Area Democrats may be uninvited to state convention

It was a localized version of the Michigan/Florida debate in Grand Prairie today and once again, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama supporters were at odds.

Local Clinton supporters advocated Thursday for unseating ALL of the Democratic delegates from Collin County because their senate district conventions were held on the wrong day.

Officials with the Collin County Democratic Party said they chose to hold the convention a day late because there wasn't a large enough venue in the county available for the scheduled date of Saturday, March 29. Party officials warned at the time that the eligibility of their delegation may be challenged.

A state credentials committee for the Texas Democratic Party was in Grand Prairie holding hearings on over 100 challenges to North Texas delegates who were elected to attend next week's state Democratic convention in Austin.

Delegates at the state convention will vote on how many Obama and Clinton delegates will represent Texas in the national convention in Denver.

Most of the morning was occupied with the charge that all of Collin County's delegates should be deemed ineligible.

The committee agreed to postpone voting on that challenge until more information was available.

Frederick Barrow, an Obama supporter who chaired the Collin County credentials committee, alleged that Clinton supporters were only trying to unseat the delegation because Obama won more delegates from Collin County.

“I believe the party really did all it could and, in a detailed way, examined all of the negatives of changing the date,” Barrow said.

Clinton supporters said state law required that senate district conventions be held on Saturday, March 29.

“What is troubling me...is that it seems to me that this rule is crystal clear,” said Martha Smiley, a Clinton supporter on the state party's credentials committee.

Clinton supporters issued several charges, including that the Collin County Democratic Party didn't properly notify all their delegates of the date change and that they only chose to hold the convention a day later because they wanted a nicer venue than what was available on March 29.

Some Tarrant County delegates could have ended in the same boat, according to Fort Worth Clinton backer Jason Smith.

He told the committee that then-Tarrant County Democratic Chair Art Brender tried to change the date of the convention for Senate District 10 because he was having trouble finding a proper location. State Party Chairman Boyd Richie told him that wasn't allowed, according to Smith. The SD 10 convention was eventually held on March 29 in Will Rogers Coliseum.

“We actually held senate district 10 in a rodeo barn,” Smith said.

-Aman Batheja

Comments

[Scott]

Tell you what Clinton, how about we wait until we see what happens to the Michigan and Florida delegates on the 31st before deciding on what to do with the Collin County delegates. After all, aren't you the one preaching about how we need to respect the "will of the voters" and how we shouldn't disenfranchise voters who took the time to vote.

Then again, rules haven't mattered to you in the past, why should they matter now right?

Pathetic.

[Tim]

Isn't the Clinton mantra "count every vote." Unless the vote is for Obama, it seems.

[LibDemKS]

At this point, all that Sen. Clinton is doing is torpedoing any semblance of a future political career for herself. She's coming across as a whiny baby. This is not action becoming a 4-year old, much less a U.S. Senator. I bet the writers for SNL aren't very happy to be on hiatus right now, this would be prime fodder.

[Miri NY]

Hi, Texas.
This is the kind of behavior we've had to deal w/ in NY.
She has no respect for any voters. She even got a restraining order against one of her constituents to keep him away from her office.
She has done absolutely nothing for our state.

[Why? Why? Why]

Hillary is getting desperate; and it's embrassing.