Transcripts For CSPAN DNC Meets To Elect New Party Chair 20170225

We do have some republican governors who are helping us who have expanded medicaid and their state helping us to protect medicaid, because they are out to get medicaid with attacks. Good morning. Blessings be upon all of you. Task foren given the invocation. Let not this prayer be in futility that our hearts are not present. Let it not be a service of the lips when the hearts are not in line. I want you to look into your hearts. Forget where you are come and be in the presence of god for a second. Feel the presence of god and look within your heart. It is important for us that when we pray, we are in the presence of god and humble ourselves. If we look into the words of the , prophetradition mohammed taught us that if the heart is sound and upright, then the entire body is sound and upright, and if the heart is corrupt and ill, then the entire body will suffer illness and corruption, and many times the world we see around us is reflection of the human heart that exist throughout the world. So let us remember what is prayer. Prayer is first to call upon god, request that we put in front of god, and then we admit our mistakes. We have to admit our mistakes for the help of god to calm. Let us look into the bible and the book of isaiah where the prophet isaiah called amidst a National Turmoil and said, then you will call your lord, and the lord will answer. You will cry, and he will say, herei am. But that is if you remove oppression from amongst you. That is if you start saying yes, black lives matter. That is yes if you say all muslim lives matter. That is when we start standing up for humanity, or mystically and domestically and abroad. He willhet isaiah said answer your call if you remove oppression from amongst you. If you stop pointing fingers at others. If you stop speaking evil rhetoric and wickedness. If you pay people what they deserve. [applause] this is the call of god. The desire ofy those afflicted and seeking refuge. We know of a brown skinned man who was considered a threat by the authorities. We know of a round skinned palestinian man who was considered a threat. And he was nothing but a refugee. And that is jesus. [applause] ,o remembering this word brothers and sisters, isaiah said when you realize and satisfy the desire of those afflicted, our lights will arise in the darkness, and your gloom will become like a mid, and your lord will continually guide you and give you and you will be called to repair the breach. In a, we ask that we live world that is full of hate and division. We ask and pray that you give us revive hearts, changed hearts, but you fill our love for all of humanity for democrats, republicans, the rights, the give love for the home of humanity. We ask you to bless this assembly. Give us the ability to take to heart the words of Martin Luther that change comes through continuous struggle. We must straighten our backs and work for the betterment of freedom. The member the words of jesus when he said all of gods commandments can be summed up into a single command. You must love for others that which you love yourself. We ask you, dear god, to remove us from us the walls we have built within our hearts. We ask you the ability to remove the vans in our hearts against others. We ask you to give us the ability to a brace embrace one another. No longer use religion and faith as a tool for dividing and conquering. Let us no longer look at anyone else as the other. We cannot afford, at this moment, to be blind and sightless. We ask you to give us the realization of the words of notolm x, who said you are to be blind with patriotism, that you can no longer see and face reality. Wrong is wrong, no matter who does it or says it. Of Martin Luther king, who said the ultimate measure of a man is not what he stands in moments of convenience at times of stands controversy. We ask you, dear god, to guide us, to bless this assembly, to bless all of us, our family and this nation, under god, with liberty and justice for all. Amen. [applause] thank you, imam. Thank you for your wonderful words and courier. It is now my opportunity to bring forward you may all take your seats. Before i bring forward our secretary, former mayor Stephanie Rollins blake of the city of baltimore, can i ask the members once more to use their one, if you know are present. To if you are not. 2 if you are not. We are going to make sure the system is perfect. Kevin and kevin back there can everyone, once you put it on the screen. Can it go on the screen . On. Sure your battery is if you have any issues, if you do not see the light on the side. Hit 1, if you are present. If your light is linking blinking. All right. There we go. Remember it is yellow, then turns green when you click. If youre having a problem, raise your hand. Staff will come by and make sure you are charged up and ready to go. Charged up and ready to go. Number,ee that magical 442. Point it like a Remote Control to your tv at night when you are watching espn or syfy. Just point to the front of the room. It should be working. Take a look at the numbers. Please vote your proxy as well. , when time isy completed, can you come Forward Foreign ise if a present a forum is present . Panic. S going red, dont just keep clicking until it turns green. Just making sure it works. Do not panic. If it is read, it does not mean your state is going red. Keep clicking. 82 seconds remaining. 45 seconds remaining. It will flash red once and green twice. 40 seconds remaining. Raise your hand if you are having issues. Staff is located in the aisles with all right. All right. I told some of you are not holding the button down long enough. Just hit it as if you want to evict someone from the white house in 2020. [applause] keep getting it. We will get it done. Ok, madam secretary. Blake thank you. I want to thank everyone in atlanta. I want to think my former pper for being an amazing host. We finally got the clickers to work. Madam chair, i can say without a doubt, democrat are here, ready to move forward. And we indeed have a quorum. Thank you. [applause] chair brazile thank you, madam secretary. Let me introduce the other guys. They are the wonderful, amazing officers with whom i have had the privilege of serving, some eight years, others just a few months grace. I will start with a vice chair maria elena durazo. Congresswoman grace meng. Mayor r. T. Rybak. Raymond buckley. Finance chair henry munoz. And of course, secretary stephanie rawlingsblake. Thank you very much. Give them all a round of applause. [applause] i have the numbers on speed dial for the future of officers. During our session yesterday, we agreed to take up resolutions this morning. At the time of the motions we had before us, the motion from the gentleman from california to strike resolution 33 in its entirety. Theers request of resolutions be provided to you again, and some in writing. Can i get a show of hands that will have all received a copy of the resolutions . Excellence. We have more Copies Available if you want it printed out again. Today, as you entered this room, again, hard copies of the resolutions available. Please notify staff if you do not have a resolution packet. We can bring it to your chair. There is also a cover sheet, which categorized the action committee. Motion before you is the adoption of the report of the Resolutions Committee. If you adopt the recommendations, you will adopt the actions as described in that memo. We will go over it again. However, right now, we have an amendment to that main motion, which is to strike number 33 in its entirety. In order to expedite our preceding, the chair suggested to the parties involved that we agreed to 10 minutes of debate on this matter, with each side having up to five minutes. That has been agreed to by the persons who are the proponents of this matter. Do i hear a motion . Seconded. Any discussion . Great. All in favor . Aye. All opposed . Great. After the motion to limit debate, those in favor and who want the strike should be recognized, and those in opposition and who want to at 33 in the packet as the expiration of the time, we will put it to a vote. Have agreed toa come forward to assist me in this process. Thank you, madam chair. What you have today in front of you is a breakout of the resolutions that we considered. There were 50 in total. 50 resolutions in total that we considered. Presented to you as resolutions that were passed by the committee and to be passed on to you for your approval. In addition, i would add that resolution 22, which is listed in the second group, resolutions referred to the rules and Bylaws Committee and the unity reform bemission is also to included in that top group. Other resolutions in that second group are to be passed on to the and Unity Reform Commission and rules and bylaws and do not require a vote. The resolutions 22, 23, and 24 are referred to the incoming chair. I said that already. I said 22 is in the first group, ok . Resolution 26 was withdrawn. 31 are to be8 and referred to the Resolutions Committee, and therefore will not require a vote here. Yes . [inaudible] 24 is to be voted on by the group or to be referred into the incoming bylaws and reforms commission. It is on the paper. And you have desk, a copy, as you do with resolution 23. Now, lets be clear. We passed these resolutions. This is something i will guarantee you will be considered by the Unity Reform Commission. They will be considered by rules and bylaws, considered by the next chair. We have a very thorough debates. So i urge a simple consideration and approval as the most expedient way to move forward. I understand we have new language of a managers amendment to 33. Will that be on the screen or is it simply what they have in front . It is on the screen. Ok. 33 is a resolution that the way we considered it was we were going to vote on it in the full committee and pass it on to the executive community for forementation committee implementation. Because there was no consideration of how to implement because the Resolutions Committee has no power to implement of that sort. Christine pelosi wanted us to vote on it as a group and then pass it on. That is the one we will debate in a minute. [indiscernible] we are voting on it to pass it on for implementation. It is what we would referred to as a referral. After we take a vote, we are agreeing to refer so implementation can then be worked out. , mr. Point of information chair, just to clarify. The resolution is to ban corporate money to the dnc and ban the appointment of federally registered corporate lobbyists as out and out numbers by the chair. So it would seem [cheers] [applause] christine, can we do the following . We have 10 minutes. Let us begin, if we could. Following. S do the we have all of these other resolutions. Can we simply have a motion, them chair, to accept resolutions except for 33 . Chair brazile hold on one second, please. Point of order. Chair brazile i would like our chair to explain what we are doing. When you recessed yesterday, you were in agreement that the motion by mr. Mulholland was a motion to strike number 33 from the report. It is an amendment to the report, ok . Overnight, it was agreed to give folks 10 minutes, in total, to debate the motion to strike. Five minutes, first to mr. Mulhollands side, then five minutes second to ms. Pelosis side. I understand, and i see on the screen, that ms. Pelosi would like to further modify number 33. Front that say up that motion would be in order. Ask you to process the moment motion to strike. It will become very complex very quickly if any of you wished to further modify ms. Pelosis language, whereas if you vote first to strike or not strike, deal with simpler to ms. Pelosis changes. Obviously, you have the right to do this in the way you choose. Inimply am interested today expeditious use of your time. Ok . [applause] and i think your time will be better focused if you first vote on the simple question to strike this or not strike this before you start dealing with whether or not you would prefer ms. Pelosis new language over her old language. Now, you are looking at her new language. To get to hert new language, you vote no on the motion to strike. So that you can get to her new language. And it would certainly be in order for her to debate what she wants to do now as a reason for you to vote no on the motion to strike. Now, i would ask the chair to put before you, are you going to do simple, which is just deal with the motion to strike, yes or no, or are you going complex and trying to deal with the change at the same time . Madam chair, if i may. As the maker of the motion is to mulhollands wishing to strike, i voice my support for a simple way the parliamentarian has said. An agreementosi is to do it simply. Mr. Mulhollands side, are you in agreement to do it simply . Is. I just want to beat th [applause] so what i am hearing from the proponents is you all are first going to debate strike. And you will vote on strike, yes or no. And after that, you will proceed , either with the new 33 or with zero in the spot of 33. Is there any objection . Hearing none. So we can proceed now to the motion to strike. We will proceed now to the motion to strike. Five minutes each side. Mr. Mulholland. I am chico mulholland. A reminder that republicans control all three branches now. I am not a member of mother theresas sisters organization. I am a member of the Democratic Party. Federal laws allow westin hotel is to contribute to it, allow microsoft, and google. All of those organizations in northern caroline who stood up to the Democratic Party platform up tond to stand transgender, why should the Democratic Party say now great what you did, but we will not take your contributions. Thank you. [applause] chair brazile next speaker on mr. Mulhollands side. We have five minutes. I would like to associate myself with my friend bob mulholland. I am a resident of the great state of california. Yesterday, when we discussed this, i mistakenly thought my friends motion poorly written. But and i will apologize for that the resolution was poorly conceived. There was no understanding of what the definition of a corporation was in the time of the writing of the original resolution. There was no understanding of the actual ban president obama implemented. Because of that, you cannot have a peer policy when the understanding of what was actually done was not is not pure. So i urge that we strike this today and go back. And thats sit down and have a real, substantive discussion about this and bring something forward that makes sense. Chair brazile next speaker. Mickeys, at large. First, point of information. I appreciate your explanation of this. Arehe resolution we debating now include ms. Pelosis . No. I still do not understand if this body passes this resolution, not including the amendment of ms. Pelosi, is it then automatically in effect or does it go to the executive committee for determination of how and whether to implement it . It is unclear to me. The motion right now before you is to strike it from the report, from the resolutions package. If the motion to strike fails, we will then entertain the version of amended this resolution by ms. Pelosi to included in the package, and the recommendation is it goes to the executive committee, if passed, for execution. I am sorry to use up a time for mr. Mulholland. Thanks. Can i speak one more minute . Sir. More time, time. , there is i would remind the parliamentarian that my question was a point of information, which i do not think hims out of time. That is correct. I am in favor of the motion to strike. First, i do not think federal corporate lobbyists, however defined, should be precluded from participating in Democratic Party affairs, especially at the Democratic National committee. Number two, corporations is a broad definition. I agree if we are going to focus on this, we need to have a serious discussion about what it is. Hospitals are corporations, 501 c fours are corporations, that would be included in all of this. Thank you. Anybody else . Georgia. Davis from it is really a point of information. Am i understanding correctly that this measure would say that any corporate lobbyists, be they for planned parenthood, like my colleagues who work hard, or any of our wonderful labor unions any of those lobbyists would be excluded from participation in this body . It says corporate. Federally registered corporate lobbyist. It does not yet say federally registered corporate lobbyists. I am trying to understand how broad this measure is. There are people who work for Domestic Violence shelters who are lobbyists. I think this is going a lot different ways than i think it was intended. That is the considering many of you have raised. And the reason why we have requested it be brought to the executive committee, if voted upon. Mr. Mulholland, you have about a minute and a half left. Would you like to close . Strike it. [applause] chair brazile ok. Madam chair. The corporations are not evils in our country. They employ a majority of american workers. In addition, many and in fact most corporations are small mom and pop shops who have chosen to incorporate for insurance, liability, and tax reasons. I agree with the goal of impacting of limiting the impact of big money in politics, but i feel there is a different way than vilifying. Corporations [applause] chair brazile thank you, maam. Ms. Pelosi we have 28. 8 seconds. I urge a yes vote on this. We have yes to strike. It is important for our party that we have the resources to win the the funds to state parties. I trust our new chair that they goodaccept money from people. I recommend a yes vote to strike. Thank you. Chair brazile thank you. 30 seconds left. Reddestes from the state in the nation, utah. We cannot afford not to take corporate money, or we disappear. We fight hard everyday for every citizen of the great state of utah because of our strong symbols. Democratic no dollar will take that away from us. I will take money from anyone as long as they understand i will not treat them differently because of it. Chair brazile miss pelosi, you have five minutes. Madam chair, my colleagues a month ago, i asked every candidate for chair whether they supported providing president obamas ban in the dnc. ,e met with Committee Members having to notice to read, reflect, discussed it we passed the resolution unanimously. However, it issues came up on the floor yesterday. After that, i specifically made amendments, which you see in the managers amendment, to make sure we had addressed those concerns. I believe this body should have the opportunity to debate the work we did. We are colleagues, we are supposed to work collaboratively. I do not think we should have a position where we are shutting down debate rather than expanding debate at a time when the country is looking to us to make sure we are part tort is an prioritizing people. York. M member from new i am vice chair of the dnc labor council. And the cosponsor of this resolution. I think this resolution provides us an important opportunity to send a message to the people of asked to our values and who we are as democrats. It was passed unanimously by the Resolutions Committee. It is not something new. For 7rated this way years. It is time for us to bring back this ban. I urge you to include this resolution in the work of what we do today. Cohen, d c d. C. Organizations is what i chair. This resolution has nothing to do with nonprofit organizations. I was president of the communications workers. We donated to the dnc. This is not about nonprofits. This gets referred to the executive committee. It is not about small business. It is to send a message, loud and clear, that the dnc itself, not candidates, state parties, county organizations, the dnc, to restore the ban president obama will put in effect with us, that was taken out unilaterally without this body participating. What we are saying is that the ban back in. It worked for 7 years. It sent a message, loud and clear. Vote no on the motion. Newly elected dnc member. The people who elected me are regular people. They are watching from colorado. They are watching all over the country. Grassroots people who work their bots off butts off. It was not a lack of money that caused the problem. It was a lack of vision and values. Where is the hell no button on our clicker . Vote no. Thank you. Cliff moon from north carolina. With due respect, this resolution is not about corporations or objecting to corporations. It is a resolution objecting to corporatism. We need to look at that. I know you can quote Thomas Jefferson for about everything in the world. My republican friends do. The end of democracy and the defeat of the American Revolution occur when government falls into the hands of lending institutions as moneyed in corporations. Corporations. Incorporations. That is true for the dnc as well. State of from the wyoming. I belong to the party of the people. The last time i checked, corporations are not people. Vote no. John from the state of wyoming. There was a fire lit under the voters and the American People this last election. They supported a message to get money out of politics. Those voters may not have all showed up the last election cycle, but we will absolutely need those people. When you look at the numbers, it is not even worth it. I have been looking at it. More than weotes need a little corporate money. Chair brazile closing statement, maam. Yes. Also in the resolutions packet, we have a resolution condemning the republicans for refusing to let Elizabeth Warren speak. I think you should let this bodys beak. I urge you to vote no on the motion to strike so we can have debate. Chair brazile thank you. It is now my opportunity to call for a vote on the motion to strike. I would like to ask everyone who would like to vote yes to please stand. Point of information, please. It is more of a question, because there have been a lot of statements made about what is included and what is not. So is a labor Union Considered a corporation . Can you tell me emphatically it is not . All, i have been an actress on tv, but i am not a lawyer. I will not give a legal opinion as to what constitutes a corporate lobbyist. For the sake of this amendment, we had a debate, and now it is time for us to vote on whether to strike it from the resolutions package. All those in favor of striking this from the package by a vote of yes, please stand. Thank you. Now all those who would like to keep it in the package and vote no to leave it in the package, please stand. It appears that the motion to strike carries. Thank you [applause] now, we will go back to the main package. As amended. Would anyone like to make a motion to support the resolutions package, as amended . Do i hear second . Point of information. Chair brazile yes. I just want to make sure that on the parts where it says resolution that we are not adopting the substance but rather simply transmitting them to look at them. The comment made earlier was that we are transmitting to implement them, which is different. Chair brazile there will be they will be referred to the Unity Reform Commission. They review them, correct . Chair brazile yes. That is to review it. Thank you. Chair brazile all right. We are now voting on the resolutions package is prevented by hilda and jim. It was seconded. All those in favor say aye. Aye. Chair brazile all those opposed . The ayes carry. The resolution package is approved. We are democrats. I am sure, will entertain this question and proceed to continue to make the necessary reforms. It is now my great honor please, everyone, if you do not mind, take your seats. Tomy pleasure and introduce a friend to all of us. I have the opportunity, when i was a young organizer, to be called on by her mother, the late karen scott king, to work on the campaign to make her a nationalrthday holiday. I got to meet bernies king when i was young. Bernice king. Been an advocate her entire life. Dr. King pursued a career where she was able to advocate for those less fortunate. She has served as a law clerk in the Juvenile Court system, where she realized a growing number of teens have been double victims first of society and second of an ineffective legal system. Placed ane king has importance to mentoring young women so that they may also, a force to be reckoned with in the world did she has launched the 100 days of Nonviolence Campaign nonviolence asto modeled by her father, dr. Martin luther king jr. , and encourage them to embrace it as a new way of life. Dr. Bernice king has received numerous awards across her career. She was awarded as the chief executive officer of the king center. It is a great honor to introduce to so many of you but also alcome back to this party great friend, a champion for social justice and equality, dr. Reverend bernice king. [applause] dr. King when evil men plot, good men must plan. When evil men and ill add women burn and bomb, good men and women must build and bind. When evil men and women shout ugly words of hatred, good men and women must commit themselves to the glories of love. When evil men and women would seek to perpetuate an unjust status quo, good men and women must seek to bring into being a real order of justice. From mye the words father, Martin Luther king jr. [applause] it is my hope and prayer, Going Forward, that these are the words that will resonate with this party. Morning, and i add my welcome, to the great city of atlanta, georgia. I want to thank the dnc leadership for this opportunity. And i certainly want to recognize and give honor to my , mayor kasim reed. God bless you. You astoday to speak to a citizen of the United States of america. A global humanitarian. A daughter of Martin Luther and credit scott king Coretta Scott king. Last, and certainly not least, a daughter of the king of kings. And according to the powers that have 10e dnc, i only minutes to do what my grandfather used to tell people to do. And that is make it plain. Brothersu to know my and sisters, it is no accident and no coincidence that the dnc is in the atl. Whether you realize it or not, being here was a setup. , it there isplace the formation. Just a few weeks ago, and our great city, we had