News from the Ojai Valley Democratic Club
Come out and meet the Democratic Candidates for the Democratic Nomination to go up against Elton Gallegly in November.
Where: Ojai Art Center
When: Monday April 26th, 7PM
Many people in Ojai know Sue, not just through her work with the OVDC and the California Democratic Party, but through her volunteer work in everything from the OVGC to affordable housing and the homeless task force. Come help us celebrate this wonderful member of our community.
When: Monday, Jan 25th at 7 pm
Where: Ojai Art Center
113 S. Montgomery St
Ojai, CA 93023
Potluck information and Details after the break.
It is with sadness that I must report that our Secretary and Financial Officer, Sue Broidy, is leaving Ojai and moving to Colorado next month. It is not mere hyperbole to say that Sue has been like a force of nature in Democratic politics here in Ventura County. In addition to serving as our prime motivator and Secretary here in Ojai, she is also the Region 10 Director for the California Democratic Party.
I have often marveled at Sue’s energy and dedication which propels her, on her own dime in her own car, from the Monterey County line to Los Angeles in the service of the Democratic Party and democracy.
In addition to her volunteer work for the Democrats, she is also a Director and Resource Chair for the Ojai Valley Green Coalition, a member of the Ventura County Homeless Task Force and until recently she sat on the board of the McCune Foundation Grant Committee. This is but a partial list of Sue’s affiliations and achievments.
Her ability to keep tabs on all facets of national, state, regional, county and local politics will be sorely missed and impossible to replace.
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Come and join us for a potluck at the Ojai Art Center. If you are interested in bringing something, please read the following:
People with last names ending in
A-G bring a salad,
H-S bring a main dish,
T -Z desserts.
UPDATE – Also, a bottle of wine or other libation is greatly appreciated, though we do need volunteers to participate in the potluck.
2nd Update – I’m currently cooking the best Chicken Andouille and Shrimp Gumbo ever. Also, you need not be a member of the OVDC to come and try some. Just come on out and say farewell to Sue.
If you would like to assist in planning and setup for the party please contact Carol Smith at csmit2u@yahoo.com.
Congress will be moving forward with healthcare reform legislation in the coming weeks. The draft bill was scheduled to be released the week of June 15 and has been slowly move through different committees. We want to ensure that real reform really happens. Come and listen to some great speakers, learn more about Single Payer and take action with letter writing.
Speakers:
Al Stroberg, an Ojai resident for 17 years, with a great interest in and personal knowledge of medical care delivery systems.
Dr Rochelle Wilson, an Ojai Valley physician with a B.S is in Nutrition and Food Science from Cal State Long Beach. Medical school was the College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific and residency was at University of California, Irvine. As a family physician for 25 years I continually deal with the serious dysfunction of a system that challenges, if not impairs, the quality of the doctor-patient relationship.
Dr. Bill Honigman Progressive Democrats of America, California State Coordinator
Garrett Clifford, an Ojai Valley resident with experience in the health care industry
Refreshments will be available. Small donations always welcome
For more information call 640 7340 or visit the Ojai Valley Democrats website
June’s book is:
The second meeting of the OVD Book Club will be on Friday June 26th at 7:30PM. Sorry for the short notice here on the county Democrats site, but the main book we are reading is fairly short. I encourage anyone who is interested in this issue to read the book and come up and join us in Ojai. It’s a relaxed evening where we will be discussing the book and all of the economics and implications surrounding the issue(s). We will also have a recent interview with the auther on the Thom Hartmann Show to listen to. Oh, and there will be wine and cheese. Come on up!
Time: 7:30 pm
Location: 410 Church Road #29, Ojai, CA 93023
(Please park on Church and Walk into the condo development.)
The following is from the Professor of Cognitive Science and Linguistics at the University of California, Berkeley, George Lakoff. He is also a very good political strategist who understands framing and its importance in political debate.
