Get involved

Are you mad as hell? Good! But even if you’re only mildly anxious or just actively curious, you’re invited to join a bunch of Washoe County Democrats this Tuesday night when we talk about how to get involved in the 2004 campaign season.

The Washoe County Democratic Party is sponsoring “Caucuses, Conventions, and Candidates; How to Get Involved in Campaign 2004,” a lively discussion about how to get out, get involved and get others to do the same. It’s at 7 p.m., Dec. 2, at party headquarters at 300 S. Wells Ave., Suite #5, right across from Juicy’s.

Of course, we’ll talk about regime change in the White House. But we’re also determined to re-elect U.S. Sen. Harry Reid, retain and take back seats in the Nevada Legislature, and get more like-thinkers elected to local offices.

One of the best ways to get involved is to volunteer some time. It doesn’t have to be a lot, just a few hours every month. For example, on Dec. 13, you can slip into some comfortable shoes and join the volunteer canvass, a door-to-door effort that will help GOTV ("get out the vote") come next November. Volunteer canvasses are scheduled one Saturday a month until the election. We also need people to help register voters, help out in the office and do other stuff. Call 348-8691.

You could also come to a meeting, like the one coming up on Dec. 2, when we’re going to talk about things like precinct caucuses and county conventions. This is a big deal in a presidential election year when there are actually more good candidates than can finish the race. We have to pick a favorite for president, and in Nevada, we don’t do that in your basic primary election. Our way is more fun. It all starts at the precinct caucuses and heats up a little bit at the county convention, where delegates are chosen for the grand finale at the state convention in Las Vegas. So those of you who already know the name you want to see on the ballot opposite George W. Bush’s, you’d better mark your calendars for this Tuesday.

And, if you’ve got an opinion or two about what the Democrats ought to be stumping on in 2004, now is your chance to speak up. This is also the process Nevadans use to develop and adopt the official Party platform.

That’s the caucuses and conventions part of the “how-to” session on Dec. 2. We’re also going to share some information about what goes on behind the scenes in candidate campaigns, how you can get backstage to help and, just as importantly, why you should want to.

It’s time to turn that anger, anxiety or curiosity into action.