1.  CALL TO ORDER
    The meeting was called to order by Chair Steve Preminger at 7:18 PM.

2.  ROLL CALL
    Absent were:  Jewelle Gibbs, Larry Carr, Craig Mann, Gene Wagner, John Dutra, Rebecca Cohn, Liz Figueroa, John Vasconcellos, Anselmo Chavez, Pete Stark, Anna Eshoo, Mike Honda, Martin Gorfinkel, Ruth Ashford, Gap Kim, and Denelle Fedor.
    Excused was: Alex Kennett.

3.  IDENTIFICATION OF VISITORS
    Dennis Umphress, Americans for Safe Access
    Rosemary Walker, Evergreen Democratic Club
    Virginia Frank
    Josh Weiser
    Matt Neely, candidate for Mountain View City Council
    Carol Parland
    Dolly Sandoval, Cupertino City COuncil
    Ron Del Pozzo,  candidate for Superior Court Judge
    Aaron Persky, candidate for Superior Court Judge
    Pat Mahan, candidate for Mayor of the City of Santa Clara
    Teresa Guerrero Daley, Latino Forum
    Teresa Alvarado, Latino Forum
    Sylvia Alvarez, Latino Forum
    Kevin Moore, West Valley Community College District
    Bill James, candidate for El Camino Hospital District
    Tai Milder, Yes on 52 campaign

Yes on 52: Tai Milder.
    Tai spoke for several minutes on this campaign.  He thanked the Central Committee members for inviting him to come out and speak.  He noted that former Central Committee Campaign Services Director Cristina Uribe is the campaign manager for the Yes on 52 campaign.  "We are proud to have the endorsement of the California Democratic Party.  Santa Clara County with its UDC will be an integral part of passing this proposition.  We're here to talk to activists and have two messages: Prop 52 will increase voter turnout in California.  Six other states have election day voter registration, and they lead the nation in voter turnout.  Turnout increased 3 to 6 % in those states, and a Cal Tech study indicated that in California turnout might increase as much as 9%, which could mean a million new voters.  Our Party leads in new voters and understands how important is this process.  It's not a new concept. Six states Idaho, Minnesota, Maine, New Hampshire, Wyoming, and Wisconsin all have election day voter registration.  This is not a rush idea; it was a carefully crafted proposition.  We worked with the Secretary of State for more than a year to draft this and with election officials.  We moved the deadline back from 15 to 29 days.  What we want you to take away from this is not whether EDR increases voter turnout by 3% or 6% or 9%.  The Party's behind it because we know that there is one party that really cares about having inclusive democracy, and there's another party that benefits when people are turned off by the process.  We want to work with all of you to pass this.  I know people have questions about Prop. 52, and I'd be happy to answer them.  Thank you very much."
    Steve Preminger noted that the State Party had endorsed Prop. 52, so you'll see it in the Party literature.
    Steve Chessin said that Secretary of State Bill Jones has come out against Prop. 52, and Steve asked how will his opposition be countered.  Tai replied that former Secretary of State March Fong Eu is a strong backer, and he the (hopefully) incoming Secretary, Kevin Shelley, is a strong supporter as well.  It is unfortunate that a Secretary of State who has seen voter participation decline has come out against it.  This shows that opposition is really a partisan effort.  But Richard Riordan has endorsed it.

4.  ADOPTION OF AGENDA
    Sal Alvarez noted that Dr. Roberto Cruz died yesterday, September 4th.  Dr. Cruz was the founder and President of the National Hispanic University.  Sal requested that the adjournment of the meeting be done in Dr. Cruz's honor.  A motion to include this change to the agenda was made and seconded.  The motion carried.

5.  APPROVAL OF MINUTES    (Minutes are posted on  www.scc-democrats.org)
    Madge Overhouse offered one correction to her report in the August minutes -- "Friday" should have been "Saturday."
A motion was made and seconded to approve the minutes of the August meeting with that correction.  The motion carried.

