ARAPAHOE COUNTY DEMOCRATIC PARTY REORG.

What Is ReOrg and How can I participate?

1. What is “ReOrg”?

ReOrg is shorthand for Reorganization - every two years, the Democratic Party elects leadership for every* governing board and committee in the Party as provided by Colorado law and Colorado Democratic Party rules.  *NOTE: We do not elect new Precinct Organizers (POs) at ReOrg.  POs serve until the following Caucus in the next even-numbered year.

2. When is County ReOrg?

This page has information from 2023. The next Reorg will be Feb 8, 2025. Watch for more information soon.

3. How can I participate?

Watch for more information soon.

4. Who can run for a board or committee position?

Any registered Democrat may attend ReOrg and run for positions in the districts in which they live.  For example, County party offices may be filled by any Democrat who lives in our County, but house district offices may only be filled by Democrats who live in that house district.  Candidates do not need to be a voting member to run (see who can vote in #6, below).  

5. How do I run?

1. Watch for more information about signing up.

2. Attend the Arapahoe County ReOrg.  Candidates will be given a limited time to address the voting body.  Contested positions will be determined by ballot.  Attendance at ReOrg is highly recommended but not required in order to run.

3. IF you are interested in running for an Officer position in a Multi-County District (see #7, below), Watch for more information soon.

6. Who can vote at County ReOrg?

County Central Committee members who live in the district vote at County ReOrg.  In Arapahoe County, our County Central Committee consists of the district officers (elected at the last ReOrg or thereafter), Precinct Organizers (POs - elected at the last caucus), Precinct Captains (if any), and certain elected officials who live in that district.  

7. A note about single and multi-county districts in Arapahoe County.  

• • SINGLE-County districts, which sit wholly within our County, the Central Committees (including POs) elect Officers and committee members.

    • County board

    • House Districts 37, 40, 41 & 42

    • Senate District 29 

    • County Commissioner Districts 1 - 5

    • Judicial District 18 is currently multi-county but will be redistricted effective in January 2025 to a single-county district covering all of Arapahoe County.  For purposes of ReOrg and the Nov 2024 election it will be treated as a single-county district. 

  • MULTI-County districts, which sit in Arapahoe and one or more additional counties, elect Bonus Members to attend future ReOrgs for those districts. POs are encouraged to run as bonus members. 

    • House Districts 3, 9, 36, 38, 56 & 61 

    • Senate Districts 16, 21, 26, 27, 28 & 32 

    • Congressional Districts 1, 4 & 6 

***Multi-County districts are governed by the State Party Rules and require two steps for ReOrg.***

Step One.  In February, each County's Precinct Organizers (POs f/k/a PCPs), Captains, and a few others vote to elect Bonus Members to attend another meeting in March.

Step Two.  In March, the Bonus Members from each County and a few others vote to elect the new district Officers.  

Those Bonus Members and new Officers and a few others then serve as the district's Central & Vacancy Committee for the next two years.  

NOTE: in single-county districts POs are members of the central & vacancy committees for districts in which they live.  BUT, in multi-county districts, POs are not automatically on the central & vacancy committee.  POs must run to be bonus members to be on the central & vacancy committee.  Any Democrat who lives in the district may run to be a bonus member.  Please register ASAP and indicate you'd like to run.  

8. What districts have governing boards?  

At various ReOrgs, the Party elects a board for: 

• Each County 

• State House Districts

• State Senate Districts

• County Commissioner Districts

• Judicial Districts (in Arapahoe County this board will be our County board)

• Congressional Districts

• State Party Initiatives

• The State (Colorado Democratic Party)

9. What are the board positions / Officers?

The five basic positions in Arapahoe County are below.  Other Counties and Multi-County districts may have different or additional positions. Only a Chair and Secretary are required, others are helpful. See descriptions far below.

• Chair 

• 1st Vice Chair

• 2nd Vice Chair 

• Secretary  

• Treasurer

10. What are the Committees elected at ReOrg?

• The County Central Committee elects 

  • Bonus Members to the State Central Committee (SCC) - attend State ReOrg to elect the State Party Officers

  • Bonus Members to the State Executive Committee (SEC) - main responsibility is to vote on the State Party budget

• Each single-county House District Central Committee elects 

  • 1 member to the State Platform Committee who also serves on the County Platform Committee

  • 1 or more County Rules Committee Members 

  • 1 or more County Outreach Committee Members 

• Each multi-county House and Senate District elects

  • Bonus Members to that Multi-County District Central Committee - attend an additional multi-county district ReOrg meeting to elect the multi-county district's Officers

11. What is the basic outline for elections at County ReOrg and how many people are needed?  

Bonus Member and Designated Rep are defined in #12, below.

All voting members in the County 

• Elect the County Chair

• Elect the County 1st Vice Chair, County 2nd Vice Chair, County Secretary and County Treasurer

• Elect the State Central Committee bonus members (42 bonus members)

• Elect the State Executive Committee bonus members (19 bonus members)

• Elect Congressional District bonus members

  • • CD 1 (Rep DeGette) 0 bonus members, plus 2 designated reps as needed

    • CD 4 (Rep Buck) 2 bonus members, plus County Chair and 1st VC or 2 designated reps as needed

    • CD 6 (Rep Crow) 40 bonus members, plus County Chair and 1st VC or 2 designated reps as needed

Separate breakout sessions convened: 

• Elect County Commissioner District Officers 

• Elect State Senate District Officers if wholly within Arapahoe County OR elect bonus members to multi-district reorg meetings

• Elect State House District Officers if wholly within Arapahoe County OR elect bonus members to multi-district reorg meetings

11. What are Bonus Members and Designated Reps?

Bonus Member - The name given to some members of a Multi-County district central committee.  (Single-County district central committees are mostly comprised of Precinct Organizers and Captains.)  Multi-County central committees members are elected and sent from each participating County's Reorg.  They are called 'bonus members' to distinguish them from officers and elected officials who may be 'automatic members.'  

At each Multi-County district ReOrg in March, the bonus members and other members of the central committee elect the officers of that Multi-County district and other committee positions like Platform, if applicable. 

Designated Rep - The County Chair and County 1st Vice Chair are automatic members of the three Congressional District (CD) central committees in our county.  If the County Chair and 1st VC do not live in the CD, they designate a representative who does live there to represent them on that CD's central committee. 

For each House District and Senate District in the county, the County Chair, County 1st VC, and the County Secretary are automatic members and must designate representatives on those HD & SD central committees in which they do not reside.  

WHAT does each officer and committee member do?