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About the Linn County Democratic Central Committee

The LCDCC meets regularly on the 4th Wednesday of each month. Most meetings begin at 7 p.m. and take place at the Best Western Longbranch. For specific details about upcoming meetings, however, we recommend viewing the calendar.

Linn County Executive Board

Those who serve on the executive board are elected at the county's biennial meeting. Each elected official has a set of duties.

For more information, please message the webmaster.

The smallest geographic subdivision in Iowa’s political structure is the precinct. The key to the Democratic Party’s success in Iowa is our ability to organize at the precinct (i.e., grassroots) level. Organization at the grassroots level works in Iowa because of the efforts of the thousands of people who have made the decision to play a greater role in the political process. They attend their precinct caucuses and offer their leadership as precinct committee persons.

For more information, please read about the duties of central committee members.

Iowa law allows the election of two county central committee members from each precinct within a county. According to the Iowa Democratic Party Constitution, additional members may be elected from precincts using proportional representation. The additional members are apportioned based upon the Democratic votes in that precinct during the last two general elections for president and governor. Any other method of electing precinct committee persons is illegal.

For example, counties may not have voting central committee members whom:

  • Are elected to serve at large.
  • Are elected officials living in the county (unless they are elected by their precinct caucus as precinct committee persons)
  • Live outside the precinct they represent
  • Are elected/appointed to represent a special constituency (Young Democrats, Labor etc. unless they are elected by their precinct caucus as precinct committee persons)

NOTE: County central committees that wish to switch to proportional representation may do so only at the biennial precinct caucuses.

In accordance with the Code of Iowa, Democratic Party precinct committee persons are elected in even-numbered years at precinct caucuses by the Democrats living within each precinct. Precinct committee persons serve on the county central committee, which is the policy-making body of the county party. Their terms of office begin immediately following the county convention and continue for two years.

The Code of Iowa and the Iowa Democratic Party Constitution allow the retention in office of those precinct committee persons who were not replaced at a precinct caucus. This, providing all other qualifications in the Code of Iowa and the Iowa Democratic Party Constitution are met.

In precincts where precincts caucuses were not convened and/or no precinct committee persons elected, the most recently elected precinct committee person(s) remain in office until they either, resign, die, or are removed by the county central committee. The country central committee may remove a precinct committee person for one of the reasons in the Code of Iowa, the Iowa Democratic Party Constitution and/or the county party constitution or bylaws (as long as the latter is not in conflict with the Code of Iowa or the Iowa Democratic Party Constitution and/or Bylaws.) In precincts where an election did occur but only one position was filled, the remaining position(s) are considered to be vacant.

The county central committee is a legal entity recognized by the Iowa Code. When necessary, duly elected precinct committee members of the central committee are responsible for nominating the Democratic Party candidate in a legislative special election. County central committees not elected in accordance with the Code of Iowa open themselves up to legal challenges of any matter upon which they have voted. It is extremely important that county parties adhere to the Code of Iowa when electing members to their central committees.