the wonderful pleasure of anticipating winning a super bowl. We were ready. Reed, that weayor were going to come away with that championship. That when we got into the third quarter, many of us had already called the game. Then a thing called the Fourth Quarter happened. And over time. And we faltered at the last minute. We prematurely celebrated. And we know that the rest is history. Back, i amlcons got arthurs he always does, blake went to work. Once a work realizing he had to make shifts and adjustments. Because we had gotten that close to making history, just as the dnc was close, once again, to making history. We did not stay on our agame the entire time, as the falcons. And i am sad to say that we, in this party, did not stay on our agame the entire time. But there is hope. That is why i am here today. There is hope because it is also no coincidence that you are the city of Martin Luther king jr. Ande is a lot i can extract draw upon from dr. King, but there is one thing i want to speak into this atmosphere this morning. That is he said one of the greatest liabilities of history is that all too many people find themselves amid great series of social change. And yet, they fail to achieve the new mental outlook and the new attitudes that the new situation demands. Sisters, it is time to adopt a new mental outlook and new attitudes, because there is a new situation that is a demand on you, as the leadership. You know. You know your constituents. You hear the cries that are in the streets and in communities. But if there is anything that i can say, as a daughter of dr. King, is that we cannot afford to move forward in this divisive above. And not rise and as our former first lady said, when they go low, we go high. [applause] we have to be willing to shift our tactics and shift our ways. So much so that we have to open ourselves up to doing something, perhaps, that we have never done before. What do i mean . Nation, rightis now, needs leaders who are messng to step into the and step into the divisiveness and step into the pain and anguish and be willing to find a way to bring everybody together. Because, as we know, we came here on different ships and boats. But we are all in the same boat now. And it reminds me of this story about a little boy, who was out with his father, fishing one day. Out of nowhere, the boys started giggling, and the daddy wanted to know why. Not say a word. A few minutes passed. And he started giggling more. The daddy said, come on, tell me why youre giggling. The boy still do not tell, and he said if you do not tell, i will have to punish you. Of course, that motivated little johnny. Little johnny proceeded to say, in youru have a hole side of the boat and youre going to drown. What johnny did not know was he was in the same boat. If his dad drowned, he was going to drown as well. Brothers and sisters, there is a boat called the United States of america. Right now, we are dangerously closed to being the divided states of america. The only way we will be a party that is representative of all of america is we have to be willing to listen when we do not want to hear. We have to be willing to beerstand before we seek to understood. What i am saying to you is that dr. King tried to teach us another way. A way of nonviolence that calls for us to consider that maybe there is Something Else that we need to hear. Maybe there is Something Else we need to consider. That we can no longer be in the business of this missing anyone because we disagree with them. , there is awhere truth in the middle of all of this. In other words, we have to find a winwin pathway forward. Because if we do not learn to live together as brothers and will perishther, we as fools. Bibles a story in the called issachar. I understand they were those who understood the tides , and they knew exactly what to do. It is my prayer and hope that you will rise to become the party that understands the times. Exactly what to do. There are those who are not in this party. There are those who have left t his party. There are those who do not want anything to do with this party. But in order to understand the times and know what to do, there has to be a strategy. To that strategy has to be win people over and not focus on winning over people. [applause] todayoblem with america is that there is so much energy trying to prove that i am right and you are wrong, that i am better and you are not, there is too much energy in winning over people than Winning People over. So i challenge you, as you go forward, no matter which way you vote today, that you align yourselves with each other. Because there is no secret that there is division, even in this house. But if you are going to win people over, then you have to find a way to lay aside those things that divide you. And find that Common Ground to move forward to win more people over through your values and principles. Because the way that we had been going for the last several years is time to stop the violence. When i was growing up, my mother used to say all the time to me and my siblings, someone has to cut off a chain of islands. I do not understand what she was saying. As i grew older, i heard her basically say, bernice, you have to be the one to cut off the chain of violence. We have to shift the climate. And thethat which we do seeds that we sow, if they are consistent with seeds that have been sown against us, the harvest that will come up will not be for the good of all humanity. There is a cry, right now. The cry is who is going to care about our humanity . People no longer care about whether you are a democrat or republican. They are looking for leaders. Who are willing to serve humanity at all cost. [applause] and i want to leave you with this story. If you do not hear anything else. A story told about a couple who died. They were visited by an angel. And the angel took them to a kingdom on one side of the universe. And there, they saw this huge banquet table, with food laid out all over the place. There was prime ribs and prawns and lobsters. And there was Fried Chicken and greens and chitlins. Sounds are you might know about food in the south. There was shrimp fried rice. There was tofu, sprouts. Enchiladas. Somebody said, put a crabcake in there. Anything your mind can imagine to your tasteable buds. But there is something strange about this couple as they looked strange about this room as this couple looked. Because while the food was so seem to bethe people so strange. They were a depth. There was no mobility of limbs. There was no laughter or joy exuded a the couple asked the el why was all this food asked the angel why, with all this delicious food, people seem to be so powerless . Was to them off to another kingdom on the other side of the universe. Banquet the same exact table, the food laid out in the same places. But the people were very different. These people were lively. These people were excited, energized, and passionate. They had for moving progress and mobility of their limbs. The couple stepped back and said what is the difference in these two kingdoms . And the angel said to them there is one law in the entire universe. This is the law you must use utensils provided by the management. But these utensils were 10 feet long. Knives, 10 feet forks, 10 feet spoons pay the angel said in the first movies that universe, where the bodies were frail with no mobility or laughter, they were taking these 10 feet utensils and seeking to feed themselves, and they were literally starving to death. In that second kingdom, where there was loveliness and ashen and forward moving progress and they weref limbs, taking the same 10 feet utensils, but they decided to reach across the table and feed each other. That is the way forward. You can no longer exist in the echo chamber. You have to be willing to reach across the differences and reach across the aisle and reach across the ideology and reach across the beliefs and reach across the tender identities and reach across the races and reach across the religions, and reach across the ethnicities. But more importantly, we have to reach across party lines. We have to begin to feed each other for the health of the whole. Let me say this walk together. Dont get weary. Work together, children. Dont you get weary. Hold onto each other, children dont you get weary. To prayt forget together, children. Because you will get weary. Be able they will all to stand and support that party that is truly representative of all of america, whether it is a state, becauseue they know, as john kasich said, we are all red, white, and blue. And we will say with dr. King free at last, free at last, thank god almighty, we are free at last. Thank you. [applause] chair brazile reverend dr. Bernice king. Ladies and gentlemen, give her another round of applause. [applause] her mom and dad would be so proud of her. Thank you, dr. King, for your prophetic wisdom. One of the challenges we face as a parties we have to build the bench. We have to extend a hand to those who want to help us and those who want to be part of this great party. I know one of my challenges was to find a seat at the table. One thing i was proud to say was if you want a seat, just ring a folding chair. We will make room for you. Next up is one of our partys missouriars, former secretary of state jason kander. Jason learned early on the importance of serving his community and enlisted in the Army National guard after 9 11. Upon returning from afghanistan, he became a leadership is shucked in the missouri National Guard army, where he trained hundreds of soldiers to lead troops into combat. He started his political career as a state legislator and rose to become secretary of state. In 2016, he ran an incredible United States senate race against incumbent roy blunt. Thans defeated by less three percentage points. But guess what. Jason is not ready to retire. He is ready to fight on. Ready to lead us. Ready to make sure every american has a seat at the table. He wants us to ensure every americans have access. It is my great honor to introduce rising star in the Democratic Party, jason kander. [applause] thank you. How are you democrats doing . Thank you for having me. Thank you for everything you do. If you read what everyone is talking about when it comes to the dnc and democrats, there is a narrative that everyone comes here disappointed. We are disappointed with the results from the election, but we are not disappointed for ourselves. You are not here because you are disappointed because of candidates that did not win or you are here because of the people affected by these election results. Right . [applause] arere not here because you sad for you, you are here, i am here, because we are worried about the single mom who has cancer who doesnt know she will get her treatments if they take away obamacare. Were worried about the undocumented student who doesnt know what will happen to her now. Thats all right. Were worried about the minimum wage worker who has 30 every week she has budgeted for her grocery trip, who took me with her to show me what it was like. We are worried about the College Student drowning in debt with three jobs at minimum wage that is not enough, and cannot get help from his parents because his father just declared bankruptcy because of his own student loans. That is who we are worried about. [applause] i met each of these people during my campaign. They fueled me the whole way. That fuel is still in my tank. I love this country, and will not back away from the process because we lost an election. Neither will you. [applause] why am i here . Why am i talking at you when you are ready to vote right now . Because i inherited tell you that our party has an incredibly bright future. I am here to tell you that the is a trumphat presidency is a speed bump on our journey to liberty and justice as a country. That President Trump carried by 19 points i came within three points of turning the senate seat blue. I did not do it by pretending to be a moderate republican or hugging the middle. [applause] i am proud of the fact we took on some of the biggest names in republican politics. The chamber of commerce told people not to vote for me. Ted cruz swept into my state to say not very nice things. Told people that i was a guy fighting for gun safety and a progun state. Despite that, what we demonstrated is when democrats make our arguments that we have a chance to win. That is my message, that we should make our argument. Audiences in ferguson that black lives matter, and i did the same things in rural areas. [applause] underpaid janitors in Downtown Kansas City and talked about the need for a livable wage, then i went to a Rural Chamber of commerce and made the same argument. At planned parenthood events i would talk about equal pay, then i would go for hours away and tell a reporter and a small town how important equal pay was to the middle class. Case, i was unafraid to tell voters when they lift up people they dont know, that it matters for them, too. Our argument is simply that this is what we believe then. Will forgive you for having a belief they dont share as long as they know you truly believe it, and that you include them in your vision for the country. Thats it. [applause] the thing about telling the truth about what you believe is that it works. I learned this for the first time when i was running for state representative in 2008. I started to run in 2007 in kansas city. I was 26 years old. Someone is 26 years old, apparently. In a threeway democratic primary in kansas city. Nice young man is probably going to come in a distant third. I started knocking on doors. I remember one of the first doors. I was nervous, the fellow asked me a policy question. I answered him. It was clear from the look on his face that he did not agree. Obvious. I was brandnew, so i started to do what i saw politicians on tv do, and i started to tell him how our position was the same and we agree. From the look on his face, he was not buying it. Thinkted to turn away and him a should i even be running for office . Out of frustration or desperation i blurted out, this is what i believe, i am trying to do the right thing. You probably dont agree, but that is where i am at. To my surprise, he replied thats fair. All vote for you, and you can put a sign in my yard if you want. From that moment on i became addicted to having an honest conversation with voters. I got johnoment on 20,000 doors and i won a race i was not supposed to win. On 20,000 doors and i won a race i was not supposed to win. We simply focus on making our argument, because that is how we will win people over. My experience as a progressive in a red state is that folks are ok with not agreeing with you on everything, as long as they know that you care about everyone, and that includes them, and we do. When i ran for secretary of state in 2012, i employed this again. It was clear the Biggest Issue in the race was going to be photo id, which i am very much against. 