Who runs the DNC? Who chooses the Head?

[OnionPatch]

Frankly, I don't even know who runs the DNC and how it works, exactly. Could someone here explain it to me?

I'm thinking about this because I'm wondering why we don't have any say in who gets to be the head of the DNC. I thought we were all about democracy.

[xultar]

1. The Corpoate Whores choose the DNC leader. n/t

[goodhue]

9. not at all

The DNC chair is elected by the DNC representatives from each state. They are entirely vulnerable to grassroots pressure if it is applied.

[InvisibleBallots]

13. Well, here is their website and the list of officers:

http://www.democrats.org/about/leadership.html

Current DNC Leadership

While anyone who is registered to vote as a Democrat is a member of the Party, there are 440 members of the Democratic National Committee.

The National Committee has 9 elected officers: The Chair, five Vice Chairs, Treasurer, Secretary, and National Finance Chair. Three Deputy Chairs are appointed by the Chair.

* Terry McAuliffe, Chairman
* Linda Chavez-Thompson, Vice Chair
* Gloria Molina, Vice Chair
* Lottie Shackelford, Vice Chair
* Mark Brewer, Vice Chair
* Wellington Webb, Vice Chair
* Rep. Mike Honda, Deputy Chair
* Ben Johnson, Deputy Chair
* Susan Turnbull, Deputy Chair
* Andrew Tobias, Treasurer
* Alice Travis Germond, Secretary
* Maureen White, National Finance Chair

[MaineDem]

14. Same on the state level

Not all Democrats are members of the State Committee. Each County or District elects representatives. Same for the DNC.

What's your point here?

[InvisibleBallots]

15. and here are the 440 members:

From the data at http://www.dems2004.org/site/pp.asp?c=luI2LaPYG&b=107686 indexed at http://www.dkosopedia.com/index.php/Democratic_National_Commmittee (with the caveat this list might be out of date or might contain inaccuracies)

Here are the 440-some odd members of the DNC:

