Allen Dirrim holds a sign on the corner of Victoria Avenue and Telegraph Road in Ventura to show his support for health care workers speaking out against cuts to public health programs. Dirrim is a member of the Greater Oxnard Organization of Democrats. Photo by Richard Quinn for the VC Star.
June Meeting: Wednesday, June 8, 2011.
Time: Networking 6:15pm/Program: 6:45pm.
Venue: Thousand Oaks Library, 1401 East Janss Road
Program: MEET OUR YOUNG DEMOCRATS
A panel of speakers will discuss issues involving our youth from-
Panelists include:
Dante Atkins : Vice President, California Young Democrats
Heather Hughes: Vice President, Ventura County Young Democrats
Nareg Babaians: Vice President, CSUN Young Democrats
Caitlin Cordova: Co-founder, CSUCI Young Democrats
Moderator is David Maron, Ventura County Civic Alliance
The public is invited and we will welcome our new members.
Please join us.
For more information contact:
Richard Gunther
rickgunther@verizon.net
818-889-1039
An Inspiring Day at the Capitol, March 21, 2011
The Woman of the Year Ceremony in the Assembly Chambers, Sacramento, California
By Carol Lindberg
Photo taken at the brunch with the 1911 poster “Votes for Women”.
The drive began at noon on March 20, 2011, through one of the worst downpours I’ve ever driven. Two hours later, after passing four accidents, driving 45 miles an hour, I was over the snow-covered, 4,000 ft. Gorman pass. The next four hours driving north on Hwy 5 in light rain were just beautiful. I’ve never seen the hills so green. Frank Sinatra and Antonio Carlos Jobim kept me company on Serious/XM radio until I reached Sacramento.
Assemblyman Das Williams reserved a room for me in the historic Citizen Hotel, 3 blocks from the Capitol. Two years ago, it was converted from a 1926, 14-story office building to a hotel. Beautifully carved wood, law books, and political cartoons are integrated into the décor of the rooms. (www.citizenhotel.com and it is wired to accommodate all electronic devices.)
Assemblyman Williams escorting Carol Lindberg to the podium.
Monday morning I walked to the Capitol at 9 a.m., checked in at Das’ sunny, 6th floor office, and met his friendly, capable staff. Then I wandered around taking photos of Ventura County’s exhibit, school children on tours and talking to people. People I questioned in the Capitol confirmed my belief that Das is an energetic, intelligent, hard-working assemblyman with the ability to “get things done.” I’m pleased that he represents us and has a bright future. He also talks to constituents in Ventura, Oxnard and Santa Barbara every Friday. He and his wife, Jonny, commute every week. Das rents a small flat a block from the Capitol.
At 10 a.m. the CA Legislative Women’s Caucus held a brunch for the Honored Women in the Eureka Room in the Capitol. I received a yellow rose corsage and name tag. It was a beautiful room filled with women who have made a positive contribution in their communities. There are 80 assembly members and 40 senate members. Of those, 33 are women. The California Legislative Women’s Caucus was formed in 1985 by nine Democrats and six Republicans. It is bipartisan and “embraces the goal of empowering all women to be self sufficient, independent, and equal partners in their homes, communities, places of work and government.”
Photo taken at the ceremony on the Assembly floor from left to right: Co-Chair of Legislative Women’s Caucus, Bonnie Lowenthal, Assembly Speaker John Perez, Carol Lindberg, Republican Leader Assemblywoman Connie Conway, and Assemblyman Das Williams.
At 11 a.m., we proceeded to the second floor of the Capital where 80 of us were seated around the perimeter of the assembly floor. At noon, John Perez, Speaker of the House, called the meeting to order and introduced Legislative Women’s Caucus Co-Chair Assemblywoman Bonnie Lowenthal. She explained that the Woman of the Year celebration is an annual event sponsored by the California Legislative Women’s Caucus where a woman from each Assembly District is selected by the respective State Assembly representative to receive recognition for her accomplishments and service. I’m pleased to be selected by Das for District 35. Assemblywoman Lowenthal introduced Kamala Harris, Attorney General, who spoke about the importance of women’s contributions to California, past and present.
