramatic increase in young voter turnout, with some states seeing turnout triple or even quadruple over past years.

This engagement can be attributed to a couple of factors – the first being the disgust for the current administration and the lack of a national agenda that speaks to our needs. Young people look around and wonder how we're ever going to own a home, worry that the worsening economy is going to mean we won't be able to find a job, and we are forced to go without health care because it's too expensive. And it's young people who have to watch our friends and peers go to Iraq for a senseless war and – if they're lucky enough to come back – many of our generation will spend the rest of their lives with physical or mental injuries because of the war. Seeing how poorly the country is responding to our needs, many young people naturally turn away from the status quo. But turning away is not enough – because young people need to know that there is a Party that we can join that speaks to our issues.

Posted on April 01, 2008

Hello LACYDers!

So, we just moved our website over to a different server.  In the process we've lost a few of our old blog posts and news articles.  We'll try to update them -- but, for now, you'll just have to look out for the NEW content!  We update our EVENTS and JOB BOARD multiple times a week, so you'll usually find something new and interesting here.

Go Dems!
Becca

Dear LACYDers,
 
Happy New Year!

I'm so excited for the coming year.  The presidential election, state elections, ballot measures -- and limitless opportunities to outreach to new voters and inspire people with the Democratic message of hope and progress.

Leading us into 2008 is a great team of Executive Boardmembers who were elected at our Holiday Party.  I want to thank each one for stepping up to the challenge to become an integral part of our organization.

This year can be a great year for the Los Angeles County Young Democrats - but we need your help to make it a success.  Do you want to help with voter registration?  Are you interested in helping plan our activities?  Can you help map out our legislative agenda?  Whatever your passion, we welcome you to become an active partner in the organization.  Please email me with ideas or to become further involved.

I look forward to seeing you at our January event (details to be announced shortly) and hope you all take a moment to consider increasing your involvement in LACYD for 2008.

Best wishes for a great 2008 -- may it be a year where we not only elect a Democratic President, but also increase local activism and civic engagement in young Angelenos.
 
Becca Doten
President, LACYD
president@lacyd.org

Please see attached candidate statements for the 2007 LACYD Executive Board!

LACYD 2008 ELECTION INFO

The 2008 Executive Board could use your energy, passion, and commitment to advancing the young democratic agenda. Submit your candidate statement by December 1 to president@lacyd.org.

LACYD Election Policy Statement

To be eligible to run for the board of the Los Angeles County Young Democrats, you must be a registered Democrat between the ages of 18 and 35 and a member of the Los Angeles County Young Democrats.

The election process begins November 23 and will end on election day, Thursday, December 13.

CANDIDATE POSITIONS

There are nine seats for which a candidate can run.

 -- VP of Administration and Rules
 -- VP of Programming
 -- VP of Communications
 -- Activities Director
 -- Legislative Director
 -- Membership Director
 -- Outreach Director
 -- Political Director (* in charge of '08 election strategy)
 -- Publicity Director

To run for an office you must submit a candidate statement answering the following questions:

1. For which position are you running?
2. What do you think you will bring to this position?
3. What will you bring to the organization as a whole?
4. What are your qualifications for this position?
5. How long have you been a member of LACYD and have you  
    served on a committee of the board?

The answers to these questions must be submitted no later than December 1 at 9pm to  Becca Doten at president@lacyd.org. If anyone is interested in knowing who has filed candidate statements, they must simply contact Becca.  In addition, updates, as possible, will be posted on our website at www.lacyd.org.

Interviews by the Elections Committee will take place on December 8.  All candidates seeking a recommendation from the 2007 Board must interview to be eligible. Though you can sumbit candidate statements for multiple positions, a candidate must choose one position to run for. 

Once interviews are completed, no further candidates will be accepted. The membership list of LACYD is not available for candidates to utilize.

Hello LACYDers!

LACYD's premiere event, the Laurel Awards, is coming up on Tuesday, November 6th.  This is the 7th Annual Laurel Awards, and it's going to be GREAT!  I'll post more information soon, but see below for the invitations.

Laurel Awards Invitation

Laurel Awards Reply Form

Go Dems!
Becca

Hello LACYDers and interested parties ...!