Redding Pitt
Amy Burks
Hon. Alvin Holmes
Hon. Yvonne Kennedy
Joe Reed
Scott Sterling
Hon. John Davies
Claudia Douglas
Cindy Spanyers
Allimau Scanlan
Deanna Fuimaono
Fagafaga Langkilde
Clara Reid
Martin Bacal
Janice Brunson
James Pederson
Alexis Tameron
Sue Tucker
Ron Oliver
Don Beavers
Karla Bradley
Martha Dixon
Hon. Lottie Shackelford
Steven Alari
Jeremy Bernard
Rachel Binah
Hon. Willie Brown
Hon. Yvonne Burke
Michael Davis
Mary Ellen Early
Patricia Ford
Nely Galan
Alexandra Gallardo Rooker
Inola Henry
Hon. Mike Honda
Alice Huffman
Aleita Huguenin
Hon. Carole Migden
Hon. Gloria Molina
Bob Mulholland
Hon. Kevin Murray
Mona Pasquil
Christine Pelosi
Hon. Nancy Pelosi
Robert Rankin
Garry Shay
Christopher Stampolis
Hon. Art Torres
Norma Torres
Keith Umemoto
Hon. Antonio Villaraigosa
Hon. Maxine Waters
Vernon Watkins
Hon. Diane Watson
Hon. Rosalind Wyman
Steven Ybarra
Chris Gates
Andrew Boian
Julia Hicks
Mary Alice Mandarich
Hon. Ramona Martinez
Jonathan Postal
Hon. Wellington Webb
Hon. George Jepsen
Hon. Anthony Avallone
Bernice Bowman
Ellen Camhi
Martin Dunleavy
Mona Mohib
Dorothy Mrowka
Phil Wheeler
Richard Bayard
Leah Betts
Bert DiClemente
Karen Valentine
Morton Bahr
A. Scott Bolden
Donna Brazile
Mary Eva Candon
Yolanda Caraway
Arrington Dixon
Maria Echaveste
Patricia Elwood
Hartina Flournoy
Harold Ickes
Ben Johnson
Minyon Moore
Mirian Saez
Barbara Lett Simmons
Elizabeth Smith
Christine Warnke
James Zogby
Hon. Scott Maddox
Hon. Clarence Anthony
Jon Ausman
Cathy Bartolotti
Terrie Brady
Mitchell Ceasar
Hon. Joyce Cusack
Diane Glasser
Chuck Mohlke
Lula Rodriguez
Andrew Tobias
Hon. Diana Wasserman-Rubin
Ashley Bell
Carole Dabbs
Hattie Dorsey
Hon. Shirley Franklin
Robert Kahn
Herb Mabry
Richard Ray
Benjamin J. F. Cruz
Isabel S. A. (Becky) Lujan
Michael Phillips
Taling Taitano
Brickwood Galuteria
Stephanie Ohigashi
M.Dolly Strazar
Hon. John Waihee
Hon. Carolyn Boyce
Hon. Gail Bray
Hon. Edgar Malepeai
Peter Richardson
Willie Barrow
Margaret Blackshere
Joseph Cari
Hon. Cardiss Collins
Maria Garcia
Hon. Constance Howard
Hon. Thomas Hynes
Hon. Emil Jones
Thomas Lakin
Hon. Michael Madigan
Hon. Iris Martinez
Hon. John Rednour
Edward Smith
Phoebe Crane
Cordelia Lewis Burks
Robert Pastrick
Mary Lou Terrell
Kipper Tew
Terry Thurman
Hon. Chet Culver
Gordon Fischer
Hon. Michael Fitzgerald
Pat Marshall
Hon. Tom Miller
Hon. Sally Pederson
Ken Rains
Julianne Thomas
Hon. Tom Vilsack
Chris Gallaway
Lawrence Gates
Teresa Krusor
Larry Tenopir
Constance Wray
Moretta Bosley
Bill Garmer
Terry McBrayer
Kerry Morgan
Jo Etta Wickliffe
Patsy Arceneaux
Hon. John Breaux
Hon. Renee Gill Pratt
Jerry McKernan
Mike Skinner
Mary Lou Winters
Dorothy Melanson
William Bryan
David Garrity
Hon. Dale McCormick
Gwethalyn Phillips
Thomas Buffenbarger
Alvaro Cifuentes
Maria Cordone
Hon. Elijah Cummings
John Gage
Janice Griffin
Hon. Sue Hecht
Weldon Latham
Hon. Isiah "Ike" Leggett
Belkis (Bel) Leong-Hong
Richard Michalski
Glenard Middleton
Hon. Thomas "Mike" Miller
Mary Jo Neville
R. Scott Pastrick
Hon. Gregory Pecoraro
Carol Pensky
Michael Steed
John Sweeney
Beatrice Tignor
Susan Turnbull
Philip Johnston
Virginia Allan
Clinton Bench
Hon. Raymond Jordan
Elaine Kamarck
Hon. William Keating
Debra Kozikowski
David O'Brien
James Roosevelt
Alan Solomont
Margaret Xifaras
Mark Brewer
Arthenia Abbott
Lu Battaglieri
Elizabeth Bunn
Debbie Dingell
Joel Ferguson
Melvin "Butch" Hollowell
Hon. Kwame Kilpatrick
Joyce Lalonde
Hon. Christina Montague
Erin Parsons-Wright
Jeffrey Radjewski
Virgie Rollins
Richard Shoemaker
Jim Sype
Richard Wiener
