Texas 2-Step Revisited: Hearings give Valley Democrats chance to voice their concern on primary/caucus system

HARLINGEN - Residents had a chance Saturday to speak out about the controversial "Texas Two Step" Democratic Party primary/caucus system.

State Sen. Roy West, D-Dallas, said intense interest in this year's Democratic Party primary election spotlighted controversy over the caucus system.

"I want to be sure we have full hearings on it and get input from people around the state of Texas," West said at a hearing at the Harlingen Public Library.

The hearings will help determine if the system should be changed and, if it is, what needs to be fixed, he said.

No election process will work completely smoothly, West said.

The Democratic Party caucuses, which were held after the primary voting was concluded on election night, selected additional delegates, or "super delegates," to the state convention. But in many counties they were held in facilities that were too small, West said.

Many voters also expressed frustration and confusion with the process during Texas' March primary election.

"We never anticipated the type of turnout that we had in the Democratic primary, therefore it basically overwhelmed the system," West said.

"It's a great problem to have because it shows that many people in the state of Texas are now looking at the Democratic Party as the party of leadership in the state."

Cameron County Democratic Party Chairman Gilberto Hinojosa said many party members in the Rio Grande Valley were deeply disappointed, or even angry, that Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton was not nominated as the presidential candidate. At the state convention, there was almost a "mini-riot" at the end of the session, he said.

"In my 30 years of participating in the Democratic Party process, I've never seen the intense interest we had this time," he said. "It (caucus) was a wonderful, although chaotic, process. It was extremely frustrating in some ways. ... We need to continue to build our party to make this a blue state again."

Rosalie Weisfeld, a panel member and veteran political activist from Hidalgo County, said, "Some of our young people felt disenfranchised."

Young people felt they had no chance of being chosen as a delegate to the state convention, she said.

Audience member Juan Ortega said that, in the past, it was hard to get anyone to participate in the process.

But this year it seemed delegates to the state convention were chosen because they were a relative or friend of someone on the nominating committee, rather than because they would be an active participant, Ortega said.

State Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr. said that although most Valley Democrats supported Clinton, he is confident they will vote for the Barack Obama-Joe Biden ticket.

"I think Hillary has made it clear she wants her supporters to back the Obama-Biden ticket," he said.