He said they have already been communicating with the national Democratic Party.
Last month, he added, Phil McNamara, the national party’s director of party affairs, said the national party’s charter has to be amended to include a delegation from the CNMI.
The amendment process, McNamara told the NMI Democrats, is complicated and lengthy. It requires the two-third vote of the Democratic National Committee membership.
McNamara said the names of the states and territories that send delegations to the DNC are specified in the party’s charter and by-laws.
Besides the 50 states, the DNC recognizes the Democrats of Puerto Rico, the American Samoa, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands and an organization called Democrats Abroad.
NMI Democrat Jesse Torres has asked DNC secretary Alice Germond if the local Democrats can join the national convention this year.
Germond forwarded Torres’ inquiry to McNamara who replied that it is too late for the charter to be amended; too late for a nominating event to be conducted; and too late for a voting delegation from the CNMI to be sent to the convention in Denver.
McNamara said the appropriate time to begin discussions will be in early 2009 to allow the NMI Democrats to participate in the 2012 convention.
Sablan, a former two-term House member, admitted the NMI Democratic Party has “not been too organized” in the past few years.
Many of its members, he added, are like “fruit bats who have jumped to other parties.”
“I know we missed the ball this time,” Sablan said.
Still, he added, they have started “picking up the pieces” and organizing themselves again.
