Code Neon Blue!

I think I am FINALLY done turning in all our data and resolutions and stuff from the County Assembly. I’ve also survived my son’s spring break. Today he’s back at school and I’m back on the ball (at least as much so as usual).

Reading about all the troubles some of the big counties had with their assemblies reminds me that being way out here in the boonies has much to recommend it.

We had 71 delegates and 5 alternates nominated at the county caucuses. We’d had the brilliant idea of checking up on their voting bona fieds BEFORE the night of the assembly, so our processing was only a matter of collecting for the meal (for those who had chosen to partake) and passing out a blue card with each delegate’s name on it. Still, it kept those of us at the check-in table busy enough that I missed Dan Slater’s speech. Dan’s the VP of the state party, and he was just passing through during his personal re-enactment of Amarillo (and back) By Morning. But he did take the time to drop by, and we all appreciated it.

Another cool surprise guest star was Governor Bill Ritter. Our neighbors in Bent County had already snagged him for a dinner that same night, but he had several events scheduled in Lamar on Saturday, and was spending the night in the same hotel where we were. So he popped in and spoke for a while, joking a little and just generally energizing the base.

Not that we weren’t energized already. What I’ve been noticing about our county party lately is that we’re really gearing up. In the past few elections we haven’t had a lot of luck finding people to run for local office, but this year they were popping up all over the place, and right now we have two candidates for the Board of Commissioners (Chris Wilkinson and John DuVall) and also one for the DA of the 15th Judicial District (Debra Gunkel).

Another sign that we’re lifting our heads and looking around with new eyes is that there’s a growing interest in celebrating our local party history. Darrell Seufer, who was a county commissioner for 16 years, THOUGHT he had been urged to attend the dinner so he could nominate Chris Wilkinson, but in reality, we lured him there to present him with a plaque honoring his service to the county and the party.

Once upon a time, Prowers County was mostly Democratic. I think we are heading that way again.

P.S. If you want to see the pics from the Assembly, just CLICK HERE.