6.  REPORTS FROM OFFICERS AND OTHERS

A.  Executive Board:  Herb Engstrom.
    The Executive Board met Aug. 15th at home of Tom Cochran.  Present were Jim and Emy Thurber, Keith Garvey, David Cohen, Liz McDavit, Tom Cochran, Chris Stampolis, Bill James, Dennis Chiu, and Herb Engstrom.
    It was  suggested that after the election we might want to have an "E-board retreat" in which the E-board spends an extended time period discussing various issues and possible changes to the bylaws.
    Jim Thurber reported on UDC activities.
    Steve P. has suggested we devote some time (10 or 15 minutes) to someone to discuss an interesting political article or message received, but it was suggested that it might be better to have an active Issues Director and that we might want to discuss this at the retreat.
    At the Central Committee meeting Phyllis Ward said that a recommendation (evidently in the Grand Jury report on voting procedures, which the County Board of Supervisors is considering) was made that new registrants be required to provide proof of citizenship.  This recommendation was to be forwarded to the State Legislature for action.  She opposes such a requirement and asked that the E-board respond to this issue and report back the the CC at the September meeting.  We inadvertently skipped this item.  No action taken.  How do people feel about this?  I'm undecided but leaning against such a requirement for now.  We want to encourage voter participation by making is easy to register and vote.  If many were voting illegally due to non-citizenship, there might be a reason, but fraud does not seem common at present.  Steve added that we will take this up at our next meeting.
    Absences: Three elected members have attended no meetings this year.  They were to be called to encourage them to appoint alternates.  We did not have time to discuss this.  More on this next time.

B.  Chair: Steve Preminger.
    There is a lot of UDC activity, which will be discussed later.

C.  Vice Chair: Tom Cochran.
    The Executive Board appointed Phaedra Ellis Lamkins, who is present here tonight, as Director of Campaign Services.  Steve added that Phaedra is the Assistant Executive Officer at the South Bay Labor Council.

D.  Treasurer: Dennis Chiu.
    Our bank account is now at $84.66.

E.  Secretary:  Herb Engstrom.
    The resolutions that were passed and ballot propositions that were endorsed by the State Party Executive Board are posted on the web site.

F.  Community Services & Voter Registration: Liz McDavit.
    Awaiting report.

Special Report on Voter Registration and the law:  Bill James.
    This talk arose out an experience that Herb Engstrom had.  It was part of the Elaine Shaw campaign.  We all went out to Tracy that day (Sunday, August 4th), and Herb and his son drove to the West Valley Mall in Tracy to set up a table for voter registration.  Herb was especially interested in registering at this location because the entrance to the mall opened into a giant food court with lots of restaurants and people.  To the left of the food court was a cinema complex with 14 separate theaters.  This complex looked like a draw to young people, who tend to have lower registrations than others.
    As is the usual practice out of courtesy, Herb informed the mall authorities that he was about set up a table.  The only person he could find was a uniformed security guard, who told him that the mall was private property and that he required advanced permission for "insurance purposes."  Note that none of the supermarkets at which we set up has ever required advanced permission or insurance.   "Where do I get permission?" Herb asked, and the guard replied from the office, which was closed until Monday, the next day.
    Herb had been assured by Dan Hoffman, a lawyer and one of the other people registering voters that day, that he did not need permission.  Dan cited the Pruneyard decision of about 20 years ago.  That case had gone to the California Supreme Court which ruled that even though malls were private property, they were public places because they invited the public inside.  Herb pointed this out to the guard and offered to let him speak to "his attorney."  The guard would not speak to Dan.  He had spoken to his supervisor who told him to deny permission.
    Herb said that he was going to set up the table anyway.  It would be outside the entrance and out of the way.  The guard replied that if Herb did so, he would call the Tracy police and have Herb cited for trespassing.  Herb told him to go ahead and do so, as Herb would take up the case with the police.
    Herb set up the table, displayed the voter reg materials, and hung his "Democrats Register to Vote!" sign.  Some 25 minutes later a police car drove up and out stepped a uniformed officer and a plain clothed individual who seemed to be superior to the officer.  The officer approached and told Herb that he had to leave.  Herb replied that had a right to be there, established by the California Supreme Court in the Pruneyard decision.  The officer insisted that Herb was on private property, had no right to be there, and that he must leave.  "Are you going to leave?" he asked.
    "No." Herb replied.
    The officer  then said that if Herb didn't leave he would call the SWAT team and have Herb taken away for trespassing.  Herb repeated the argument that the rules set down by West Valley Mall do not take precedence over the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.  The officer assured Herb that he was sympathetic and even that he, too, was a Democrat, but that Herb had to leave.  Herb asked him if he had gotten the opinion of the San Joaquin County District Attorney.  No, but he had spoken to his lieutenant who agreed that Herb had to leave.
    After about 10 minutes of such discussion and argument, he got on his two-way radio and spoke in a very subdued voice evidently to his lieutenant again.  Then he said he said he was authorized to propose a compromise:  If Herb would promise to get permission in the future, he would let Herb stay for the rest of the day.
    Herb promised, and he stayed.  The officer and the other plain clothed guy went to their car,  sat there for about 5 minutes, and drove off.  A short time later the security guard appeared and asked if he could get some information from Herb.  "Sure," Herb said.  He wanted name, address, etc., so  just gave him his business card.  Some time later another, a younger uniformed security guard came out with a camera.  He took Herb's photo.  Evidently, that photo was less than perfect, because he returned some time later to take yet another.  Herb held up my sign, "Democrats Register to Vote!" and smiled broadly.
    A lot of you, who have had experience with voter registration, are familiar with the law.  Some of you are newer to voter registration and may not know.  The basic questions is: Was Herb right?  Would the SWAT team have violated his constitutional rights had they hauled him out of the mall?
    Without commenting further on this particular situation, I'll go right to the general law, the Pruneyard decision and what's developed recently.  Under the California Constitution free speech activities have to be permitted in malls and shopping centers that are the equivalent of a town center.  The theory is these malls have made themselves the equivalent of Main Street.  The provide an environment to attract people and have them remain there.  By becoming kind of a town center they take on some of the obligations of government, and one of those is to put up with people who want to engage in free speech activities.  As a general rule for a mall or shopping center the private owner may not have a rule prohibiting free speech activities.
    There are some limitations.  Just as a government can require a parade to have a permit, a mall can impose reasonable time, place, and manner restrictions.  The restrictions they impose have to be content neutral: They can't say Democrats get a better place in the mall than Republicans, or that Democrats can come but Jehovah's Witnesses cannot.  The other thing is that permission has to be narrowly tailored to interests of the business.  Thus, they might have an interest in keeping their main entrance unimpeded, so they can designate an area off to the side of the entrance, but they can't designate an area in the far corner of the parking lot where the free speech activity will not have a reasonable chance of reaching the people that it is trying to reach.
    One example of such a restriction that has been upheld is the prior application process that Herb encountered and in which Liz and others have gained a lot of experience in working to gain access to the malls.  The malls can say, "You have to apply to us in advance."  The can even say, "Show us your signs and your literature so that we can make sure we know what's going to be going on at the mall."  They can even reject your sign if it's on objective content neutral grounds, so they can't say, "We don't want your sign because it says 'Democrats,'" but they can say, "We don't want anybody to put up poster board size signs."
    Others restrictions that have been approved is that you can be limited to a particular area so long as it's reasonable.  They can limit the number of days that you're in a location, so they can say that no one group can be in an area more than 5 days in any 30 day period.  This allows them to prevent other groups from coming into the mall, and it allows them to avoid being identified with any one cause.  They can black out holiday periods and their busiest days like Christmas and other big shopping days because it interferes too much with their business.
    Recently the law has allowed stand alone stores to impose more restrictions.  For example, Trader Joe's in Santa Rosa was permitted to exclude free speech activities on the theory that they are not like a mall.  People just drive there and pick up specialty groceries and go home.  This is a trend of the past three years where stand alone stores have gained more rights, more ability to restrict free speech.
    Finally, in one of the secure apartment houses or condos you can exclude free speech activities because you don't open those areas to the general public.
    So here are some strategies for dealing with the situations like the one Herb confronted.:

