Democrats hold local platform meeting

It looked like a miniature political convention Thursday at the Green Valley Democratic Headquarters in the Green Valley Mall as passionate Barack Obama supporters came together to share ideas, debate — and help draft the official platform of the Democratic Party.

It was one of several local platform meetings held in Southern Arizona — and one of thousands held across the country — over the past week.

Each election year, both parties write a platform, or the party’s official statement of its principles, traditionally

seeking input from a limited number of groups across the country.

This year, Obama has enlisted the help of the people.

“This process will empower Americans in all 50 states to make their voices heard as they help write the document that embodies our party’s values and vision for the future,” said Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean, in a statement on Obama’s campaign Web site.

The DNC’s Platform Drafting Committee, chaired by Gov. Janet Napolitano, will receive a report with input from the local

meetings Aug. 1 before assembling a draft platform Aug. 2-3. The Democratic National Convention will be held Aug. 25-28 in Denver, where delegates vote to adopt the platform.

“It’s clear that Obama wants to hear from the people who are going to elect him,” said Kathy Killeen, Green Valley resident and one of the organizers of Thursday’s meeting.

About 18 people attended the two-hour meeting, including several registered Independents.

The group decided on five major issues — the economy, foreign policy, energy and environmental policy, health care and education. They had to write a few sentences about each one, to be submitted to the national party.

“This is a tough thing to tackle,” said Larry Backus. “We can’t just make sweeping statements here.”

Several times throughout the meeting, discussion turned into debate, though most of it was friendly.

The group had split opinions on education, namely the contentious No Child Left Behind Act, but came to a consensus on Environmental

policy.

One bullet point called for the “U.S. to lead the world as a role model for addressing global warming.”

Another suggested the U.S. “create a major, national focus project” exploring ways the country could become independent of foreign oil and other energy sources.

When the meeting was over, participants expressed satisfaction with their participation.

“This really is a grass-roots campaign,” said Cene Backus.

“You e-mail the (Obama ‘08) campaign, and they actually e-mail you back. You get the feeling that what you say will actually make a difference.”

jrichardson@gvnews.com | 547-9726