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Precinct 3549: Sandra Crenshaw Goes Berserk

Posted on March 5th, 2008 6:51am by Tim Rogers
Filed under Politics

With help from FBvian Maggie, we told you last night about the disaster at 3549, which is Singing Hills Rec Center. Now we have confirmation that it went down just as described. The precinct chair is Sandra Crenshaw, the former City Council member. The videotape does exist, and I expect we’ll soon enough be seeing it in one medium or another.

20 Comments to “Precinct 3549: Sandra Crenshaw Goes Berserk”

Maggie @ March 5th, 2008 at 7:10 am

Thanks for following up on this, Tim - so great to have a name. Laura has several photos of her walking away with the voter packet and yelling as well, if anyone wants them.

We’ve gotta see that video.
Benjamin @ March 5th, 2008 at 9:13 am

I would love to see those photos while waiting for the video, Maggie.
Maggie @ March 5th, 2008 at 9:19 am

I don’t have the photos yet; the attorney who took them is on a plane back to New Mexico right now. She showed them to me this morning and we realized she didn’t pack any of her cables to download them. She promised she’s send them as soon as she gets back to her house in a few hours, and I promised Tim I’d pass them on FrontBurner as soon as I get them.
Tim Rogers @ March 5th, 2008 at 9:24 am

I think I tracked down Crenshaw’s cell number. The voicemail is full (no surprise, if it’s the right number). I sent her a text. Hopefully we can get comment from her soon.
Bob @ March 5th, 2008 at 10:49 am

What I want to know is, how many times have you wanted to/been able to use the headline “Sandra Crenshaw Goes Berserk”?
Benjamin @ March 5th, 2008 at 11:51 am

I want to add how glad I am that the caucuses were so well-documented in Texas. I live in Nevada, and there were a lot of shady things that, unfortunately, went unrecorded.
Bob @ March 5th, 2008 at 6:05 pm

Surprise, surprise, suprise!
Tina @ March 5th, 2008 at 8:14 pm

Somebody was complaining about Obama got all the of caucus vote. The best thing to do is compare the primary vote with the caucus vote. If the difference is very high, then you can suspect. There will be 15 to 20 percent difference. If it’s more than 50 percent, you have to suspect the results.
Paul @ March 5th, 2008 at 9:06 pm

Tina - did you ever factor in that a lot of casual voters would vote for Clinton on name recognition alone - whereas Obama voters are informed and passionate which is why they turned out in such huge numbers for the caucus.

There’s nothing suspect about that.
Allen Gwinn @ March 6th, 2008 at 5:27 am

Hi Tim - I managed to get hold of a seemingly very upset Sandra Crenshaw yesterday afternoon and had a brief conversation with her. But after reading this in the Dallas Morning News, I’m starting to wonder if there isn’t more to the story.

Talking to Crenshaw, she painted a picture of a bunch of outsiders, Obama supporters from New Mexico, who came into her precinct about 7:15 that evening and wanted to run the precinct convention.

Crenshaw told me she told the crowd: “did you see that sign on the highway that says ‘Don’t Mess with Texas […] well this is my precinct and we’re going to do things my way’.”

Crenshaw can have a temper, so much of the time I was trying to get her to slow down and tell me what happened–and taking notes as fast as I could type. But several of her comments made me think that the New Mexico crowd was trying to replace her as precinct chair.

Crenshaw said the New Mexicoers, at one point, said “she’s just a temporary chair.”

But Crenshaw did say that Obama was to get the delegates. “They had a higher percentage so the delgates go to Barack,” she said.

But she also said that the New Mexicoers wouldn’t let any Clinton people participate in the convention. “They wouldn’t even let the Hillary people sign in,” she said, “[there were] 70 Hillary people there and 400 Obama.”

So, like everything in life, there appears to be more than one side to the story. I finally got Crenshaw calmed down to the point she was starting to go through the sequence of events. About that time, the other phone rang and she had to answer it–and told me she’d call me back. I waited the rest of the afternoon and the evening but the call never came.

I texted her asking her to email me her side of what happened, but checked my email this morning and zip-nada.

What I’m left questioning is how a bunch of folks from New Mexico, who didn’t (??) vote in a Dallas election, can show up at a precinct at 7:15 PM (where they never voted (??)) and expect to participate/run the show.

Maybe Crenshaw will call me back today and I’ll have more.
Allen Gwinn @ March 6th, 2008 at 5:27 am

Yes, I’m always up between 4:30 and 5:00 AM every day. It’s the only time I have to edit Dallas.Org!
Eric Folkerth @ March 6th, 2008 at 7:39 am

Allen:

As I mentioned in my response to the other post of the pictures, I would bet my life that there’s “more to the story.”

Let’s remember the context of these conventions: in the days leading up to them, BOTH campaigns engaged in hysterical fear-mongering that somebody somewhere was going to come in a steal votes.

In our precinct, we had supporters on both sides who came into the meeting on edge, and with printed copies of “the rules” as supplied to them by the campaigns.