At noon the ceremony began, and I was introduced and escorted to the front of the Assembly chambers by Das Williams to be presented with a framed certificate by Assembly Speaker Perez. Secretary of State Debra Bowen spoke after the presentations and told us that this year is the centennial celebration of California women gaining the right to vote.
Framed certificate. “Celebrating the Centennial of Women Winning the Vote in CA 1911-2011. Carol Lindberg. In recognition of outstanding service and dedication to the people of the State of California”
On Election Day, October 10, 1911, in California, Equal Suffrage passed by only 3,600 votes out of 246,000 votes, and San Francisco became the most populous city in the world in which women could vote. “Votes for Women” poster, created by artist Bertha Margaret Boye for the 1911 California campaign, is probably the most popular poster produced during the American suffrage movement. The 19th Amendment was finally approved on August 26, 1920, a date now officially recognized as Equality Day.
Das took me to lunch across from the Capitol before he had to return to work for the people in our District 35. We walked back through the beautiful garden on Capitol grounds. I watched a film describing the renovation of the Capitol building in the 1970s before picking up my car and driving to Santa Rosa to spend the night with a college friend. I visited four more friends on my way home to Ventura via Highway 101.
To observe our state legislators at work and to be in the company of such accomplished women was an honor and a truly memorable experience.
Enjoy this website of the capitol and please read Das Williams’ website to obtain current information about CA, make an appointment to see him, give him input, or learn what he’s proposing for our district.
Assemblyman Williams and his Chief of Staff, Susan McEntire, in his office at the Capitol.
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Read more about Carol and the award in an article that appeared in The Ventura County Star.
Speakers will be Mohamed Ashmawey, Ph.D. – Professor, Engineer, Management and Non-profit Consultant and Ferial Masry – Local Educator, Assembly Candidate and DCCV Club member.
Date: Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Time: 6:15 PM Social, 7:00 PM Meeting
Location: Thousand Oaks Library, 1401 E. Janss Rd.
The public is invited and we will welcome our new members. Please join us.
For more information contact Carol Keavney at cjkeavney@verizon.net, 805-498-7262 or Jay Kapitz at j_kapitz@yahoo.com, 818-889-1039.
DCCV Monthly Gereral Meeting:
GOP Attack on Unions, Teachers, Workers and the Middle Class
Date: Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Time: 6:15 PM Social, 7:00 PM Forum
Location: Thousand Oaks Library, 1401 E. Janss Road
The topic of this month’s program will be the Republican attack on unions, teachers, workers and the middle class. Fern Romans, United Teachers of Los Angeles Chair, will be the guest speaker. Also, Professor John Griffin will complete the Strategic Planning Session for Conejo Democrats.
Please join us.
For more information contact Carol Keavney at cjkeavney@verizon.net, 805-498-7262 or Jay Kapitz at j_kapitz@yahoo.com, 818-889-1039.
The Ventura County Young Democrats would like to thank everyone who came out to their fundraisers in January and February. The amount of support the club has received is phenomenal. With your help, this group will build a powerful coalition of Young Democrats.
Upcoming fundraisers:
VCYD invites you to their fundraiser on Monday, March 28 at Famous Dave’s in Westlake Village, 3980 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd., Westlake Village. The Young Democrats will be meeting at 7 p.m., but come any time between 11 a.m. and 10 p.m. Just bring your flyer, buy your meal, and 20 percent of the proceeds will go to the Young Dems.
Go here to download the flyer.
Join the VCYD for Poker Night on Friday, May 6, at Democratic Party Headquarters at 1760 Ventura Blvd., Camarillo. This will be a great opportunity to meet members and Democrats from all over the county. Food and refreshments will be provided. Doors open at 7 p.m. and the games begin at 7:30 p.m. No bets, just for fun! Donations of $20 with RSVP, $25 at the door. RSVP to Neely Boloorchi at vcyoungdems@gmail.com or (805) 415-8977.
Camarillo, Calif., Feb. 3, 2011 – CSU Channel Islands (CI) will commemorate the 2008 killing of 15-year-old gay Oxnard student Lawrence King with a candlelight vigil on Tuesday, February 15, on the CI campus.
The evening’s program will feature a showing of The Laramie Project at 6 p.m. at CI’s John Spoor Broome Library, room 2325. The program is presented by Spectrum, the School of Education, the English program, the Centers for Multicultural Engagement and Community Engagement, Associated Students, Inc., Housing & Residential Education, and Multicultural Programs.