•  Smile and ask again nicely.  If the security people say "You can't do this here," say, "Well, I didn't know you had a procedure, do you mind if I just stay?"
• Ask to speak to someone with more authority.  The guard walking around may think you're not allowed to be there, may want to kick you out, and may think it's his duty to do so, but if you talk to his supervisor, the supervisor might say, "Oh, no, they're allowed to do that all the time."
• Ask for a written policy.  If the policy is unreasonable or not content neutral that is something that you might use to negotiate with the mall or if necessary have litigation.
• Apologize and ask if you can stay if you apply the next time.  The application procedures are usually not very complicated once you figure them out.
• Call somebody else.  If there is somebody coordinating your activities, and you're not sure and the police are saying they're going to call the SWAT team, call somebody and say, "Hey, this doesn't seem right.  Am I supposed to stay here and get arrested, and what do we do in this situation?
• If the police are coming and someone in authority insists that you leave or if somebody is getting hostile and wants to physically remove you from the mall, you should leave the mall.  You should retreat for two reasons.  One is that the better way to fight that is by talking to experts, making sure its the right fight you want to pick.  Someone in authority would have to decide if it's the right fight.  The other important thing is that if you show up and set up your table and didn't know they had a procedure, you haven't trespassed, but if someone really in authority like a police officer acting at the request of the mall asks you to leave, my understanding is that under the penal code you may be considered to be trespassing.  If you go, they can't do anything to you, because you don't really trespass until you refuse to leave.

1. General rule:  Large shopping centers and stores must permit signature gathering, voter registration, and/or leafleting.
2. Limits:  Cannot interfere with business.
3. Reasonable time, place, and manner restrictions allowed, if content neutral and narrowly tailored.
4. Examples:

• application procedure if criteria objective and content neutral
• pre-approval of signs and materials
• limiting to a particular area
• limiting number of days
• blacking out holiday periods
• management discretion to require insurance or a bond

    Ross Signorino commented that it was Mayor Hammer's husband, Philip Hammer, who brought the Pruneyard case to the California Supreme Court, and I think he deserves a round of applause.  Bill added that this case demonstrated that you can have a lot of rights under state constitutions so long as they don't conflict with rights guaranteed by the federal constitution.  Thus, people in California have broader rights than people in other states as a result of this case.