“The Democratic leadership should listen to its grassroots.They should immediately stop negotiating with the governor and other Republicans on how to destroy even more of what makes our state human. The Democrats, as a whole body, not just the leadership, should assert their majority, decide for themselves how they want to deal with the shortfall, and then invite the defeated Republicans publicly to join them and take their proposals to the public, first organizing serious grassroots support. “
We must immediately reject the frame that the Governor and the Republicans are trying to put on this special election. They are trying to claim that the voters have spoken and that they/we want cuts and only cuts. Already some moderate and weak Democrats in the legislature are beginning to parrot this idiocy. It is important that we reach out to our Democratic Assembly members and Senators and let them know that we want them to fight, not just cut cut cut. I could go into my justifications for this position, but I think I will rely on some people that know much more about polling and what actually happened in this election instead. From a polling memo by David Binder Research, here are the facts on this recent special election:
Contrary to what the Governor is saying after the defeat of his proposals, Prop 1A did not fail because voters delivered a message to “go all out” in cutting government spending. The all-time record low turnout for a statewide special election clearly demonstrates the lack of depth to that argument. Prop 1A did not generate a spike in turnout and taxes were not cited as the main reason why voters overwhelmingly rejected Prop 1A. Support for a state budget that relies solely on spending cuts is very limited – even among those voting no on Prop 1a.
Voters in this election were more likely to be Republicans and less likely to be Independents, whereas Democratic voters came out in proportions consistent with past turnout. Of those that voted in this election, 43% were Democrats, 42% were Republicans and 15% were Independents or minor party voters. This past November, the electorate consisted of 46% Democrats, 32% Republicans and 22% Independents or minor party voters.
In November 2010, the electorate will be a group that is more supportive of the revenue options tested in the survey, and more strongly opposed to only using cuts to balance the state budget. While only 36% of voters that turned out for the May 19th election supported using entirely budget cuts to balance the budget, even fewer – only 24% — of non-voters felt the same way.
As I’ve been writing recently the real culprits in this situation are the 2/3 rules that give inordinate, undemocratic power to the minority party. We need to stand up and point the finger at the Republicans and dare them to destroy the largest economy in the entire United States. If they choose this incredibly irresponsible option, we need to hold them accountable by any legal means necessary. These may include recall proceedings on reckless, recalcitrant Republican Senators who obstruct and refuse to compromise on their already demonstrably failed ideology. Further, we need to target the 2/3 rules and eliminate their undemocratic influences. It is irrational to cling to the same failed, anti-tax, free-market ideology of the likes Grover Norquist. Our own State Senator, Tony Strickland, won his Senate seat by the thinnest of margins, yet he ignored at least 50% of his constituency and stood against passing a reasonable budget. Now that the special election has failed it is time to get to work on repealing the 2/3 rules and returning Democracy to California. More from George Lakoff:
The Democratic leadership should immediately take the initiative on a 2010 ballot measure, a supremely simple one-sentence measure. It would go something like this:All budgetary and revenue issues shall be decided by a majority vote in both houses of the legislature.
One sentence. Simple. Straightforward. Understandable. And democratic. It should be called the California Democracy Act. From grade school on, we associate democracy with majority rule. It will make sense to voters – at last!
The term “revenue” would cover taxes without waving a red flag.
Up to now, Democrats have been acting like sheep being herded by the Republican minority. They need to show courage and stand up for what they believe. That’s what the voters are waiting for… The voters have spoken. You Democratic office-holders have(sic) chance to come out on the side of the voters. Take it!
Now, this is likely to be an ugly fight and we need to be prepared for the long haul. In addition to the repeal of the 2/3 rules, we have another good idea lying around that we should pursue. The Constitutional Convention. I’ve been researching this possibility whereby delegates would get together and either revise or change entirely the state’s Constitution. Just this morning I was converted to be supporter of a Constitutional Convention. My initial fears centered around just who exactly these delegates would be. I was, and am still concerned about the process by which decisions would be made on any new Constitution, but many of my fears were allayed by a person with far more understanding of the process than I. Blogger and Public Policy Director for the Courage Campaign, Robert Cruickshank addressed my fears on Calitics:
1. There are two possible routes to a convention. The first is the existing route – 2/3 of the Legislature votes to call one. Under Article 18 of the Constitution delegates would then be elected by Assembly district. There is some gray area here – how many delegates per district? Would the convention’s scope be limited to exclude social issues? (One method is to say the convention cannot propose to voters anything amending Article 1). It’s unclear whether a 2/3 majority can be obtained for a convention in this Legislature. The obstacle would not necessarily be the GOP, but instead might be established interests who fear what a convention might do.The second route is through two initiatives. “Prop A” would change the Constitution to allow voters to call a convention without the Legislature. “Prop B” would then actually call the convention pursuant to the approval of Prop A. Prop B is where the key details would be – how are delegates picked? What would the scope be?