70 , more than 70 , of the voters disagreed with me on that. They were for it. My Campaign Team said you have to moderate your position. Find a way you can be in favor of requiring photo id to vote. I said no. To this day, i am the only democratic candidate for secretary of state anywhere in the country to run a statewide at about my opposition to photo id. [applause] the same day that president obama lost missouri by 10 points, i won that race. I stood at the polls shaking peoples hands, they shook my hand and a lot of people said you are wrong about photo id. Said, but you are doing what you believe, and i trust you, so you will get my vote today. [applause] works. This i know we can do this. I know we can turn this around. We should be proud that we are among the 54 of voters that voted for someone not named donald trump to be president of the United States. Be real, his time in office so far has proven the point of the 54 who voted that way. He has been a disaster. If this was a season of the apprentice donald trump would have fired donald trump at the end of the first episode. Problem. Art of the he really believes that people use to watch that show because of his socalled business brilliance. No. People watched that show for the same reason they watched any reality television, drama. What do we see right now . Drama presidency. You cannot run the United States of america on drama. Trump seems to care about dividing the country, turning a profit for his company, and flattering vladimir putin. That is what this presidency is about so far. He pretends that he has this mandate from the people, even though he actually lost five more votes than anyone who has ever won the presidency in the history of this country. He lied every day to the American People, and he makes us less safe. Sose are his greatest hits far. It has been a month so far. President trump may have won the election, but we are not about to allow him to take away americas greatness. [applause] this fight starts in 2017. North of here there is a special election for congress we need to work on. [applause] we have to make sure we take back the Governors Mansion in new jersey and keep it in virginia. [applause] to 2018, where we have a shot at taking the house and senate. This is not farfetched. There is something happening in this country right now. You can feel it. Thatis a level of activism most of us have not seen in our lifetimes. Thehe womens march, to protest against an awful immigration policy, to the town halls flooded with people, even in the most conservative districts, saying that they want to see the president held accountable. The 54 of voters are already standing up and fighting back. That is how i know our future is bright. [applause] i know that it feels like we are more polarized than we have ever been. It feels like you cannot talk to you cannot go on to facebook and read what your friends from high school said. I know it feels like you cannot talk to that republican brotherinlaw you have, but we are closer together than we realize. Theye not as divided as like to say. One last story, in Army Intelligence school and instructor pulled me aside. Another,h soldier to he gave me advice. He said lieutenant, do not tell your translator you are jewish because they will not want to work with you. I did not know any better, so i took his advice. When i got to afghanistan i was paired up with a gentleman. It turns out he had family in kansas city. He considered kansas city his hometown. We spent almost every waking moment together. We were in danger situations with shady characters. We spent a lot of time together. I never had a muslim friend i was that close to, so i asked him all sorts of questions about islam. He answered all of them. I never told him i was jewish. On one of my last days in afghanistan, i decided i would tell him because we were close. I made a big production of it. We were eating leftovers at the safe house, and i make a preface and i tell him. He looks at me funny and says jason, did you think i didnt know that . [laughter] yes, i never told you. He said in kansas city my sister cut your brotherinlaws hair. More seriously did you think i would care . I told him the story about the instructor. He said over here, we are just a couple of americans that that that guys would like very much to kill. I say let the republicans be the party that pulls people apart. Lets be a Unifying Force that marches forward. A strong, safe, vibrant democracy is not something we can take for granted. It will take work if we are going to pass on a country that we can recognize. We know that it takes work. We may be living through the nightmare that is the trump presidency, but we are awake, on our feet, and marching towards the american dream. Thank you. [applause] i did not get here by claiming any special elevator or taking a ride on the escalator. I got here the way we are supposed to get here. By working. After she took flight price and did not go to law school, and i had seen what she could do, i asked her i had seen her and her work. She had a 2122yearold on a march on washington. I saw the job she did. I knew that donica to anything. I did not get here by climbing any special elevator, or by taking a ride on the escalator. I got here the way we are supposed to get here. I working. By working. Andfter she took my advice did not go to law school, and i had seen what she could do, i asked her to run my campaign. She became my Campaign Manager for 10 years. She was my chief of staff. We yelled at each other, she tried to tell me what to do. Time. A fun i come out of a tradition that it is not unusual for women to speak up. I even had an opportunity to work for the first black woman ever elected to congress. Service. She was always at the table. Being at the table was a huge benefit to our party. Has taught in colleges. ,ost of that intellectual depth we are fortunate she decided to apply to the Democratic Party and the Democratic National committee. As your incoming chair of the Democratic National committee the partying her lead is a natural ascension. Commit tose you, i all americans and we will have a party you can be proud of. Because donna was so , shessively in politics has encouraged other black women to take the dive into politics. If you look at the black women around the Democratic Convention, you will see it. She was a role model for those black women. She is a role model for many black women in the United States. Ook who cast the most votes it is black women. I think people have seen her leadership and have been encouraged to vote. Win over the history of africanamericans in this country, we have never given up. In our quest for freedom, we have not given up on our quest for justice and equality for all. Advice as you leave the chair is take a breath. Youve earned it. [applause] [chanting donna] thank you, all. Thank you. Thank you. I will get you back with all of that. First of all, thank you so much. I would like to make a motion that my final speech he placed in the record as amended. We can dispense of that. I would like to add to the well, i wanted to let the next chair know that i sold the car. It was a big suv. I was looking for money. I like to make sure the next chair understands that i have my metro card. , have a couple of rides on it and i will pass that on to the next chair. Sorry about that. I like to request the next chair allowed me to continue to raise money to reach out to state parties. [applause] let thei would like to next chair know that i have already approved payment for state parties program for an extra month. [applause] sold the car. Requestwould like to that the honorable maxine waters, chuck schumer, nancy pelosi, members of the dnc continue to pursue in congress a full and complete investigation into the russian hack and the interference in our election. Do i hear a second . All in favor . All opposed . Thank you. [applause] if you want to know it they did, if you want to know how they interfered with us, im leaving the next chair 463 pages, this is all i have been able to compile. But it ist know like, im leaving you with this. Waters, barbara lee, chuck schumer, nancy pelosi will continue until we get to the bottom of the investigation. It doesnt matter how they intimidate the press and those that disagree with them. The Trump Administration must be investigated. Please, continue this work. [applause] thank you. Would like to finally say before i begin the transition to elect new offices. I would like to personally thank, as i did yesterday, the entire staff of the Democratic National committee for their hard work, persistence, and courage. I would also like to thank our Cyber Security task force members. There is also a group of americans that you will probably never get to know. Vital in whatwere we were able to accomplish. They call them at the dnc the hacker house. 16 Security Experts from top u. S. Tech companies that volunteered their time, moved to washington, d. C. At their expense, and worked with us for four to six weeks to protect the Democratic National committee. [applause] their expertise enabled us to successfully combat ongoing attempts to hack the dnc. Times. The dates and also, a bottle of johnny walker. It was my second bottle that is still being in use. The next chair will have that. Us adoptertise helped a proactive security protocol and enabled us to get a head start in building a system that meets todays threats. Cannot go trump, you to staples and by russian hacking software. It is not available at best buy. Military attacks your country, they attack the white house, the state department, the dnc, and perhaps the rnc, but we will never know unless congress investigates. We had to go out and get expertise. Even though i cannot thank them by name because as the need to remain anonymous, i want to thank them for being here for us. You know who you are. To all of the Cyber Security. Eam, thank you thank you to our lawyers, our to mr. Ants, thank you hussein who would sometimes take me home and make sure it was safe to go into my own house. Thank you. To annie freeman, thank you. To members of organized labor who took my pulse, im a proud member of local 500. Fork you, organized labor taking my calls and helping us rebuild the dnc holding fund to fight off the hackers. Thank you for giving me the resources. Dnc witheaving the cash on hand. Thank you all. [applause] i want to thank a member of this committee who helped me in many crucial moments. She helped me to find the way in which not to write but to think through some of the problems we were facing. From bill sweeney to john renden thank you for being a part of this. , thank you all. You were all invaluable. Hfa team, thank the hillary for america. [applause] , i knowcially those a lot, i go to church on sunday. I want to thank jeff weaver, simone sanders, i want to thank all of them. I want to thank the remarkable staff that came over. You know who you are. Who came, those of you over to work with us at the dnc. John, joey, all of the remarkable people that time even ifheir they knew i would not pay them well. Beginning the election of officers, the war room at the dnc. Ladies and gentlemen, my own brothers and sisters, they reminded me of my faith. They said dont worry. Thank you, family. In