Meet The DNC Rules Committee Members Who Will Decide Michigan And Florida

With Hillary Clinton running out of options in the fight for the Democratic presidential nomination, one of her remaining hopes for beating Barack Obama rests with seating the delegations from Michigan and Florida. On May 31, the DNC's Rules and Bylaws Committee will hear challenges to their decision to strip the two states' delegations of their votes. But who are the 30 members of the Rules Committee who will decide what happens to Florida and Michigan? The Democratic Convention Watch Blog has broken down the roster by which candidate they support. Do you know about the members of the committee? Drop HuffPost a line at [e-mail].

Rules and Bylaws Committee Members

Co-Chairs - no endorsement
Alexis Herman (co-chair, Washington , D.C. )
James Roosevelt, Jr. (co-chair, Massachusetts )

Members - Clinton supporters (13)
Hartina Flournay (DC)
Donald Fowler (SC)
Harold Ickes, Jr. (DC)
Alice Huffman (CA)
Ben Johnson (DC)
Elaine Kamarck (MA)
Eric Kleinfeld (DC)
Mona Pasquil (CA)
Mame Reiley (VA)
Garry Shay (CA)
Elizabeth Smith (DC)
Michael Steed (MD)
Jaime Gonzalez, Jr. (TX)

Members - Obama supporters (8)
Martha Fuller Clark (NH)
Carol Khare Fowler (SC)
Janice Griffin (MD)
Thomas Hynes (IL)
Allan Katz (FL)
Sharon Stroschein (SD)
Sarah Swisher (IA)
Everett Ward (NC)

Members - no known endorsement (7)
Donna Brazille (DC)
Mark Brewer (MI)
Ralph Dawson (NY)
Yvonne Gates ( NV)
Alice Germond (DC) - DNC Secretary
David McDonald (WA)
Jerome Wiley Segovia (VA)

More On The Uncommitted RBC Members

Donna Brazile - Washington DC
Campaign Manager, Gore/Lieberman 2000
Chair, DNC Voting Rights Institute
Founder, Brazile and Associates
Adjunct Professor, Georgetown University
Contributor, CNN

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From her personal website:

Founder and Managing Director of Brazile and Associates, LLC. Brazile, Chair of the Democratic National Committee's Voting Rights Institute (VRI) and an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University, is a senior political strategist and former Campaign Manager for Gore-Lieberman 2000 - the first African American to lead a major presidential campaign.

Prior to joining the Gore campaign, Brazile was Chief of Staff and Press Secretary to Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton of the District of Columbia where she helped guide the District's budget and local legislation on Capitol Hill.

Brazile is a weekly contributor and political commentator on CNN's Inside Politics and American Morning. In addition, she is a columnist for Roll Call Newspaper and a contributing writer for Ms. Magazine.

A veteran of numerous national and statewide campaigns, Brazile has worked on several presidential campaigns for Democratic candidates, including Carter-Mondale in 1976 and 1980, Rev. Jesse Jackson's first historic bid for the presidency in 1984, Mondale-Ferraro in 1984, U.S. Representative Dick Gephardt in 1988, Dukakis-Bentsen in 1988, and Clinton-Gore in 1992 and 1996.

Mark Brewer - Michigan
Chairman, Michigan State Democratic Party
President Association of State Democratic Chairs

From the Michigan Democratic Party website:

Mark Brewer is the longest serving Michigan Democratic Chair since the 1950's and is the senior Democratic state party chair in the country.

Active in the Michigan Democratic Party for 30 years, Mark Brewer has an extensive record of successful grassroots activity. A 1973 graduate of Mount Clemens High School, Brewer obtained his A.B. with Honors from Harvard College in 1977 and his law degree from Stanford University Law School in 1981 where he served on the law review. After working for two years for federal and state courts, he joined Sachs, Waldman, O'Hare, Helveston, Hodges and Barnes, PC in 1983, becoming a shareholder in 1989. He resigned from the firm upon becoming Chair of the Michigan Democratic Party.

Ralph Dawson - New York
Partner at Fulbright & Jaworski

From the New York Observer:

You may not know Ralph Dawson. But he could be a pivotal player in the Democratic presidential primary. He's an uncommitted superdelegate from New York--which is rare, since this is Hillary Clinton's home state.

