DemNotesBlog for Colorado Democrats by State Party First Vice Chair Dan Slater

I’ve been inundated with e-mails asking how to volunteer for the Democratic National Convention in Denver next year since the announcement yesterday. Rather than trying to answer each e-mail individually, I’m hoping this will at least stem the tide of those e-mails a bit.

As of yesterday, a second organization has stepped into the Denver 2008 effort: the Democratic National Convention Committee (DNCC). This is the DNC arm that handles the Convention logistics and planning. We will be working over the next few weeks to help determine what duties will fall under the DNCC and what duties will remain with the Denver 2008 Host Committee, which will continue to exist and raise money for the efforts. Volunteer recruitment is right now one of those areas being discussed.

Lots of people have expressed concerns that certain groups should be given “priority” for volunteer spots. Please don’t worry — the convention effort will need over 7500 volunteers. There is more than enough volunteer spots to go around, and we will also be working to be sure that folks outside of the Denver Metro area are not left out of the volunteer work, as well.

In the end, there will be volunteer sign-up opportunities in at least two different locations: on the official Denver 2008 website, which can be found at:
http://www.denverconvention2008.com/

There will also be a sign-up likely on the DNC’s website itself, which is at:
http://www.dnc.org/
(Note that their header today already reflects the excitement of the Denver selection.)

I would expect that volunteer sign-up forms will appear on one or both of the sites in the coming weeks.

Finally, if you simply can’t wait that long to send in your name, you can submit an e-mail to the Denver 2008 Host Committee’s general e-mail box, which can be found at:
Denver2008@gmail.com

Thanks to all of you who have written with kind words and congratulations. Now, we’ve got to roll up our shirtsleeves and get to work!

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Last night, I joined a very happy post-Convention decision crowd in Pueblo. The Pueblo Chicano Democratic Caucus was holding their annual officer induction dinner. It was a wonderful event, with every seat in the room filled. There was a great sense of optimism in the air, as folks were still savoring election wins last November, the inauguration of county and state leaders this week, and in anticipation of the visit by Governor Ritter tomorrow for dinner at the Union Depot.

I “re-upped” as a member of the PCDC — it is a great group with continuing efforts to reach out to and educate the Hispanic community in Pueblo and Southern Colorado. Even in Pueblo, though, most of the talk was of the Convention. I lost track of how many people walked up to me and asked how they could be involved and help out with the Convention. There were some concerns that volunteers would be used only from the Metro area, which I quickly allayed. We’re going to need volunteers from across not only Colorado, but the West, to do this well.

As the new officers were inducted, each lit a candle. It was a ceremony filled with hope and promise, as the new officers of the PCDC definitely represent. With such a great group helping lead Pueblo in 2008, I’m certain we’ll see some great successes for our candidates in Southern Colorado!