1. CALL TO ORDER
The meeting was called to order by Chair Steve Preminger at 7:16 P.M.
2. ROLL CALL
Absent were Dennis Chiu, Tony Alexander, Bill
Ferguson, Emy Thurber, Jim Thurber, Gene Wagner, John Dutra, Joe Simitian,
Liz Figueroa, John Vasconcellos, Anselmo Chavez, Pete Stark, Anna Eshoo,
and Gap Kim.
Excused were Liz McDavit, Madge Overhouse,
and David Wilkes.
3. IDENTIFICATION OF VISITORS
José Villareal.
Chris Kelly. He worked in the Clinton administration and
is now a candidate for Palo Alto City Council.
Noelle Winer.
Pat Caccamo of the Fremont UAW.
Jessica Couleur.
Ann Schneider of the organization Voter Rights to Restore Democracy.
Pat Seed of the SCIEU.
4. ADOPTION OF AGENDA
The following additions were made to New Business:
The minutes of the March meeting were not listed on the web site making it difficult to access them. For this reason a vote on their approval was not taken.
6. SWEARING IN OF NEW MEMBERS
The following SCCDCC members were elected to fill vacancies at the February meeting and were sworn in by Chair Steve Preminger:
Francine E. Davis, 20th AD.7. REPORTS FROM OFFICERS AND OTHERS
Allan Thiessen, 20th AD.
Fancis A. La Poll, 21st AD.
Anna Song, 22nd AD.
Claudia Shope, 23rd AD.
Alex Kennett, 28th AD.
A. Executive Board: Herb Engstrom.
There will be a demonstration, “Stop Bush’s Millionaire Tax Cut,” sponsored by the AFL-CIO at the Wyndam Hotel (formerly LeBaron) on Wednesday, April 11 from 11 AM until noon.
C. Vice Chair: Tom Cochran.
The JJ dinner will take place Friday, May 4th. Speakers so far include Labor Council Business Agent Amy Dean, Attorney General Bill Lockyer, and Congressman Mike Honda. The dinner will salute contributions of Asian Americans.
D. Treasurer: Dennis Chiu.
No report.
E. Secretary: Herb Engstrom.
We’ve been lying fallow for the past month but are now about to resume voter registration. Liz will have a list of festivals, fairs, etc. at which we will have tables.
G. Finance: Jim Thurber
No report.
H. Campaign Services: Cristina Uribe.
No report.
I. Candidate Services: Keith Garvey.
We will have a meeting to discuss possible revisions to the bylaws concerning interviews and endorsements of candidates. We are interested in recruiting new candidates. One goal is to find candidates for boards and commissions. I’ll have a list of all of these. The meeting will take place April 17th at 7 P.M. at the Labor Council.
J. Issues: Willie Wool
No report.
K. Political Outreach: Steve Preminger for Emy Thurber
22nd AD Committee: Chris Stampolis.
Our last meeting was attended by three of our members who have declared their candidacies for the 22nd AD Assembly seat being vacated by Elaine Alquist. These are Sally Lieber, Rod Diridon, Jr., and Rosemary Stasek. All three have agreed to run only positive campaigns and all will support the winner of the primary. The four city districts, Mountain View, Sunnyvale, Santa Clara, and West San José, that comprise the 22nd AD will hold mini-caucuses before the next meeting, which will be Sunday, June 10th. Lance Olson will speak about Prop. 34 and its implications. SJ City Councilwoman Linda LeZotte will find a location for this meeting.
23rd AD Committee: Lee Sturtevant.
Our next meeting will be April 26th at 7 P.M. at the Labor Temple. We will discuss election activities such as voter registration.
28th AD Committee: Sal Alvarez.
Our meeting in Salinas will include Young Democrats. We again plan a retreat to work on a platform in June at Ruth Kesler’s ranch. There are serious problems relating to the social conditions in the District. There is a huge number of farm workers. We will lobby for better schools, housing and transportation. A bus with 55 people will go to Sacramento on April 24th to lobby.
Asian-Pacific American Democratic Club: Peter Chiu.
Gap Kim, who works in Anna Eshoo’s office, is now president of the Club. We held a retreat last month. We plan on greater outreach to the Asian American – Pacific Islander community.
Clinton-Gore Action Network: Frank Bosche.
The C*G Action Network will have at least one table at the JJ dinner.
Democratic Action for Women Now (DAWN): Lilian Hicks.
On March 18th we elected out Board, which included Keith Garvey. Several legislators spoke including Assemblywoman Rebecca Cohn, Elaine Alquist, Liz Figueroa, Joe Simitian, and Nora Campos our newly elected City Council person. The meeting was well attended and the prevailing message seemed to be that Gov. Davis was unpredictable and that the Republicans were going to use the energy crisis as a "wedge issue"; that no money was going to be left for education and other programs because of the high energy costs. We are planning a fundraiser; we’ll let you know of the details.
Evergreen Democratic Club at the Villages: Beverly Wharton.
At our last meeting we heard reports from three of our four delegates to the CDP convention including Pat Lerocker and Rena Modell. Our Club voted to affiliate with the CDC.