Dawson, a partner at the law firm, Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P., is also the Democratic National Committee member who introduced the resolution to strip Florida of its delegates for holding its presidential primary ahead of the February 5 date recommended by the D.N.C.

Dawson said for him, it's not a question of choosing a president he prefers--he likes them both--but rather, seeing which one is more electable in November.

Yvonne Atkinson Gates - Nevada
Former Clark County Commissioner
Former Chairwoman of the DNC Black Caucus

According to the Las Vegas Weekly:

"I am uncommitted because as a member of the rules committee I must remain neutral until after the decisions are made about Florida and Michigan. I don't want anyone to question my decision."

Alice Germond - Washington DC
Secretary of the DNC
Political Director of Clinton/Gore 1992 Campaign
Former officer of the California State Democratic Party
Worked on the Gary Hart and Michael Dukakis Campaigns

From the DNC website:

Alice Travis Germond was elected Secretary of the DNC in 2002. The Office of the Secretary oversees Democratic National Committee Meetings, communications with democratic activists throughout the nation, and the day to day business of the National Party membership. The Secretary calls the roll at the Democratic National Convention for the nomination of the President and Vice President as well as certifies all delegates and all vote counts.

Alice has served the Democratic Party for over 40 years. She was an officer of the California State Democratic Party, political director for California Clinton/Gore in 1992, and held senior positions in the presidential campaigns of Gary Hart and Michael Dukakis, as well as in campaigns for many state and local races. Alice came to the DNC Headquarters in Washington in 1989 with Chairman Ron Brown where she coordinated his party programs and served as his liaison to the 1992 Convention. From 1992-1995, Alice was the Director of Party and Government Affairs and Site Selection. Alice was first elected to the DNC in 1980 and has served in a number of capacities including on the Rules and the Executive Committees. She has participated in every National Convention since the 1974 mid-term Charter Convention and served as a Co-Chair of the 1984 Convention Rules Committee and as a member of the 2000 Platform Committee.

David T. McDonald - Washington
Partner with K&L Gates in Seattle
Managed Gov. Christine Gregoire's post-election day defense of her victory.

Told Huffington Post's OffTheBus Superdelegate Project:

"If you're running behind, you need to shuffle the deck a bit," David McDonald said Wednesday of Hillary Clinton's strategy to seat delegates from Michigan and Florida.

"Michigan could and probably will decide to hold a process that complies with DNC rules and elect a slate of delegates that could potentially sit at the convention," he told a University of Washington journalism class. "The rules committee would have a hard time saying no if they wanted to go forward with that."

McDonald is not just a Washington state superdelegate; he is also a member of the DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee. He was the first speaker to cross-examine Florida before stripping the state of its delegates and the person who motioned to strip Michigan of its delegates. McDonald is one of 30 people on the rules committee who could decide whether or not to seat the Michigan and Florida delegates.

...

McDonald said he wouldn't respond well if Clinton wanted to seat delegates based on the contests that already took place in the two states.

"If she makes the motion to allocate 'beauty contest' delegates, she will not get support from me," he said. "If she gives [the states] a chance to comply with rules, I will consider it, but they were given 30 days to comply already."

Jerome Wiley-Segovia -- Virginia
Founder, Latinos for Dean
Founder, Casa Blanca

According to Huffington Post's OffTheBus Superedelegate Project:

Today, Wiley Segovia says he sometimes finds it hard to believe that he sits on the DNC's Rules Committee with powerful party insiders like Hillary Clinton strategist Harold Ickes and commentator and former campaign manager Donna Brazile. (He firmly stands by his Committee's decision to strip Florida and Michigan of their delegates for moving their primaries up because he believes it shows respect for the historic inclusion of two more diverse states, Nevada and South Carolina, early in the process).

...

His philosophy toward voting as a super-delegate--like many of his peers--emphasizes representing a constituency. However, unlike many super delegates, this constituency is not his state, Virginia. Although he resides in Arlington, he points out that as a delegate at-large, he does not represent a state but rather the DNC, particularly the Latino voters that he has dedicated himself to organizing and representing.