accordance with the rules and procedures that this committee to move it is my honor to the election of officers. [applause] on, let meo introduce another person guiding all of us, perhaps most important throughout this part of the meeting. Helen mcfadden. She hasyou know assisted us over the years. She has been with us for many years and provided invaluable assistance to me and the staff of the dnc. We practiced this morning with clickers. I hope you are comfortable with that. Thank you. We will practice one more time before beginning to vote. It is at the discretion of the chair with your support. So, we are going to practice one more time. A proxy you will need to confirm you have the clicker for that person as well. If you leave the room we were crest that you return the clicker to staff and we will give it back to you when you return. This is to ensure that you do not miss place it. Show thatscreen will you have pressed your vote. If a vote is required, the green light flashes. If no vote is required, the red light flashes. E will reset the stage i want to give the candidates for office the opportunity to come up with the individuals they have called upon to second their nomination and speak on their behalf. We will reset this while you practice with your clicker. It should take us five minutes. Those in the back of the audience, i do not believe in the back of anything. Just think that you are leading us forward. Lets practice, and we will reset the stage. We are ready to get started. The candidates are here. It is underway. Good everyone please take their seat . We are ready to move to the election of the next dnc chair. [applause] i have been informed that nominating statements were filed pursuant to the rules of procedure for the following candidates. Ladies and gentlemen please take your seats. We have established an order. Draw. Ll were able to former secretary tom perez will go first, followed by sally gordon brown, Keith Ellison, jamal greene, and peter petoskey. Give speeches, which may be divided among no more than four people, including the candidate. I will ask the staff to go ahead and bring forward the candidates. We have ample space. Former labor secretary tom perez will go first. Mr. Stuart applebaum well nominate him, followed by remarks from you that lewis, and South Carolina chair jamie harrison. Ok. Perez has secretary changed the order, which the chair proofs. I will restart the clock. The mayor will go first. [applause] good morning, democrats. Say, goodhave to afternoon, democrats. Are we fired up . Win . D ready to are we ready to govern . Are we ready to unite . We are the party of quality, opportunity, and of success. I am. As we are reminded of dr. Kings dream to support a dreamer named tom perez. A dream or who hast it up for the ideal that americans anywhere and everywhere should have their godgiven right to fulfill their dreams. I have seen this man, one of the smartest men ive ever know. I have felt his heart to my city. Deserve ars said we minimum wage, the president said tom paredes and we got tom perez, and we got a minimum wage. Saw how he brought people together behind closed doors. Im grateful to my city and the American Economy to tampa is as saving this United Statess economy. I have seen him make over time count for communications workers, seen him stand up for pink color jobs, the work he has refugees. E son of a powerful message when we are closing borders and building walls. Let us tear one down and elect tom perez as our next chair. We need local support. He has been an elected local leader as a mayor. Those from local organizations know that we need a local official that has served as a state and cabinet official. He has delivered the second they just accomplishment of the obama administration, overtime laws, by traveling the country long before this campaign. Win . E ready, democrats, to are we ready tonight, to stand up and talk . Chair, act our next man that has always been there for us, tom perez. Thank you, so much. My fellow democrats, anger without a way forward is wasted emotion. We mustll angry, but let that anger propel us, not paralyze us. Channeldidate will 1 that anger and restore our party to its rightful place as the voice for all americans. I rise in support of tom perez. Tom knows that Voting Rights cannot be a catchphrase. It must be the cause of the dnc. Tom knows that Cyber Security means more than building a firewall around the dnc. Means expanding the security to all the states and territories. If we are compromised in the field, we remain vulnerable. Tom knows that all election matters, and unless we work at the micro level, we have no right to complain when things go wrong at the macro levels. That is why winning from school board to senate will be his cause. His you wrap this up in outstanding experience managing and turning around a large bureaucracy, his work with the Civil Rights Division of the justice department, his steadfast progressive values, tom or present what we are and what we need. Tom is the only candidate with the knowledge of the past, respect for the present, and a vision for the future. I urge you to join me in supporting tom perez for dnc chair. Thank you. [applause]. Good morning, democrats monthsbeen a tough few for democrats. I will never forget feeling that pit in my stomach as i watched the returns on november 8. I will never forget the next morning when my twoyearold son asked if i was sad. Growing up in South Carolina i learned to never bend, never of thein the face challenge. I lived my states motto. While i breathe, i hope. I look at tom perez and i see a fighter. Some of them gives me hope for s future, myomi sons future. On perez has spent so much time speaking out for the rights of every american, especially the most vulnerable. He spoke up for immigrants living in the shadows. He spoke up for civil rights, Voting Rights, at the department of justice. He stood up for working families at the department of labor. Tom perez will lead us as we stand up and speak up together as we unite this Democratic Party for shared values of inclusion and opportunity. We will build our party in every community, because the American People deserve Democratic Victory up and down the ballot so we can enact the progressive change our country needs. With eyes fixed on the future, and hope in every breath, i am proud to nominate the man that will turn our party around and make history as its first latino chair. Welcome my friend, tom perez. [applause] thank you, so much. Good morning. Good morning. Good morning, everyone. Thank you, jamie, yvette, eric, all my friends here. It is such a privilege to be greatmong family, among a stable of candidates. I have Great Respect for all of them. We are one family and i know we will leave united, no doubt about that. I must tell you this is a humbling moment for me. Only in america can the son of immigrants and a pell grant kid who worked through college on the back of a trash truck picking up a golf balls, should have used a helmet, to have the opportunity to make a difference at this scale under barack obama and others. Only in america and only in the Democratic Party. You know what . We are the party that turns hardship into hope, doubts into jury, the party of inclusion and opportunity. We make sure inclusion and opportunity is in every zip code for everyone. Dr. King gave a speech in atlanta where he asked a simple and critical question, where do we go from here . How do we fight for shared values, continue the march for jobs and justice, fulfill this nations promise for opportunity for everyone . The Democratic Party is asking that question, where do we go from here . We are suffering from a crisis of confidence and relevance. We need a chair that can take the fight to donald trump. Make sure that we talk about our positive message of inclusion and opportunity. We need a chair that can lead turnaround and changed the coulter of the Democratic Party and dnc. Coulter change has a number of dimensions. All of them are essential. We must redefine the roles that we are not simply electing the president , but electing from the school board to the senate in all of the states and territories from democrats, making sure we elect democrats. The way we do that is to build strong parties, organize, organize, organize. We need a chair that can lead turnaround, change, and cold truly and at scale. Tom. Utton says team the most important word on that button is team. If elected i promise you will all be a part of that team. Good leaders are great listeners. You will always have my year and i will always have your back. You will always have my ear and i will always have your back. But me repeat this, you will not be underutilized. In will have input everything we do. The most important question you will hear from me is what do you think . We will plan strategy together. We will lift each other up together. We will plan the partys future together. We will take on donald trump and the far right republicans together. We will elect democrats up and down the ballot. This is not the first time i have confronted the challenge of bringing people together. I have the utmost respect for the challenge ahead and the importance of a team. You know what, you cannot know bowling alone and succeed. We must bowl together. That is what we will do as a party. We have a couple hours before we make this vote. No matter who wins, we will crossed the finish line together. A united Democratic Party is our best hope, and Donald Trumps worst nightmare. We will be there with hope, hard work, and a hell of a lot of organizing. We will turn this party around. Nd get democrats winning again i appreciate your help, and i look forward to your support. I ask for your vote. [applause] thank you. Ok, that concludes the nominating and seconding speeches for secretary perez. Speeches forove to brown. Oynton miss brown and her team, if you dont mind, come to the stage. [applause] i am keeping time. If you see me wave something, time is up. Christine pelosi. Good morning. You might be asking yourself, urban instigator like Christine Pelosi supporting a rural peacemaker like Sally Boynton brown for chair . It is important for the future of our country that we have people like sally running our party, and running in our party as candidates. My daughter thought she would grow up under a woman president. Though those dreams were dashed in november, i believe under the leadership of sally we can have a party were little girls like up knowingll grow that anything is possible. Like sally said, they dont have to ask permission. They can step up, lead, and have the same opportunities the boys do. [applause] sally we have a facilitator, a harmonizer. Not strive, let us for unity. That is a difficult concept for instigators like me. I believe in community and harmony. Sallys message as executive director, president of the executive directors association, someone running a rural party in a red state winning elections in nonpartisan races, sallys words of harmony ring true. Sally was very consistent in talking about access to power. Access to power when it comes to donations, participation, and the dnc. For my daughter, all of our daughters, and the possibility of what this party could be, i nominate Sally Boynton brown as chair for the Democratic National committee. [applause] good afternoon, democrats. I hail from the great state of north dakota. I year to support and second the nomination of Sally Boynton brown because of the experience she brings to the table. She ran a state party and worked in rural red state. America has rural been left behind. Sally ob a voice for the women across the country and rural voters in the heartland of the nature where agriculture is king, where coal and Energy Collide with water, where hunting rights and landowner rights are discussed every day. Not leave us behind. She will not leave our state party behind. She has shared her blueprint for the future. A bold plan which puts our partys future forward and our states future forward. I second the nomination for Sally Boynton brown for dnc chair. [applause] hello, my fellow freedom fighters. I am so excited to be in this room. We has spent the last days have aating or you difficult choice in front of you. I dont know how many times i have heard, can we mush all of the candidates together into one person. Everyone has value, everyone has worth. It is time that our party comes together and shows what our lus are. Our values are. We have millions of people marching in the streets that we need to take advantage of. We need to pull them in. To do that we need to accept that in the 21st century the way we have been doing business no longer works. We have to find a new path forward. Innovative and resilient way of keeping up with the fastpaced world and the new ways people communicate. More people voting our millennials than any other group of people. We have to go out and ask them how it is done here and have to be willing to learn. To do that, we have to listen. The focal point of this campaign has been listening to each other. With the regime that has taken over