[Davis Democrats] DDC Board Meeting Minutes for April 3, 2007
G Richard Yamagata PhD
yamagata at virtual-markets.net
Mon Apr 30 10:08:39 PDT 2007
Davis Democratic Club Meeting Minutes
Tuesday, April 3, 7 pm - 8:46 pm
Place: Place: Davis Branch, Yolo County Library in Davis.
315 East 14th Street.
This meeting was held at Place: Davis Branch, Yolo County Library in Davis.
315 East 14th Street.
Present (15 board members total present -- 13 votes present -- NO QUORUM was
present) were:
OFFICERS -- EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE BOARD MEMBERS
President: Arun Sen,
Vice President: Absent
Treasurer: Absent
Recording Secretary: G Richard Yamagata
Corresponding Secretary: Absent
Publicity: Absent
2 of 6 were present.
BOARD CHAIRS AND MEMBERS
Past Publicity: Barbara Slemmons
Acting Past President: Bob Bockwinkel, Past-Past President and Newsletter
Advertising,
Newsletter Editor: Eileen Lindsay
Board members: Mike Syvanen, Lyle Smith, Jim Provenza, Rick Gonzales, Julia
Hunter-Blair, Carl Schmid, Pam Nieberg, and Bill Ritter
11 of 15 were present with 2 other board members with
medical absences.
A Total of 22 board members on the rolls.
Absent: Vice President John Chendo (religious holiday), Treasurer Betty
Weir (illness) (1), Corresponding Secretary Julia Sanchez (illness) (1),
Scheduling Committee Chair Claire Black Slotten (religious holiday), Past
President Tony Gruska (9), Adrienne Kandell (3)(religious holiday), Rhonda
Gruska (9), Publicity Mary Lou Hernandez (2 excused by President), Past Vice
President Kingsley Melton (3 excused by President) -- (number indicates how
many meeting is a row have been missed) There have been 11 meetings since
the elections last year. By-laws state that board member cannot miss 3
meetings in a row or 3 out of 5 meetings in a five month period (meaning you
cannot just come to every other meeting and still remain on the board).
Absences can be excused by the President.
Guests: Cecelia Escamelia-Greenwald
TOTAL: 15 board members and 1 club member attended the meeting.
Arun Sen called the meeting into session at 7:08PM. He asked for Rev.
Eileen Lindsay to start the meeting with an invocation. Eileen reported
that the day was a Jewish religious holiday and that our Jewish board
members (3 board members) should be excused. She then proceeded with the
invocation.
At this point in time, it was reported by G Richard Yamagata that Julia
Sanchez and Betty Weir both called to say that they were ill and could not
make the meeting.
AGENDA
MOTION/VOTE
The agenda was moved for approval as distributed with no changes. The order
of the agenda was changed before the meeting to allow the Newsletter Editor
to maker her presentation earlier in the meeting. Bob Bockwinkel made the
motion to approve, Carl Schmid seconded the motion. Bob Bockwinkel called
the question. The agenda was passed with no dissenting votes.
MINUTES
MOTION/VOTE
The acceptance of the March 6 minutes were moved by Bob Bockwinkel and
seconded by Mike Syvanen as distributed at the meeting. There were two
changes installed in these minutes. A third change not implemented was
explained by Mike Syvanen as an artifact of the by-laws and the way that the
meetings have been conducted. The minutes were passed by the board without
any objection.
PUBLIC COMMENT
Rick Gonzales announced that Mel Trujillo is in the hospital. It was
announced at this time that Julia Sanchez had sent flowers on behalf of the
club to Mary Lou Hernandez, who is also in the hospital. Julia will
coordinate with Rick on Thursday to send flowers and a card to Mel.
President Arun Sen authorized flowers to be sent to Mel on behalf of the club.
MINUTES AND REPORTS FROM OTHER CLUBS
Lyle Smith reported for the Yolo County Blue Action Democratic Club. They
will be having a general meeting on May 15th. Lyle stated that this club is
basically filling in a perceived need throughout the county. He also stated
that basically, this club will function like the "Beat Bush" orgranization.