Peninsula Democratic Coalition: Jodi Wittlin.
The next meeting will be Saturday, May 19th, at noon. Congresswoman Anna Eshoo will speak. Cost is $17. Two of our members, Jim and Emy Thurber received the California Young Democrat Mentor award. They were nominated by the PYD.
Peninsula Young Democrats: Alex Edelstein.
We sent several people to the CDP convention. Steven Sanger was elected Regional Vice Chair. The PYD was a finalist for “Chapter of the Year.”
Santa Clara County Democratic Club: Ann Shirkey.
SCCDC meetings take place the third Monday of every month at Coco’s Restaurant on Kiely Ave. Our next meeting, April 16th, will feature Herb Engstrom and Dale Leuthold speaking on the issue of campaign finance reform.
South County Democratic Club: Alex Kennett.
At the Club meeting we had 4 of 5 of the Morgan Hill City Council plus Assemblyman Salinas. At the Public Forum after the meeting we had Supervisor Gage plus the 5th member. 50 people were present. Next meeting is June 2nd in Gilroy.
Young Democrats Region: Alex Edelstein.
The Coalition of Bay Area Young Democrats (CBAY!) held a caucus meeting at the State Convention. Chris Stampolis was again elected as Regional Director. Steve Sanger will serve as Regional Vice-Chair. Alex Edelstein will serve as Political Director. Tim Sbranti (Tri-Valley in Dublin) will serve as Communications Director. Amber Maltbie (Mills College) will serve as Membership Director.
L. Regional Director: Thelma Spaziani for Madge Overhouse.
Madge is absent due to illness. Assemblyman John Dutra will speak at the Century Club meeting on April 20th. Cost is $18 for lunch; you need not be a member to attend.
M. Democratic National Committee: Chris Stampolis.
The DNC met at the CDP convention. For the first time in more than 25 years the DNC Chair, Terry McAuliffe, met with the California DNC delegation. Terry’s interest is a very encouraging sign. Terry expressed concern about local nonpartisan races. He wants to see at least one Democrat in every such race in the county. He indicated that the CDP is far ahead of other state parties. In fact, there are two such parties that do not even have fax machines. Research comparing Republican and Democratic National Committees has shown that the Republicans have 100 times as many e-mail addresses of their activists as Democrats do. Terry is scared. States that voted for Bush (29 or 30 depending on whether you include Florida) tend to be controlled by Republicans. He is willing to speak even at the local level He has a national speaker’s bureau. There will be a meeting of the Western DNC Caucus at Jackson Hole, Wyoming. The big concern is those western states from Nevada including the Rockies that voted overwhelmingly Republican.
N. Pro-Choice Coalition: Claudia Shope.
At the last meeting, March 13th, we planned out activities for the year and set three goals:
1. Make emergency contraception available over the counter;We met with Mike Honda on March 17th and are scheduling meetings with other legislators beginning with Joe Simitian. The Pro-Choice Coalition meets on the second Tuesday of every month on the Alameda.
2. Increase the involvement of member organizations;
3. Provide health information to the community.
O. DTV Report: Steve Chessin.
The March taping featured an interview with
Congressowman Anna Eshoo (14CD), who discussed the current Congressional
scene and the prospects for the Democratic agenda.
The April taping will be of Assemblymember
John Dutra (20AD), who discusses his experiences as he enters his second
term in the California State Assembly.
P. CDC Report: Chris Stampolis for David Wilkes.
The CDC Convention will take place in May 18,
19 and 20th at the Furama Hotel, corner of Manchester &
Lincoln in Westchester (West Los Angeles) about 1 1/2 miles north of
LAX.
Q. Welfare Reform: Sal Alvarez.
The LA Times has reported that with the economic
downturn people are going back on welfare. In California people that
left welfare could not get health benefits. Right now the emphasis
is on getting health benefits for children, but parents are left out.
They had coverage prior to Clinton’s signing of the welfare reform law.
This was a black eye for the Party. The state sent $600 million to
Washington in taxes, but only $290 million came back to the state.
As Secretary of Health and Human Services,
Tommy Thompson is now in charge of welfare programs. I’m included
in a delegation to meet him. Bush like welfare reform; he does not
want to “fix” it. The Latino community is leading this fight.
Aldyth Parle commented that this was a serious
issue, and we should come up with a collective statement. Steve said
such a statement should be in the form of a resolution, but Herb added
that the Committee adopted a lengthier “position paper” on public financing
of campaigns because this was a complex issue not easily summarized in
three whereas and two resolved clauses. We could do something similar.
Sal said that we have people on the Resolutions
Committee. There is a humongous disparity between the “two cities”
in the 28th AD; that is, there are Third World and First World conditions.
The Central Committee should be more forceful.
Chris Stampolis totally agreed, and said that
since Sal chairs the 28th AD Committee, he might work with other Committees
to get data from people closer to the issue. Sal responded that he
had called for a Party convention here to address these issues, not just
to get Democrats elected.
8. OLD BUSINESS
Director election
At last month’s meeting the names of two candidate
were inadvertently interchanged. We had intended that Keith Garvey
be the candidate for the office of Candidate Services and Cristina Uribe
for Campaign Services, not vice versa. We suggest that we rectify
this error tonight.
