Travis County Political Action Call: A “How-To” On Affecting Real Change In Party Politics

*NOTE: THIS POST IS SPECIFIC TO VOTERS IN CENTRAL TEXAS, ESPECIALLY TRAVIS COUNTY, TEXAS*

Author: Amy Fowler

Below are my instructions for being a delegate and proposing a Resolution for the Travis County Democratic Convention.

Because of the delay in the Texas primary, precinct conventions will not take place on the Primary Election day. Instead, they will happen at the Travis County Democratic Convention on Saturday, April 21, 2012.

The good news is that it is much easier to do it this time. The bad news is it is all day long during Saturday of the Reggae Fest. I really hope some people can do this.

These instructions are particular to the Austin Area, and include some of San Antonio. Senate Districts 14, 21, 24 and 25.

Travis County Democratic Party Convention
April 21, 2012, Austin Convention Center, 500 East Cesar Chavez Street Austin, TX 78701
Registration 8am-10am

How to Introduce a Resolution and Be a Delegate for Your Precinct at the Convention for Senate Districts 14, 21, 24 and 25
Follow these instructions:

NOTE: A significant number of voters in Travis County are in new Senate Districts, Precincts or renumbered Precincts.

a) Write down your:
– Precinct Number;
– Senate District; and,
– Voter Identification Number:
You can verify your Senate District and Precinct and Voter Identification number on your NEW voter registration card, that you are scheduled to receive after April 1, 2012. OR, you may use this link to look it up on the Travis County Voter Verification System online:
http://www.traviscountytax.org/showVoterNameSearch.do

b) Go to this Link for the Travis County Democratic Convention to register yourself as a Delegate for your precinct (print proof of your registration to take with you to the Convention]. Registration Deadline: April 20, 2012 at 11:59pm:
http://www.traviscountydemocrats.org/delegate-registration/

c) After you register to be a delegate, you can then submit your Resolution online. The online submission deadline is April 19, 2012;

– and/or –

You can Print and Bring extra copies of your Resolution to submit by 10:00am in person at the Travis County Democratic Convention.
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Notes:
– Even if you submit your resolution online in advance, you should bring a copy of it, and proof of online submission, and verify that your exact resolution is present on the agenda for the Resolutions Committee session at the Conference on April 21, prior to 10:00am.

– Any delegate can sit in the room and observe the Resolution Committee. You should turn your cell phone ringer off, be polite and quiet. You can not chime-in your opinion during the Committee Meeting unless you are invited to by the Committee.

– Act/Dress Professional: Getting angry or rude will only hurt this cause. So will looking sloppy or unprofessional. Show them you are someone to be taken seriously and treated respectfully.

– Have LOTS of copies of your Resolution on hand to pass out to other people at the convention. Bring signs with you too in support of your Resolution. Also bring talking points.

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The Resolution Committee will read the submitted Resolutions in the Resolution Committee Room. When you get to the convention, make sure you find out where that room is. After your Precinct Convention is over (see below), find the resolutions committee room and go in there. It would be best if you could team up with a group that is there with the same agenda. You will likely need to lobby to make sure the Resolution is introduced in committee. I would strongly suggest that you sit in the Resolutions Committee room and see your resolution through.

It would be good if you could find a Resolution Committee Member that supports your resolution that can either, a) defend the Resolution during the hearing, or b) Let you use his/her allotted time to defend your resolution in his/her behalf.

AFTER your resolution is introduced and passed in committee, you should go back to the convention floor and wait for the Resolution Committee to finish and bring the Resolutions to the floor.

BE WARNED: they do not have to introduce your resolution to the convention floor. You need to lobby them to do so. A strong presence of people there with the same agenda will help ensure your cause is heard and passed on the convention floor. The Marijuana Legalization Resolution was passed in the Resolutions Committee last convention, but never made it to the convention floor. Do not underestimate how dirty these yellow dog democrats can get. You do need to respectfully keep them in line. Hand out multiple copies of your resolution at the convention. Hang them up around the convention, bring signs in support of it. Try and rally people behind it. Do not say you are with NORML or THC, etc. You are from your Precinct, you are a Democrat and a Delegate.

