When a 96-year-old Democratic Caucus-goer braves the frigid cold temperatures and snow to actively take part in his county caucus, what is there to complain about?
The Jones County Democratic Caucus took place on Jan. 15, with all precincts coming together in Anamosa at the Lawrence Community Center. They saw a total of 33 attendees. Two years ago, they had 45.
Jones County Democratic Party Chair Tony Amsler said the weather was definitely a factor in attendance, with a number of residents still snowed in.
“A good number (of people) wanted to come, but the temperatures were just too unsafe,” he said.
Some who couldn’t make it, though, did volunteer to serve as a delegate at the county convention.
Unlike past years, and unlike the GOP Caucus, Democrats were able to fill out a presidential preference card, but votes won’t be tallied and revealed until Super Tuesday, March 5. You have until Feb. 19 to request a card, and it must be mailed back to the Iowa Democratic Party before March 5 to be counted.
There are actually three candidates listed on the card, as well as a spot to declare oneself “uncommitted”: Joe Biden, Dean Phillips, and Marianne Williamson.
“He’s not just a shoe-in nominee,” commented Amsler.
As part of the Democratic Caucus, volunteers assisted voters in filling out their request for a card and explaining the new process.
“We helped a number of people get that taken care of,” said Amsler.
One attendee will soon be traveling to Texas for the remainder of the winter. He/she wondered about getting their presidential preference card at their alternative address.
“You have a lot of snowbirds who want to participate,” Amsler said of the new mail-in option.
He said that’s the beauty of this new format, allowing everyone to have his/her voice heard, not just those who sat in a room on caucus night.
“It expands our voices. It’s not just the small percent of caucus-goers who can vote. It’s the snowbirds, factory workers who work third shift, shut-ins, the disabled, first responders, etc.”
Despite bringing all of the Jones County precincts under one roof, they did break out and discuss various platforms.
“The body as a whole is not responsible for passing platforms,” explained Amsler. “That’s done at the county convention. The platforms are passed by each precinct.”
Some of the platforms presented took into account recent bills passed by the Iowa Legislature and signed into law, such as public money for private schools, reproductive rights/women’s rights, CO2 pipelines and eminent domain, tax cuts, local control, funding IWiLL (Iowa’s Water & Land Legacy), and increasing the sales tax.
There were also candidates, such as Andy McKean of Anamosa, who spoke to the crowd about his bid for Iowa Representative of District 66.
“He went to Bellevue and still made it in time to address the caucus,” shared Amsler of a busy night for state and congressional candidates.
Christina Bohannan is running for the First Congressional District, which includes Jones County. While she was unable to attend, she did send a video for caucus chairs to play during the evening.
The hour-and-a-half event concluded with seeking volunteers for the county convention. While some spots still remain open, Amsler is confident they’ll hit their mark.
“I am happy with how it all went,” he concluded. “And now we’ll have a good convention in March.”
Some important upcoming dates regarding the Iowa Democratic Party:
• March 23, County Conventions
• May 4, District Conventions
• June 15, State Convention
• Aug. 19-22, National Convention