the country, we are going to have to empathize, move into our hearts, and listen to what the people of our country and party want. As you make this important decision, i ask for you to take a moment before you hit the button. Yes, we have to be pragmatic and smart. To this very critical time look into our future, we need to lead with our heart. That is what i have done in every moment of this campaign, to set that example. It will be important for the people of our country to have strong examples. They are scared. We are scared or to break through that fear we have to be strong in our convictions and values, and how we really look. T what we are about showing that strongly with our actions. Thank you for giving me the privilege of being a candidate for this office. It is amazing we have a process that allows anyone to step up and run for chair and officers. [applause] i have said this before. I dont want to miss the opportunity to encourage every young woman, every person of ther, every person from Disability Community to look at how you serve. Ande should be no barriers our party. That is what we should strive for, including every person and giving equal access. No matter where you are, what walk of life you come from, or the struggles you have, the Democratic Party needs to embrace everyone. Thank you, and good luck with your decision today. Thank you, Sally Boynton brown. The chair will now move to the nominating statements for sound. Sam. Sam . [applause] anybody want to nominate . N. I will nominate a sam ronan the chair will recognize sam to give his speech. [applause] thank you. I appreciated that. Two years ago, i was active Duty Air Force wondering what am i going to do about the mess that has become our National Politics . It started in at government shut down in 2013. Our representatives in congress clearly do not understand their role in government. The party to represent us, the American People. Years,n for two more they do nothing but violate and attack our rights. I am an enlisted airmen. I am an officer. Grunt. I am a maintainer. All i have to do is put airplanes in the sky. That is my job. The dnc now, the way things are with all of the perceptions and the everything else, the hard feelings, all of ic are people who should be all i see are people who should be working together in love with each other and supporting each stillstill hurting, angry, still upset. I am one of them. Why . Because we should be better than this. We are the party of the people whether we choose to advertise it or not, we are the party of the pupil. We are the party of fdr and the new deal. Party we are here with the diverse city and the successes we have had. The Affordable Care act. Millions of young people giving Health Insurance they otherwise would not have. That is our accomplishment. That is everybody in this room. Dnc and everybody else in that is what this is about. That is why i joined the race. What was not happening is it that discussion that it is about all of us. It is not about who will be the next leader, who is sitting at the table. How are we going to regain the trust and a respect of the American People . And so i came in i did that for i asked the men and women would vote for us who would support us and ultimately decide the future of our party what can i, sam ronan, due for u. S. Potential dnc chair do for you as a potential dnc chair . It has been listen to us. Give us not extra committees, let us work. Off of us. El give us opportunities to grow and work. Give us the tools and resources we need to succeed and i obliged. In houston, in detroit, and baltimore, ndc and cnn. I spoke about the American People, their voices, their concerns. As your next dnc chair, i am not interested in being a manager or an administrator. I am interested in being a leader in voting the new deal and fdrs success. When we were, the undisputed envy of the world is what we should be Going Forward in the future activist dnc. Thank you. In the future and a valid dnc. Thank you. In the future and the dnc. [applause] donna brazil thank you, sam. , want to makeve sure everybody is here. We will now move to nominate keithents of congressman allison. Recognize l now keith allison. The chair will recognize randy why garden for congressman ingarten of Keith Ellison. Will you all have a seat . And the chair will recognize chairwoman alex for another speech and then congressman ellison. The chair now recognizes randi weingarten. Ingarten. Andi we as democrats, we fight every day of the america with a ladder opportunity for all regardless of who you are, where you are and who you love. That is the America Hillary clinton fought for. It was my great privilege to be a soldier in her fight to become president. There was a disconnect. Too Many Americans were convinced that a con artist was worthy of your vote. And too Many Americans just didnt to vote. And that is our challenge. As we say and labor, do not work, organize. It organized, we must. Engaging every community. That is why i support and enthusiastically nominate Keith Ellison for chair. He can do this because he has done it. He can engage people, community by community and directed the passion on the streets to build an america of opportunity, of inclusion, of justice. That is why the labor movement, the foot soldiers of this party so strongly support him. Keith is an organizer. He listens and he asked. He does in his district in minnesota. He did at the Platform Committee and my coloring hillary become a candidate, he did it for her. He will do it for a party. I am proud to stand with keith and i hope you do. [applause] fellow democrats, my name is ken martin. And im here to support my good friend congressman keith llison. I have no keith for 16 years and have been amazed by his commitment to promote a longterm Political Engagement and our communities no matter how blue or how red those communities may be. And one of the first conversations with keith as i was elected chairman, he said he was spent a significant amount of time and energy to increase turnout in his congressional district. Folks, let me tell you something, he was not kidding one bit. He did just that for he followed through and his district has gone from the lowest turnout and the state to the largest and the margins are so high there are no in the whole state of minnesota. Keith did this the oldfashioned way. You wear out your shoe leather and you go to the door, you go neighbor to neighbor, person to person talking about our values. Keith and knows that. You can judge a person character by what they do when they do not have to do it. Keith represents one of the safest Democratic Congressional seats in all of congress for he does not need to expand the electorate. But he does. He works to do just that because he believes passionately everybody counts and everybody matters in this democracy. [applause] and away keith organizes his own district in coordination with our state party is an indication of how he would run the dnc with a commitment to Building Infrastructure on the ground. I ask all of you here today to join the millions of americans supporting Keith Ellison to rebuild this party to but us back on track so in 2018 and beyond this party will rise from the ashes under Keith Ellison and the Democratic Party. Thank you so much. [applause] hello. Hello. My name is alexis and im the first female and the first latina ever elected state chair of the arizona Democratic Party. I am standing with keith because he guess democrats will only win if we invest in our state parties. Fact is, we have been ignored for too long and it arizona, we know all about that. Were typically left to fend for ourselves. We outperformed many traditional swing states this past november. Arieppo out of office. That eachhas plans state can be competitive in upcoming elections. He is committed to lease 10,000 or month for states. He even has a detailed plan to how we gain ground in our rural counties. He unveiled his youth strategy and power meant at the forum in arizona and he just recently ofned the support of a call democrats of america. The states cannot be higher than act as moment. We need somebody who understands state parties and is partnered with state parties and is committed to helping state parties. That is why Keith Ellison has by far the most endorsements from state party chairs and vice chairs. While he is the clear choice, all across our country. Thank you very much. [applause] hey, democrats hey, democrats keith keith hey, democrats i just want to tell you all that you are the very best hope for the American People in this moment. [applause] you are the ones who can bring comfort to people fearing a van or a wall or losing their Social Security to people who are worried about losing their health care. You are the ones who are going to step up and rise up and protecting the American People. The American People need us in this moment because there are a lot of people who can organize on march and i go to a lot and i recommend you do to but i want to tell you this, you all can elect the next chair and vice chairs and the structure of the Democratic Party to lead us into a future that will win elections. That is what this is all about. I want to tell you i am proud to the support of my buddy, ray buckley. Give it up for ray. What it means to win elections. I, myself, have won over 13 elections in my state of minnesota. But guess what . We also won elections for down ballot candidates who is state legislatures and the other candidates, the governors, gubernatorial, state legislatures and the secretaries of state. We have to win elections. We are in this mess because we lost not one but 1000. We get out of it when we win and thats what we will do. Let me tell you. Aboutrez knows something winning elections. He won elections in california. California is a blue paradise compared to some other place for he is a dead by organizing and organizing is how we will win he did it by organizing and organizing is how we will win full of what we are going to do is we will win elections and raise voter turnout. Raise the money we need from small dollar donations. Believe,ing to we we believe we would rather have, we would rather have one million donations of 10 than 10 ations of just alter 100 just over 100,000. We need grassroots. Let me say this. Unity is is essential. We have to walk out of here in unity not only between candidates but between the groups that support all of the candidates. We have to come out of here because trump is right outside of that door and not just trump but trumpism which is people snydersich and scott and trying to take away a womans toht to choose and the right live free and indignity in this country of ours. We have to understand he is not just one fight we have to fight, but we have to fight all over this country in every county, every city and every single state in the United States. That is why we have to build state parties. Let me say this as we wrap it up. One of the question, how do we engage in the grassroots . People sign a,000 petition supporting our campaign right now. This afternoon, we will convert them from Demonstration Energy to elector energy so we can win. This afternoon. This afternoon after you let me, we will take all of our brothers and sisters and the aflcio, in afc, the teachers union, unc w a, all asleep labor all of labor and say the grassroots who knock on the doors and build relationships, go out and this whole country. Guess what . There are people who need us to people who are desperate. Andle need comfort and aid maybe the Democratic Party. None of this Community Organizations goal behind the candidates on the ballot, do they . Eu. He we have to fight and make it real. We must win. If you want to win elections and you want to get back in power, i ask you for your support. My name is Keith Ellison. Please vote for me. Thank you all very much. Thank you. Good luck. Donna brazil thank you congressman ellison. You. We will now move to the peterting statements for buttigieg. We will nowe move to the nomination statements for Peter Buttigieg. Cochair will recognize nancy for the purpose as the chair will recognize nancy for the purpose and then Lacey Johnson for seconding this nomination. Are you ready . Come on. Good afternoon, democrats. I am nan whaley. Is my honor to nominate Peter Buttigieg for chair of the Democratic National committee. Democrats, we know we have a problem. We are active the lowest point as a party since people like me had in the right to vote. Our partyo has and the people we care about. As someone up with had a great pleasure of being both a friend and a colleague of petes, i can tell you he is the best person to lead us forward. Ate is not only part of faction, he can unite our entire party as one. As a mayor and that is right. As a mayor, he knows that all politics is vocal. He knows politics is about the people we represent in our communities. Not with what is going on in washington and he knows how to run complex organizations. He knows what it will take to rebuild this Party Outside of washington. And as a mayor, he knows how to get things