Young Democrats of Washington

2008 Convention
March 28-30; Vancouver, WA

 Schedule by Time

Friday, March 28, 2008

6:00-8:00pm
Registration Open--Lobby

8:00-10:00pm
Welcome Reception--Oak/Hemlock Room

Saturday, March 29, 2008

9:00am-3:00pm
Registration Open--Lobby

9:00-9:30am
Rules Committee--Pine/Spruce Room

9:00-10:00am
Technology 101--Oak/Hemlock Room

Labor Caucus--Cedar Room

9:00am-noon
Platform Committee--Alder Room

9:30-11:00am
Campaign 101--Pine/Spruce Room

10:00-11:00am
Chapters 101--Oak/Hemlock Room

Queer Caucus--Cedar Room

11:00am--noon
2008 Elections Overview--Oak/Hemlock Room

Religious Caucus--Cedar Room

State Party 101--Room

Noon-1:00pm
Lunch and Job Fair

1:00-1:30pm
Platform Committee Wrap-Up--Alder Room

1:00-2:00pm
Environmental Panel--Oak/Hemlock Room

Diversity Caucus--Cedar Room

1:00-5:00pm
Endorsements Committee--Pine/Spruce Room

1:30-5:00pm
Constitution Committee--Alder Room

2:00-3:00pm
Voting Discussion with Krist Novoselic--Oak/Hemlock Room

Women's Caucus--Cedar Room

3:00-4:00pm
State Perspectives Panel--Oak/Hemlock Room

Environmental Caucus--Cedar Room

4:00-5:00pm
Member Moderated Debate--Oak/Hemlock Room

Credentials Committee--Cedar Room

6:00-7:00pm
Banquet Reception--Discovery A/B

7:00-9:00pm
Awards Banquet--Discovery A/B

Sunday, March 30, 2008

9:30-10:30am
General Board Breakfast

10:30am-1:00pm
General Session

Banquet and Receptions

Friday Night Reception

Our Friday Night Reception will have plenty of appetizers for those who are making the drive into Vancouver!  We will also hear from local Elected Officials, Candidates, and have a warm welcome from the Clark County Democrats--Young and Old!

Saturday Night Awards Banquet

YDWA is happy to welcome our Keynote Speakers for the 2008 Convention:
Young Democrats of America President David Hardt
Congressman Brian Baird

Also, YDWA will be giving out our annual awards for: College Chapter of the Year, County Chapter of the Year, Young Democratic Man and Woman of the Year, Rookie of the Year, Half-Lifetime Achievement, and Honorary Young Democrat.  Nominations can be sent to president@ydwa.org

Trainings and Forums

Technology 101
9:00-10:00am
This training will look at the use of technology in politics today.  We will discuss websites, online organizing, and general communications including technology that can be used to help chapters grow and organize.  There will also be a presentation on online voter registration and using facebook effectively.
Speakers: Patrick Mead, Washington State Democrats
Jamie Holm, CCYD President
Brett Horvath, UWYD Member

Campaigns 101
9:30-11:00am
Campaigns 101 will discuss the basics of campaigning.  We will be concentrating on the aspects of field strategy and volunteer management as well as looking at both candidate and issue based campaigning.
Speakers: Morgan Miles, Former SW Washington Field Director, WA State Coordinated Campaign
Chase Gallagher, Campaign Manager

Chapters 101
10:00-11:00am
Chapters 101 will be a forum for chapters to get together to discuss what works and what doesn't for chapter organizing.  We will also discuss the basics of what chapters can do including fundraising, running meetings and events, and communications.
Moderators: Megan Gustafson, Former KCYD Chair
Andrew Goodin, Former WSUYD Chair
Chiho Lai, YDWA Communications Director and KCYD Chair

2008 Elections Overview
11:00am-noon
2008 is a huge election year for Washington State.  This will look at the races from the Presidential and Gubernatorial on down to the Legislative Districts throughout the state that will be in play in this crucial cycle.
Speakers: Edie Gilliss, Washington State Director for Progressive Majority
Chelsea Waliser, Field Director for Washington State Coordinated Campaign

State Party 101
11:00am-noon
This will be an overview of the State Party structure and where the Young Democrats fit into this structure.  There will also be a discussion of the delegate process following the caucuses and how to be a delegate beyond the LD level.
Speakers: Hillary Hunt, Former DNC Youth Delegate
Pat Notter, DNC Committeewoman
Jaxon Ravens, Washington State Democrats Executive Director

Environmental Panel
1:00-2:00pm
This panel will concentrate on Environmental Issues affecting Washington State.
Speakers: State Senator Craig Pridemore
Heather Melton, Washington Conservation Voters Board Member and Clark County WVC Chair

Voting Discussion with Krist Novoselic
2:00-3:00pm
Discuss Instant Runoff Voting and also have a Q&A session with Krist Novoselic.

