Thomas Minihan (right) newly re-elected chair of the 4th Congressional District Democratic Committee with two other officers.
Every two years, after the August primary when new and re-elected party precinct committee people are certified as elected, there is a flurry of party committee reorganization meetings as mandated by statute.
Missouri Revised Statutes
Chapter 115
Election Authorities and Conduct of Elections
Section 115.603Committees each established party shall maintain.
115.603. Each established political party shall have a state committee, a congressional district committee for each congressional district in the state, a judicial district committee for each circuit judge district in the state not subject to the provisions of article V, section 25 of the state constitution, a senatorial district committee for each senatorial district in the state, a legislative district committee for each legislative district in the state and a county committee for each county in the state.
I attended the 4th Congressional District Democratic Committee meeting last night at the Warsaw Community Building in Warsaw, Missouri.
Missouri Revised Statutes
Chapter 115
Election Authorities and Conduct of Elections
Section 115.621Congressional, legislative, senatorial and judicial district committees to meet and organize, when–election of party state committee–county courthouses available for meetings, certain counties.
115.621. 1. The members of each congressional district committee shall meet at some place within the district, to be designated by the current chair of the committee, on the last Tuesday in August after each primary election. The county courthouse in counties of the first, second and third classification in which the meeting is to take place, as designated by the chair, shall be made available for such meeting and any other congressional district political party committee meeting at no charge to the committee. At the meeting, the committee shall organize by electing one of its members as chair and one of its members as vice chair, one of whom shall be a woman and one of whom shall be a man, and a secretary and a treasurer, one of whom shall be a woman and one of whom shall be a man, who may or may not be members of the committee….
[emphasis added]
The date is set by statute. Olympics and party national conventions be damned. And so, those party legislative district chairs and vice cahirs, as well as party county committee chairs and vice chairs, who weren’t in Denver for the convention gathered in Warsaw for this meeting. Most who were absent sent their proxies.
A party volunteer and members before the meeting. These meetings are a chance for Democratic Party activists from a wide geographic area to exchange information and campaign materials (here, purchasing campaign buttons).
Mildred Conner, the Secretary of the 4th Congressional District Democratic Committee, signs in members and proxies.
After the business of reorganization was taken care of, the committee members discussed a number of campaign and party educational goals. There will be more meetings over the course of the two year term.