done. Finally, democrats, he is part of the new generation. He is even younger than me. He to embrace millennials and the new generation now and putting them in office and making them lead our party and status of paying them simple lip service. The best part of this process has been washing everybody get to know the pete i have known for years. A talented and downtoearth and as refreshing as you have seen on his entire trail. It is why mayors love to work with pete every single day to make our cities and communities and parties better. It is why he is exactly what we need for the Democratic Party. And democrats,s i am asking for your vote for pete because of time is now. We need a first start. Thats why i am so proud to as thee Pete Buttigieg chair of the Democratic National committee. [applause] i am not Lacey Johnson. My name is anthony long. I am from indiana. Im here to support my friend, fellow hoosier, Peter Buttigieg. I have known pete since he started. I have worked with him and travel to the state of indiana, a red state, who has been so successful. I watched them go to south bend and start a progress that came down to the point that his vote. Tion was 80 of the he is a person who can get it done. He is a millennial. He brings our Party Together as a united kforce. He is friends with all of the parts of our party. I am proud to second his nomination here today. [applause] democrats thank you. Thank you. [applause] i have always tried to go where i can make myself useful whether an uphill, longshot attempt treasurer of the state of indiana or becoming mayor of south bend or two were duty in afghanistan. I have gone wherever i believe i could do some good. I got into this race because i believe our party needs a fresh home for as mayor of my town, i have the best job in the world but i was willing to give it up to cut this is so important. To give it up because it is so important. Late into the night and this morning, we have been out to making our case, delivering our message and sharing why we think ours is the best way forward. We thought the potential to advance on multiple ballots, but we can do math and after speaking to nonstop with voters who let been kind enough to give us the most serious consideration, i now realize it is time for this process to move on without me. It is time for this process to move towards a solution we can all get on board with. That means for the party that i step aside. Running for chair is a huge effort and i am so thankful everybody who made it possible. An extraordinary staff who came together in a matter of days to organize and deliver. Generous contributors who let who allowed us to raise funds. My backers around the country like nan and and and and folks in indiana and everywhere else who stabbed us. Our amazing volunteers who walked the walk. Whond everyone else supported us. Helping guff in special elections, i am so proud of you. You are not only the future of present free ihe want to thank my competitors for their graciousness beginning the day i got into the race. Proving what unites us is greater than our divisions. My parents who are here, always politically aware and my partner, my love. [applause] always keeping me close to the earth. , dnc members for the exceptionally important and often thankless work that you do. It looks like i am not going to be the next chair. But, whoever it is, i urge them to do what ever it needs to be done. Look beyond washington and not treat the presidency like it is only office that matters. [applause] to Pay Attention to communities like ours in the heart of the country, not just an exotic species but fellow americans. To not assume that any map or trend or data set is going to get the Silver Bullet that will save us without hard work. , itngage a new generation is nothing wrong, we just not have called enough people on the bench off the bench they told them to get out of the field. [applause] i am a democrat because i know ours is the party of american values. Freedom. Fairness. Family and the future. We know the government is not the only thing. Regulations is not only thing that can make you Arne Friedrich we stand for freedom from dishonest banking regulations. Regulations is not only thing that make us on free. With a party of fairness because we know the unfairness that has a lot of bluecollar autoworkers because the what the economy is doing is the same is why Voter Suppression is the most widespread form all voter fraud. We are for social, racial, democratic and economic fairness. We are the party of families trying to get your family a raise. Keep Families Together whether immigrants, lgbt or any other kind. We will always be the party of the future. Politics at its worst is ugly. But politics at its best is magnificent. Because it is not just about policy, it is so craft. And it is moral. The world is not divided into good people and bad people. No matter what we like to tell ourselves. Every one of us will do good or bad every day. You can stick up with a friend with the utmost integrity and then go to work and do something that compromises your integrity you are values. We are not all good or all bad. No matter what we tell ourselves, it does not make you a good person or a bad person how you vote in a general election or a primary election. We are just people. Human beings capable of doing good and bad things. That is why leadership matter. Leadership matters because of what they bring got in the rest of us. Right now, america has leaders that bring out the worst of us in opponents and supporters they call on the darkest things within us. Darknessng told us, cannot rise out of darkness. We have the chance to do the reverse. Our leaders call out to the best. That is why this matters so much. When you write a letter marked just in case and you leave a where your family can find a before you head to the Processing Center for mobilization the world was very different to you forever. When you sit with your partners shows you the lifesaving medication purchased through the aca, the world looks different. Day, this workhe is not something we all do as democrats because it benefits us because it is glorious or glamorous or because it is easy. We do it because it matters. Thats what our rates for chair is all about for thats what a must to be about. Believe this still is the season for happy warriors. Opera movement of happy warriors is not ending today. Our move my happy Warrior Movement of happy warriors is not ending today. To defend our values, to support one another and to build the future all of us together can be proud of. Thank you. [applause] thank you for your great service. [applause] donna brazil thank you. Thank you, mayor buttigieg. Pete pete brazil thank you very much, mayor buttigieg. Mayor buttigieg has removed his name from consideration. We will move to the nominated statements for mrs. Green. The chair will recognize mrs. Green. Nominate would like to mrs. Green, any seconds . Thank you. Will recognize mrs. Green to make her nomination. [applause] we are the Democratic Party, yall. In november, we faced the perfect storm of a missed opportunity. We have a perfect stormtoday, of abundance of opportunity. Democrats, as the Oldest Political Party in this country, we are strong. We are fierce. This moment may test us, but it will not break us. When i entered this race, i rejected a campaign of embraced a, and campaign of ideas, a campaign of ideas that inspire and will transform this party to win again. We are the Democratic Party, yall. Weve fielded an Amazing Group of candidates for this race because we are the party of opportunity and inclusion. We are right on our values. We are right on our policies. And we are right on our purpose. But as we all know too well, to winight is not enough elections. So, in this unique, maybe onceinalifetime moment, we need to think differently about how we conduct the business of the Democratic Party. Can be arogress frustrating goal. For the most part, change is slow, incremental. It usually creeps along with a series of small advances that add up to improvements over time. But then every so often, about we come to an Inflection Point, a moment in time that is not about incrementalism, but about sweeping change. About true transformation. Feel thewhen you can history crackling in the streets and in every conversation. When there is an opportunity to transcend the status quo and to entirely newn operating system. Today, the Democratic Party is facing one of those Inflection Points. This is not a time for mere forilding. This is a time. Egeneration we are the Democratic Party, yall, and the only constraints we have are those in our imagination. In my conversations with democrats the last few months, i can sense trepidation and uneasiness that has permeated many corners of our party. I can see the places where we are limiting ourselves, shrinking our aspirations, plagued by a scarcity mindset. We are the Democratic Party, moment may test us, but it will not break us. Its true. These are not easy days. We are facing a president who is arrogantly marching us toward fascism. Our deepest values are under attack. Fear, is not unfounded. However, this Inflection Point also offers a tremendous opportunity. In times of adversity, we either choose to contract, to close ranks and a self protective stance, or we can choose to grow , andr, shoulders back expand our reach. We must believe in abundance, not scarcity, to on this moment. I have been around politics long enough to know that an easy path to victory is to tell you all only what you want to hear. I choose the road less traveled. Speaking uncomfortable truths. Because if we cannot speak in they to our friends democratic family, how can we expect to confront our enemies . We are the party of innovation. These are not my words. These are Barbara Jordans words , spoken over 40 years ago at the Democratic Convention in 1976. Innovation,arty of and that is why we need to examine the current rules of our party to ensure we are not out of touch. From the tainted term of superdelegates to caucuses that unintentionally unintentionally disenfranchise the disabled community, shift workers like my mom, a nurse. When we have full faith and confidence than when we, we stand together, shoulder to shoulder, we can design new models to honor and veterans of and activists in the streets. We would never nominate a trump like president ial nominee to wreak havoc and terrorize the American People because we are the Democratic Party, yall. Disruption. Ion, these are the ideas that we need to embrace occurs we are the party of innovation. And in these impressive and at unprecedented times, the dnc not only needs a strategist and season organizer, we need a fierce leader, someone who will tackle the institutional challenges, rebuild the party, and resist this president at every turn. We are the Democratic Party, yall. Working families. We fight for criminal justice reform. We fight for immigration reform. We fight for the healthcare advances with made. We fight for the family. We fight for the living wage. We are visionary on job creation. We have an extraordinary opportunity to innovate, but we need to prioritize purpose over politics to win again. Because we are the Democratic Party, yall, and moving forward, we will cede no territory to republicans. We will make smarter investments in Community Building and we will build a new blue wall. We are the Democratic Party, and if we expect to be resource constrained, we will be. Instead of looking at our bank account to decide on our agenda, we must first set the agenda, decide all of our priorities. [applause] i am a democrat because i am the daughter of liberian immigrants who were once undocumented. Im a democrat because School Lunches fed me as a child. Im a democrat because im the only person who will decide when and if i have a child. I am a disruptor. I am an innovator. And i have the heart of a grassroots organizer. Exactly what the party needs right now. Aboutf you have wondered my time at fox news. For almost seven years, i have been going toe to toe with republicans for a living, and i have been winning with the truth. [cheers and applause] i have connected with independents. If you believe democrats need to do a better job engaging with voters in red states, than i am the right person for the job. Aires tens of millions of dollars for the candidates, the issues, the causes i believe i can. I delivered for the president as the president of rock the boat. I have changed the concept of immigration. I have trained over 15,000 women to run for office as a Founding Member of vote, run, leave. I know my experience is different than what youre used to in a dnc chair. I get that. But these unprecedented times call for an unconditional leader and i will be eight daily champion i will be a daily champion for the millennial generation and for women leaders. Do not get our priorities twisted, yall. Women are the backbone of this party. Especially women of color. The stakes are too high. The innovation moonshot my platform offers specific descriptions on how we reimagine our processes, how we transform our