Lyle reassured people that this organization is not in competition with
sister clubs, but is filling in where the other clubs cannot lead and in
areas that the clubs do not normally go. The Blue Action Democratic Club
will have 4 key fundraising events in the next 8 months throughout the
county. It will also be doing training for party campaign volunteer, one of
the workshops to be held this month of April. He also stated that Steve
Ybarra will be the keynote speaker at the May 15th event which will be held
at the Davis Odd Fellows Lodge.
UCDavis Campus Democrats and High School Young Dems
Carl Schmid made the comment that someone needs to be invited to the
meetings to make these reports. Carl suggested that we make UCDavis student
members, Club Affiliated Members. President Arun Sen said that this was a
good idea and gave permission to Carl to proceed with contacting UCDavis
College Dems and to offer them affilliate status. This would ensure that
they get copies of the newsletters.
YCDCC
The UCDavis College Dems and the Davis High School Young Dems both attended
the central committee meeting in preparation for the Democratic Party State
Convention. Rich Petersen has been working with both groups. The county
central committee voted to put money aside to sponsor representatives from
both clubs to attend and volunteer at the State Convention.
TREASURERS REPORT
Betty Weir was not at this meeting, but sent the treasurers report to the
board via Barbara Slemmons. At the beginning of March the club had
$1,340.28 in the bank.
For the month of March, the following was the state of our treasury:
March Balance: $1,340.28
INCOME
Dues $1,778.00
AT&T refund 13.83
Potluck income 57.00
TOTAL INCOME 1,848.88
EXPENSES
Postmaster 84.58
Office Max 13.38
Kinko's 90.51
Website/e-mail 97.50
TOTAL EXPENSE 286.37
April 1 Balance: $2,902.74
We have 88 paid members at this time.
DETAILS
The Office Max charges were for photocopies. The Kinko's charge was put
down at being for photocopy reproduction of the newsletter, but the
newsletter editor, Eileen Lindsay disputed this as the newsletter was
reproduced at Navin's. It was resolved that we would ask Betty at the next
meeting.
BUDGET COMMITTEE
The committee still has not met. There was a problem in that Rich Petersen
was made the chair of the committee, but he was not a member of the board.
He is an ex-officio representative from the YCDCC. It was suggested that
Carl Schmid be made the chair of the committee, but because he has so many
responsibilities already, it was suggested that Bill Ritter be made chair of
the committee. The task of the budget committee is to make projections
predicitng club and campaign expenses versus income. The idea is to build a
reserve which will be spent on the headquarters in election years (2008).
MOTION/VOTE
The motion was made by Carl Schmid to nominate Bill Ritter as chair of the
Budget Committee. This was seconded by Eileen Lindsay. The motion carried
with no dissenting votes.
It was noted that Betty Weir is a member of the Budget Committee. Other
members of that committee appointed in February were Mary Lou Hernandez, G
Richard Yamagata and Claire Black-Slotton.
SCHEDULING COMMITTEE
Claire Black-Slotton was not at this meeting, so no report was given.
NEWSLETTER
The President stated that he is pleased with the newsletter and that it was
very well done and he thinks that Eileen is doing a good job.
Eileen stated that she is moving to Walnut Creek and that she will not be
able to carry on with editing the newsletter after July 1.
Arun called for volunteers and suggestions from the board and to please let
him know about new candidates for newsletter editor.
Eileen stated that a letter to the editor came in and she was told that the
policy of the club is not to print letters to the editor by John Chendo.
Bob Bockwinkel clarified that the policy is to not let letters to the editor
monopolize the content of the newsletter. Eileen stated that reading the
letter, there was confusion over ad content and the actual newsletter
content. Bob stated that he by-law gives total editing powers to the
editor. As editor, Bob stated, Eileen can adjust ads to avoid confusion.
At this point the editor as part of the Executive Committee was discussed.