G.  Finance: Jim Thurber.
    We have moved the JJ dinner up to March to accommodate Don Edwards.  Also, we have completed negotiations, and now the United Democratic Campaign will accept Visa and MasterCard donations.  If someone wants to make a donation, all we need is their Visa or MasterCard number and expiration date.  I was asked this evening if other candidates can use that.  I don't think so, because this gets us into the FEC and FPPC rules of passing money from one organization to another.  Until somebody gives me an OK from the legal side, we're going to keep it to the UDC and the Central Committee.

H. Candidate Recruitment and Endorsement: Keith Garvey.
    Keith presented a list of candidates recommended for endorsement by the Endorsement Committee.  He gave some background about each candidate and proposed that all endorsement recommendations by approved by consent calendar.  That is, any individual recommendation could be pulled by any member of the Central Committee, and discussion of that particular race would follow approval of the remaining recommendations.  The recommendations were as follows:

Democratic Party Central Committee Endorsements 2002 General Election

Endorsement Committee Recommendations

Santa Clara Mayor
Dual:  Patricia Mahan & John McLemore

Santa Clara City Council Seat # 2 (4 candidates I dem)
Dominic Caserta

Santa Clara City Council Seat # 5 (2 candidates 1 dem)
Jamie Matthews

Milpitas Mayor (4 candidates) 2 dems 1 interviewed

Dave Garcia

Mountain View City Council (3 seats/11 candidates / 5 dems/all interviewed)

Matt Neely
Rosiland Bivings
Tom Frankum

El Camino Hospital District Director (2 seats 6 candidates 2 dems)

William James

County Board of Education Seat #1 (2 candidates l dem)

Margaret Abe-Koga

Saratoga City Council (3 seats/ 6 candidates/ 2 dems )

Norman Kline
Kathleen King

    There are other possible races in which we might want to make endorsements, and these are listed here:

Other Possible Elections to Endorse

1. County Board off Education--Seat 7
2. SI/Evergreen College Board--Seats 2 & 6
3. West Valley/Mission Governing Board-Seat 2
4. Santa Clara Unified School District--Seat 2
5. Alum Rock Union School District
6. Barryessa Union School District
7. Evergreen School District
8. El Camino Hospital Board

    Keith went on to say that one race in particular, that of Santa Clara Unified School District, is one which he would like to put on the consent calendar tonight.  He invited Chris Stampolis to explain why.  Chris said there are currently three Democratic incumbents running for reelection.  One is Ed Whitehead who comes from the older part of town.  (Secretary's note:  Mr. Whitehead is actually running for seat 3.)  He is being challenged by a young Republican, and we want to send a strong, early message that we want to get behind our incumbent Democrat.  In the larger portion of town on the other side of San Tomas going up to Sunnyvale, we are currently represented by Teresa O'Neill and by Patricia Flot, both of whom are Democrats.  They are being challenged by one person, another young Republican.  The top two finishers in that race will win seats, and we want to retain our incumbent Democrats and not lose any seats to young Republican punks.
    Tom Cochran pulled the City of Santa Clara Mayor's race.
    The Endorsement Committee moved to make the endorsements above including the candidates of the Santa Clara Unified School District.
    Tom Cochran then moved for a sole endorsement of John McLemore for Mayor of Santa Clara; Tony Alexander seconded.  Tom spoke in support of the motion by commenting on John's participation in the Central Committee for the past several years.  He also pointed to the large number of endorsements that John has received: Mike Honda, Zoe Lofgren, Elaine Alquist, Rebecca Cohn, John Dutra, Manny Diaz, Joe Simitian, the entire County Board of Supervisors, and many others.
    Chris Stampolis countered that many delegates from the City of Santa Clara - the entire City of Santa Clara Democratic activist delegation is unanimous in their support for s dual endorsement.  He asked that we uphold the recommendation of the Endorsement Committee for a dual endorsement.  We want to be able to walk for all the Democratic candidates in Santa Clara from Governor on down.  If we make a sole endorsement, this will be difficult to do.  Patty, he said, has been very active in the 22nd Assembly District Committee.
    Tony Alexander spoke in favor of the motion based on John's participation in the Central Committee, but Madge Overhouse strongly supported the dual endorsement because the activists of the City of Santa Clara should decide.  Both candidates are members of the Century Club.  Dan Hoffman stressed the importance of competence to the race.  Jim Boynton of the Mission City Democratic Club said that Club favored a dual.  Phyllis Ward said that the Endorsement Committee was not necessarily representative of the Central Committee, and the Central Committee was under no obligation to "rubber stamp" the recommendations of the Endorsement Committee.
    A motion to stop debate passed.  A motion to consider a sole endorsement (which requires a majority vote) passed by a vote of 21 to 16.  The actual motion to make a sole endorsement of John McLemore also received 21 votes for and 16 against, but it failed because a two thirds majority vote is required for a sole endorsement.
    Steve Chessin moved that we make a dual endorsement of Patricia Mahan and John McLemore.  The motion was seconded and passed by a vote of 24 to 12.
    Steve Preminger said that Keith Garvey has made a number of recommendations in other races, and we would like to make these endorsements.  We'd like to have an Executive Board meeting and invite all interested Democrats.  We are looking at September 18th.  We'll put the date on the web and send an email.  If you know any Democratic candidates that might be interested, please let us know.
    Chris Stampolis noted that the effect of a dual endorsement is that both candidates can claim the endorsement of the County and State Democratic Parties.
    Aldyth Parle commended Keith Garvey for his excellent job as Endorsement Committee chair.