2. The key debate over the details will indeed be how delegates are picked. Some want a “jury” style method, such as the British Columbia Citizens Assembly used (where a random sample gets sent a request to serve, those who want to serve send it back, and that gets whittled down to a certain number through various processes). Others want a election process. That could be big and progressive – say, 15 per assembly district, elected under public financing rules. There are Voting Rights Act and maybe even Prop 209 considerations to this, although one could write the initiative to specifically exempt it from Prop 209. We could also exempt current and former legislators, as Montana did in their Con-Con in 1972.
3. It is possible that a Con-Con push could suck air away from 2/3rds. My own view is we need to fight a multi-front war. A Con-Con would not present its recommendations to voters until 2011 or 2012. We could get a 2/3rds change on the November 2010 ballot.
4. This is by no means a Republican trick. The Courage Campaign has backed this ever since 90%+ of our members said “yes” to the idea in September. The Bay Area Council are a group of moderates, are by no means anti-government wackos, and understand and embrace the goals of empowerment. We have other progressive groups like Common Cause on board and we’re working in building a bigger coalition. Sure, the Republicans and the C of C will want to game it. But that’s why we go to the people. That’s why we empower the people through a Convention.
I cannot imagine that a convention comprised of the people would embrace Republican solutions. Those solutions are deeply unpopular. Even if the convention did propose that, we can kill it when it goes before voters for ratification (they would ratify the package as an up-or-down vote).
5. The status quo is a failure. We cannot continue like this – and in fact, we will not continue like this. We have had a slow-motion Constitutional Convention since 1978, driven mostly by the right. Arnold’s proposals have all be amendments to the Constitution. Some of these have already passed – like Prop 11. Others will pass, like the open primary. If we don’t get out in front via a Convention of the people, progressives will fall behind and the Constitution will change through other means into something more conservative.
We need to contact our Democratic State Senators and Assembly members let them know that we have their back. That we want them to fight and not cut. That we want a repeal of the 2/3 rules. That it is okay to behave like the majority party.
Here is a list of Democratic State Senators and Assembly members in our area. Unfortunately here in Ojai we are represented by Republicans, Tony Strickland in the 19th District in the Senate and his wife Audra Strickland in the 37th Assembly District. I’ll include their information, though they will not listen to us:
ASSEMBLY
37th – N Ventura County and NW LA County – Strickland, Audra (916) 319-2037 – Room 4208 – email
35th – SB County -Nava, Pedro (916) 319-2035 – Room 2148 – email
40th – W LA County – Blumenfield, Bob (916) 319-2040 – Room 6011 – email
41st – S Ventura County and W LA County- Brownley, Julia (916) 319-2041 – Room 2163 – email
42nd – LA County – Feuer, Mike (916) 319-2042 – Room 3146 – Assemblymember.Feuer@assembly.ca.gov
44th – LA County- Portantino, Anthony J. (916) 319-2044 – Room 2003 – Assemblymember.Portantino@assembly.ca.gov
53rd – SW LA County – Lieu, Ted W. (916) 319-2053 – Room 3173 – Assemblymember.Lieu@assembly.ca.gov
57th – E LA County – Hernandez, Edward P. (916) 319-2057 – Room 4112 – Assemblymember.Hernandez@assembly.ca.gov
SENATE
19th – SB County and Central Ventura County – Strickland, Tony – email
Thousand Oaks Sacramento Santa Barbara
(805) 494-8808 (805) 965-0862 (916) 651-4019
16th – Kern County – Florez, Dean – email
Fresno Sacramento Bakersfield
(559) 264-3070 (916) 651-4016 (661) 395-2620
20th – E. Ventura County and W. LA – Padilla, Alex – email
Van Nuys Sacramento
(818) 901-5588 (916) 651-4020
21st – LA – Liu, Carol – email
Glendale Sacramento
(626) 683-0282 (916) 651-4021
23rd – W LA – Pavley, Fran – email
Santa Monica Sacramento
310-314-5214 (916) 651-4023
24th – SE LA – Romero, Gloria – senator.romero@sen.ca.gov
Los Angeles Sacramento Baldwin Park
(323) 881-0100 (916) 651-4024 (626) 337-2760
25th – S LA – Wright, Rod – email
Inglewood Sacramento Long Beach
(310) 412-0393 (916) 651-4025 (562) 427-1028
27th – S LA – Lowenthal, Alan – senator.lowenthal@sen.ca.gov
Long Beach Sacramento Paramount
(562) 495-4766 (916) 651-4027 (562) 529-6659
28th – S LA – Oropeza, Jenny – email
Redondo Beach Sacramento
(310) 318-6994 (916) 651-4028
Call or email these folks and let them know that you support them and that you want to see them fight against the undemocratic 2/3 rules and place the blame where it belongs, on the minority party.