It was concluded that the By-Laws Committee would once again meet. G
Richard Yamagata is to e-mail out a copy of the by-laws and a copy of the
previously revised by-laws, if they could be found. G Richard Yamagata
pointed out that the board was given a copy of the by-laws in their blue
folders. President Arun stated that people may have misplaced their blue
folders and that he should re-e-mail the by-laws to the board members. If
copies of the revised by-laws could not be re-located, the by-laws committee
would begin again from scratch.
Arun stated that he would appoint the by-laws committee. He and G Richard
Yamagata would be two members of the committee and more appointments will
follow.
GENERAL MEETINGS
The upcoming April 26th General Meeting was discussed. John Chendo was
absent from the meeting and it was stated that no one knew who the speaker
was going to be at the meeting.
MOTION
Bob Bockwinkel once again made the motion that David Dionysis be invited as
keynote speaker to "Teach Peace." The motion was seconded by G Richard
Yamagata. There was no vote on this motion.
President Arun Sen stated that John Chendo should approach David Dionysis
and that he would talk to him to find out if he had invited David to speak
at the meeting [At the March meeting Bob had made a similar motion and
Richard has seconded and no vote as made on this issue, but Arun had asked
John Chendo to research the issue of having David Dionysis speak].
The March general meeting went well, but Bob Bockwinkel felt that not
knowing who the keynote speaker was, hurt attendence. Claire spoke about
attending "Camp Wellstone" and did a great job at presenting, but attendence
was low with only 18 people attending.
It was felt by the board and generally agreed that the May General Meeting
would be well attended with Lyle Smith and Rich Petersen incharge of
promoting and talking at that meeting.
It was also felt by board members that attended the March meeting that there
was plenty of good food that was disproportionate to the number of people
that attended.
It was stated that an e-mail announcement went out the day after the March
Board meeting, but it was felt that still need to send out an announcement
of who will be speaking. No one saw an announcement in the Enterprise for
this meeting.
President Arun Sen suggested that in the Fall of 2007, the club should
invite the 8th Assembly primary candidates to come speak and address the
club. Each candidate would have time to present a statement, followed by a
2 way question and answer period.
It was stated that for future meetings, suggestions should be solicited in
the newsletter. The person suggesting the event will be asked to chair the
general meeting. Bob Bockwinkel stated that it should be a requirement for
the person that suggests a topic of the meeting to contact and get 100
people to the meeting. No vote or motion was made to support this idea.
GENERAL MEETING -- MARCH
The Potluck suggestion for March 29th was:
A-I Bring a salad dish (green, macaroni, or potato or other)
J-R Bring a dessert
S-Z Bring a main dish]
The speaker was Claire Black-Slotton
The location was the Blanchard Room, Library Yolo County Davis Branch
GENERAL MEETING -- APRIL
The April meeting will be on April 26 from 7 to 9PM at the Davisville
Apartments Community Room, The speaker will possibly be David Dionysis [This
all changed: time, place and speaker]
For the April meeting, suggested potluck items will be:
A-I Bring a dessert
J-R Bring a main dish
S-Z Bring a salad dish (green, macaroni, or potato or other
Barbara Slemmons said that she would step up and arrange the picture in the
Enterprise for this event. She will be gone in May. To do this, she needs
to know who the speaker will be. Arun stated that John Chendo would
telephone her with the name of the speaker, who would probably be David
Dionysis.
GENERAL MEETING -- MAY
The May meeting will be on May 22nd from 6-9PM at the Blanchard Room.
Lyle stated that the meeting would be an activities meeting. We will be
promoting for November elections, the parcel tax to support the schools, a
bond to support the county libraries, and a possible second parcel tax to
keep all the schools open in Davis. More research is needed by the school
board before a decision is made for the second parcel tax. The meeting will
center on training techniques to get people to the polls and prepare the way
for the club to campaign in the Fall.
Eileen stated that she will print something in the newsletter. Lyle stated
that he could get text to her before the next newsletter was sent to the
printers. Eileen also suggested that the event be videotaped. Lyle said
that he would look into getting someone to do that.
Lyle stated that there will be an Alliance for Democracy campaign training
session on May 14th and 15th.
