On Tuesday, May 17, 2005, at 12:37 AM, Tim Bonham wrote:
The number is calculated by a formula giving 1 delegate for every 25 DFL votes in that precinct in the most recent election.
So there were 4443 delegate spots available before the precinct caucuses. Attendees there filled 3303 (not 3333) of them, so that became the maximum number of delegates for the city convention.
This formula is a standard one, that has been used statewide for many years to allocate DFL delegate spots to precincts.
At the City DFL Central Committee meeting last December, there was an attempt to change this to 1 delegate per 50 votes, and another to base this on votes for City candidates, not President, etc. Both of these would likely have resulted in a reduced number of delegate spots. (Both had some support from City DFL officers, the ones who had to actually put on these conventions.) But the central committee voted to stay with the 1 per 25 formula, and thus create the largest democratic convention in the world.
Direct government, via referendum or town hall is the most representative. 25 to 1 is less so and comprises the delegate model of representation. It isn't the electorate but it is a wonderful model of caucus and convention to select political leadership and standard bearers for the parties. But then the candidates go before the voters - to the referendum. We have this model in Minnesota and I think it works quite well.
The stadium issue on the other hand questions whether representative government works or should there be direct government. This is exacerbated by the state's position that it must give permission in referenda of local tax matters. That's a big issue now because local government is being squeezed badly by state behavior to cut revenues for vital local services.
Thanks Tim for the explanation. I hope we can do more of this so listers can see how the system works.
Best,
Laura
Laura Waterman Wittstock Minneapolis, MN 612-387-4915 www.laurawatermanwittstock.com http://laurawatermanwittstock.blogspot.com/
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