Democrats Meet Sunday to Pick Local Delegates for Convention

Democratic activists who want to be at the center of the action July 18-21 in Atlanta will be vying for delegate spots at caucuses Sunday in each of the county’s five congressional districts.

Separate caucuses will be held at various locations for each of the two remaining Democratic presidential hopefuls, Michael Dukakis and Jesse Jackson, who will be competing for California delegates in the June 7 primary.

“People are campaigning very actively for this,” said John Hanna, chairman of the county Democratic Party. “They want to be where the excitement is in Atlanta.”

The most competitive race is expected for Dukakis in the 40th District, where party activists, labor leaders, gay leaders and senior citizens, among others, are competing for four delegate spots and one alternate for each of the presidential candidates.

Although Republicans outnumber Democrats, 54.5% to 35.6%, in the county, there are more than 365,000 registered Democrats in the county who can vote in the Democratic primary.

All delegate hopefuls met an April 14 application deadline set by the state party.

Dukakis and Jackson must receive at least 15% of the vote in a given district to be awarded any delegates. Once the presidential candidate meets that 15% threshold, he receives delegates proportionate to his vote.

Any registered Democrat may attend his or her congressional district’s caucus to vote for a delegate. The caucuses will begin promptly at 3 p.m.

Caucuses for Dukakis will be at the following locations:

38th District--Electrical Worker’s Hall, 3222 W. 1st St., Santa Ana.

39th District--Loara High School, 1765 W. Cerritos Ave., Anaheim.

40th District--Orange Coast College’s Science Hall, 2701 Fairview Road, Costa Mesa.

42nd District--Los Alamitos High School’s Performing Arts Theater, 3591 Cerritos Ave., Los Alamitos.

43rd District--Truman Benedict School’s Multipurpose Room, 1251 Sarmentosa, San Clemente, and Harding Community Center Auditorium, 3096 Harding St., Carlsbad.

Caucuses for Jackson will be at the following locations:

38th District--Carr Intermediate School, 2120 W. Edinger Ave., Santa Ana.

39th District--Carpenter’s Local 2361, 1916 W. Chapman Ave., Orange.

40th District--Irvine Senior Citizens’ Hall, 3 Sandburg, Irvine.

42nd District--Long Beach Universal Humanitarian Church, 5450 Atherton St., Long Beach.

43rd District--Beach Terrace Inn’s Community Room, 2775 Ocean St., Carlsbad.