I.  Campaign Services: Phaedra Ellis Lamkins.
    We now have a slate of candidates, and we're going to work really hard to make sure they win.  The UDC has hired organizers whom you'll meet later.  We have north, south, and central county offices.  We'll be partnering with Liz for voter registration.  We will concentrate on districts within the county, because we really need to deliver this county.  The campaign kickoff will be Saturday, September 14th, 9 AM.  A breakfast of pancakes will be served.  2102 Almaden Road.
    Jim Thurber said that two hours after the opening of the central county office, we'll open an office in north county, in Mountain View.  It was put there to help in the Mountain View election and also to help Sally Lieber's 22nd AD race.  1411 El Camino Real, Mountain View, between El Monte and Shoreline next door to the El Paso Restaurant.  We're not having pancakes; we're having Krispy Kremes and coffee.  After the opening ceremony people will be going out to register voters.

J.  Issues: Willie Wool
    No report.

K. Political Outreach: Steve Preminger for Emy Thurber.
    Steve announced that we have a new Democratic organization -- Paperwork from the Silicon Valley Latino Democratic Forum has been submitted to Emy Thurber and found to be in compliance.  Steve introduced the three officers of the Club Teresa Guerrero Daley, the Chair elect, Teresa Alvarado, and Drina Collins.
    Teresa Guerrero Daley told us that at their first meeting they had 68 paid members and are hoping for 100 by the end of the month.  They expect to be the voice of the Latino Community for those issues that impact  them. and plan to be an active participant of the Central Committee.  She thanked the Committee for certifying the Latino Club and pledged her future participation.

African-American Democratic Coalition: Tony Alexander.
    The Silicon Valley African American Democratic Coalition will host a fundraiser at the end of the month.  We are supporting candidates Terry Gregory San Jose City Council District 7, Tony Alexander Alum Rock School Board, TJ Owens Gilroy Unified School Board,  Franklin West Evergreen School Board, Rosiland Bivins Mountain View City Council.  We are still in the process of interviewing other candidates.

Asian-Pacific American Club: Dennis Chiu.
    No report this month.

Clinton*Gore Action Network: Lorre Vaughn.
    No report submitted.

Democratic Action for Women Now (DAWN): Claudia Shope for Denelle Fedor.
    The DAWN endorsement brunch will be on September 22nd at Ponderosa Park at the corner of Iris and Henderson from 10 AM to 1 PM.  Everyone who is a member in good standing and has paid dues by August 22nd is eligible to vote in the endorsements.

Evergreen Democratic Club at the Villages:  Bev Wharton.
    Our annual August BBQ was a great success with close to 80 in attendance. Assemblyman Simon Salinas and his campaign manager, Catalina Madrigal, spoke to the gathering and answered many questions.
    Our first voter registration effort at Eastridge was quite successful. Our table was center stage and visible to all floors of the shopping center. Twelve voters registered: 9 Democrats., 2 Independents, and 1 Republican. Our next voter registration day at Eastridge will be Sept. 21 and we have requested Sept. 28 and Oct. 12. Oct 5 we will be registering voters at San Jose Councilman Dave Cortese's multicultural festival, "Day in the Park," at Lake Cunningham. Voter registration has been a great way of involving our members in an activity other than coming to meetings and we are not experiencing any difficulty in signing up volunteers.
    At last Tuesday's meeting, Sylvia Alvarez, candidate for the Evergreen School District Board, gave a presentation. Rosemary Stasek, Mountain View City Council member and former mayor was our featured speaker. A self-described radical feminist, she first became interested in the plight of the women of Afghani- stan and went to Kabul last Mayas a member of a reconstruction delegation of Afghan-Americans. To better understand how the Taliban came to power she gave us an enlightening history of the country and answered our many questions. She proved to be one of the most well-received speakers our club members have been privileged to hear and we recommend her highly to other clubs. As an example of the impression she made, I was at the grocery store Wednesday when I heard a man's voice asking, "What is Rosemary's last name?" When he repeated the question, I turned around and, since there were no other people except this gentleman and myself in the aisle, I realized he was addressing me. It took me another second or two to realize who he was talking about and recognize him as a member of the Evergreen Democratic Club. After telling him Rosemary's last name, he told me he how impressed he was with her intelligence and knowledge and that he wants to vote for her when she runs for U.S. President!
    Next month's featured speaker will be from the ACLU.

High Tech Dems:  Alyson Abramowitz.
    No report submitted.

Mission City Democratic Club: Jim Boynton.
    The first meeting of the Mission City Demo Club meeting was held Aug 29,'02.  Chris Stampolis gave brief updates on races for governor, state controller, lieutenant governor, state assembly, county level races, school boards, and city of Santa Clara.  The name of club is to be the Mission City Democratic Club.   Chris Stampolis is to be temporary chairman with Jim Boynton as secretary and delegate to county committee.  Dues were set at $10 for students/seniors, $25 for individuals, and $40 for family membership. The next meeting will be 9/26 at 7 pm, 387 Montclair Dr., Santa Clara..

Peninsula Democratic Coalition: Emy Thurber.
    No report this month.

Peninsula Young Democrats: Mike Markman.
    PYD met during the PDC picnic in August and made the following two endorsements:  Bill James, who is running to become a Director of the El Camino Hospital District, and Matt Neely, running for the Mountain View City Council.  Both have been members of PYD.  Both are good Democrats.  PYD will be holding a number of campaign-related events in the upcoming weeks (including in connection with the United Democratic Campaign, and the local campaigns for Bill James and Matt Neely).  On September 7-9, PYD conducted voter registration at the Mountain View Arts & Wine Festival.

Santa Clara County Democratic Club: Herb Engstrom.
    The August meeting featured Darryl Young, Director of the California Department of Conservation and political aide to Gray Davis.  Strategies, issues, and accomplishments of the Davis administration.
    SCCDCC member and former officer of the Club Lilyann Brannon was chosen Environmentalist of the Year by the SCC League of Conservation Voters.
    Straight Talk TV 28th will feature candidate Elaine Shaw.  We are also planning to have  Mountain View City Councilwoman Rosemary Stasek, who recently returned from a trip to Afghanistan.  She will talk about her experiences.
    We continue campaigning for Elaine Shaw: more voter registration on Sept. 14th.  Let me know if you can help.

South County Democratic Club:  Alex Kennett
    The Club is having a Fund raiser and UDC office opening on Friday the 13 at our office at 404 Tennant Station in Morgan Hill at 5:30 continuing with a party at Guglielmo Winery at 6:30 until people can't drink anymore or the money is gone.
    There will be a Club meeting in Gilroy on the 14th at 10 AM at South Valley Junior High School.
    We will have a booth at the Taste of Morgan Hill for voter registration on September 28/29.   The Club has recently done two walks with both Elaine Shaw and John Laird.

West Valley Democratic Club:  Dave Wilkes
    The West Valley August meeting had Ted Lempert as speaker on various issues related to his campaign for Byron Sher's seat.
    Ron Del Pozzo, candidate for judge and candidates for West Valley/Mission District and Saratoga City Council will be at the September meeting.

L. Regional Directors: Madge Overhouse.
    There has been a change for the Executive Board meeting.  It has been moved forward a week to December 6 and 7, still at Manhattan Beach.  The State Party indicates that the State Convention will be March 13th through the 15th, 2003.  That's Thursday through Saturday, so there will likely be changes there.  The State Party had a campaign workshop.  They now have a program to send information to high schools, colleges, history and governmental teachers, student advisors, and student activities directors.  They are offering high school students the opportunity to participate in the statewide coordinated campaign.  There will be interns who can receive letters of recommendation.  They figure that the interns will acquire a great knowledge of the political process, enhance their communications skills, and learn to meet the demands of a fast paced and high energy work environment.

