The Democratic Party and the precinct committee people of Iowa House District 33 will hold a convention to select the Democratic Party's candidate to fill the vacancy in the above mentioned legislative district.

The nominating convention is scheduled to convene 10 minutes upon adjournment of the Linn County Democratic Central Committee meeting scheduled at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, October 28, 2009 at the Best Western Longbranch Hotel and Convention Center (90 Twixt Town Rd NE, Cedar Rapids).

The eligible delegates to the convention are the precinct committee people from the 33rd Iowa House District who were duly elected at the 2008 precinct caucuses or the precinct committee person who have been duly elected by the respective Democratic county central committee since the 2008 precinct caucuses.

/s/ Michael Kiernan
Chair, Iowa Democratic Party

Chairman Kiernan also issued the following letter in conjunction with the Call to Convention:

October 21, 2009

Speaker Pat Murphy and Chairwoman Diane Hoffmann:

I want to thank the Iowa House Caucus and the Linn County Democrats for input regarding the date and time of the upcoming special nominating convention in House District 33. Both parties presented solid arguments for their respective positions, and I thank them for taking time to share with me. Ultimately, my decision came down to two main issues. The first issue concerns party building and the principles of the Democratic Party from the precinct level to the Democratic National Committee. The onus is on each and every member of the party to accommodate new membership and build our party. The other issue concerns the ability of local parties to govern according to their own unique rules and bylaws. Each county party knows its rules and bylaws better than any other entity.

With these points in mind, I am scheduling the nominating convention to convene ten minutes upon adjournment of the Linn County Democratic Central Committee meeting on Wednesday, October 28. This call is in accordance with Iowa Code §43.78.

As for the issue of filling vacant central committee seats, I will leave this matter to the Linn County Democratic Central Committee to decide in accordance with Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution of the Iowa Democratic Party and Article I of the Linn County Democratic Central Committee By-Laws. The process to fill or not fill the seats is the sole responsibility of the Linn County Democratic Central Committee as both documents clearly outline.

As Chair of the Iowa Democratic Party, I feel it is important to honor the authority of the local parties in such matters. I am also strongly recommending that all steps are taken to make this process as inclusive as possible. We are a big tent and have a proud grassroots tradition, and we should seek to uphold that tradition in this and every endeavor of the Iowa Democratic Party.

I thank all involved for participating in the discussion. I look forward to having an outstanding Democratic nominee in HD 33 and working together to keep the seat in Democratic hands.

Best,
Michael Kiernan

Chair, Iowa Democratic Party

Please find the official convention call attached to this email. Hard copies will be mailed to all member of the Linn County Democratic Central Committee representing precincts in House District 33.