DNC Chair Tom Perez and Deputy Chair Keith Ellison had an hour long call with DNC members to discuss the status of a number of projects – below are my notes and the notes from our excellent DNC Secretary Jason Rae. The Call was substantive, informative, and open to member’s ideas. It really is a new DNC. Chair Perez then spoke to the Woman’s National Democratic Club about the threats posed by the Trump administration and the Democrats’ role in leading the American people’s response in rejecting extremism.
My notes: DNC call –
- Chair Tom Perez gives shout out to Yasmine Taeb for organizing Muslim Ban protest at White House.
- Focus on state/local races, including Virginia.
- Are building DNC staff – contact Transition2017@DNC.org.
- Wants to involve DNC members in specific activities – invited participation.
- Karen Carter Peterson leading voting efforts – wants to establish a permanent voter council – shout out to Virginia Voter Protection Council, to Pratt Wiley, and to Mark Elias.
- Unity Commission members will be named by early April. Deputy Chair Keith Ellison briefs on Trumpcare issues.
- Note upcoming May 25 MT congressional race and interesting candidate – Rob Quist.
Jason Rae, DNC Secretary – Notes from DNC Members Call
Wednesday, March 15, 2017
Chair Tom Perez started the call and thanked members for participating today. He also expressed his appreciation for all the texts, calls and emails since the election and is working to return as many as possible.
The transition process is in full force at the DNC. Last week, the newly elected officers gathered in Washington, D.C. for a day-long meeting and planning session. The officers are already getting to work across the country, focused on everything from municipal seats to gubernatorial elections.
Chair Perez thanked everyone for their recommendations for members of the transition team. Earlier today, he announced the members of the Transition Advisory Committee, which will be co-chaired by the Reverend Leah D. Daughtry, longtime Democratic Party strategist, and most recently CEO of the 2016 Democratic National Convention, and Chris Lu, former Deputy Secretary of Labor, and former Executive Director of the 2008 Obama-Biden transition.
This team is charged with providing concrete suggestions and advice on building a Party that reaches into and represents every corner of America. A full list of members can be found here.
For those who know individuals interested in positions within the DNC staff as this transition moves forward, resumes can be sent to transition2017@dnc.org.
In addition, the Chair mentioned there has been a lot of outreach from DNC members about how to be engaged, as well as questions from members. In the short term, while we work to build out all our processes at the DNC, to ensure that nothing falls through the cracks, if members have scheduling requests, questions they need answered, ideas for other officers, important races in your local community to watch, please send those items to SecretaryOffice@dnc.org. Secretary Jason Rae and his staff will work to shuffle them to the appropriate person or department for responses.
Chair Perez also updated members on the Unity Commission. According to the resolution that was adopted at the National Convention, the Chair has until 60 days after his election to name the Commission members. He is hoping to make those announcements soon, before the deadline, in order to allow the Commission the ability to begin its work in early May.
The Chair continued by talking about some of the new and exciting things the DNC is doing. We are working to engage with partner organizations and put our values into action. One example of this was the recent Democrats Live. The inaugural edition had more than 100,000 views. This will be a regular event. Our next one will focus on the Affordable Care Act.
Chair Perez introduced DNC Deputy Chair and Congressman Keith Ellison to provide an update on the efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act. Congressman Ellison talked about how this issue is dividing Republicans in the House at the moment and how we as DNC members continue to share information about what is going on with our networks.
The call concluded with Chairman Perez taking questions from members on a variety of topics, including redistricting reform, how the DNC would be engaged in special elections, and more. Chair Perez stated he hoped to make these calls a regular feature so that members of the DNC can be aware of everything that is happening.
The call adjourned at 5:58 p.m. ET.