M. Democratic National Committee: Chris Stampolis.
    No report submitted.

N.  Pro-Choice Coalition:  Claudia Shope.
    Hopefully today Gray Davis will sign the three pro-choice bills on his desk.  There was supposed to be a big ceremony in San Francisco for Sheila Kuehl's bill, the reproductive privacy act, the emergency contraception act of Carol Migden AB1860, and the abortion procedure training which would make sure that residency requirements included such training.
    The next Pro-Choice Coalition meeting will be Tuesday at 1746 the Alameda.  You're all invited.
    In Hawaii they're doing some emergency contraception legislation.

O.  DTV Report:  Steve Chessin.
    Democratic Television Producer Steve Chessin reported that our August taping was with the Honorable Terry Gregory, candidate for San Jose City Council District 7.
    Our guest in September will be the Honorable Sally Lieber, Democratic nominee for Assembly District 22.
    We will be on San Jose AT&T Channel 15A September 12th and October 10th with Terry Gregory, and September 26th and October 24th with Sally Lieber.
    We have a new crew member.  The Honorable Rosemary Stasek, who had no prior video experience, took the workshop, graduated, and is on our crew now.  She was actually working the video switcher.  Even so 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) (408-918-3200).  Tapings will be:

• Sep 12  DTV 92  Hon. Terry Gregory
• Sep 26  DTV 93  Hon. Sally Lieber
• Oct 10  DTV 92  Hon. Terry Gregory
• Oct 24  DTV 93  Hon. Sally Lieber

Q.  Welfare Reform:  Sal Alvarez.
    No report this month.

7.  OLD BUSINESS
    None.

8.  NEW BUSINESS
 

9.  ANNOUNCEMENTS
    Jay Jackman:  Come election day many of our friends are not going to know who the candidates are on the ballot, particularly for school boards and for community college districts.  In the last election I emailed all of my friends telling them who to vote for.  I got back responses of appreciation because they knew that I was knowledgeable about the Democratic political process in the county.  I think it is something all of us should remember to do come election time - to get out the vote, to communicate with our friends, and let them know who the candidates are.  The second thing is that I'm involved with the north county Democratic organization, and I'm going to be heading the precinct worker element of that organization, so I'm looking for volunteers who are willing to take a precinct in the north county area.  They'll take responsibility for getting out the Democratic voters in that area.  You can reach me at  JMJackman@aol.com . or by phone at (650)493-0400.  An article in today's New York Times indicates that they are getting away from putting money into television ads, and they are putting money into telephone banks and walking precincts.  We have a lot more bodies than the Republicans.  We have to get them organized; we have to get them out.  Anyone interested in walking a precinct please give me a call.
    Jacquie Heffner:  Warning about Republicans in sheep's clothing.  Some Republicans are offering to help in Democratic activities.  Be aware that their motives might be suspect.
    Dennis Umphress:  I'm the San José contact for Americans for Safe Access, which supports medical marijuana usage.  The Santa Cruz dispensary WAMM (Women's Alliance for Medical Marijuana)  was raided this morning by over two dozen armed DEA agents.  They took the founders of the organization away and confiscated over 100 pot plants that were close to being harvested.  This organization has over 300 patients of whom roughly 85% are terminal patients who use medical marijuana to help alleviate pain and suffering.  This organization has provided marijuana to these patients at no cost./  It's one of the oldest organizations in California, founded in 1993.  The federal government apparently does not want to recognize California's proposition 215 and to recognize that marijuana has any medicinal value whatsoever.  I'm coordinating a nationwide protest, so we'll be doing our part here in San José from noon to 1 tomorrow in front of the local DEA office, which is located at 1 North First Street, which is at the corner of Santa Clara.  If this is an issue you feel is important, come out to that demonstration and let the DEA know that there is a lot of people here in California and here in San José who oppose what they are doing and that they should leave the decision as to whether marijuana has any medical value up to the doctors and patients.
    Ross Signorino:  Saturday I was at the Tropicana Shopping Center to support the people regarding what the Redevelopment Agency wants to do to that shopping center.  We are talking about property rights right now.  These people will lose their property, and we should be concerned.  There were a lot of Simon signs around the place.  All kinds of Republicans running for different offices were there, but I did not see any Democrats.  We risk losing Hispanic votes, which is powerful, and we have to begin supporting these people at Tropicana and other areas where they are unfairly treated.
    Mike Markman:  This weekend is the Mountain View Art and Wine Festival, and PYD will be out in force to register voters.  If you're in Mountain View, check out the festival.  We'll be in the free speech area.  If you want to help register voters, you're more than welcome.
    Thelma Spaziani:  I received a message from the Republicans on my answering machine which will raise hackles.  "We tried to reach you by phone several times last week.  We've got an insider election update you won't hear in the media or anywhere else.  You'll be shocked to hear the liberal secret plan to attack and discredit the President's majority.  The Democrats are already out there running viscous attack ads.  It's going to get much worse.  First, they want to reclaim the majority in the House and then take back the White House in 2004.  Please call today."" How they got me on their list I don't know.  And please clean up when you go.
    Dolly Sandoval:  Steve Westly is running for State Controller in a very close race against current Assemblyman Tom McClintock.  I want you to do all your email networking possible.  This race is neck and neck and actually McClintock has about a 2% lead.  This conservative caveman is somebody we should just retire rather than keep.  You need to email folks and really stress the point that you can't vote for the Green Party woman.  Herb Engstrom commented that Dolly had referred to McClintock as a "conservative caveman."  Herb pointed out that this is the term that McClintock has applied to himself.  In addition, he had led California's Republican support for Alan Keyes for President.
    Keith Garvey:  The Democratic Century Club luncheons have been drawing rave reviews so far this year and the next one will be September 20th at Lou's Village and will feature the Honorable Sally Lieber, and this should be no exception.
    Steve Preminger:  I'd like to thank the 20th Assembly District Committee for the refreshments, and next month it's the 21st AD's turn.  On September 14th there will be a remembrance of September 11th at Cesar Chavez Plaza sponsored by many community organizations.