Tarryl Clark
Mike Erlandson
Ken Foxworth
Greg Knutson
Sarah Lewerenz
Jackie Stevenson
Hon. Harvey Johnson
Johnnie Patton
Carnelia Pettis Fondren
Hon. William Wheeler
Doug Brooks
Mark Bryant
Joe Carmichael
Hon. Sharon Carpenter
Hon. Emanuel Cleaver
Sandra Querry
Hon. May Scheve Reardon
Hon. Bob Ream
Carol Juneau
Jean Lemire Dahlman
Hon. Ed Tinsley
Steven Achelpohl
Bill Avery
Kathleen Fahey
Cynthia LaMere
Frank LaMere
Hon. Yvonne Gates
Steven Horsford
Adriana Martinez
Hon. Dina Titus
Brian Wallace
Kathleen Sullivan
Hon. Raymond Buckley
Gaetan DiGangi
Anita Freedman
Mario Baeza
Tonio Burgos
Hon. Joseph Cryan
Alfred DeCotiis
Hon. June Fischer
Hon. Douglas Palmer
Hon. Joseph Roberts
Christine "Roz" Samuels
Hon. Bonnie Watson Coleman
George "Jeep" Gilliland
Mary Gail Gwaltney
Hon. Patricia Madrid
Gloria Nieto
Bill Richardson
Annadelle Sanchez
John Wertheim
Donald Afflick
Hon. Dominic Baranello
Eugene Callendar
Hon. Vivian Cook
Hon. Inez Dickens
Hon. Herman Farrell
Emily Giske
Hon. Judith Hope
Denise King
Maria Luna
Hon. Thomas Manton
Dennis Mehiel
Hon. Clarence Norman
Hon. Roberto Ramirez
Hon. Marguerite Relin
Jeffrey Soref
Marianne Spraggins
Irene Stein
Sylvia Tokasz
Randi Weingarten
Maureen White
Robert Zimmerman
Barbara Allen
Jeanette Council
Hon. Joycelyn Johnson
Jerry Meek
Muriel Offerman
David Parker
Everett Ward
Tom Dickson
Hon. Jim Maxson
Renee Pfenning
Mary Wakefield
Denny White
William Burga
Hon. Jane Campbell
Enid Goubeaux
Lloyd Mahaffey
Hon. Mark Mallory
Ronald Malone
Hon. Rhine McLin
Patricia Moss
Hon. Stephanie Tubbs Jones
Hon. Mary Ellen Withrow
Jay Parmley
Jim Frasier
Debbe Leftwich
Betty McElderry
Mary Botkin
Hon. Kate Brown
Jim Edmunson
Wayne Kinney
Gail Rasmussen
Meredith Wood Smith
Rena Baumgartner
Anna Burger
Carol Ann Campbell
Hon. Ronald Donatucci
William George
John Karoly
Leon Lynch
Hon. Sophie Masloff
Gerald McEntee
Hon. Jean Milko
Ian Murray
Evelyn Richardson
Hon. T.J. Rooney
Hon. Ruth Rudy
Patricia Scarcelli
C. Delores Tucker
Hon. Roberto Prats
Celita Arroyo de Roques
Hon. Kenneth McClintock
Hon. Charles Fogarty
William Lynch
Edna O'Neill Mattson
Edward McElroy
Hon. Frank Montanaro
Hon. Eleanor Slater
Mark Weiner
Hon. Gilda Cobb-Hunter
Joe Erwin
Donald Fowler
Waring Howe
Carol Khare
Bernice Scott
Hon. Thomas Daschle
Judy Olson Duhamel
Dennis Langley
Hon. Nick Nemec
Sharon Stroschein
Randy Button
Will Cheek
Inez Crutchfield
Hon. Lois DeBerry
Jimmie Farris
Hon. Myron Lowery
Hon. William Owen
Charles Soechting
Linda Chavez-Thompson
Blanche Darley
Hon. Yvonne Davis
Hon. Al Edwards
Jaime Gonzalez
Gabrielle Hadnot
David Holmes
Hon. Eddie Bernice Johnson
Hon. Ron Kirk
Hon. Iris Lawrence
Sue Lovell
Hon. Ed Miller
Hon. Carroll Robinson
Bob Slagle
Hon. Oscar Soliz
Rosa Walker
Donald Dunn
Jim Humlicek
Mary Palley
Nancy Jane Woodside
Scudder Parker
Linda Almy
Deb Markowitz
Chuck Ross
Allison Sultan
Carmen Gonzalez
Maria "Chi-Chi" Heywood
Derek Hodge
Hon. James O'Bryan
Hon. Kerry Donley
Barbara Easterling
Hon. Alexis Herman
Hon. Jerrauld Jones
Miguel Lausell
Daniel LeBlanc
Terence McAuliffe
Jennifer McClellan
Mame Reiley
Susan Swecker
Paul Berendt
Charlotte Coker
Ed Cote
Hon. Gary Locke
Karen Marchioro
David McDonald
Hon. Ron Sims
Ya-Yue Van
Jim Bowen
Nick Casey
Alice Germond
Emilie Holroyd
Marie Prezioso
Linda Honold
Stan Gruszynski
Ken Opin
Mary Rasmussen
Tim Sullivan
Paula Zellner
Hon. Mike Gierau
Hon. George Bagby
Nancy Drummond
Vickie Goodwin
Rachelle Valladares
Peter Alegi
Robert Bell
Lois Grjebine
Christine Schon Marques
John McCreery
Ruth McCreery
Ronald Schlundt

