3/15: DWBC Forum for DPBC County Candidates at UNM Law School, Call for Questions

From Cornelia “Nili” Lange, DWBC, President:
The Democratic Women of Bernalillo County (DWBC) will host a forum for Democratic Party of Bernalillo County (DWBC) candidates on Tuesday, March 15, at 6:30 PM at UNM Law School, Room 2401.

Call for questions and scenarios from membership -- As a DWBC member or friend, please submit questions and scenarios. In response to our members' requests we will have a forum for DPBC county-wide candidates. DWBC has stepped up to the plate and made the following offer.

All candidates have received this summary of the invitation: I have received requests from my DWBC members to host a Candidate Forum for County Candidates in the style of our DWBC previous APS forums. I polled my potential volunteers who are not active in either the Ana Canales or Victor Raigoza camp, and March 15, Tuesday evening, is the time that is available for us to do this.

We have requested the County Chair candidates to display skills in three areas: 

Public Speaking: 10-minute speech. As with the APS forum, I will ask my members to submit questions for you to address in your speeches. I am giving County Chair candidates a summary of those questions early Monday evening.

Press Releases: By 5:00 PM on Monday evening, I will be giving County Chair candidates a choice of 3 out of 7 to 10 scenarios that they choose to write a press release about. We will solicit scenarios that have a grounding in what has happened in the past and what can happen in the future. County Chair candidates are to bring 3 press releases to the forum to distribute and give a 5-minute explanation of their reasoning for the wording and choice of the 3 releases. We will also send out to our DWBC membership copies of the scenarios that the Chair candidates are choosing from on Monday evening.

A response may be “No Comment,” and then we would like to know how the Chair candidate would handle the situation internally.

Interacting with the media: We will solicit in advance questions from our membership and other interested parties that are mock reporter questions. They will be reviewed for appropriateness and relevancy ahead of time and brought to the event. These questions will be drawn by random by our DWBC "reporters" to ask candidates on the spot. There will be 3 questions for each candidate and each candidate will be asked to give a concise 1- to 2-minute answer for each question.

Vice Chair Candidates: There will be a 5-minute speech by each candidate addressing issues submitted to us. This will be similar to what we did with our APS candidates. Then, each Vice Chair candidate will get a chance to answer a randomly drawn reporter's questions from the questions submitted to us in advance. 

We are getting RSVPs. Some of our candidates are attending, others are not, and will be delivering letters for others to read to the audience. In light of this, we are allowing all candidates to submit a statement addressing the questions that are proposed for the speech and a vision of their serving in office. They will also have a chance to respond to the scenarios and other questions. The deadline for submitting written responses will be Thursday, March 17, at noon, and then the responses will be submitted to the DWBC membership.

Sample issues to address in the speech and personal statement:

1. If elected County Chair/County Vice Chair, what is your plan for getting out the vote among our Democrats?

2. If elected County Chair/County Vice Chair, how are you going to find qualified Democrats to run against Republicans?

3. This is a contentious county-wide election. What are your plans, if elected, to bring all the Democrats together?

4. How will you as County Chair handle Democratic Party candidates and representatives who do not follow the Democratic Party platform? 

5. Pick a common wedge issue. How will you keep the Democrats voting for our candidates when they are divided on these issues? How do you articulate to the public on these wedge issues our Democratic Party Platform that has strong positions on these issues?

Sample Scenarios:
As County Chair you are in the Pre-Primary season. The County Clerk’s position is held by a Republican for 2 terms now. The Democratic Pre-Primary ticket for County Clerk is a hotly contested race among 5 individuals. Personal slurs and a whisper campaign between the camps have been raging for 2 months now. Of the candidates, we now know their personal histories back to grade school. One of the County Clerk candidate’s ex-partner has been on the evening news going into excessive details about their past life together. The local conservative paper has been hounding your office for a response. What statement would you release to the press, and how would you, as a leader of our party, handle a very contentious Pre-Primary race?

As County Chair, you and your administrative team have been working for 3 months to prepare for the local Primary race. You are 4 weeks away from a County Convention. One of your Vice Chairs has come down with a life-threatening illness and will be unavailable at least for a month. The other 2 Vice Chairs also will have limited time to devote to the final planning and implementation of the Convention.

The press has gotten hold of this internal crisis. What will you say to them? And what will be your “ask” to your Party structure to help you get the volunteer hours needed to pull off the County Convention?

Sample on-the-spot questions:

1. We all learn from previous experiences. From your previous leadership roles in the Democratic Party, give us an example of how you would handle things differently now.

2. If an incumbent, many people believe that change can invigorate an organization. Why do you think that remaining in office is the best for the Democratic Party of Bernalillo County?

3. If seeking to unseat an incumbent, many people think that change can invigorate an organization. What kind of change will you bring to the office?

4. What experience do you bring to your county-wide DPBC office that makes you the best candidate for Bernalillo County?

DWBC members and friends -- we need your help, please send in more questions and scenarios. We hope this will be an informative event that is rewarding.

All my best,
Cornelia “Nili” Lange
DWBC, President
cwlange@aol.com