Washtenaw County Convention held Nov. 28th
Pursuant to the rules and bylaws of the Washtenaw County Democratic Party (WCDP) and the Michigan Democratic Party (MDP), the WCDP will hold its November County Convention beginning at 7 p.m. on Monday, November 28th via Zoom. To register for this County Convention, click this link.
At this convention, we will elect members to the 2022-2024 WCDP County Committee. The number of positions to be elected must be equal to twice the number of Democratic nominees for county office, the state legislature, and congress in the most recent primary election.
While 2/3 of the Committee will be elected at the Convention, the remaining 1/3 of the Committee will be comprised of those individuals who were nominated at the most recent primary election for county office, the state legislature, and Congress.
There will be 24 federal, state and county candidates on the 2022-2024 County Committee:
| Number | Candidate | Office |
| 1 | Debbie Dingell | United States Representative in Congress, District 6 |
| 2 | Sue Shink | Michigan State Senator, District 14 |
| 3 | Jeff Irwin | Michigan State Senator, District 15 |
| 4 | Jason Morgan | Michigan State Representative, District 23 |
| 5 | Reggie Miller | Michigan State Representative, District 31 |
| 6 | Jimmie Wilson, Jr. | Michigan State Representative, District 32 |
| 7 | Felicia Brabec | Michigan State Representative, District 33 |
| 8 | Maurice Imhoff | Michigan State Representative, District 46 |
| 9 | Carrie Rheingans | Michigan State Representative, District 47 |
| 10 | Jennifer Conlin | Michigan State Representative, District 48 |
| 11 | Lawrence Kestenbaum | Washtenaw County Clerk / Register of Deeds |
| 12 | Catherine McClary | Washtenaw County Treasurer |
| 13 | Eli Savit | Washtenaw County Prosecuting Attorney |
| 14 | Evan N. Pratt | Washtenaw County Water Resources Commissioner |
| 15 | Jerry L. Clayton | Washtenaw County Sheriff |
| 16 | Jason Maciejewski | Washtenaw County Commissioner, District 1 |
| 17 | Crystal Lyte | Washtenaw County Commissioner, District 2 |
| 18 | Shannon Beeman | Washtenaw County Commissioner, District 3 |
| 19 | Caroline L. Sanders | Washtenaw County Commissioner, District 4 |
| 20 | Justin D. Hodge | Washtenaw County Commissioner, District 5 |
| 21 | Annie Somerville | Washtenaw County Commissioner, District 6 |
| 22 | Andy LaBarre | Washtenaw County Commissioner, District 7 |
| 23 | Yousef Rabhi | Washtenaw County Commissioner, District 8 |
| 24 | Katie Scott | Washtenaw County Commissioner, District 9 |
The remaining 48 County Committee members will be chosen as described below, for a total of 72 members.
The primary task of the County Committee is to select and maintain the leadership team that comprises the WCDP Executive Board. Per our bylaws and the rules of the MDP, the County Committee elected on November 28th must meet within 30 days to select the Executive Board. Note that members of the County Committee are required to meet several times a year in order to fill vacancies on the Executive Board and engage in other activities as required by our bylaws. If you wish to have a vote on who will lead the WCDP from 2022-2024, this is your opportunity to do so. However, we ask that you only seek a position if you are willing to attend several meetings a year. We have had trouble meeting quorum for these meetings over the past few years and your help in alleviating that problem is most appreciated.
Convention Rules & Eligibility
A proportional voting method as outlined in Section 6 of the Rules for Voting and Elections in the Michigan Democratic Party will be used. (Click here to view these rules.) In order to have equitable geographical representation across the entire County, we will continue the past tradition of dividing up the County into sensible geographical regions and assigning the number of representatives from each of those regions in proportion to the number of votes cast for Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson in the 2022 General Election. Obviously, we won’t have this information until after November 8th so the final distribution won’t be sent out until then. The final distribution of County Committee elected positions by region is now available.
This cycle, these regions will be created to align with the Precinct Organizing Committee’s “Areas” to help create a more unified organization.
Members in attendance at the convention will separate into these regional groups via Zoom breakout rooms and choose the people to represent them on the County Committee from those in attendance or who have agreed to have their name put into consideration by another attendee in advance of the meeting. Slate voting will be used within in each region and a slate may consist of as few as one person.
Delegates to this convention will be MDP members, Precinct Delegates elected at the August Primary, Democratic elected officials, and Democratic nominees to partisan office. Articles 3.2 and 3.3 of the Michigan Democratic Party Rules stipulate the following qualifications for candidacy and eligibility to vote:
In order to hold party office or vote at any Convention, Caucus, or meeting at any unit of the Michigan Democratic Party at any level, a person must be a member of the Michigan Democratic Party for at least thirty (30) days prior to that Convention, Caucus, or meeting (October 29th, 2022.) A party member must be a qualified elector in order to vote on nominations for public office.
Precinct Delegates, Democratic elected officials, Democratic nominees to partisan offices, and individuals whose membership lapses inside the thirty-day window are exempt from the advance membership requirement. However, those individuals must be members in order to vote and may join or renew the same day as the Convention, Caucus, or meeting.
NOTE: If you wish to check your eligibility to vote or be elected to the Executive Committee, please send an email to chair@washtenawdems.org and we can check it for you. If we do not have proof of your membership, we cannot allow you to register for the County Convention or to run for a position on the County Committee. Occasionally the lists we get from the MDP have errors so checking ahead of time is a prudent step, particularly if you joined fairly recently. If you contact us in advance, we are happy to check for you so any problems can be resolved prior to the convention.
Agenda
A. Call to Order
B. Election of Permanent Convention Chair (This is the person who will chair the convention)
C. Appointment of Convention Secretary (This will be the official record keeper of the convention. This person will also be responsible for sending minutes and results to the State Party)
D. Credential Report (This is a report out of all credentialed delegates for the convention)
E. Rules Report (This will be the time to review and accept voting procedure for the convention)
F. Election of County Committee Members
G. Good & Welfare
H. Adjournment