SANTA CLARA COUNTY DEMOCRATIC CENTRAL COMMITTEE
6:45 pm, County Building cafeteria, 70 W. Hedding St. San Jose
MINUTES FOR Thursday, April 6, 2006
1. CALL TO ORDER
2. ROLL CALL
3. IDENTIFICATION OF VISITORS
Spandan Chakrabarti (DDCSV, LGBT Dems), Andrew Pontions, Wanda Bryan (DDCSV, CA Clean Money 583), Don Mayall (DDCSV), Vanessa Cooper (LGBT Dems), Jay Jackman (DFASVDC), Tiar Quigley (LGBT Dems), Laura Casas Frier, Catherine Garrido (from Senator Elaine AlquistÕs office), Donovan Bayuga, Melinda Waller
4. ADOPTION OF AGENDA
Motion to approve, second, so carried
5. APPROVAL OF MINUTES (Minutes are posted at sccdp.org)
Motion to approve, second, so carried
6. ISSUES
7. NEW BUSINESS
a. Candidate Endorsements
A consent calendar was submitted to the membership and the following races were pulled from the list: San Jose Mayor, San Jose District 3, San Jose District 9, San Jose District 1, Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors District 4, Santa Clara County Assessor
Motion to support remaining endorsement committee recommendations, second, so carried:
Yes on Measure A, Yes on Measure C, Endorsement of Rosemary Kamei for Santa Clara Valley Water District #1, Sole endorsement for Karyn Sinunu for District Attorney, Endorsement for Nora Campos for San Jose City Council District 5, endorsement for Madison Nguyen for San Jose City Council District 7.
San Jose Mayor: motion for sole endorsement for Cindy Chavez, second, discussion, motion carried.
San Jose City Council District 3: motion for sole endorsement for Manny Diaz, second, discussion, question called, motion failed.
Motion for no endorsement, Chair corrected that such a motion is not possible unless a dual endorsement fails.
Motion for dual endorsement, second, discussion, motion fails.
San Jose City Council District 9: Motion to endorse Judy Chirco, second, discussion Judy ChircoÕs support of a Republican candidate. Motion passes.
Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors District 4: discussion about the committeeÕs recommendation of sole endorsement for Ken Yeager. Motion for sole endorsement passes.
San Jose City Council District 1: discussion about the committeeÕs recommendation for sole endorsement of Jay James. Motion carries.
Santa Clara County Assessor: Pull from consent withdrawn. Motion for dual endorsement for Larry Stone and Pete McHugh, second, so carried.
b. Discussion/endorsement of Santa Clara County Sales Tax Measure A
Motion to support, second, Philip Bump discussed the benefits of Measure A, motion carried.
c. Measure C- Community College
Motion to support, second, Laura Casas Frier, Jay Jackman, and John Nguyen spoke in favor of, motion carried.
Sal Alvarez spoke in favor of legalization of the illegal immigrants. Emergency resolution to urge the Board of Supervisors to support the legalization of illegal immigrants.
8. REPORTS FROM OFFICERS AND OTHERS
A. Executive Board: Steve Preminger
B. Chair: Steve Preminger
C. Vice Chair: James Kim
D. Treasurer: Drina Collins
E. Secretary: Hope Cahan
F. Community Services and Voter Registration: Carolyn Curtis
G. Finance: Jim Thurber
H. Candidate Recruitment and Endorsement: Jon Kessler
I. Communication: David Cohen
On Saturday, April 22nd, we will have our Precinct Captain training.
J. Campaign Services: Philip Bump
K. Issues: Herb Engstrom
L. Political Outreach: Tom Cochran
Thank you to the LGBT and DAWN for bringing the refreshments to tonightÕs meetings. The Dean Democratic Club and the Silicon Valley Young Democrats to bring the refreshments to the next meeting
Club, AD, SD, & CD Reports
Evergreen Democratic Club: Beverly Wharton
A full contingent of club members enjoyed the speakers and workshops presented at the CDC Convention. We also participated in the Pre-Endorsement meetings in San Jose. While I was not present in Watsonville to vote on the 28th AD candidates, I did vote. We are co-hosting the Mayoral Forum with the Evergreen College Democratic Club. As Rena Modell put it, we want an opportunity to get out of our senior ghetto and support the development of young Dems. Nineteen members will be attending the dinner this coming Saturday. We have budgeted $1,500 to donate to political candidates. Thus far, we have sent a campaign donation to Francine Busby and letters of endorsement and donations to Karen Sinunu and Steve Filson.
