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David Ginsberg

Hello, my name is David Ginsberg!

Home town: Seattle, WA (born & raised)

Legislative District-Precinct:
34-1485 West Seattle (High Point - the most populous precinct in WA)

Occupation:
Solutions Architect | Community Organizer

END SENSELESS WAR
FIGHT GLOBAL WARMING
ENACT UNIVERSAL HEALTHCARE
PROTECT THE ENVIRONMENT
ENABLE ECONOMIC JUSTICE
PROMOTE CLEAN ENERGY
EDUCATE OUR CHILDREN
PROVIDE EQUAL OPPORTUNITY
PROTECT HUMAN RIGHTS
RESTORE GOOD GOVERNMENT

Family Camping Trip, North Cascades, WA
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Hi, I’m David Ginsberg, and I’m asking for your vote to join you as an at-large delegate to the Democratic National Convention.

Like you, I’m honored to have been elected, first by my neighbors, and then by the other delegates of my Legislative District. At the 7th CD Caucus I tied for the runoff, which was settled by coin-toss. Clearly I lost the coin toss!

The national delegates from the 7th CD have compiled a useful list of questions, which I'll answer here:

1. In what ways have you been instrumental in getting Obama nominated so far?

In short: I canvassed every door in my precinct and the surrounding precincts that didn't have captains. When I spoke at my precinct caucus enough of the Clinton supporters switched sides to give Barack *all* of our delegates. After Barack won Washington I went to Texas for the two-step primary/caucus. The precincts I canvassed went overwhelmingly for Barack, and a number of people came up to me at the caucus and told me that they were there because of me. When I got back to Washington I turned my focus to GOTV for my legislative district caucus, calling delegates and alternates to maintain our delegate count. We gained two delegates! More recently I went to Oregon to help out, and I've also made innumerable calls to voters in the states I couldn't travel to.

2. What do you plan to do going forward to ensure Obama gets elected?

I've been selected as an Obama Organizing Fellow, and am involved in the Democrats' coordinated campaign. My home has become the unofficial Obama headquarters for High Point, and everyone in the neighborhood knows the blue house on the corner where they can get Obama signs/info and register to vote. I've signed up as a neighborhood leader for the Democrats' Neighborhood Challenge, and at the request of my District Chair I'm running for PCO of what is rapidly becoming a key precinct (most populous with low voter registration and a potential democratic stronghold) in the Democratic landscape.

3. What unique contribution have you made as a delegate that would make the delegation stronger because of your participation in it?

I independently organized my precinct and the surrounding precincts. I designed and distributed color flyers to every home in High Point (2,000 residents and counting...). I designed and posted signs to help people get to our precinct caucus location. I had "West Seattle Supports Obama" signs printed and distributed them throughout West Seattle and at rallies. I've consistently engaged the other candidates' supporters constructively, building the bridges that we'll need to unify the party now that Barack is our nominee. My efforts caught the eye of my district party leadership who have endorsed my campaign for National Delegate and drafted me to run for PCO.

4. In what way have you -- to quote the delegate selection guidance provided by the campaign -- "challenged the status quo and pushed for excellence" rather than "continuing to embrace and accept 'politics as usual'"?

I have refused to engage in partisanship, whether within the Democratic party against our former opponent or against our republican adversaries. I have consistently stuck to the facts and the issues in public conversation, and will continue to do so. Part of the promise of Barack's campaign is that "we can disagree without being disagreeable". I think this is very important - crucial in fact if were to solve the problems that we face as a nation.

5. How do you plan to use what you experience and learn in Denver leading up to the general election?

At the request of both my Democratic Party Legislative District Chair (Ivan Weiss) and my Obama Legislative District Coordinator (Artemis Oakgrove), I'm running for PCO in what is now the newest and most populous precinct in the state. This is a contested election but both the party chair and Obama campaign coordinator have been so impressed with my work for Barack and with my campaign for national delegate that they both personally asked me to run. With a diverse population and homes that have been occupied for at most three years, High Point is a potential Democratic stronghold and could be pivitol in the fall, especially for the down-ticket races. I'll use my experience in Denver to help inspire potential voters in my precinct to get involved, to register, and to vote. As a neighborhood leader for Neighborhood Challenge my goal is to register 100% of eligible voters and get 100% of them to vote in November. Being a national delegate for Obama will help me achieve this.

