DNC Rules Committee Member from California Anticipates Florida and Michigan Delegates Issue to Be Resolved at May 31 Meeting

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

Garry Shay, Chair of the California Democratic Party Rules Committee and a member of the Democratic National Committee Rules Committee, talking with fellow Superdelegate and DNC Member who also sits on the DNC Rules Committee, Alice Huffman, at California Democratic Council Dinner Before remarks

By Frank D. Russo

Yesterday evening, I moderated an after dinner panel discussion amongst eight California Superdelegates, including two who are uncommitted, at the annual California Democratic Council Convention in Fresno. Despite being in session for a dozen or so hours before the dinner event kicked off, the room was packed with CDC delegates who did not tire and stayed for an hour and a half to ask questions and hear from those on the dais. I’ll have a fuller report later on the many interesting comments of these grassroots Democrats, all of whom were elected to their positions, and are not going to the Denver Convention because of appointment or their position.

What caught my ear were the comments made by Garry Shay, a well versed and insightful California Democratic Party Rules Chair and a member of the important Democratic National Committee Rules Committee, who said he anticipates the May 31, 2008 meeting of this body to be important and for it to resolve questions surrounding the seating of delegates from Florida and Michigan.

Shay is known as a straight shooter who is well versed in rules and chooses his words carefully. He announced around the time of the California primary that he was supporting Hillary Clinton. He, as well as the other seven superdelegates on the panel--and another who had to leave early but spoke to the crowd--had some interesting things to say about what this means. But Shay’s analysis of the Florida and Michigan situation was very interesting.

He was more predictive of the Florida delegation, which he said, based on putting bits and pieces of information together, would be seated, each with a one-half vote. He said the resolution of the Michigan delegates, where all Democratic candidates except Hillary Clinton, took their names off the ballot at the request of the Democratic National Party, was “anybody’s guess.” But being told to arrive a day early and to schedule plane flights coming home a day after the meeting, he said that there will be a big push to resolve these issues before the convention. The Rules and Bylaws Committee has jurisdiction on this issue until June 29. If it goes to the convention, it will then be handled by the credentials committee.

Here is what Shay had to say, verbatim: