1.  CALL TO ORDER
        The meeting was called to order by Chair Steve Preminger at 7:16 PM.

2.  ROLL CALL
    Absent were:  Allan Thiessen, Peter Chiu, Jewelle Gibbs, Francis LaPoll, Rod Diridon, Jr., Aldyth Parle, Bart Fisher, Keith Garvey, Larry Littlejohn, Larry Carr, Gene Wagner, John Dutra, Joe Simitian, Rebecca Cohn, Simon Salinas, Liz Figueroa, Byron Sher, Anselmo Chavez, Pete Stark, Anna Eshoo, Mike Honda, Martin Gorfinkel, Ruth Ashford, Gap Kim, Lillian Hicks, Beverly Wharton, and Mike Markman.
    Excused was: Madge Overhouse.

3.  IDENTIFICATION OF VISITORS
    No visitors identified themselves.

4.  ADOPTION OF AGENDA
    Claudia Shope asked that a statement of support for California Senate Bill 1301 be added under New Business.  Olivia Graeve requested time to report on the Newsletter.  With these additions a motion was made, seconded, and carried to approve the agenda.

5.  APPROVAL OF MINUTES
    A motion was made and seconded to approve the April meeting minutes.  The motion carried.

6.  REPORTS FROM OFFICERS AND OTHERS

A.  Executive Board:  Herb Engstrom.

1. Some members will be phoned to remind them that they need to appoint alternates if they cannot attend these meetings.
2. Many ex-officio members have alternate positions available for those that ran for the CC and lost.  The e-board will try to link these.
3. The Registrar of Voters sent a rather confusing letter about swearing in the next CC members and signing the form.  David C. will ask for new forms and bring them to the Jan meeting.  Everyone should have received notice of this.  David commented further "You all received in the mail an Oath of Office form.  Please ignore it.  Our  procedure is to have a swearing in ceremony at the January Central Committee  meeting.  At that time, we will provide you with a new Oath of Office form  to sign.  We will collect the forms then.  You can keep the form sent to you  as a souvenir of your election."
4. Jim Thurber strongly recommended that each AD and Club appoint someone (other than the organization treasurer or Arthur Anderson) to audit their books; i.e., to read their bank statements.

C.  Vice Chair: Tom Cochran.
    No report.

D.  Treasurer: Dennis Chiu.
    We have $424.36.  For people that paid, I deposited $50 today.

E.  Secretary:  Herb Engstrom.
    Newly elected members of the Central Committee are on the email distribution list, so they will be receiving notices of meetings.

F.  Community Services & Voter Registration: Liz McDavit.
    Last month we had the scheduled Voter Registration meeting at the Labor Temple to encourage new participants in the VR program. It was successful in that we got some help for Westgate and Oakridge Malls and Margie Baker has volunteered to be the organizer for Valley Fair. Emy Thurber reported on the VR meeting at her house which was also successful for beginning VR in North County with new volunteers. Frank Bosche reported on Westgate Mall where the numbers of Democrats registered doubled and Reps were registered as Dems. Dan Hoffman has volunteered to do VR and to help with Westgate Mall and anything we need during the week since he is retired. Thank you to everyone for all the effort.

G.  Finance: Jim Thurber.
    Finance Chair Jim Thurber reported there was still some room left at the JJ dinner tomorrow night, but it was filling up fast and we wanted to keep it around 500.  He thanked the Committee for their help and promised not to bug them again about the next JJ dinner for several months.

H. Candidate Recruitment and Endorsement: Keith Garvey.
    No report.

I.  Campaign Services: Cristina Uribe
    No report.

J.  Issues: Willie Wool
    No report.

K. Political Outreach: Emy Thurber.
    The clubs have done an outstanding job in supporting the JJ dinner.  Almost every club has bought a table and the PDC and PYD have nearly 6 tables between them.

21st AD Committee: Rich Watters.
    The 21st AD Committee conducted its quarterly business meeting last Sunday, April 28th, at the home of Vice Chair Greg Loew (255 Polhemus Avenue in Atherton). 21st District Assemblymember Joe Simitian gave the Committee an update on activities in Sacramento, including a detailed explanation of the expected state budget shortfall this year, the outcomes of the energy crisis from last year, and school funding. 21st AD Committee Chair Ian Bain gave a brief update on Committee activities and scheduled events. Committee members also enjoyed a social time with refreshments.

22nd AD Committee: Chris Stampolis.
    We have an Executive Board meeting scheduled for this Sunday, May 5.  Originally we had planned to have the meeting at a Mexican restaurant in Alviso, but we found none are open on Sunday.  We've rescheduled for La Fiesta in Mountain View.  We'll be discussing the north county UDC site and political outreach.

African-American Democratic Coalition: Tony Alexander.
    No report submitted.

Peninsula Young Democrats: Bill James.
    The PYD held its Night at the Symphony Event on April 13, 2001 at Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco.  The event was a success as an organization building effort, with 25 members and guests attending.  PYD membership currently stands at 101 members.  The event included a pre-concert reception at the Green Room at Davies Symphony Hall and upper orchestra seats for the concert, which featured a Bartok symphony conducted by Henry Blomsted.  Due to difficulty in estimating the number of tickets we would sell, the event unfortunately fell short of the group's fundraising goal, with expenses outstripping revenues by a small margin.  We will be looking for other ways to raise money to fund our membership outreach efforts.  Our next event will be a substantive program, with the date and speaker yet to be determined.

Santa Clara County Democratic Club: Herb Engstrom for Charlie Ahern.
    The Club's annual picnic will take place on July 27th.
    At our last meeting we heard from Eyedin Anobi, manager of San José State University's Transportation Solutions program.  San José State, he told us, provides passes to all students for free transportation on VTA - buses and light rail.  SJSU also has software that identifies the residences of all students together with the locations of the nearest VTA stops; that information is provided to the students in a successful effort to encourage the use of public transportation.  However, this program is in jeopardy due to the economic slowdown.  The VTA board, which includes friends of ours such as Mayor Ron Gonzales and City Councilwoman Cindy Chavez, is threatening to raise the cost to SJSU of this program.  Mr. Anobi asked the Club to appeal to the board to save the program.
    The last taping of our TV show, "Straight Talk," covered photovoltaic energy production for consumers.  It featured Jan Pepper, a consultant on photovoltaics for the home, and Jay James of the IBEW.  The new IBEW office is a "green" building whose roof is covered with photovoltaic panels.  There are many other innovative energy conservation measures incorporated into the design.  A second show featured Patrick Moore, a member of the Sierra Club and also of our Club.  He described plans for the establishment of a high speed rail system connecting Sacramento and San Diego, and why this system would be very beneficial to California.  He said a Senate Bill, SB 1856 High Speed Passenger Train Bond Act, introduced by Sen. Jim Costa of Fresno, would provide funding.  We should all get behind this measure.

South County Democratic Club: Alex Kennett.
    A new slate of officers was elected April 27th.  New bylaws were adopted including a new category of member called "friend the club" made up of non-citizens who are planning to become citizens and who are clearly democrats.  They will have no endorsement voting rights.  We are expecting a visit from Joe Lieberman in September.  We will focus on the 11th Congressional race, that of Democrat Elaine Shaw vs very conservative Republican incumbent Richard Pombo.

L. Regional Director: Steve Preminger for Madge Overhouse.
    Madge is not here because she is working on the JJ dinner.  She said that the next State E-board meeting is tentatively planned for the first weekend in August.

M. Democratic National Committee: Chris Stampolis.
    The Western Caucus will meet in Seattle over Memorial Day weekend.  Anybody here is certainly welcome to attend.  There will be some good training sessions.  If you are interested in flying up to Seattle, it's not that expensive.  The total cost will be much less than a regular CDP E-board or convention.  The next full meeting will most likely be in Las Vegas, the first time there will be a regular meeting anywhere near California.  That will be in August.  These meetings are always open to all Democrats.  More details will be forthcoming.

N.  Pro-Choice Coalition:  Claudia Shope.
    Planned Parenthood will hold a Lobby Day When: Wednesday May 29, 2002,  State Capitol, Sacramento, Registration: $25.00 Per Person (includes bus ride, T -shirt, and lunch).  This year's Pro-Choice Lobby Day is very important. With an anti-choice administration in the White House, Californians must be all the more diligent in protecting our rights.  With a slim majority protecting Roe v. Wade on the Supreme Court, Bush will likely have the opportunity to appoint one or more judges who could tip the scales in favor of overturning Roe, leaving even the most basic of rights -the right to choose -in severe jeopardy. While California remains a progressive, firmly pro-choice state, don't think the assault on reproductive freedom and family planning at the federal level will leave us unscathed.
    Our state legislative priorities for 2002 are:

• The Reproductive Privacy Act {SB 1301 ). This bill would ensure California is able to remain a pro-choice state, and women are able to obtain reproductive health services in a safe and expeditious manner.
• Providing Emergency Contraception to Sexual Assault Providers {AB 1860). This bill would make emergency contraception available to sexual assault survivors in rape crisis centers across the state.

O.  DTV Report:  Steve Chessin.
    Democratic Television Producer Steve Chessin reported that our April taping was with our own Phyllis Ward, President of the Affordable Housing Network of Santa Clara County, President of the Federation of Retired Union Members (FORUM), and a long-time Democratic Party activist.
    We have not yet confirmed our May guest.
    We will be on San Jose AT&T Channel 15A May 9th with Dr. Terry Christensen, and May 23rd and June 20th with Phyllis Ward.
    We could still use more good Democrats on the crew.  No prior video experience is necessary.

    San Jose Channel 15A, 8:00 pm every other Thursday (serves part of Cupertino):
    2002:
    May  9  DTV 87  Dr. Terry Christensen
    May 23  DTV 88  Phyllis Ward
    Jun  6  DTV 89  TBD-89
    Jun 20  DTV 88  Phyllis Ward

    See  http://www.scc-democrats.org/dtv.htm#dtv  for the full schedule.

P.  CDC Report:  David Wilkes.
    The CDC convention will be in Sacramento from the 7th to the 9th of June.  Many will stay over for a lobby day on the 10th.  Contact David Wilkes  davewilkes@aol.com or 408-996-1613 (before 9 PM) for details.  Cheapest rates before the 10th of May and before the 15th of May.

Q.  Welfare Reform:  Sal Alvarez.
    No report.

7.  OLD BUSINESS
    There was no old business.

8.  NEW BUSINESS
 

9.  ANNOUNCEMENTS
 

10. ADJOURNMENT
    The meeting was adjourned at 8:26 PM.

I. State Level Legislation

A. SB 1301 (Kuehl) The Reproductive Privacy Act

Planned Parenthood Mar Monte's Position: Support

The Reproductive Privacy Act will protect Californian's fundamental right to choose a
safe and legal abortion -even if the Supreme Court removes the federal protection of Roe v. Wade.

Planned Parenthood Mar Monte sent a letter to Senator Byron Sher requesting that he support this bill when it is heard on April 9th by the Senate Judiciary Committee.

We received a favorable response form Senator Sher's office.

B. AB 2930 (Wright) ReQuires HIV Testing for Pregnant Women

Planned Parenthood Mar Monte's Position: Oppose

AB 2930 would remove voluntary nature of HIV testing by requiring HIV tests for pregnant women before or during delivery. This bill would not only mandate this testing for pregnant women, but it would also remove the current requirement for doctors to provide information, counseling, and referrals regarding possible benefits of HIV testing.

Planned Parenthood Mar Monte sent a letter to Assembly Member Rebecca Cohn requesting that she vote "No" on the bill when it is heard on April 16th by the Assembly Health Committee.

C. AB 2994 (Wright) Violates HIV Patients' Privacy by Mandating a HIV Reporting System which probably would include the names of HIV patients

Planned Parenthood Mar Monte's Position: Oppose

AB 2994 would require the State of Existing law establishes the federal Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency (CARE) Act of 1990, which provides funds to all states to establish a comprehensive community based continuum of care, including primary medical care and support services for people with HIV and AIDS. The allocation of these funds requires that each state report certain information about HIV and AIDS.  AB 2994 would require the Department of Health Services to prepare a report by June 3, 2003, analyzing the results of any reporting system of HIV infection in effect in California.