Says Wiley Segovia: "If I was chosen by Virginia, I would have a much greater sense of responsibility to Virginia, I would be almost compelled to vote the same way, [but] because Governor Dean appointed me, my responsibility is to the whole party, my responsibility more than anything is to the Latino constituency, so if I feel that one candidate is better, than that's who I want to vote for."

Currently, he does not want to endorse a candidate because his occupation as political director of Casa Blanca requires him to be neutral. "I think both candidates individually are strong leaders, and either one of them could be good presidents."

As for their strengths and weaknesses, "I think Obama could probably bring more voters, so it would ensure that our party would win, but I think the staff on the Clinton side has been more competent. [The] Clinton staff has been more thorough. "

Comments

[Mygirl]

I am glad to see who these people are. I pray that they are smart enough to do the right thing and not go along with Hillery and destroy the party.

[Araxiel]

Clinton supporters have the upper hand. If this committee votes to change the rules ex post facto, I am done with the Democrat Party forever. If they do that, then the Democrats are just as bad as the Republicans. I am a life-long Dem, and this sickens me to my core. Hillary will never, should she steal the nomination in this way, win the independents, which I intend to become if the committee does what I think it may well do.

Only the superdelegates can end this madness, but they are apparently a spineless lot, much to my dismay.

[lbrillante]

Tainted elections with immense ramifications that cannot be corrected... CAN NOT BE COUNTED.
WHY DO WE NEED TO TAKE THE EXAMPLE OF THE REPUBLICANS????
The DNC needs to stick with its ruling because too many ramifications have already occurred based on this initial ruing. Many people did not vote... candidates dropped out of the race. It affected too many people in too many ways and Senator Clinton should NOT benefit from changing the rules after the fact. I think she is being completely self serving when she tried to champion getting the tainted primaries counted... for the voters sake. Are the voters really that stupid?
After they decide to uphold their previous ruling... then they could decide that now that the primaries are coming to an end... they would seat the delegates of both states 50/50.
If the DNC allows a change to their initial ruling...it will mean chaos in the future as no one will trust the rulings of the DNC... people will think... oh it doesn't really mean anything....

NO WAY to you give this campaign to Hillary Clinton ... I don't want her in the white house any more than John McCain...

[Beca]

First, both states CHOSE to BREAK the DNC RULES & were fully aware of the consequences when they chose to break party rules.
Second: All candidates agreed to the party rules & agreed to abide by party rules.
Obama was not known very well in both Florida & Michigan back when FL and Mi decided to hold their elections. The Clinton name was well known. Obama complied with the rules & did not campaign or show himself in either state. He also took himself off the ballot in Michigan. Clinton decided to try to play on both sides of the fence.
The votes that were cast in Florida & Michigan are meaningless because they Broke the Rules & the candidates did not have a fair & equal chance to campaign in the states. The Clinon name was well known & therefore, Hillary enjoyed an unfair advantage over Obama during that period of time.
Counting those votes as anything legitimate actually does the opposite, it reduces the legitimacy of the Democratic process in the Primary, not only because of the broken rules, but because of democratic fairness.
The states of Florida and Michigan disenfranchised themselves and to place blame on the DNC or any one candidate is not only unfair but ridiculous. The rules are there for a reason, and they chose to break the rules, now they have to pay the consequences. If they are grown ups, they will take their lumps with dignity and honor and not let their

[syrupcore]

Looks like Ms. Clinton has the members from the beltway pretty well wrapped up. I think that says....something, though I dunno exactly what.

[micahjrose]

I say give both states half delegates, like the Republicans did, and then seat them according to the vote tallies, with one exception: Barack Obama gets delegates for all the uncommitteds in Michigan. Let's face it, if it were affordable and reasonable to redo those primaries they would already be seated. The states do need to be rebuked; they broke the rules. They were given a month to move their primaries this year, and were told in 2004, by Terry McAuliffe, Hillary's campaign chair and former DNC Chair, that they would be stripped when they tried to do the same crap then.

The primary season is over, whatever that delusional, divisive, right wing democratic candidate Hillary says. Puerto Rico, South Dakota, Montana, Michigan, and Florida will not give her a lead in any category: not popular vote, not delegates, and not states won, unless you do her Obama Michigan popular votes=zero, and caucuses don't count decepto-math.