For the May meeting, suggested potluck items will be:
A-I Bring a main dish
J-R Bring a salad dish (green, macaroni, or potato or other
S-Z Bring a dessert
JUNE EVENT - Champaigne Brunch
President Arun Sen said that he would call the Cooks for the Date. G
Richard Yamagata stated that Betty usually calls the Cooks and stated that
she had planned to start calling them. Arun stated that both he and Betty
would call and get the date for this event.
It was suggested that John Garamendi Sr would speak at this event as the
keynote speaker. Betty knows John Garamendi Sr and as long as we ask far
enough in advance, he should come speak. It was stated that if John
Garmendi Sr comes to speak, that Lois Wolk needs to be invited to say a few
words. Arun stated that he will talk to John Chendo about getting John
Garamendi Sr invited to speak at this event.
FOURTH OF JULY BOOTH
Arun Sen stated that the City of Davis needs our Tax ID number. It was
generally agreed that Arun needs to ask Betty for the number, since it is on
all of our financial statements.
It was questioned by Carl Schmid as to whether or not we should do the booth
on 4th of July. Carl stated that it was decided that Betty Weir was to
present a report at this meeting on the financials of the event -- how much
money was made at this event last year and how much was made when we had the
beer license. The recording secretary, G Richard Yamagata, remembered such
a request being made at the March Board Meeting, but it was not put in the
minutes.
Barbara Slemmons stated that this event is good public relations for the
club and that the Republicans are usually there as a booth. She did not
feel that we would get as much exposure with the local populace of Davis as
we would from a Davis Farmer's Market booth. [Last year the Royal Order of
the Pachyderms represented the Republicans at a booth.]
G Richard Yamagata stated that Betty stated that all the baked goods for the
event were all sold, but the price was too low to make any money for the
club. She stated that we need to sell the baked goods at a higher price.
Bill Ritter stated that we should be there at 4th of July in the Park. We
need to be out there promoting and selling Democratic values to the public.
We should have presidential primary information, pictures, buttons and
t-shirts out at this booth.
Lyle Smith seconded thei statement saying that we need to have provocative
promotional material at this event, to get emotions high and motivate people
to act. We could have t-shirts and bumper stickers that say, "Impeach
Bush." We also need to register people at the booth, which would involve
Rich Petersen and present board meeting guest Cecilia Escameila Greenwald.
Bob Bockwinkel spoke in favor of the club having a booth at this event.
Julia Hunter-Blair stated that more and more people are coming out against
the war. We should have material at the booth for this.
Jim Provenza stated that we should have materials and people from all of the
clubs, including the Yolo County Blue Action club and the UCDavis campus
Dems and the High School Young Dems.
It was generally agreed that we would sell both soft drinks and baked goods.
There was no committee appointed at this meeting, as stated would be done at
the last meeting, but Lyle Smith said he would coordinate all of the groups
to be at this event.
The booth, it was decided after much discussion, as was decided at the March
meeting, it is important to push the Davis Democratic Club in front of the
community of Davis and Democrats infront of those that come from other parts
of the county for the fireworks.
[Please note the following: It was decided at the March meeting that a
committee will futher deal with concerns about signage for the booth and
what information will be distributed at the booth, including party
literature and candidate literature.
At the March meeting, Eileen Lindsay asked if a committee is not formed at
the next meeting (April), if it would not be better for us to put our energy
in tabling at the Davis Farmer's Market. She went further to even suggest
that we might pick up volunteers at the Davis Farmer's Market for public
events (like tabling and 4th of July booth).]
MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE
Committee chair Carl Schmid reported that the membership list had been moved
from 3x5 cards into an Excel file with addresses and phone numbers the month
before (Feburary). This month he reported that the first copies of the
Excel file were distributed to the Newsletter Editor, Eileen Lindsay and the
Vice President and chair of the COMMUNITY OUTREACH COMMITTEE, John Chendo,
as ordered by the board at the March Meeting.