[Cheswick2.0]

2. The DNC has a commitee

made up of politicians and other people in the party, donors, activists etc... They are the ones who will choose DNC chair.
Someone has a list of who all those people are and you can call them, or write them and urge them to vote as you would like.

[janx]

11. We were talking about this at our DFA meetup. Apparently,

there may be some changes in our local DNC people before February. There's only a handful of them, and most will likely stay the same, but there's supposed to be an election or something...?...the point is, they might change. I'm trying to get more information about this.

[Freddie Stubbs]

3. The state parties elect people serve on the DNC

Those people then choose their chairman.

[OnionPatch]

6. So how would I get to have a say?

Join the state party? Go to meetings? Funny, I never hear anything from them and I know I'm on every Dem/leftie list there is out there.

[Blue Wally]

7. Start at the county/precinct level

Find out who are your local guys. Volunteer for phone banks/envelope stuffing/sign delivering. Become a partisan poll watcher. You then work your way up until you get to be a delegate to the state convention.

[goodhue]

10. Contact your state DNC representatives.

Organize listening sessions, as is ongoing in MN.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x1408844

[InvisibleBallots]

16. they don't advertise and don't promote involvment

for some good reasons and well as some bad.

First of all, these are people who do this stuff every day, they show up to do the boring work, all the time even when we lose. I can imagine they would not want, say, protestors showing up interfering with voter registration to chain themselves to the door because minks are being slaughtered in Utah, or a Christian prayer was said at a public meeting in West Virginia, or whatever the fad of the day is.

Then again, a lot of the reson they don't want people involved might not be so noble. I would think most of the party organizations would hope you would vote, donate, and perhaps attend a rally now and then, but other than that just shut up.

[LiberalFighter]

17. They won't advertise or promote involvement publicly

Nor should they

People that attend local meetings, state conventions, work their precinct, commit their time as a county officer, attend functions, volunteer for phone banking, gotv, mailings, etc will be noticed. It isn't that they don't want to ask people to get involved they don't realize that they should or if they already have people doing the work they think they will offend the ones already doing it.

We do a directory for our district dinners every year and one function was primarily by one person. I kept suggesting and pushing for others to help her out. They finally did it about 2 years ago. She now does past accounts and the others do new accounts and/or special interests.

DNC members are going to be people in leadership positions. State Democratic party, activist organizations, etc.

[MaineDem]

4. The DNC is comprised of members elected at each state's convention

Plus the Chair and (usually) the Vice Chair of each state's Democratic Party.

There are other members chosen by organizations with seats on the DNC. Democratic Governors, Democratic Women, a whole bunch more.

These representatives then elect their Chair.

[Ardee]

5. Here's a good place to start

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_National_Committee

[NVMojo]

8. it's no different at the state level

I just found out that Reid picks all dem chairs statewide, whenever possible. And those who want to run for an office as a dem must get his blessing, this per the words of one of the local party chairs.

[goodhue]

12. varies from state to state

In Minnesota the DNC representatives are elected at the state convention. The party chair is also elected by the central committee, whose members are in turn elected at district conventions. All very open and grassroots. But it requires folks to actually show up and work the system. It is really not very hard.