[Beca]

No that would nto be fair. Both states chose to break party rules despite knowing that they would be stripped of ALL their delegates. Anything short of that would not be fair to the rest of the states who followed the rules. It would also not be fair because Obama was not even on the Ballot in Michigan, and at that time, he was not as well known as he is now. The Clinton name was a household name so they had the name advantage that helped her get votes in those states.

[Daisy1111]

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/politics/orl-asecfldelegate09050908may09,0,7159668.story

[micahjrose]

Link does not work. But we've seen your intelligence in action plenty here, so, I guess it's not a surprise.

[MsLiz]

http://snipurl.com/2a4cx [www_orlan­dosentinel­_com]

Please use snipurl.com for long links.

The headline for the article is Obama vows to seat Florida delegates

[Maewest35]

Consequences as in rewards have to be given with reason and consistency or they lose their ability to accomplish any goal set forth. Any parent or teacher attempting to raise responsible children into the forthright citizens can tell you that lesson.

[labqi]

Right is wrong now dear !!

[Maewest35]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/25/AR2007082500275.html?hpid=topnews

[Maewest35]

The DNC made the rules and should abide by them. Stop placing blame on the GOP and letting Obama and Hillary take the heat. Question.. what is the penalty if the DNC breaks the rules they put in place for the rules to be protected...DUH!

[duze]

Hillary may get a lot of things, but never the POPULAR VOTE, no matter how much the kings of MSNBC try to elicit that she already has it.

[Pdxscott]

What are Edwards, Richardson, Dodd, Biden, Kucinich and Gravel's views
on Florida and Michigan"

Why is the media not asking this pertinent obvious question of
the former Democratic Presidential Candidates. The media is focused on making this an issue
now more than ever. They are making it into an Obama vs Clinton Battle. It
should be All the democratic candidates for president at that time vs Clinton
(End of Story). I believe the perception of Disenfranchisement is hurting the
Democrats and Obama's chances in November. A panel or poll
of opinions from the former candidates on their position then would put
a stop to the Clinton argument of having these states count. They
all took a pledge and publicly acknowledged that these contests would not count.
They went as far as to not campaign or to remove their names from the ballot in
Michigan (exception of Kucinich and Clinton). The peer pressure
of the former respected candidates would put an end to this argument or shame the
Clinton camp into withdrawing this tactic. They should each be asked how
they would feel if they were in Obama's position and Clinton was making the
same case against them. This would take pressure off of Howard Dean and
the Rules committee. If someone would please initiate
this before May 31st rules committee meeting??? Let's end this desperate
last ditch attempt by Clinton to win by defying the rules and end the nonsense about
the democrats not caring about voters in
these states.

[micahjrose]

Amen!

[Maewest35]

By making an object lesson of Florida, Democrats hope to squelch other states' efforts to move their voting earlier, which have created chaos in the primary structure that the national party has established. But the decision to sanction such a pivotal, vote-rich state has risks.

Asked what Hillary Rodham Clinton's plans are for the state, Harold Ickes, a DNC member and adviser to the New York senator, said, "I don't think anyone's going to answer that question, or cross that bridge, until we see what happens in the next 30 days."

Bill Burton, a spokesman for Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), said, "Hopefully, in the next 30 days, Florida and the DNC can reach agreement so Florida's delegates can contribute to the nomination contest."


The DNC rules stipulate that states that have not been granted a special waiver must schedule presidential nominating contests after Feb. 5.

"Rules are rules," said DNC member Garry S. Shays, of California, at the meeting. "California abided by them, and Florida should, as well. To ignore them would open the door to chaos."

Donna Brazile, a member of the rules committee who argued for a swift and harsh punishment for Florida, said states' desire to be more relevant in the nominating process does not excuse violations of rules intended to make the system fair for everyone.

