Today I attended the “Malibu Democratic Club” debate.
In Iowa last week at the Iowa Republican caucuses, anyone who showed up at the polls could vote.
In Malibu, democrats could not vote today to determine who would get the Malibu Democratic Club endorsement for the 50th Assembly District.
Last week I learned from the Malibu Patch that the Malibu Democratic Club was having a meeting to decide who Malibu would be endorsing for the 50th Assembly position. All of the democratic candidates were scheduled to debate and discuss why they were running and how they would represent Malibu. Having been a registered Democrat all my life, I registered to become a member of the club last week on-line right after I read the article.
You can imagine how upset I was to find out that I could not vote today unless they I had registered and paid the $25 due fee last month (30 days prior) because of a rule in the by-laws.
As I looked around the room, I saw at least five (5) Malibu democrats (including 3 who may took run to represent Malibu on the City Council) who also could not vote because of this rule. As I also looked around the room, I also noticed that many people attending (at least 40 or so) did not even live in Malibu. I am grateful that these people are active in politics and willing to drive many miles to vote in the Malibu Democratic Party election, but something seems wrong to me.
Today the allegedly “Malibu Democratic Club” voted to endorse Torie Osborn with 41 votes. Betsey Butler garnered 5 votes. Richard Bloom garnered 0 votes. 13 people voted not to endorse any candidate.
The only thing Malibu about it was the name.
The only thing Democratic about it was the name.
How do you know where 40 people in the room live?
Were ID cards and driver’s licenses checked?
Can it be shown that there were people who lived outside of Malibu who voted?
Is it legitimate for Malibu property owners and business owners to be a member of a political club in a community where they spend most of their time?
Doesn’t a club have a right to make sure that those who vote are people who have been members, and not just those who claim to be Democrats and who come in at the last minute ONLY so they can vote on a controversial issue? I believe that there is a big difference between a town’s Democratic CLUB and a party caucus to select a Presidential candidate.
Thanks for your comments Ann.
I think we can both agree the only endorsement that matters is the one from the people in November!