Spokane Sends 9 to Denver!

SPOKANE, WA - As my good friend Don Hamilton has said, "a better ending could not have been written for this incredible script". Spokane should be proud to know that this August, it will be sending 9 community members, party activists and leaders to Denver to nominate the Party's nominee to become the next President of the United States.

As this journey begins, there is very little that I can tell you about each of these individuals, but I hope that by the end of this journey, I will be able to tell you a great deal. I am honored to have the opportunity to go to Denver with the following Spokane delegates:

• National Obama Delegates/Alternate:
  Ed King
  Hope Busto-Keyes
  Patrick Gunning
  Sharon Smith
  Senator Chris Marr
  Kristine Reeves
  Caitlin Ormsby
• National Clinton Delegates/Alternates:
  Michael Wagner
  Cynthia (Cindy) Schwartz

As our very own delegate, Sharon Smith was quoted as saying, "What a testiment to the leadership and progress that Spokane County has demonstrated to the state, we should be very proud of our team!"

Spokane REPRESENT!!!

Spokane County Hosts the 2008 Washington State Convention!

SPOKANE, WA - This past weekend saw a lot of Democrats swarm Spokane for the 2008 Washington State Democratic National Convention. A four day promotion of the Party in Washington saw Spokane County rock the convention in several ways.

First, Spokane County bid against King County last year to host, what some are calling, the largest convention in the history of the state, with the tagline "Bring the Party to Spokane". With the promise of "Putting the Party back in the Party", Spokane County Democrats, in conjunction with the Toad Hall Democrats, kicked off the convention with a party all their own.

The Toad Hall Democratic Club Convention Kick-off Party, set the tone for the convention by hosting nearly 300 guests in the gardens of the hall with beer and brats for a sunny Thursday event. With special guests, Senate Majority Leader, Lisa Brown and State Party Chairman, Dwight Pelz, the event saw a variety of candidates, party leaders and elected officials among the delegates and alternates to the convention - all enjoying the laid back atmosphere and hospitality of the Hall.

Friday was all smiles as many first time delegates and alternates worked through the lengthy training schedule and schmoozed their way through events with the national delegates who were elected at the congressional caucuses and would ultimately be the deciding electors of the remaining PLEO (Party Leader and Elected Officials) delegates and At-Large Delegates.

Saturday found itself a big day for the Spokane County team, as they worked their way through the opening of convention, with Kristine Reeves representing Spokane and offering the Convention welcome, and into the afternoon with planning and preparation to host the 2008 Salmon Feed in Riverfront Park.

To a crowd of over 1,000 attendees, Spokane County was honored to host US Senator Maria Cantwell and hear her message of hope and party unity moving through this campaign season and on to Denver. Also sharing messages at the mic were Attorney General candidate, John Ladenburg and 5th Congressional District candidate, Mark Mays. Dwight Pelz, in shorts and a t-shirt, addressed the gathered crowd with a fun and laid back message that encouraged the attendees to have a good time.

Sunday closed out the convention with the final election of the remaining delegates and alternates to the national convention in Denver. Spokane County is proud to have added three more members of our community to the Washington State Delegation with the election of Sharon Smith, former Spokane County Chair and nominee of Dwight Pelz to the Add-on delegate slot, 6th District State Senator, Chris Marr as a PLEO delegate and current Spokane County Chair, Kristine Reeves as a PLEO delegate, bringing the Spokane delegation going to Denver to seven members with Hope Busto-Keyes, Ed King, and Patrick Gunning as delegates and Caitlin Ormsby as an alternate.

"This is such a huge testament to Spokane County and a tremendous show of support for and recognition of the Spokane County Democrats," said Sharon Smith.

Kristine Goes to Denver!

Hi all,

My name is Kristine Reeves and I am currently the Chair of the Spokane County Democrats.

I had the very amazing fortune to be elected to serve as a PLEO (Party Leader and Elected Offical) national delegate to the DNC Convention in Denver this coming August.

I am launching this blog as a way to capture the excitement, the planning, the learning curve and the responsibility of serving Washington as one of the 97 national delegates who will cast a vote for the Democratic nominee in Denver.

As most of you know, I am pledged delegate for Senator Barack Obama and darn proud of it, but also appreciate and respect the hard work of Senator Clinton over the course of her campaign and look forward to working to bring the party together in an effort to take out the real enemy, Republican ideals that work against American values.

I will periodically be updating this blog, hopefully once a week at least, until the convention - in an effort to chronical my journey through history.

Thank you so much for this opportunity and for your help and I look forward to sharing the stories and photos along the way.

In Service,
Kristine