Salinas Mayor Anna Caballero and candidate for the 28th AD, who received endorsement at the Watsonville meeting, spoke at our meeting on Tuesday. We also viewed a video on Harper MagazineÕs Forum on Constitutional Rights and Responsibilities, ÒIs There a Case for Impeachment?Ó
Next month we will see a video introduction of Jim Beall by Congressman Honda, followed by a live Jim Beall. June will feature Chris Stampolis; the theme for this yearÕs Villages 4th of July parade is ÒAcademy AwardsÓ and we are in the planning stages centered around a political movie (we hope to top our FDR and Eleanor for last yearÕs ÒThe Way We WereÓ theme); Assemblyman Joe Coto is scheduled for August; and September is our annual picnic.
DAWN: Carol Garvey
On Sunday April 2nd, DAWN held a very successful potluck endorsement brunch with 85-90 people in attendance. Many members paid their dues and we got 8 new members. Among those in attendance: Senator Liz Figueroa, Former Assemblymember Manny Diaz, former Assemblymember John Dutra, Ellen Corbett, Assistant Chief DA Karyn Sinunu, and Vice Mayor Cindy Chavez.
The following endorsements were passed: Sole endorsement for Karyn Sinunu for District Attorney, dual endorsement of Ken Yeager and Linda LeZotte for county Board of Supervisors District 4, Sole endorsement for Cindy Chavez for Mayor of San Jose, dual endorsement of Liz Figueroa and Jackie Speier for Lt. Governor, sole endorsement of Ellen Corbett for Senate District 10, sole endorsement for Mayor Ana Ventura Phares for Assembly District 28, sole endorsement of Jim Beall for Assembly District 24, sole endorsement for Jay James for San Jose City Council District 1, sole endorsement for Manny Diaz for San Jose City Council District 3, Mike Honda for CD 15, Anna Eshoo for CD 14, Zoe Lofgren for CD 16, Sally Lieber for AD22, John Laird for AD 27, Nora Campos for SJ City Council District 5, Madison Nguyen for SJ City Council District 7, and Judy Chirco for SJ City Council District 9.
We held our brunch at the SEIU local 715 great room and it worked out beautifully. Our next Brunch will be Sunday, May 21st and we will have board elections, bylaw change vote, and a discussion of DAWNÕs mission.
M. Regional Director: Emy Thurber
The State Convention is at the end of the month, please let Emy know if you are unable to attend and are looking for a proxy.
N. Democratic National Committee: Chris Stampolis
O. Pro-Choice Coalition: Claudia Shope
Local:
Save the date for Planned Parenthood Advocates Mar MonteÕs first annual Voices for Change, a garden reception honoring several distinguished individuals for their contributions to protecting reproductive rights and privacy. Honorees include: Assemblymember Sally Lieber, former State Senator Becky Morgan, San Jose Mercury News Columnist Sue Hutchinson, and volunteers Marian Melendy and Kazia Luce. Contact Katie Desmond at (408)297-9255 ext 217 or Katie_desmond@ppmarmonte.org for more information about becoming a sponsor or purchasing tickets.
The board of the Pro-Choice Coalition of Santa Clara County recently held elections for officers and board members. Erika Jackson was elected the new Chair of the organization. The Pro-Choice Coalition is still looking for new board members and membership organizations. Please contact Erika Jackson at Erika_jaskson@mindspring.com if you are interested in getting involved.
State:
Anti-choice forces are circulating petitions to place a similar bill to Proposition 73, which was defeated on the November ballot. Parents and doctors across California opposed Proposition 73 because it would put our teenage daughters in jeopardy. We are watching their signature gathering efforts. If you see a petition in the field please let us know. Contact Katie Desmond at (408) 297-9255 ext 217 or Katie_desmond@ppmarmonte.org
Federal:
SB 1955 would allow health insurance companies to ignore state laws protecting patients. Women in California could lose coverage for direct access to their OB/GYN, contraceptives, cervical cancer screenings, and osteoporosis screenings. Call Senator Feinstein and ask her to oppose the legislation. Her office number is (202) 224-3841. Email publicaffairs@ppmarmonte.org to let us know that you called.
Do you have a copy of your birth certificate? In February 2006, the President signed into law the so-called Deficit Reduction Act (DRA). The DRA made dramatic changes to the Medicaid program that will hurt safety net providers and millions of Californians. One of the most onerous provisions is Section 6036, which requires all new Medicaid applicants and all current Medicaid enrollees who have not previously proved their citizenship status to produce a birth certificate, passport, or other similar document. Millions of Americans who are otherwise eligible for Medicaid could lose coverage. Please consider writing a letter to the editor on this issue.
P. DTV Report: Steve Chessin
Q. CDC Report: Jay Jackman
9. OLD BUSINESS
10. ANNOUNCEMENTS
11. EXECUTIVE BOARD MEETING
The next Executive Board meeting will be April 25th at 6pm
12. ADJOURNMENT: 9:45