Democratic Party - 49th Ward

Start the New Year the Right Way

Do you care about Barack Obama?  The election in Iowa is now down to being just days away.   The Iowa caucus, and perhaps the Presidency, will be decided based on who wins the caucus January 3, not on any poll or survey.   And who wins the Iowa caucus will be determined by who shows up, on what will no doubt be a cold winter night, at the caucus. 

You can make the difference.  The Chicago campaign office is going to be making calls to make sure all of those Obama supporters identified over the last few months make it to the caucus to vote on January 3.  By committing some time and making calls you are going to make a real difference in the outcome of the caucus. 

I know that you are not  planning to just sit at home hopeful it turns out okay after we have come this far.  I also know you are concerned about the future of America and you are concerned about having Barack Obama at the helm as we move into Americas future.   You should be planning when you will be able to make some calls.

You can stop in and make calls for the day or for an hour at the Chicago headquarters.

Obama HQ is at: 300 W. Adams (10th floor) Chicago, IL 60606 just north of the Sears Tower

Obama HQ is open: Mon-Thurs 9am-9pm Fri 9am-5pm Sat 10am-5pm Sun 12pm-9pm

Please make some time and make a difference.  If you have any questions or problems please send me an e-mail or call the Obama campaign at:  (312) 506-0909

Board Meets and Makes Endorsements

The Board of the Democratic Party of the 49th Ward met on Saturday morning December 15 and reviewed the races sent to it from the December 8 endorsement session.  The Board has made the following endorsements in the remaining three contested races:

Board of Review
Jay Paul Deratany is endorsed over Joseph Berrios

Recorder of Deeds
Ed Smith is endorsed over Eugene "Gene" Moore

The final candidate selected to fill out the ticket for
Water Reclamation District Commissioner is
Mariyana Spyropolous

In the judicial races the Board has voted to have Judge Alan Grieman and Judge John Steele will be our endorsed candidates for the two openings  for  Judge of the Appellate Court.  In respect to the ten circuit court judge races on the ballot in February the Board will be meeting after the first of the year to begin our considerations.  Some of the candidates have not yet received their ratings from the bar associations and this is a very significant factor in our endorsement process. 

Endorsement Session Results

Today the Democratic Party of the 49th Ward held its endorsement session for the February 5th primary.  Prior to the meeting the executive board met to conclude the endorsement for President.  The Board has voted to follow the lead of the membership and endorse Barack Obama for President.

For those of you who do not know the rules of the organization the membership can make an endorsemnt binding by giving 2/3 or 66.67% of the total vote case for one candidate or issue.  If a race does not generate a majority of 66.67% it is refered to the Board of Directors for the organization for review and possible endorsement.  The purpose of this two step process is to be certain that  candidates that do not have significant support get a second look from the Board to be certain that as an organization we want to make an endorsement.

The results of our endorsement session are as follows:

                                                                                                                                                                                                               

Congress - 9th Dist
Schakowsky	99.0%	Endorsed
Nocita	1.0%
State   Senate - 7th Dist.
Steans	76.7%	Endorsed
Elder	23.3%
States   Attorney
Suffredin	93.3%	Endorsed
Allen	1.3%
Brookins	0.0%
Brewer	5.3%
Alvarez	0.0%
Milan	0.0%
Board   of Review
Berrios	34.2%	Board
Deratany	65.8%
Recorder   of Deeds
Moore	37.8%	Board
Smith	62.2%
Kelly	0.0%
Water   Reclaimation District
Meany	94.4%	Endorsed
Maragos	78.9%	Endorsed
Avila	45.1%	3rd Seat to
Spyropoulos	46.5%	the Board
Jones	11.3%
O'Reilley	0.0%
Oliver	1.4%
Rush	0.0%
Podgorski	1.4%
Stinson	7.0%
Santos	7.0%

When the Board meets the final decisions will be posted.  A special thank you goes out to everyone who participated, our mrmbers and the candidates who took the time to come out.  We are fortunate to have a very solid group of people running for office this year and everyone agreed that there were some tough choices.