transparency and accountability, and how we ship to be battlefield from Voter Suppression to voter expansion. The battlefield from Voter Suppression to voter expansion and how we celebrate because we are the Democratic Party, yall. Say it with me. We are the Democratic Party, yall. Look around. This is the army on the front lines, fighting to resist. And i believe i am the leader for this moment. Thank you. [applause] chair brazile and now, it is my nominate theo final candidate for chair peter ckarsky. [indiscernible] thank you, madam chair. Thank you for allowing me to speak. Thank you for traveling to the beautiful city of atlanta. I also thank all who ran for chair with me. I am the grandson of a russian immigrant who escaped the tyrant of a boss and was able to settle in milwaukee, wisconsin. My father and for uncles fought for the United States in world war ii. Uncles talk and 4 with in world war ii. I served for the director of Naval Intelligence as a civilian consultant. I have bachelor degrees from m. I. T. Im an attorney and i am what the dnc needs. The dnc represents a free america. We are the party of the people, all people, regardless of race, color, religion, disability, sexual orientation, national origin, gender identity, or military service. We represent the young, the old, the rich, the poor, and everyone in between. We are the Majority Party of the United States of america. Fundamentals a conviction that americans must not just be free, a fair society, a society where the elderly and the disabled live lives of dignity and Social Security remains an unshakable commitment. Where all people can find jobs in a growing economy, where all workers are guaranteed the legal right to join unions of their choice and to bargain collectively for a living wage and decent conditions of employment. Walked with the womens march in washington because i believe in a society where equal rights of women are guaranteed in the constitution. Tore a woman has the right make the decisions about her own reproductive system. Where the civil rights of minorities are secured and no one is denied the opportunity for a better life. Where a sound, affordable education, quality metal care, affordable housing, safe streets, and a healthy environment are possible for every citizen. Where the livelihoods of our family farmers are as stable as the values they instill in the american character. Where a Strong National defense is a common effort. Where promoting human rights is a basic value of our foreign policy. And where we ensure the future, despite the other partys efforts, by ending the nuclear arms race. My platform is symbol my platform is simple. Protectthe party and elections. We must restore the reputation of the dnc. We have suffered through a to mulch was time with leaks and accusations that have tarnished the reputation of the dnc and the good work we do. While i am not of it, i have tried to live my life with the highest of integrity, knowing right from wrong, and making very sure the organizations that i lead, work with, or work for also maintain the highest standards. My colleagues and i agree that the means of sheridan county, wyoming are the needs of sharing coming, wyoming are richland county, ohio, different from washington county, maine, different from sumter county, georgia. As chairman of the dnc, i will support our party and each of the precincts and every state that needs our help. The days of the dnc treating states as atm machines are over. Dnc, ourrotect the country, and our voting process from threats and from interference. The art of voting, just going to a local polling place and casting a ballot, is the only means by which the power to govern is legitimately conferred in our nation. An attack on any part of the voting process, from registration all the way through certification of the electoral in effect an attack on our constitution and our nation. And i should say through the certification of the votes in any state also. Without security of the voting process, our fundamental National Security is severely the grated. We were and are vulnerable as a nation. Exercising our constitutional right to vote, the first step is to wake up, smell the coffee, take ones head out of the sand and realize what is happening. Our ability to vote is compromised through attempts to prevent our citizens from voting just because of the color of their skin. I have worked for years protecting the rights of africanamericans and others in milwaukee to exercise the right to vote. I have worked shoulder to shoulder with every person in this room to protect our access to the voting booth. Our elected officials have clearly attempted to prevent certain people from voting by trying to enact voter id laws. Many of you know my position on that issue. Those of you who dont, i broke the internet during cnns wednesday night debate. Year, our intelligence agencies reported after the election that the russians used propaganda and they hacked email accounts to interfere with our election. As we all know very well, when the people voted, Hillary Clinton won the popular vote. Applause]d mr. Peckarsky the United States electionartment uses observers. They either certify that the voting was free and fair or refuses to make such a certification. One of those International Election observers wrote an article in the Columbus Free election hadf the occurred anywhere outside the United States, our state department would have refused to certify that our election was a free and fair election. The reason the state department would refused to certify the election was free and fair is that the shift in results from the on adjusted exit polls as broadcast by the american networks, do the vote counts certified by each states officials simply does not add up. Based on unadjusted exit polls, the truck when of floridas 29 electoral polls was expected to occur by chance once every 880 years. The trunk when of north carolinas 15 electoral votes was expected to occur by chance once every 72,000 years. Adding these 44 electoral votes to clintons total would have given her the presidency. For those who understand statistics, this is all based on the normalized probability density function. Security for the voting security for the voting process can most efficiently and effectively be provided by a fulltime Election Protection efforts of each states Democratic Party with the full support of the dnc. I am willing to venture that each and every one of you here was knocking on doors, making phone calls, registering voters and working hard after the convention to elect our nominee, Hillary Clinton. Know how wents to will unite and heal the divisions caused by the 2016 election. Both Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton and all of their supporters for all of your efforts. I worked for bernie and then i worked for hillary. I am a democrat. To devote our efforts to winning entry 17 and protect the future of america. It will take time, talent, and energy to be successful in each states,ur 51 territories, and the district of columbia. We have to have energy in every county, and every town, in every state for all americans. My fellow americans on the dnc, ask not who has the most endorsements. Ask what you can do to protect americas elections with your for dnc chair. Starting right now, right this minute, we must recoup young people with vision and enthusiasm such as 13yearold carson wedding, a young woman from texas, who shared this with me last week. She firstve when heard girl used as an insult. She pinched the boy who said it and that is the first time she got in trouble. She does not have a happily ever after yet. Someday she will pick up a pen and write herself one because , i is me and i am her and i am a feminist. I ask [applause] for your support and your vote. Thank you very much. Thank you. Brazile i want to thank thank you, thank you, peter. We have heard great speeches this morning. We have a great roster of candidates to choose from. From phoenix to denver to houston to baltimore and now here in atlanta. It is time to vote. Applause]d pursuant toe procedure, the chair has discretion as to the voting mechanism, and it is my determination, based on the system that we tested this morning, that i would like to use paper ballots, and i will tell you why. That weto make sure cannot just count the ballots to. Erify every name and signature and i want to make sure that at the conclusion of all of our votes that you, the members of this party, will be able to review those ballots. And because we are dependent on , but, not just here everywhere, i want to also ensure that there is no interference in causing you to cast those ballots. So, i thought about asking theirody to leave devices, mobile devices outside to ensure that we had a very igh internet speed, etc. And im sure that many of you would like to leave them outside. We are going to go ahead and use the paper ballots. So, ladies and gentlemen, i am going to pass on this technology and the process to the next chair and he or she will be able to utilize the system for years from now. But im going to utilize the system we used 12 years ago one we have the election of our last officers. I feel very confident we will all be able to use this process. So, here we go. Please get into your seats. Please get back into your seats. In the member area. This will permit the staff to pass out and collected ballots for chair. You need to stay in your seats during the voting period. That is two minutes. And until all ballots are collected if no one is elected, as you all know, the first ballot, you will have to return to your seat for a second ballot. After the ballots are collected, please remain in your seats, and without objection, we will proceed to the election of the next officer. The ballots will be distributed from left to right. Ballots will be returned from right to left. Proxy, please stand to receive the ballot for the proxy as well, and remember to sign your ballot, and please make it legible. Let us proceed with the ballots. And if you are voting by proxy, you must sign your name where the members signs [raps gavel] proxy, youvoting by must sign your name where the member signs or print your name where the form shows print the name of the person voting. Are we ready to pass out the ballots . Leah daughtry . Yes. Thank you. Please get back into your seats, members. It will help us move this process along. As chair, i have asked Jim Roosevelt and Lorraine Roosevelt to oversee the counting of the ballots. The chair has requested Jim Roosevelt and Lorraine Miller to oversee the counting of the ballots. They have the respect of the chair and the voting Bylaws Committee. Please sign and print your ballots. As soon as all the ballots are distributed, i will start the twominute clock. When the ballots are distributed, a show of hands. Ladies and gentlemen, i need your attention right now. Please, i need your attention. Reverend daughtry, will you give further instructions . Therend daughtry when ballots of been distributed, the staff will advise the church every member has received a ballot. That is when the twominute clock will start. Once we are sure every member has received a ballot. The folks Still Standing are waiting for proxy ballots. Are standing up, that is because you are waiting for your proxy ballot. While we are waiting, let me assure you that we have briefed all of the candidates, campaigns candidates campaigns regarding the change in the voting procedure. They have have the opportunity to ask the questions, and they will still observe the counting of the ballots. Obviously, as the rules , and in compliance with the rules, we will provide each campaign a tally of the vote. However, we will not be able to provide them a member by member tally. They will have the aggregate and get the votes verified. They will have that in writing. We will issue it to the chair. It will go on the screen. The chair will announce the results. The candidates appear on the ballot in the order that they drew numbers from the box. Anyone holding a proxy, please stand. If you have received a proxy, please sit down. Is there any proxy holder who does not have an orange ballot . All proxy votes are on orange ballots. Is there any proxy holder who has not received a valid . Bal lot . Sir, are you waiting for a proxy ballot . No. [crowd members chanting keith for dnc] chair brazile the only people who should be standing in the aisle at this time should be staff. [indiscernible] the only people who should be standing in the aisle should be staff so we can complete the distribution of the ballots. [gavel] the chair will now start the twominute clock. [gavel] [indiscernible] [indiscernible] chair brazile give your ballot to a staff person. It is time to collect all of the ballots. [indiscernible] on my right. I see no one [indiscernible] please hold up the ballots that need to be collected. Voting process we will recess for five minutes as we collect. [gavel] all right. We will recess for five minutes. Staff will collectively collect the clickers. We will be back in about five minutes. Pass the clickers to the left