Democratic National Committee

The Democratic National Committee is made up of 450 Democratic leaders. State parties across the nation elect 250 of them. The chair of the DNC appoints 75, and the other members are appointed by organizations that have an affiliation with the DNC.

Oregon has seven DNC members. Five are elected by the Democratic Party of Oregon's State Central Committee. They are:

Meredith Wood Smith, DPO Chair
Frank Dixon, DPO First Vice Chair
Lupita Maurer, DNC Member
Wayne Kinney, DNC Member
Mike Radway, DNC Member

One is appointed:

Gail Rasmussen, President of the Oregon Education Association, appointed by DNC Chair Howard Dean.

Lupita Maurer, Wayne Kinney, and Mike Radway were elected by the DPO State Central Committee in December 2008. Their terms last 2 years.

The DPO's State Central Committee will hold elections for chair, vice chairs and secretary when the Party holds its organization meeting in 2011. The chair and first vice chair of each state party are DNC members.

DNC Member Duties

DNC members are expected to attend the meetings of the Democratic National Committee and cover their own travel costs. There are two a year, usually lasting three days. They usually start on a Thursday and end on a Saturday.

In general, winter meetings are held in the Washington, D.C., area, and summer/fall meetings are held in other parts of the country. Oregon's delegation is also a member of the DNC's Western Caucus, which meets during DNC meetings, and generally holds a meeting of its own in the spring or summer of each year on a weekend. In both cases, meetings of the actual committee are brief. DNC meetings in particular are very formal. There are lots of caucus and committee meetings and opportunities for training during the meetings. There are plenty of opportunities to get to know DNC members from other states, to share information, and to learn from each other. DNC members are also automatic delegates to the Democratic National Convention, along with Democratic members of Congress and governors.

In Oregon, DNC members are more involved than in many states. Recent DPO bylaw changes have given DNC members duties as officers in the state party's Administration Committee. That means that in addition to the chair, vice chairs, secretary and treasurer, the DNC members help govern the Democratic Party of Oregon.

Meetings of the Administrative Committee are held twice a month.  DNC members are in frequent contact with other DPO officers/staff and have assigned counties for which they serve as a liason to the DPO. DNC members are asked to help with events and fundraising, expected to be available for county chair and executive committee meetings and conference calls, to lead special projects, and attend statewide meetings and conventions. They are expected to participate fully in governance of the Party. DNC members are also automatic members of the DPO's State Central Committee.