To my mind, getting a functional California out of this is the ultimate goal. We are the richest economy within the richest country on Earth. There are so many things we could do here in our state that would help everyone. Just take our vehicle fuel efficiency and reduced greenhouse gas emissions efforts for instance. We have the highest standards in the country and in most of the world. Tuesday, President Obama made California’s standards the new national standards. That’s a far cry from the dark days of the Bush Administration when we were told that we couldn’t set our own standards. Of course it was kind of funny that Schwarzenegger was invited by Obama to the announcement in DC just as the Governator was being severely beaten here at home.
CALIFORNIA STATE DEMOCRATIC PARTY CONVENTION
Really really crowded here in Sacramento today. A lot of people and a lot of excitement. The Progressive Caucus is starting right now and it is the largest caucus. I’ll post updates and news on this article below the fold throughout the convention.
Info on all the resolutions will be uploaded later.
DAY 3
Update 6:
Home again in Ojai. Yea! Though now I hear about a gang violence incident and I’m saddened and angered. My niece knew the victim.
I’m going to update all that happened at the end of the convention. -
First, after the propositions that I’ve already covered, we went into the resolutions phase. The final bit of business before we all go home. The way it works is that every odd year there are resolutions that are submitted by the various central committees throughout the state. These can be about anything, all the way up to and including national issues. As the largest state, in terms of population, and the largest economy in the country this is not surprising. Anyway, on even years the convention sets the platform in the same fashion. This being an odd year, it’s resolutions.
This year there were 15 resolutions. Four that dealt with party business, eight that dealt with statewide issues, two that dealt with Federal and State issues and one that dealt with International/Foreign Policy issues. The latter was the resolution that calls for an investigation Judge(now) Jay Bybee and Others for their role in allowing torture as part of “enhanced interrogation”. After having witnessed the process of democracy for the propositions, I was leery of dealing with 15 new items. However, as luck would have it, the process is as follows. First, the issues as a whole are presented for people to “pull” the ones that they wish to debate on the floor. Then the ones that were not “pulled” are voted on together, as one yes or no with no debate. In this way 13 of the 15 resolutions passes, including the one about torture.
That left two. The fun and games began when now former Regional Director of our own 10th District, Bob Handy pulled Resolution SAC 09.18A “A Call for Hearings & Reaffirmation of the Party’s support of a Moratorium on the Death Penalty”.
Bob Handy pulling the resolution.
Now, before you start getting all pissy at Bob, he was pulling the resolution because he wanted to insert different language that actually made it stronger. Bob was for calling for an Abolition of the Death Penalty here in California. Unfortunately, procedures were not followed during the resolution committee meeting earlier in the weekend that the seekers of complete abolition needed to follow in order to change the resolution. As a result, people had a conniption when he brought it up on the floor. The upshot is that there is something called a friendly vs an unfriendly amendment. A friendly amendment is like changing a single word, etc. An unfriendly amendment is when someone tries to fundamentally change the issue at hand. The issue at hand is the word moratorium vs the word abolition. Apparently, and please correct any and all errors I make in this blog, a moratorium would cease the death penalty in California while leaving those currently on death row at risk of death dependent on the Governor, while an abolition means that the death penalty is gone, totally.
Now realize that there is a LARGE invisible clock ticking, not just the one represented by everybody’s wish to go home. As these things come down to the wire and as people become heated, there is the ever increasing possibility that someone, anyone, will call for a quorum vote. As this is all going on, people have either not shown up on a Sunday or they have had to catch a plane or they have simply assumed that it will all work out and they left. This means that there is an ever dwindling number of people and we become vulnerable to a quorum call to see if there are even enough people to hold a vote. If this happens and there isn’t a quorum, the convention ends and the remaining resolutions are finished and not passed.