We were probably helped in our case by the fact that our Precinct Chair was a Hillary supporter, and her husband an Obama supporter!! That sort of reassured everyone that both sides would be fairly represented. And, in fact, through the night the concerns of anybody from either side were patiently listened to and worked through…so that, in the end, despite the confusion, I think most folks left feeling satisfied.

But! There was a *lot* of anxiety behind the scenes, whipped up by both campaigns. If there was not a chance to vent that somehow, then it’s probably folks will come out with stories of irregularities, on one side or the other.
Matt @ March 6th, 2008 at 7:39 am

Well, not being one of those wacky Dems, I have a convention, not a caucus. But by the Texas Election Code — the precinct chair is only the temporary convention chair, and one of the first orders of business is to elect the permanent chair of the convention. It sounds to me like the “New Mexicoers” that Allen mentions above are absolutely correct, and Crenshaw doesn’t understand her own process. Or is just a loon. Or both.
Mr. P @ March 6th, 2008 at 9:08 am

Oh, come on people does this really surprise anyone?
Precinct Chair,Clinton supporter,the need to deliver some delegates. Rats! I have no
delegates hey I know I’ll just make myself some.
Eat breakfast at Denny’s
Love those pancakes.
sandra crenshaw @ March 6th, 2008 at 9:24 am

gwinn I posted my side, get the videos and they will tell the story my way I said it was going to go Texas way or hit the highway
I don’t do Illinois and I don’t do New York only the Texas way

For the record, I personally called the Obama voters in my precinct looking for someone to nominate for chair. I asked at the convention for an obama person to come forth to chair the convention. No one came forth. I asked for a Hillary person to chair the meeting. I asked if there was any one who knew Parlimentary procedure or robert rules to chair the meeting. I held up the rule books and told them that if they wanted to change America we would have to start at the precinct level and that I never wanted to attend a precinct convention in 3549 with almost 700 people and I was the only one who knew the rules.

the sign in sheets were full and some of the people did not put there registration number, their age, their race and gender which is all needed in the process. It was almost midnight when I told them that I would call the delegates or go by their home to get the information because I did not have to have the information in until
6:oo p.m. on Thursday. So no one could be added. The only ones I drew a line through were those that signed twice. I also told them that I had to verify that they even voted in the primary because the polls bookos were being used to validate those who were trying to sign in.

Look for the full story when I get a chance to talk before a audience and not on a cell phone while I am walking or doing something else and people cannot hear me.
Mr. P @ March 6th, 2008 at 9:33 am

And I gotta a bridge.
Allen Gwinn @ March 6th, 2008 at 4:27 pm

Thanks Sandra… I just hate it when one side gets the story out and the other side doesn’t have a chance to tell their side of things.
anna @ March 9th, 2008 at 9:20 am

sandra, with all respect, regardless of what transpired at your precinct convention, *it is against the law for a convention chair (temporary or permanent) to modify sign in sheets after your convention is over*. any corrections or modifications are done at the county party level, and then the credentials committees. also, age, race, gender, and other demographic info is OPTIONAL. this is not something that is required on the sheets. if you modified it - even if your intent was pure - that is against the law.
sandra Crenshaw @ March 13th, 2008 at 11:59 am

Is this anna casey? Correct me if I am wrong. The sign in sheets that I am referring to were those completed by those nominated to be delegates. (I had four sets of official carbon copies) I had to check with the convention secretary if these people voted in pct. 3549’s march 4th primary. I drew a line through those people who signed in twice during the convention with full acknowledgement by those present. By law all I have to do is initial it. Where did I say the convention was over? I made reference that everybody had not signed in.

All of those who indicated that they wished to be delegates were allowed to sign up ahead of the other voters because I asked them to help volunteer with getting everybody in. All of the those who indicated on the sign in sheets that I had were Obama as indicated in their own writing. 100% with one line left for me to sign in. We had already correctly estimated that Clinton would not have enough to get a delegate and Hillary supporters had a right sign in again as supporters for Obama which is what all of us in the Democratic pary will have to become if Obama gets the nomination. So what is the beef% Hillary supporters conceded after I read the election day results. Correct me if I am wrong.
Tell me if I have the right to recess the convention and call the delegates to reconvene. As I suspected, all those nominated were not voters in my precinct.

Let me run the scenario to you and you tell me where I broke the law. e-mail me at crenshaw_sandra@yahoo.com Now when are you going to address the illegalities of the New Mexicans without poll watcher affidavits, grabbing the sign in sheets, giving hyped up directions. I was elected to be the permanent chair. I am not the election judge and i didn’t have the ballots, so I couldn ‘t have changed votes. Talk about one sided!!!!!!!
BLM @ March 14th, 2008 at 3:54 pm

Oh, this is getting really good. Two crazy political hacks like Sandra Crenshaw and Anna Casey getting all up in each other’s face. I just love watching liberals argue! Anna, please, very few people know who you are — you should keep it that way! Besides, shouldn’t you be out stealing Republican yard signs?