I wanted to welcome you to our newly redeisgned website! 

For anyone who has been following the website the last year or so, you know that we might not have had the most up-to-date site.  But thanks to the wonders of new technology and a fabulous website deisgner, we now have one that we can update ourselves and has a lot more flexibility.

At the same time, there may be a few bugs here and there.  So if you find something that doesn't work for you, shoot me an email. 

And, as always, we hope you can get more active with LACYD!  We have several committees, some great upcoming events and lots of opportunities for involvement.

Thanks for stopping by.  And we look forward to seeing you soon!

Go Dems!
Becca Doten
President, Los Angeles County Young Democrats

Young Voters Who Received Text Messages Reminding Them to Vote on Election Eve Turned Out in Greater Numbers 

http://www.newvotersproject.org/news-releases/text-messaging

A new study from researchers at Princeton and the University of Michigan shows that young voters who were sent text message reminders to vote, on the eve of Election Day 2006, were significantly more likely to vote than those who didn't receive a text message reminder. The study, which relied on voter registration data from the Student PIRGs' New Voters Project and Working Assets Wireless , found that sending a text message reminder to vote provided a 4 percent boost in youth voter turnout rates. 

"The millennial generation is ready to vote, if we ask them," said Michael Kieschnick, President of Working Assets. "We just need to reach them in a relevant way - and that's the mobile phone."

"The youth vote matters – young people will represent more than one-third of the electorate by 2015, and what this study shows is that we have another powerful tool in our toolkit to turn them out to the polls," said Ellynne Bannon, Director of the Student PIRGs' New Voters Project. Background information on young voters.

Other key findings from the new report include:

• Of the different text message reminders tested, a to-the-point reminder to vote was most effective, with a 5 percent boost.

• In a follow up survey, 59 percent of the text message recipients reported that the reminder was helpful, while 1 percent reported being less likely to vote because of receiving a text message.

• Hispanics had especially positive feelings about the reminders.

• The cost per additional vote generated was $1.56.

On the eve of the election in November 2006, researchers sent text message voting reminders to more than 4,000 young voters with mobile phone numbers chosen at random from a pool of more than 8,000 young people who had recently registered to vote. Following the elections, all 8,000 plus records were matched against voter files to determine which of the registrants had voted.

The Student PIRGs' New Voters Project provided information of 7,254 newly registered young voters with valid cell phone numbers for this study. Working Assets provided information of 5,313 new registrants with valid cell phone numbers.

PDF Fact Sheet on Text Messaging and Voting

(Information forwarded by Donnie Fowler, CEO of Cherry Tree Mobile and former Clinton White House staffer.)

From the John Cleary, President of the Stonewall Democratic Club:

On Thursday, the U.S. Senate passed hate crimes protections for the LGBT community, marking the first time in U.S. history a major LGBT rights bill has passed both houses of Congress and will be sent to a President for signature!

Sponsored by Senators Edward Kennedy (D-MA) and Gordon Smith (R-OR), and named after Matthew Shepard, who was brutally beaten to death in Wyoming in 1998, the hate crimes bill passed by a voice vote following a 60-39 vote to close debate and avoid a filibuster. Voting in favor were all Democrats plus nine Republicans. Not voting was Senator John McCain (R-AZ).

In an attempt to avoid a threatened veto by President Bush, the Senate has taken the unusual step of attaching the hate crimes bill to a defense authorization bill. No U.S. President has ever vetoed a defense authorization bill. The hate crimes bill previously passed the U.S. House as the Local Law Enforcement Enhancement Act by a vote of 237-180.

If signed, this would be the first major expansion of the hate crimes statute passed in 1968 and would cover acts of violence motivated by a victim's sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or disability. An attempt to strip the bill of the protections for gender identity or expression failed, thereby marking a complete victory for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community.What a difference a Democratic Majority makes!!!

Please join in thanking our U.S. Senators from California:


Sen. Barbara Boxer
202-224-3553 (D.C.)
213-894-5000 (L.A.)

Sen Dianne Feinstein
202-224-3841 (D.C.)
310-914-7300 (L.A.)

This is a great victory for ALL democrats! Please join our Stonewall friends in thanking Congress for this important legislation.