Steve Chessin moved that we vacate the results
of these two elections from last month and follow this suggestion.
The motion was seconded and passed by voice vote.
Keith Garvey is henceforth the Director of
Candidate Services, and Cristina Uribe is the Director of Campaign Services.
9. NEW BUSINESS
Convention reports
Steve Preminger reported first that Anna Song
had won the JFK, Jr. Award for Public Service, which is given annually
by the Party to a Democrat under the age of 36. Anna rose to thank
the Committee for our support without which she would not have won.
Steve noted that Madge Overhouse was re-elected
to her position as Regional 5 Director. Martin Gorfinkel, a resident
of Los Altos who is well known to many here, eked out a win for Region
4 Director in a closely contested race in which his opponent hailed from
San Francisco. Initially the vote was tied at 41. The candidates
agreed to a coin toss, and the flip of a quarter gave the race to Martin.
Chris Stampolis reported that he was elected
Vice Chair of the Environmental Caucus. He also won an award for
the design of the Young Democrats web page at www.youngdems.org
Each year Anne Mack announces the winner of
the “Bob Mack Volunteer of the Year Award” This year there
was a tie, so the award went jointly to Poppy DeMarco and Helen Doherty.
A posthumous award was given to Dolores (Dee) King. It is the first
time we have ever given an award to someone who has passed way.
Our own Liz McDavit was one of the top 5 nominees. Because the award
is made on Sunday when many have already left, Chris Stampolis suggested
moving the presentation to Saturday. This idea has been suggested
in the past and may again be considered. Chris noted that requests
from nominations did not appear on the State Party web page.
Herb Engstrom reported on the disposition
of the five resolutions submitted or endorsed by the SCCDCC and considered
by the Resolutions Committee at the convention. The results
Seniors concern and fair
Anne Mack said there will be a “Seniors concern
and rally” on April 28th and expressed pride that 11 of our legislators
will be there. She was asked, “Do you ever invite any Republicans?”
“Yes,” she replied, “but there aren’t any!”
Anne is also organizing the Democratic Party
booth for the fair. Clubs and AD Committees are asked to pick a day
and provide people, three per shift, for the entire day. She would
like to have the names and phone numbers of these people. The fair
runs from May 11 through May 20.
Voter rights march
Ann Schneider described a march sponsored by
the group Voter Rights to Restore Democracy. This group had sponsored
a “counter-inauguration” at the time of the president’s inauguration.
The march will take place at the SF Civic Center and will address disenfranchisement
issues. Organizers would love to have the Democratic Party as a co-sponsor.
All officials present will be Democrats. The march will take place
on Saturday, May 19th. Organization begins at 10 AM, music at 11,
and speeches at noon.
Steve Chessin moved to endorse the march,
and his motion was seconded and passed by voice vote.
Instant Runoff Voting
Assembly Speaker Bob Hertzberg has submitted
AB1515 calling for instant runoff voting with the State picking up the
costs of conversion. Jodi Wittlin moved that we endorse this bill,
and her motion was seconded.
Bart Fisher expressed opposition to IRV in
general and to this bill in particular. He said it would encourage
third parties. Many would cast votes for someone like Ralph Nader
and make a Democrat their second choice. He does not want to encourage
third parties. In addition, uninformed voters need a second, runoff
election. He urged a no vote.
Steve Chessin countered by pointing out that
four years ago there was a runoff in the East Bay and the Green Party candidate,
Audie Bach, won. With IRV a Democrat would have won. Francis
LaPoll asked if there had been IRV in the Florida presidential election,
would Al Gore have won? “Hands down” was the reply.
Mike Potter pointed out that in the 21st Assembly
District race between Joe Simitian, Barbara Koppel, and a Republican, had
there been IRV, Joe might have lost.
Jodi replied that we should not base the decision
on whether or not IRV helps Democrats but rather on whether or not it is
fair. The point is whether it will help California have representation
for its people. She expressed her support for IRV in special elections
and added that voters in such elections are not uneducated.
But Lee Sturtevant pointed to the problems
in the Florida election where a ballot had a second page. She felt
that IRV was too complicated.
The vote on support for AB1515 was called and it passed by voice
vote.
Boxer fundraiser
Steve Chessin said that Sen. Barbara Boxer was having a fundraiser in San Francisco on Thursday, April 19th. Tickets were $250 to support the Senator’s “Take Back the Congress” PAC. DAWN is selling “opportunity chances” a raffle for a ticket. One chance for $5, three for $10.
10. ANNOUNCEMENTS
Steve Preminger thanked the 23rd Assembly District
Committee for refreshments and reminded the 24th, that it was their turn
next month. He said that there will be an “Anti-Bush Tax” rally next
Wednesday, the 11th.
Gay Katilius told of the Women’s Professional
Soccer League in which San José has a team. Gay has schedules,
and the first game is Sunday, April 29.
11. ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 9:15 P.M.
Respectfully submitted,
Herb Engstrom, Secretary
This page was last updated 4/28/01.
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