To make matters worse, at least as far as this delegate is concerned, the lady running the show up in the podium has a very confusing manner of dealing with things.
She was very commanding and competent, but for the life of me I couldn’t figure out what was going on. I wasn’t alone. Anyway, it became apparent that we were now in jeopardy of not finishing the business with regard to the death penalty and the other resolution I will go into later. Someone did call for a quorum, but when it was explained to him that the final resolution that I will go into in a minute would likely be tabled also, he took his quorum call back. Well, the abolition folks came up and said that while they would prefer a complete abolition and then they told us all about the “money pit” that our death penalty represents, they said that they did not want this resolution to go down to defeat and said they would support it as is. More confusion emanated from the podium but the convention was having none of it. We basically demanded an up or down vote and exactly two people voted against the resolution. Fun.
Now on to the last resolution: And this one is exciting too. Oil Severance. Therefore be it resolved, that the California Democratic Party believes the State should levy an extraction tax on oil and natural gas to directly fund all three segments of public higher education in California and provide educational opportunities to qualified students, and be it further resolved, that copies of this resolution be sent to all Democratic state legislators asking them to urgently work toward these goals.
Kick Ass! Right!
Well this man didn’t think so and he pulled the resolution. To be honest, I couldn’t really follow his argument. Even Texas has an extraction tax and the tuition to attend the University of Texas is $2,000.00 a year according to one of the delegates who got up in favor of the resolution. Again, pleases feel free to correct me. Anyway, the clock was ticking. Then the dreaded happened. A quorum call…
from this lady. Well, at this point all those remaining in the hall, probably not a quorum were really upset. This picture was taken as Ventura County’s own David Atkins and KK Holland, along with the not insubstantial goading of the whole convention and now former Chair Art Torres, convinced her to rescind her quorum call. The resolution passed by a gargantuan margin. 
Homeward Bound
This was my view as I drove home through Taft on the 33. Some people see oil extraction, but now I see less expensive college tuition for our children. Hell, I might even be willing to talk slant drilling.
OVER AND OUT
Update 1:
Woke up refreshed today, possibly because I didn’t drink a whole lot of red wine last night. Kept it tame despite the free dinner at the Red to Blue Grassroots dinner last night. Today is the big day, at least to me. Of course, this is also the short day. Strange. We’ll be voting on the resolutions for the Party today as well as the official position of the party on the resolutions on the ballot on May 19th. This is kind of the real work of the convention whereas the rest is largely networking and power brokering.
First up is the resolutions. In the vote were we all held up our cards, 58 percent were for a Yes position on 1A. I am extremely ambivalent to this prop. The rules state that 60 percent is required for the Party to have a position. The party will now take no stance with regard to 1A. The party appears to reflect my ambivalence.
Update 2:
Prop 1B will be supported by the party.
Sadly, Prop 1C will be will also be supported by the party. 1C is the prop that will allow future earnings of the Lottery to be securitized so the state can issue bonds and fill the 40+ billion dollar budget hole. It is astonishing to me that after the collapse of the financial sector that we’ve been witnessing; a collapse that happened because of securitized instruments like CDOs and CDSs and our bubble, casino capitalism. It’s strange that the idea to fix the budget shortfall that is a direct result of the misdeeds of Wall St. and our bubble economy will itself cause another bubble and more white collar crime on the part of the financial sector. Really really dumb.
Voting on 1C.
Update 3:
1D Children’s Services did not reach the required 60 percent so the Party will remain neutral on the prop. 1E Mental Health Services Funding is being discussed now.
Update 4:
1E did not get anywhere near 60 percent. The Party position on 1E is now neutral. Prop 1F Elected Officials’ Salaries is being discussed now. As with all the other props, there will be three speakers for and three speakers for then a visual vote and possibly a count if the visual vote looks close.
Update 5:
Here’s my station as I’m blogging all this here on the floor of the convention, literally.