If the report indicates the results of California's non name based HIV reporting system has not or will not meet federal standards for an HIV reporting system pursuant to the Ryan White CARE Act, AB 2994 would require the Department of Health Services to issue regulations to bring California into compliance with the federal requirements.

As California has yet to implement the non name based reporting system, it is unlikely that the Department of Health Services can analyze such a system. This bill also gives the Department of Health Services the authority to create an alternative method of HIV reporting for California should the currently proposed system unlikely to stand up to federal scrutiny. This will most likely be a name based reporting system, which infringes on privacy rights of HIV patients in California.

Planned Parenthood Mar Monte sent a letter to Assembly Member Rebecca Cohn requesting that she vote "No" on the bill when it is heard on April 16th by the Assembly Health Committee.

D. California Gov. Davis Directs State HMOs to Cover Emergency Contraception

On March 27,2002, Governor Davis ordered the California Department of Managed Health Care to inform all health maintenance organizations operating in the state that they must provide coverage for emergency contraception, even without a prescription.

Under Davis' directive, an HMO must cover the cost of EC if the pills are obtained through a pharmacist within the HMO's network, and it must also cover the expense through a non-network pharmacist in situations in which a network pharmacy is not available.

E. Status of Breast Cancer Link to Abortion Lawsuit

In March 2002, San Diego Superior Court Judge Ronald Prager dismissed a lawsuit against Planned Parenthood of San Diego and Riverside counties This lawsuit requested that Planned Parenthood be required to provide warnings to its patients who seek abortion that breast cancer is linked to abortion.

Judge Prager ruled that the link between abortion and breast cancer had not been proved. Requiring Planned Parenthood to provide the information, Prager said, "would, in effect, result in judicial intervention in the doctor-patient relationship."
 
 

Mark Salo, president of Planned Parenthood of San Diego and Riverside counties, hailed the decision. "Misleading women is a desperate strategy," he said, "and the anti-abortion extremists ought to be ashamed of themselves."

On April 5, 2002, at the Global Family Life Conference in Santa Clara, Patrick Gillen, the attorney for the anti-choice litigants announced at a press conference that they would be appealing Judge Prager's decision.

II. Federal Issues

A. Bush Administration Nominates Dr. Richard Carmona to Fill Surgeon General Position

On March 26, 2002, President Bush yesterday nominated Dr. Richard Carmona, an Arizona trauma surgeon who is also a sheriffs deputy, to become Surgeon General.

Carmona is a former Green Beret who killed a man 30 months ago in a shootout at a Tucson intersection. In that incident, Carmona was caught in a gun battle after stopping to aid in what he thought was a traffic accident.

In fact, he had stumbled onto a man who was holding a woman hostage. The man, who police later determined had stabbed his father to death and was on his way to kill an old girlfriend, grazed Carmona's head with a bullet before the doctor fired a single shot that killed him.

Witnesses reported that Carmona had urged the man to put down his weapon. After Carmona shot him, he tried to save his life.

If confirmed, Carmona would replace the recently departed David Satcher as surgeon general. Lawmakers from both parties said yesterday that they were unfamiliar with Carmona, who has "had little exposure to the health care politics of Washington."

B. Planned Parenthood Leaders. Celebrities. Physicians and Clergy along with Rep. Connie Morella (R-MD) Launch Bill to Ensure Sexual Assault Survivors' Access to Emergency Contraception

On March 22, 2002, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, celebrities, physicians, and clergy along with Connie Morella (MD) launched the Compassionate Care for Female Sexual Assault Survivors Act today.

The bill would require hospitals nationwide to dispense emergency contraception to survivors of rape and incest. "Sexual assault survivors should not have to face the additional trauma of an unwanted pregnancy," PPFA Gloria Feldt said. "Emergency rooms must be required to dispense emergency contraception to sexual assault survivors. There's no excuse not to. It makes compassionate common sense."

This page was last updated 5/4/02.