Went to the LD8 Dems meeting tonight...

and was treated to an informative presentation from Todd Landfried, the interim Executive Director of the Maricopa County Democratic Party.

He spoke about the accomplishments of the MCDP during the last cycle, the current activities of the county party, and the goals for the coming election cycles (both 2007 and 2008.)

When discussing the accomplishments of the MCDP last year one of the first things he did was to describe working with (former MCDP Chair) Judy Kennedy as an "absolute joy." [Note: she's moved on to the state party executive committee - she's been elected as the Secretary of the Arizona Democratic Party. Lucky them. :) ]

Perhaps the biggest accomplishment was creating an infrastructure to find, train, and support candidates county-wide. In the past, the approach to these activities was somewhat haphazard; not any more. In addition, the MCDP did a fantastic job of raising money, such a good job, in fact, that the party was able to carry forward the most money to the new cycle that it ever has been able to.

The current activities include fundraising (already a success - this year's budget is much more than last year's) and a lot of work with PCs - recruiting, training, and involving them. Also, the county party has been working at getting its committees filled and up to speed.

Goals for the coming two years include using the 2007 election cycle as prep for the 2008 cycle, raising the visibility of legislative district organizations and PCs, and did I mention fundraising? :)

Overall, it was a very encouraging presentation about where the county party is and where it's going. In addition, we learned that the combination of Todd Landfried as executive director and Mark Manoil as chair of the county party is an effective, creative, and dynamic one. [Mark wasn't there, but everyone there knew him.]

Upcoming events of interest to LD8 Dems (all local Dems, actually):

February 19 – Nucleus Club February Luncheon featuring Senator Mike Gravel from Alaska and Dan Saban, potential candidate for Maricopa County Sheriff. Held at the Phoenix Country Club, cost is $40 for non-members. Call 602-234-6545 for details.

February 25 – Reception Honoring Judy Kennedy, from 5:00 until 7:00pm at the Union Hills Country Club, 9860 W. Lindgren Ave. (south of Union Hills Dr. on 99th and then east on Lindgren to club). $25 per ticket, all proceeds to West Democratic Hdqts.

March 8 – Women in Blue celebrate “One Arizona,” featuring Governor JanetNapolitano. Held at the Arizona State Capitol, Executive Tower Bldg., beginning at 7:45 a.m. Lunch at the Wyndham Hotel includes guest speaker, Terry McAuliffe, past Chairman of the Democratic National Committee. Luncheon cost is $30 and must be pre-paid by Feb. 27th.

March 29 – “Will the United States Invade Iran,” a topic presented by Scott Ritter. Please join us at 6:30pm at the Scottsdale Civic Center on March 29th to hear Scott Ritter (former UN weapons Inspector) discuss the topic. A flyer will be coming your way next week-end so that you can register.

April 2 - Former Vice-President Al Gore will be speaking at ASU. Details forthcoming.

Good night!