10. ADJOURNMENT
    The meeting was adjourned in the memory of Dr. Roberto Cruz, the great visionary and educator, with a moment of silence at 9:29 PM.

1. As a general rule, under the California Constitution (Art. 1, Sections 2 and 3) a large full-service shopping center or mall must permit voter registration, signature gathering, and/or leafleting on their premises.  See Robins v. Pruneyard Shopping Center (1979) 23 Cal. 3d 899, 153 Cal. Rptr. 854.

a. Why?:  Malls and shopping centers have become the equivalent of the local town square or main street.  Owners have to accept the public obligations that flow from the private benefit they receive by becoming a “town center equivalent”.
b. U. S. Supreme Court:  Requiring private owners to permit free speech activities does not constitute a “taking” of their property.

a. Reasonable time, place, and manner restrictions are permitted.
b. Such restrictions must be content neutral, i.e., they apply to all free speech activities regardless of the message or purpose.

i. E.g., if political speech is allowed, religious must be too.
ii. If an apartment complex allows one free newspaper to be distributed, it may not exclude another.

c. Restrictions must be narrowly tailored to protect a legitimate business interest.  That is, they must not be any more restrictive than absolutely necessary to prevent undue interference with the business or its customers.

i. For example, preventing people from blocking a main entrance, areas of heavy customer traffic, fire exits, etc. would be allowed.
ii. But, requiring people to set up in a remote corner of the mall where no members of the public are present cannot be justified by the business’ interest in ensuring reasonably unimpeded access by customers to its main entrance.

d. What is “reasonable” depends on the facts of each case, such as the size and nature of the mall/center, the layout or geometry of the mall, traffic patterns, etc.

a. Prior application/approval procedure if not unduly burdensome, content neutral, and based on objective criteria.
b. Pre-approval of signs and printed materials, if content neutral and based on objective criteria (e.g., size of signs).
c. Limiting free speech activities to a particular area, so long as speakers have reasonable access to members of the public.
d. Limiting the number of days per month that any one group may be present (e.g., a content neutral rule that any one group may only be present 5 days in any given month or 30 day period).  Rationale:  Business may be concerned with being viewed as endorsing one group or position, or may desire to provide a fair chance to other groups.
e. Blacking out holiday periods or heaviest business days.  Rationale:  Times of increased traffic flow and particularly important to business interest.
f. Management may be given discretion to require insurance or a bond, based on objective, content neutral criteria.

a. Certain Stand-Alone Retailers May Exclude:  Recently, courts have agreed that even some large stand-alone retailers do not necessarily meet the “town center equivalent” criteria of the Pruneyard  case.  In recent years (1999-2001), cases have permitted Trader Joe’s, Waremart, and Raley’s to restrict or exclude free speech activities.  Each case or location may be different!
b. Secure Residential Buildings and Complexes May Exclude:  Even tenants of such a building or complex may be prevented from doing door-to-door leafleting, because the building/complex is not open to the public.

a. Smile and ask again nicely. J
b. Ask to speak with someone with more authority, if such a person is available.
c. Ask to see their written policy.  Get a copy if possible.
d. Apologize for not knowing about their policy in advance, and ask if you can stay today if you promise to follow the application procedure next time.
e. Call the person or group coordinating your activities and ask for guidance or assistance.
f. If the police are called and ask you to leave, or if any agent with authority insists that you leave, and especially if anybody is trying to use actual or threatened force to remove you:  Retreat!  Pick another place where you won’t be hassled, and report the merchant’s actions to the group coordinating your activities and to the Central Committee.

This page was last updated 9/22/02.
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