If you would like to be on the Resolution Committee, please call the Travis County Democratic Party and ask them how to get on this committee. Currently only Senate Districts 21 and 24 have openings for the Resolution Committee: (512) 477-7500

PRECINCT CONVENTIONS:

You have to be at the Convention and Registered no later than 9:45am. Your Precinct Convention will be the first item on the convention agenda. You need to find your Precinct and go sit with them. You will then elect a Precinct Chair and elect delegates to go on to the State Convention. We need people to go to the State Convention to push the resolution there too. If you can go to Houston for the State Convention, please try and be a delegate or an alternate for the State Convention. You must be elected for this at the Precinct Convention.

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Sample Resolutions Included – Feel Free to use either of these

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RESOLUTION TO ADD PLANK ON LEGALIZING MARIJUANA TO THE 2012 TEXAS DEMOCRATIC PARTY PLATFORM

WHEREAS in the United States more than 858,000 individuals were arrested for marijuana violations in 2009 — far more than the total number of arrestees for all violent crimes combined, including murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault; and

WHEREAS the societal costs of propagandizing against marijuana and marijuana law reform, funding anti-marijuana ‘science’, interdicting marijuana, eradicating domestically grown marijuana and industrial hemp, law enforcement, prosecuting and incarcerating marijuana smokers costs U.S. taxpayers in excess of $12 billion annually; and

WHEREAS since 1965, 85% of the arrests for marijuana have been for possession only; and

WHEREAS marijuana is far less dangerous than alcohol or tobacco, with approximately 50,000 people dying each year from alcohol poisoning. Similarly, more than 400,000 deaths each year are attributed to tobacco smoking. By comparison, marijuana is nontoxic and cannot cause death by overdose; and

WHEREAS according to an October 2011 Gallup poll, 57% of Democrats polled believed marijuana should be legalized for personal use, and overall, 50% of those polled were in favor of Legalization, with only 46%against; (http://www.gallup.com/poll/150149/Record-High-Americans-Favor-Legalizing-Marijuana.aspx); and

WHEREAS nationwide, U.S. law enforcement have arrested over 20 million American citizens for marijuana offenses since 1965, yet today marijuana is more prevalent than ever before, adolescents have easier access to marijuana than ever before, the drug is on average more potent than ever before, and there is more violence associated with the illegal marijuana trade than ever before; and

WHEREAS marijuana prohibition abdicates the control of marijuana production and distribution to criminal entrepreneurs, such as drug cartels, street gangs, drug dealers who push additional illegal substances; and

WHEREAS prohibition promotes disrespect for the law, and reinforces ethnic and generational divides between the public and law enforcement; and

WHEREAS an estimated 75 percent of all marijuana arrestees are under age 30; further, Hispanics accounted for 42.7% of drug prosecutions in 2007 but comprised only 16% of the total population of the United States; and

WHEREAS there is no evidence that marijuana is a “gateway” drug leading to use of other more potent drugs; and

WHEREAS a conviction for simple possession of marijuana permanently disqualifies an individual from receiving federal aid to attend college; and

WHEREAS members of minority groups and low income individuals are disproportionately convicted and incarcerated for marijuana possession and use in addition to the violence and corruption those communities suffer due to prohibition.

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the following language be added to the Administration of Justice subsection of the Public Safety section of the 2012 Texas Democratic Party Platform:

Because the prohibition of cultivation, possession and use of marijuana has utterly failed to reduce its use and conversely has been especially harmful to low income and minority communities, we should legalize, regulate and tax marijuana similar to other recreational drugs like alcohol and tobacco.

Respectfully submitted,

Signature:________________________

Printed Name:_____________________

Precinct No. _________ of ____________ County, Texas

Adopted by the County/Senatorial District Convention in Senatorial District #_____ of ________ County, Texas on April 21, 2012.