____________________________________________________________

"David Ginsberg is the very essence of a community organizer. His get-out-the-caucus effort was unmatched in the 34th Legislative District precincts. His deep level of involvement, focus and determination are all intensified by his passionate support of Barack Obama. David can be counted upon to do everything it takes to help place Obama in the White House. The 34th LD is fortunate to have him. Vote for David Ginsberg as an At-Large National Delegate!"

Artemis OakGrove
Obama LD Coordinator 34th District.

MY MESSAGE TO YOU

I've been so impressed with the caliber of people who are drawn to this campaign. From Austin, Texas to Albany, Oregon and from Alki to Auburn—never, in any other campaign or any other organization, have I met so many wonderful, thoughtful, committed, talented, hard-working and downright fun people! Week by week I'm meeting more of you and I just couldn't be more impressed with the quality of delegate candidates we have to choose from - we're going to have an amazing delegation. We've done some great work in one of the strongest grassroots campaigns in the country - and we have laid the groundwork for a big win in November.

I'd like to talk to you a bit about why I'm here, about what it is that motivated me to take on the added work of running this mini-campaign in the midst of all the other things I'm doing at this moment,including volunteering 30+ hours/week as an Obama Organizing Fellow to get Obama elected, participating in creating a vital new community in High Point, participating in the 34th Dems, running for PCO, serving on the Candidate Evaluation Committee of the Municipal League of King County, being a Neighborhood Leader for the Neighborhood Challenge, participating in the Seattle Council for MoveOn, participating in Sustainable West Seattle. Let me tell you, all of this has given me a new appreciation for how exhausted Barack and the other candidates must be, and I have more compassion than ever for the occasional and inevitable gaffs.

Now, I've been called a dreamer. An idealist. But over the past 8 years I've often felt like I'm living a nightmare.We've endured the rise of Bush-Cheney flag-waving friendly fascism. We've seen them use Orwellian language, eviscerating our Constitution with the "Patriot Act', rolling out policies designed to decimate our clean air laws with the "Clear Skies Initiative", or to cut down our ancient forests with the "Healthy Forests Initiative". Future generations will pay for those short-term profits in reduced life expectancy and increased misery. It is unconscionable. We've heard them talk about an 'ownership society', but it's clear now that they didn't mean all of us. We've learned of secret prisons, presidentially-sanctioned torture and domestic spying. Yes, I've been called a dreamer, but my dream is simple: I want my country to live up to the ideals I was raised to believe in, and I want to leave a sustainable society with equal opportunity for all to the next generation. And I know we can achieve this.

We finally have a nominee, and hope is dawning in America. Yes, we face problems, some of them seemingly insurmountable: from the end of cheap energy to climate change, from an increasing income gap to social security insolvency, and economic recession (or worse). We have a health care system that costs more and insures fewer than anywhere else in the world, because like most everything else it's been gamed to the interests of corporations, not people. We have schools that are failing our kids yet we divert precious public resources to private schools. Yes, these are large problems, and will require all of us to work together with our friends and neighbors and a government that listens to us and works with us, not against us. But hope is on the way, and together we can renew the promise of the American Dream. That's why I'm here.

Barack Obama is the embodiment of the American Dream. The son of an African immigrant, raised by a single mother. It was because of the basic fairness and equal opportunity of America's promise that he was able to go to the best schools in the country—who better to ensure that the promise of America lives on for the next generation? The son of a Muslim father and a Christian mother—what better face could we present to a world divided by fear? His story is the American story and shows that in America, even in the midst of dark and troubling times, anything is possible. My kids helped canvass my precinct with me. They've participated in rallies and marches. They've been to see Barack, and whenever they hear his name on the news their ears perk up and they exclaim "they're talking about Barack Obama!" I want them to grow up with the hope that America has given to so many. I want them to grow up believing that if they work hard they too can become president one day. And I want them to grow up knowing that all of us, and others like us around the country and around the world, recognized the crises we faced and stood together to solve them one by one, doing everything and anything we could to leave them a sustainable world full of opportunity. That is why I'm here.