By the way, Prop 1F will be a recommended Yes by the Party. So for those of you looking for an easy reference for the Propositions and the position of the CDP here they are:
Prop 1A State Budget Change = Neutral
Prop 1B Education Funding = Yes
Prop 1C Lottery Modernization(Read License to Steal) = Yes
Prop 1D Children’s Services = Neutral
Prop 1E Mental Health Services Funding = Neutral
………………………………………
DAY 2
Update 1:
Taking the Sacramento Rapid Transit light rail and my bicycle to the convention today from Fair Oaks where I’m staying. I’l need to get a bike lock on the way, I never lock the bike up in Ojai so I don’t have a lock. The agenda has a lot of speakers, John Garamendi, Bill Lockyer, Jerry Brown, Antonio Villaraigosa, Gavin Newsom, etc. All the heavies are speaking, I better get going.
Update 2:
Boxer was just up. She’s my favorite Senator. The crowd loved her and they really cheered when she said she was NEVER afraid of Dick Cheney.
Update 3:
Jerry Brown ladies and gents. The next governor of the great state of California.
Jerry pointed out that when he went to college here in California, prisons were 3 percent of the budget. Now, as he begins his campaign for Governor, prisons are the same percentage of the budget as the colleges. He also pointed out that when he was governor and passed laws to conserve energy here in California, he was given the derisive nickname “Moonbeam”. Well, in the last 26 years since he was governor our per capita energy usage has remained a flat line. It has not gone up while all the other states have skyrocketed. Jerry for Governor again!
Update 4:
Posting in comments as comp is down. The election for Region 10 Director is happening now. Ojai’s own Sue Broidy is up against Julie Lopez Dad. There’s currently a fight going on about re-opening credentials for voting. This was brought by one Jim Hensley. That will name will have meaning for those that are familiar with the Ventura county dems. Suffice to say he is against Sue. Very contentious.
Sue speaking to the Region 10 Caucus
SUE WINS! 88 to 33
The new Region 10 Director
Update 5:
Nancy Pelosi just finished speaking. She spoke about all the great Democrats from California that are playing a role in the Obama Administration and the Congress. She said that Universal quality health care would be a reality this year. She did not utter the words “single payer”. At one point during her speech, someone shouted “Prosecute Bush”. Unfortunately the call was not compounded, but Pelosi heard it and she faltered ever so slightly. My impression is that the forces for real progressive change are building. Professional politicians like Nancy Pelosi are extremely sensitive to shifts in power. It is their number one defining sense. The first female Speaker of the House and the first Californian Speaker of the House has the power of peoples House, the Senate and the Executive behind her. The Democrats hold the majority. All she needs is some gentle pressure from us.
Update 6:
The big election for the Chair, Vice Chair, and Controller. Since I’m writing this after the fact, I can tell you that John Burton won for chair, Alex Rooker for vice chair and Hilary Crosby for controller of the party. No real surprise on the first two, but the controller is a bit of a change up in the progressive direction.
My vote accomplished. The new chair John Burton is an accomplished political operator and an asset to the state party despite his recalcitrance toward technology. I’m going out on a limb here as I’ve been told that he has a bit of a reputation for being vindictive, but I was not all the impressed with the way he used the young democrats on the stage when he was being officially nominated for the Chair. The young dems were all up on the stage and they were all enthusiastic holding his sign and cheering and he didn’t really acknowledge then. I heard a prominent Ventura Democrat say that it looked to him/her like John was just using the young dems as a prop. All that said, I still support John Burton for the good of the party. I voted in what seemed to me a more progressive direction more to send a message than to actually get a different result. He is an exceptionally good operator and the only thing we need to ensure is that we seriously cultivate the grassroots and that will take copious amounts of technology. In short, please buy a computer John. The young Dems can help you with the setup/install, etc.
Update 7:
After the voting and that line, we need a break. Our trip to the old Governor’s mansion and subsequent tour put on by Jerry Brown for Governor was a lot of fun.
Check that TV.
Gotta love claw foot tubs.
Update 7:
.
Sandra Kinsler and Howard Dean
I was lucky enough to get to go to the Red to Blue Grassroots dinner because Brian and Sandra had an extra ticket. Even better, the ticket they had was for a vegetarian which I happen to be. During this convention it has continually struck me that the vast majority of the energy in the state party is on the progressive side. This dinner essentially confirmed this impression. This dinner had all of the people who are working to turn red areas of our state blue. The real movers and shakers, yuck I hate that phrase, were at this dinner including Howard Dean who was the keynote speaker.
Sue Broidy, the new Region 10 Director and prominent progressive mover and shaker, there I go again, speaking at the dinner.
………………………………………………...