Washington State Perspectives
3:00-4:00pm
This will be a look into politics across the State of Washington.  We will hear from Democratic leaders about the challenges and benefits to political organizing in their areas on both an issue and Democratic campaign level.
Speakers: Pat Notter, Former Chelan County Chair
Dena Horton, Clark County Chair
Sharon Mast, Washington DNC Member

Member Moderated Debate
4:00-5:00pm
Our members have opinions on the issues that are affecting the state and nation too.  This will be a moderated forum for members of YDWA to weigh in on issues. 
Moderator:  Marko Liias
Issue Topics: TBA

Caucus Meetings

Caucus meetings are meetings of the constituency groups of YDWA.  Each chapter has one vote in a caucus meeting, but anyone is welcome to attend and participate.  Elections will be held for caucus officers and some special programs will happen during these meetings.

Labor Caucus
9:00-10:00am--Cedar Room
The Labor Caucus does outreach from YDWA to the Labor Organizations in the state.  This caucus concentrates on labor issues not only affecting the state, but also looks at labor in a more global sense.

Queer Caucus
10:00-11:00am--Cedar Room
The purpose of the Queer Caucus is to bring forth the issues of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered community and to encourage individuals of the community to take part in YDWA and the Democratic Party.

Religious Caucus
11:00am-Noon--Cedar Room
The purpose of the Religious Caucus is to recruit and encourage the participation in the Young Democrats and the Democratic Party as a whole people of all faiths.  This caucus also strives to educate the membership of YDWA on Religious Issues. 

Diversity Caucus
1:00-2:00pm--Cedar Room
The Diversity Caucus strives to encourage minority participation in YDWA.  This caucus educates the membership on the issues affecting the diverse minority groups in the state. 

Women's Caucus
2:00-3:00pm--Cedar Room
The Women's Caucus of YDWA does outreach to women's organizations throughout the state and recruits women to be a part of YDWA.  This caucus has been very successful in promoting gender equality in YDWA.  The Women's Caucus also brings women's issues into the issue advocacy of the organization. 
There will also be a discussion of the perspective of women in elected positions.
Guest: Representative Deb Wallace

Environmental Caucus
3:00-4:00pm--Cedar Room
The Environmental Caucus has the primary goals of reaching out the the large Environmental Activist community in the state as well as make sure that environmental issues are key focus of YDWA's issue advocacy and platform.  Special attention will be given to ways to outreach to and connect with Environmental groups.
Guest: Heather Melton, Clark WCV

Committee Meetings

The Committees of YDWA help decide the way the Convention is ran as well as make decisions that impact the future of the Organization.  Each chapter has one vote in each committee.  Anyone can attend, but only chapter representatives may participate.

Rules Committee
9:00-9:30am--Pine/Spruce Room
Rules Committee will determine the Rules that will be used to govern the Convention and General Session including the elections procedure.
Chair--Jason Crittenden

Platform Committee
9:00am-Noon; 1:00-1:30pm--Alder Room
The Platform Committee develops the Platform of YDWA.  The Platform is a comprehensive document that details out the position of the Young Democrats on a variety of issues; especially issues that affect young people.
Chair--Annie Jansen

Endorsements Committee
1:00-5:00pm--Pine/Spruce Room
The Endorsements Committee is a standing committee of YDWA that can meet at the call of it's chair at any point during the year.  During this meeting, the Endorsements Committee will consider the first round of endorsements for Democratic Candidates in the 2008 Election Cycle.  The recommendations of this committee will then be sent to the General Board for Approval.  It is chaired by the Executive Vice President of YDWA.
Chair--Jamie Emerson

Constitution Committee
1:30-5:00pm--Alder Room
The Constitution Committee reviews the Constitution and Bylaws of YDWA and makes recommendations on changes to these documents.  
Chair--Kelly Drake

Credentials Committee
4:00-5:00pm--Cedar Room
The Credentials Committee is in charge of determining the votes that each chapter will have in the General Session as determined by the constitution.  This Committee also has the authority to review the vote allocation process.
Chair--Chiho Lai

Latest Additions

Speakers have been added for all trainings!

Additional speakers will be added here as confirmed.