I'm David Ginsberg, I organized my precinct and canvassed every door to get out the vote for Obama and I'm proud to say High Point went 100% for Barack. When that was done I started calling voters in other states, and went to Texas in hopes of ending this divisive fight there. I helped call all of the delegates and alternates in the 34th prior to the LD Caucus and we had a whopping 98% turnout, gaining a delegate for Obama, gaining 2 delegates in my LD. I've called voters in more than a dozen states and traveled to two other states. And I'm not stopping there. I've been accepted as an Obama Organizing Fellow, to help not just with the campaign to get Barack elected, but to help build support to pass a bold, progressive agenda for change after he's sworn in as our next President. I've signed on to the Neighborhood Challenge to get 100% participation in my precinct (one of the largest in the city), and I'm also running for PCO. I'm not doing this for vanity. I'm not running to go party in Denver (although friends tell me I am alot of fun!). I'm running as part of my ongoing commitment to do everything I can to turn this country around and renew the promise of America for a new generation. I'm David Ginsberg and I hope you'll vote for me as an at-large delegate for Obama. Thank you so much for taking the time to read this!

WHY I'M A DELEGATE FOR OBAMA

TOP 7 Reasons I Like Obama

his natural authenticity
his intelligent decision-making
his clarity of vision
his articulate speech
his hope-inspiring idealism
his unifying pragmatism
his strength of character

Why am I running?
I want to do everything I can to ensure not only that Barack Obama is our next President, but that he and other Democrats have a progressive platform to run on. I will work tirelessly to pass a progressive platform, to support Barack Obama, and to persuade other candidates’ delegates to do the same.

Beliefs:
I believe our world is in peril, and that the more time we let slip by the more difficult, costly and dangerous our options become. If we fail to act, future generations will be forced to pay for our failure, in diminished expectations, depleted resources, failing infrastructure, decreased planetary life-support capacity, more violent weather, pestilence, war and poverty. We must not fail—it is our moral imperative to solve these problems.

I believe that Barack Obama is uniquely qualified to lead this country at this moment in our history. He alone can present progressive solutions to problems in the language of shared sacrifice and common hope such that Independents and fair-minded Republicans support his proposals.

I believe that these problems will require collective action, globally. Nobody in American politics today is as likely to succeed in rallying the world as Barack Obama. His popularity overseas eclipses what is quite incredible popularity here at home - this is a testament to his ability to build bridges and bring people together.

What will I do as your delegate?
As a delegate to Denver, I will not only support Obama, I will also lead the fight for Washington's progressive values as embodied in the Washington State Democratic Platform, for civil rights, for open government, for clean energy and for verifiable voting.

Why support me?
I’ve proven my commitment to Barack, by doing whatever it takes to get him elected, each and every day. I’ve supported the campaign not just with dollars but through countless hours of volunteering on the ground in Washington, Texas and Oregon, and innumerable phone calls into those states I couldn’t travel to personally (most recently Pennsylvania). In addition to my activity for the campaign I’m active in my community, working for pragmatic solutions to the big problems we face, including sustainability, income inequality, social justice and environmental protection.

I have the interest, commitment, resources and passion to follow-through, not just through the Convention in Denver, not just through November, but to support Obama’s legislative agenda during his Presidency. To that end I’ve already applied and been accepted to the Obama Organizing Fellows Program so that I can not only support Barack's campaign but also ensure that his Presidency is a success.

MORE ABOUT ME

I live in West Seattle's green-built High Point neighborhood with my wonderful partner Mike and beautiful and intelligent 6 year-old twins Anthony & Anya (those of you from the 7th saw them campaigning for me at the CD Caucus). I'm very active in my community, participating in neighborhood association & other community meetings, school meetings, a committee on green living, participated in building a playground at West Seattle elementary, in building our community gardens, in designing and building art for our new Commons Park. I've been a very active member of MoveOn for years, hosting countless house parties and sponsoring some very successful demonstrations in conjuction with MoveOn. In 2004 I was a trainer/organizer for MoveOn's Leave No Voter Behind Campaign. I'm also a member of Sustainable West Seattle. You can find a bit more about me here, also check out my political resume. Got any questions? Just ask!

SAY HELLO!
Leave me a comment below, or send me a private message or compliment!

david.ginsberg	Latest page update: made by david.ginsberg , Jun 9 2008, 1:00 AM EDT (about this update About This Update Edited by david.ginsberg 1 word added 1 word deleted view changes - complete history)
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Anelecia

Hello

May 10 2008, 4:00 AM EDT by david.ginsberg

Thread started: May 1 2008, 2:20 AM EDT Watch

Hi David,

I am glad to see you're still going--I voted for you at the last caucus! Your political CV is inspiring. I am glad to hear you're determined to fight for Seattle's values in Denver.

Anelecia

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