Day 1
Update 1:
The Progressive Caucus is changing its bylaws and there is a lot of talk about the new changes. The most controversial change is the proposed change in the Chair. Currently there are North and a South Co-Chairs. The new bylaws are trying to make just one Chairperson so that there are no longer any geological divisions in the caucus so it can better throw its weight around. Considering that this is the largest caucus in the state party, it makes sense. They are about to vote on an amendment about the combining of Sec/Tres to further streamline the AT LARGE board members. An amendment has been made to keep the the Sec and Tres as two different board positions.
Update 2:
The amendment has passes so there will be one chair and two vice chairs a Sec AND a Treas. The new bylaws are now going to the floor for a vote. They are counting the vote on the new bylaws with the amendment now.
Update 3:
The bylaws have passed with the amendment. Now the meeting can start, but we only have 26 min.left.
Update 4:
AG Jerry Brown put in an appearance, walking through. Is he our next Governor? A lot of good things were placed into the overall party’s platform. Let me hear single payer.
Update
5: This is a really good caucus and the best part of the Democratic
Party, by far. They are flexing their muscles and starting to seriously
effect legislation in our state. I’m signing up to be a liaison for the
caucus in our Assembly District. Battery dying, PEACE OUT.
Title: “Fertilizing the Grassroots- Cultivating Change in our own Backyard” – An Exciting Conference for Progressive Individuals and Organizations
Location: Oak Grove School, Ojai, CA
Link out: Click here
Description: The purpose is to inspire collaborative alliances that support organizations, find common ground and realize community change.
The “Open Space Conference format” will enable all participants to actively contribute, making this a very positive and meaningful event. Rather than passively listening to external speakers or a panel of experts, attendees will determine the program’s content by having the opportunity to present a topic, introduce their organization, facilitate a dialogue, or demonstrate expertise. This open systems technique allows participants the freedom to help design the conference. Please come prepared to share ideas, showcase projects, and make collaborative proposals.
By gathering together in one place and using this technique, we hope to become more effective in realizing our common objectives, improve communication and develop future alliances for change.
We will:
· Get to know other activists and organizations that share our vision, celebrating progressive programs and positive change in our area
· Broaden our understanding of local issues
· Help build a local progressive alliance for change and develop a progressive “commons”
· Explore progressive solutions to the problems that face us all including environmental, educational, economic, social justice, and healthcare issues
· Share experiences, skills, and resources in a troubled economy , identifying ways to collaborate and cooperate
The conference is a friend-raiser to support community change not a fundraiser. Let us share experience, resources and skills. Come prepared to be surprised! Donation $25.00. Online payment option available at the attached link.
Come and celebrate the first 100 days of the Obama Administration.
Start Time: 9:00
Date: 2009-05-02
End Time: 16:30
Title: Ojai Valley Democrats Book Club
Location: 410 Church Road #29 Ojai, CA 93023
Link out: Click here
Description: We’ll discuss a different book each month.
This month’s book is “THE DEFINING MOMENT: FDR’S HUNDRED DAYS AND THE TRIUMPH OF HOPE” by Jonathan Alter
Start Time: 19:30
Date: 2009-05-01
Title: Movie Night at the Village Jester
Location: Ojai, CA
Link out: Click here
Description: A different movie on the third Monday of each month at Ojai’s Village Jester.
Start Time: 06:00 pm
Date: 2009-04-20
Ojai Valley Democrats were in celebratory mood at their annual holiday party on Saturday December 13th at the Hitching Post Clubhouse. Outgoing President Carol Smith acknowledged the volunteers who helped to bring Barack Obama to victory on November 4th and presented a special Congressional Award to the Volunteer of the Year, Pamela Prince who had been the mainstay of the Ojai for Obama Headquarters in downtown Ojai.
Councilmember Smith also presented the new Club officers for 2009, who were unanimously voted in: President Sean Keenan, Vice Presidents Dorothy Wallstein, Carol Smith and Pat McPherson, Secretary and Financial Officer Sue Broidy, Membership Chair Pam Prince, Elections Chair Judy Murphy, and Rainbow Alliance Liaison Karin Quimby.
It was announced that delegates are being elected on Saturday January 10th to represent the 37th Assembly district at the California Democratic Party Conventions for the next two years and that another meeting for Obama supporters would be held earlier that day at 9am at the Ojai Arts Center. For more information call 805-640-7340.