Precinct Captains -- Betty Weir has compiled the precinct lists with the
board officers and club members lists. Carl will generate the lists and
serve as an intermediary and send them to Lyle, who will coordinate the
precinct captains. There will be a report at the next board meeting.
It was discussed that we are not doing better at contacting the young
people. Carl suggested that we designate students, college and high school,
as affilliate members. We should get their e-mail addresses and at least
get the e-mail addresses of the presidents and vice presidents.
Lyle stated that Rich Petersen is working with the Yolo Young Democrats. He
can get the needed contact information fo those officers.
Bill Ritter went over the successful past history of the Davis Democratic
Club and the UCDavis Campus Young Democrats. Lyle stated that he will be
meeting with the UCDavis campus Dems tomorrow and he can collect the e-mail
addresses and inform them of their being awarded affilliate member status
and invite the vice president and president to the next board meeting. Lyle
will send the e-mail addresses to Carl Schmid.
Jim Provenza will talk to the High School Young Dems, get their e-mail
addresses and forward them to Carl Schmid.
MOTION
Bob Bockwinkel made the motion that the club allocate money to send students
to the convention. There was no second to this motion and Barbara stated
that we need to see the students at a meeting before allocating money.
Again, Carl Schmid will contact the UCDavis Dems along with Lyle Smith and
Jim Provenza will contact the high school Dems and both will report (Carl
and Jim) at the next board meeting.
OUTREACH COMMITTEE
Jim Provenza addressed the board on the 9 schools open issue. The motion
failed 3 to 2 with Jim and Sheila voting to keep the 9 schools open. There
is discussion to place a second parcel tax on the ballot with the funds to
keep Valley Oak School open. A poll is being taken to see if such an item
will hurt the parcel tax that is already planned for the ballot. Jim stated
that he appreciated the support from the board on the keep 9 schools open
issue.
As part of the OUTREACH COMMITTEE, it was stated that Judy Reynolds is still
working on the Northern California Democratic Club coordination project.
She will be reporting to the club in May.
YEAR AROUND HEADQUARTERS
President Arun Sen reported on hit talk with Rich Petersen concerning the
year around headquarters. It is Arun's understanding that the Yolo County
Blue Action Democrats, the State Democratic Party and the County Central
Committee will all put money into a year around headquarters. Arun stated
that he can have Andrea Jones come to the next meeting to talk about a year
around headquarters.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Arun Sen announced that at the next General Meeting on April 26, he will ask
that Carl Schmid be elected to the office of Membership Chair as provided by
the by-laws, re-activating this elected office.
Another announement was that two tickets were made available to the club for
their sponsorship of the Mike Thompson fundraiser. Rick will coordinate
with Arun and Carl to turn these tickets into 5 high school and 5 college
student tickets, wo students can go for free to this event.
Lyle and Pam Nieberg announnced a phone banking campaign against the Dixon
race track. They will be only calling Dems in Dixon.
Jim Provenza announced that he was runnning for County Supervisor in June
'08 for the 4th Supervisorial District in Yolo County.
NEXT BOARD MEETING
The next board meetings will be on May 1 starting at 7PM at the Yolo County
Library in the Blanchard Room. The June meeting will be on June 5 and can
start as early as 6PM. It was previously decided that we will have a July 3
meeting (first Tuesday), the day before 4th of July in the Park. It was
still too early to reserve the Blanchard Room for that date.
Bob Bockwinkel made the motion to adjourn the meeting. Mike Syvanen
seconded the motion. President Arun Sen adjourned the meeting at 8:58PM.
These Minutes are respectively submitted,
G Richard Yamagata
G Richard Yamagata PhD
CEO/President VME Inc. http://www.vme.net/
G Richard Yamagata is a member of the Davis Community Network Board of
Directors, Secretary of the Board of Directors for the Davis Democratic
Club, President of the board of Virtual Market Enterprises, Inc,
Secretary-Treasurer of the board of the Davis Progressive Business
Exchange and communications liason for the Independent Order of
Oddfellows Chapter 169 and the Business Link of Woodland and Davis.
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