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March 28 - 30, 2008
San Jose Convention Center
150 West San Carlos St., San Jose, CA 95113
Tentative Agenda (as of  March 10, 2008)


** ALL CONVENTION ACTIVITIES OCCUR AT THE CONVENTION CENTER **

Friday, March 28, 2008

Saturday, March 29, 2008

 Sunday, March 30, 2008

PLATFORM

You will find the 2008 Draft Platform for the California Democratic Party on our website at www.cadem.org/2008Platform. Any delegate can submit an amendment to this draft platform in one of two ways:

1) Submit the amendment by 5 PM on Tues, March 25, 2008, along with either five delegate signatures, or five Democrats from five different Assembly Districts (the submitting delegate may be one of these five). Each of the five people must include their address, phone numbers and the AD they live in. The Platform Committee will be meeting at 10 AM on Friday, March 28 in Room C3/4 of the San Jose Convention Center to consider these amendments.

2) Submit the amendment, in writing, to the Secretary of the Convention no later than Saturday, March 29 at 5 PM. Said amendment must be signed by no fewer than three hundred (300) delegates to the Convention and must contain the name of the sponsor of the amendment. This submission can be turned in to Room K at the San Jose Convention Center. The Platform Committee will be meet at 6 PM on Saturday, March 29 in Room C3/4 of the San Jose Convention Center to consider these amendments.

ENDORSEMENTS

REMINDER: Democrats will be meeting on Thursday, March 13 or Saturday, March 15 to begin the endorsement process for Assembly, Senate and Congressional races on the June 2008 primary ballot. Please visit our website (click here) for a list of the regions, conference dates/times/locations, vote-by-mail ballots, and the most up-to-date list of candidates. Note the change in location for the Region 16 meeting, Saturday, March 15th at noon. The meeting will be held at Claremont McKenna College, Mary Pickford Auditorium, Bauer Center South, 500 E. 9th St., Claremont, CA 91711.

CONVENTION UPDATES

We have had a few changes to the tentative agenda for the Convention – an updated copy is enclosed.

If you have not yet paid your dues and registered for the Convention, the last day to do so without paying the additional $25 “onsite fee” is March 14. Your registration must be postmarked by that date – or you may pre-register and pay your registration and dues online at www.cadem.org/conv2008

2008 Convention Workshops | Panels | Seminars

Youth Vote Panel (Friday, Mar 28 – 1 PM)
The youth movement is increasingly important as young voters continually show their potential to create decisive margins in elections. The 2004 and 2006 elections, and now the 2008 primaries, demonstrated that young voters provide the next bloc of voters Democrats must move in order to win key elections. Join Jane Fleming Kleeb, Executive Director of Young Voter Pac and former Executive Director of the Young Democrats of America for a panel discussion with other national youth vote leaders to discuss campaign strategies for capturing the energy of today’s youth and maximizing young voter turnout for the 2008 election and beyond.

Campaign Boot Camp (Friday, Mar 28 – 2:30 PM)
In an age propelled by marketing and advertising, creating an effective strategy is essential to launching successful campaigns, candidates, and causes. Attorney, author and activist Christine Pelosi offers her 7-step guide to doing just that. Learn how to define your message, build your leadership teams, raise the money, and more.

Grassroots Discussion Groups (Friday, Mar 28 – 8:30 PM)
With thousands of organizations and individuals working tirelessly for their interests, a venue to share useful strategies and motivational stories must exist. Here is an opportunity to network with fellow grassroots activists through a range of topic-specific conversation tables, each staffed by an experienced grassroots leader. Engage with counterparts from throughout the state and create your own table to converse about special issues.

Political Reporting Workshop (Sunday, Mar 30 – 8 AM)
CDP General Counsel Lance H. Olson will conduct this workshop for County Central Committees, clubs and Political Committees. The workshop will provide an overview of state and federal rules regulating political parties and related campaign activities. Treasurers in particular are encouraged to attend.

JFK, JR. APPLICATIONS

The John F. Kennedy, Jr. Award for Outstanding Public Service 2008

In his brief life, John F. Kennedy, Jr. embraced the principles and legacy of his father, his mother and the Kennedy family to contribute back to society's less fortunate and to recognize those who made a difference in that struggle.

John F. Kennedy, Jr. especially encouraged young people from all walks of life to become involved in public service and to constructively interact with the important issues of the day. In that same spirit, the California Democratic Party established the John F. Kennedy, Jr. Award for outstanding public service by a young person in California. The first awards were presented at the 2000 State Convention.

The Qualifications are:

· All nominees must be between the ages of 18-35 (the same requirements to be a Young Democrat in California).

· All nominees must be registered Democrats in California.

· All nominees must have displayed outstanding leadership qualities in the service of others in California.

· All nominees must have made a substantive difference affecting the lives of Californians in their communities.

A nominee must receive the recommendation of at least three different people who can attest to the nominee’s contributions, character and integrity.

All nominations and recommendations MUST be submitted to the California Democratic Party no later than 5:00PM on March 17, 2008.

To nominate, go to www.cadem.org/2008jfkjrawards

An executive committee comprised of the statewide elected officers of the California Democratic Party shall review all nominations and make a selection of one male and one female honoree. These JFK, Jr. Awards will be presented at the California Democratic Party's State Convention at the San Jose Convention Center, March 28-30, 2008.