RBC Democrats plan ways to share

Special to the Herald TimesRBC I The Rio Blanco County Democratic Central Committee met at Kilowatt Korner in Meeker last month. The primary purpose of the mid-afternoon meeting—-a biennial “reorganization” required by state rules—-was to elect committee officers. Jon Bader of Rangely had been the Central Committee chair since April 2010, and vice-chair before that. He and his wife, Kathleen Martynowicz, moved to Dillon at the first of the year. Standing vice-chair, Joe Dungan of Meeker, was unanimously elected as the new chair. The assembled group decided to create a two vice-chair structure, one from each end of the county, electing Jim Claybaugh of Rangely as first vice-chair and Kristine Hicken of Meeker as second vice-chair. Reed Kelley of  Meeker was re-elected secretary/treasurer.Following the elections, the committee had a spirited discussion about how best to present their Democratic sensibilities to the people of Rio Blanco County. Bob Lange of Meeker will head a group assigned to determine ways to help our neighbors better understand what the local Democratic party stands for. Dungan encouraged the group to attend Tea Party meetings in order to better understand their concerns, as those meetings are usually well-attended and interesting. The possibility of having a monthly “Democrats Corner” in the newspaper was discussed as a way to communicate information about our local concerns as well as imparting information about different aspects of government/civics. Kathleen Sullivan Kelley and Sandra Besseghini, both of Meeker, led an informal and informative presentation about the oversight of Colorado’s judicial system. Kelley, appointed by former Governor Bill Ritter, serves on the State Commission on Judicial Discipline while Besseghini served on the Ninth Judicial Review Committee, also appointed by the former governor. Everyone agreed that if the Democratic Party is to be viable in Rio Blanco County, it is necessary to meet more than once a year and find ways to make ourselves relevant to the voters. There will be a meeting Sunday, March 20 in Rangely. Russell George, former state representative and newly appointed president of CNCC, will be guest speaker. He will lead a discussion on the state budget, the future of higher education in Colorado and prospects for CNCC. The meeting will be held in the community room at Town Hall, 209 East Main at 3 p.m. If you are interested in attending, please don’t hesitate to contact Jim Claybaugh.Both the state Republican and Democratic parties must conduct re-organizational meetings within the next month or so. Both parties will be electing new chairs as neither sitting chair is willing to run for another term. The Democratic State Central Committee meeting was held at the Denver Convention Center March 5, with Rio Blanco County represented by two voting delegates. The business meeting followed the annual Jefferson-Jackson Day Dinner. Gov. Deval Patrick of Massachusetts, who was re-elected governor last November, was the keynote speaker.