[Pdxscott]

What are Edwards, Richardson, Dodd, Biden, Kucinich,Gravel's views
on Florida and Michigan"

Why is the media not asking this pertinent obvious question of
the former Democratic Presidential Candidates. The media is focused on making this an issue
now more than ever. They are making it into an Obama vs Clinton Battle. It
should be All the democratic candidates for president at that time vs Clinton
(End of Story). I believe the perception of Disenfranchisement is hurting the
Democrats and Obama's chances in November. A panel or poll
of opinions from the former candidates on their position then would put
a stop to the Clinton argument of having these states count. They
all took a pledge, publicly acknowledged that these contests would not count.
They went as far as to not campaign or to remove their names from the ballot in
Michigan (exception of Kucinich and Clinton). The peer pressure
of the former respected candidates would put and end to this argument or shame the
Clinton camp into withdrawing this tactic. They should each be asked how
they would feel if they were in Obama's position and Clinton was making the
same case against them. This would take the pressure off of Howard Dean and
the Rules committee. If someone would please initiate
this before May 31st rules committee meeting??? Let's end this desperate
last ditch attempt by Clinton to win by defying the rules and end the nonsense about
the democrats not caring about the voters in
these states.

[elbram]

UGH... This is her argument to this committee...

http://www.talkleft.com/story/2008/5/7/195231/0991

The true delegate number and the one Barack Obama must surpass is 2209, not 2025.

50% + 1 of all the delegates, pledged and SDs, alloted to the 50 states, Guam and Puerto Rico.

Not 48 states, but 50 states. She explains: [More...]

The DNC and the talking heads all say that “MI and FLA will be seated in some fashion.” That’s doublespeak for “MI and FLA will be seated in a manner which makes permanent the disenfranchisement of MI and FLA voters.” If, for example, the DNC awards Obama the nomination at 2025 delegates, then the MI and FLA delegates will have been rendered meaningless, whether they are “seated” before or after the DNC hands the trophy to Obama. You can’t say you’re seating MI and FLA, and then permit Obama to claim victory based on a magic number that doesn’t count MI and FLA’s delegates.

You can't expect an air of legitimacy to surround a nominee when 2.3 million voters are excluded from making the determination. These delegates not only must be seated, they must be seated when their votes count in determining the nominee. Seating them after that, so they have a chance to rah-rah for the candidate they had no say in selecting, won't cut it. And they certainly won't be satisfied with going to Denver just to weigh in on the party platform.

[wolfi101]

I grew up in Michigan ( born / raised ) and of all my friends back there, whom I've spoken to this year -- I can tell you not one supports her. This includes old, young, men, women, and so on. And they are ticked at the idea, that she would somehow benefit from their state after saying, that Michigan didn't matter.

FYI: Michigan is not one of these pure-white, working-class states, either. The rural areas are, but the big cities ( Detroit, Lansing, Flint ) have huge minority populations, that probably would support Obama ( if trends continue ). It has also been trampled by NAFTA.

[micahjrose]

Maybe they should have thought of that before they disenfranchised themselves. Their elections were illegitimate, why should they be rewarded with undue influence for turning their noses up to party rules? Why should their illegitimate delegations get any legitimacy?

The problem is not the DNC. It is not Howard Dean. Terry McAuliffe would have done the same thing in 2004 if Florida and Michigan hadn't backed off. Start blaming the people who caused this. The state parties of Michigan and Florida.

[elbram]

I agree. I think Hillary's strategy is to ruin the Dems chances this year by either:

1.) weakening the Obama win by claiming it was won "illegitimately" (fodder for the Repubs and polarizing her supporters from him) by him not getting to the 2209 pledged delegates.

2.) Delay the ending until convention by appealing any DNC Rule committee decision on the FL and MI ruling issue and continuing to appeal the appeal until convention. Thereby severely crippling the inevitable Obama win.

All this with the hopes that has another shot in 2012 because 2016 she will be too old.

THE FUNNY PART TO ME IS If she truly thought Obama was the weaker presidential choice and it is such a big mistake to elect him, why doesn't she wait until 2012 when Obama has messed up the country so badly and run against him then???

Answer: Obama will probably be one of the best presidents and she knows she won't beat him when he shows us what he can do.

Some people are willing to die for this country and she isn't even willing to give up a lost battle for the good of this country...she makes me sick really...

The worst part is if this works, McCain will probably pick two of the Supreme Court judges...which would likely overturn many of the women's rights issues...and send the US on a terrible path.