_________________________
Convention Secretary

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RESOLUTION TO ADD PLANK ON LEGALIZING MARIJUANA TO THE 2012 TEXAS DEMOCRATIC PARTY PLATFORM

WHEREAS marijuana is a safer substance than any other drug, legal or not. There has never been a death recorded from marijuana overdose, and the DEA’s own Administrative Law Judge, Francis Young, called it “one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man; and

WHEREAS marijuana is less addictive than heroin, cocaine, alcohol, nicotine, and caffeine, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse; and

WHEREAS marijuana is not a “gateway drug” as suggested by some. Both the Institute of Medicine, and the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, found no causal relationship between marijuana use and other illicit drug use; and

WHEREAS despite a marked increase in admissions to drug treatment for marijuana in recent years, the Federal Government’s “Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration reported that 58% of primary marijuana admissions were referred to treatment through the criminal justice system; this is a result of the explosion in marijuana arrests in recent years; and

WHEREAS the “War on Drugs” is largely a war on peaceful marijuana consumers.
Marijuana arrests now comprise more than half of all drug arrests in the United States, according to the FBI, and in Texas, according to the Dept. of Public Safety.
Nationwide, more than 45% of all drug arrests are for marijuana possession alone, totaling more than 758,000; and

WHEREAS marijuana arrests are wasting precious resources. Last year in the US, according to the FBI, more than 850,000 people were arrested for marijuana, almost 90% of which were for possession alone. In Texas last year, almost 80,000 were arrested for marijuana, with more than 97% of those for possession alone. Each marijuana arrest costs taxpayers an estimated $10,000, and takes several law enforcement officers to process; and

WHEREAS marijuana legalization/regulation would help to keep it out of the hands of young people. Because marijuana is unregulated and traded exclusively on the illegal black market, it is much more accessible and dangerous to children. Ever since 1975 the National Institute on Drug Abuse has reported that between 83-90% of high school seniors easily obtain marijuana. Prohibition, and increases in law enforcement efforts have not, and can not, make marijuana less available to young people; only legalization and regulation can, as with tobacco, alcohol, and legal drugs; and

WHEREAS marijuana use does not increase the risk of cancer, and in many cases actually decreases the risk. Since the late 1990’s, multiple scientific studies have found cannabinoids to have anti-cancer properties against a cancer cells including: brain, breast, prostate, colon, gastric, skin, leukemia, lung, uterus, cervical, pancreatic, thyroid, and lymphoma. Last year, 2009, the National Institutes on Health reported that marijuana use, even long term, is associated with a “significantly reduced risk” of head and neck cancers; and

WHEREAS the single most dangerous thing about marijuana is it’s illegality, which leads to huge profits for underground, black market, drug dealers, and can result in a long list of serious punishments for those arrested and prosecuted for it’s use: fines, jail time, probation and mandatory drug testing, loss of driving privileges, loss of federal student aid, asset forfeiture, revocation of professional licenses including driver’s license, loss of certain welfare benefits such as food stamps, removal from public housing, loss of child custody, loss of employment; and

WHEREAS support for marijuana legalization has never been higher than it is right now. Gallup, one of the most respected polling organizations, found public support for marijuana legalization in 2010 at 46%, the highest ever recorded support, while a new low of 50% are opposed:

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the following language be added to the Administration of Justice subsection of the Public Safety section of the 2012 Texas Democratic Party Platform:

Because the prohibition of cultivation, possession and use of marijuana has utterly failed to reduce its use and conversely has been especially harmful to low income and minority communities, we should legalize, regulate and tax marijuana similar to other recreational drugs like alcohol and tobacco.

Respectfully submitted,

Signature:________________________

Printed Name:_____________________

Precinct No. _________ of ____________ County, Texas

Adopted by the County/Senatorial District Convention in Senatorial District #_____ of ________ County, Texas on April 21, 2012.

_________________________
Convention Secretary

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If you are truly committed to making a change in Texas (and in the political system in general), then you must be willing to get involved with party politics, and make yourself a part of it. Here in Texas, especially, it is of the utmost importance to work within the system to see things changed at the state level.
Please consider taking action, and/or share this information with those who will.