For the second year the student gay/straight alliance, Spectrum, in partnership with Julia Balén, Associate Professor of English, and her English/Gender Studies Class, offers a program to remember Lawrence King. This year they also commemorate the wrongful murder of Matthew Shepard, a 21-year-old gay student from the University of Wyoming. The Laramie Project, a film of the play by Moises Kaufman, will be shown followed by a discussion. Balén stated that, “The University needs to be a forum for dialogue, a place where challenging issues can be intelligently discussed.”
The discussion, an exploration of how we might end violence and harassment directed at lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in schools and communities, will be followed by a candlelight vigil.
CI emphasizes the issue of civil discourse and what it means in campus life, particularly in light of the current national conversation about civility and democracy. This program considers what respecting differences means.
The program is free and open to the public. For additional information please contact Julia Balen at julia.balen@csuci.edu.
Persons with special needs or conditions who would like to request an accommodation should contact 805-437-3331 or e-mail accommodations@csuci.edu.
Limited parking is available on campus. A daily permit is $6. Free parking is available at the Camarillo Metrolink Station/Lewis Road parking lot in Camarillo with bus service to and from the campus. Riders should board the VISTA Bus to the campus; the fare is $1.25 each way. Buses arrive and depart from the Camarillo Metrolink Station every 30 minutes from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday. For exact times, check the schedule at www.goventura.org .
Information is available online at
http://www.csuci.edu/news/releases/2011_programurgesrespectfordifferences.htm .
The next general meeting of the Democratic Club of the Conejo Valley (DCCV) is Wednesday, February 9, 6:15 PM at the Thousand Oaks Main Library, 1401 E. Janss Road in Thousand Oaks. The program is titled “Strategic Planning for 2012”. John Griffin will guide us in an interactive strategic planning and goal setting session. We want to map out a successful strategy for the 2012 elections. You are all invited to participate. John Griffin is a Management professor of California State University, Channel Islands, business consultant, and Administrative Vice-President of our own DCCV.
Our committee chairs will also be discussing their plans for 2011.
We welcome new members and the general public.
The next general meeting of the Democratic Club of the Conejo Valley (DCCV) is Wednesday, January 12, 6:15 PM at the Newbury Park Library, 2331 Borchard Road in Newbury Park. The program is titled “What Happened Last November and What Can We Learn from It?”. David Atkins will help us study the results of the recent November election. R. L. Miller will then help us decide what directions we need to take for 2012.
David Atkins is a Vice President of the Ventura County Democratic Central Committee. He has served as President of the Ventura County Young Democrats, as a Daily Koz blogger, as co-host of “Reality Check” on radio KVTA, and as host of our own DCCV public cable TV show “Eye on the Issues”.
R. L. MIller is an attorney, noted Ventura County blogger, quilter, runner, keeper of chickens, and California native. She wrote the No on Prop 23 piece for the California Democratic Party’s website.
We will also welcome new members and the general public is welcome.
California Democratic Party (CDP) Vice Chairman Eric Bauman will be guest speaker at the next brunch meeting of the Democratic Women’s Council of the Conejo Valley on Saturday, January 15, at Boccaccio’s Restaurant in Westlake Village. The champagne brunch meeting is scheduled from 9:30 to 11:30 AM. Boccaccio’s Restaurant is located at 32123 Lindero Canyon Road, #104 (the Landing Shopping Center), Westlake Village.
Elected CDP Vice Chair in 2009, Bauman also is currently serving an unprecedented fifth term as Chair of the Los Angeles County Democratic Party (LACPD), the largest local Democratic Party in the nation. In 2008, Bauman delivered on his pledge to raise and spend more that $1 million through LACDP to help elect Democrats, promote Democratic ballot positions and grow the party throughout LA County and the state.
Professionally, Bauman is the Senior Advisor to California Assembly Speaker John A. Perez and the Director of the Speaker’s Office of Member Services. Prior to joining the Speaker’s office, Bauman held various senior-level positions throughout California government, including as Special Assistant to Gov. Gray Davis and Director of the Governor’s Los Angeles Regional Office. A Registered Nurse with graduate education in Health Care Administration, he spent many years in intensive care, trauma nursing and hospital administration.
In addition to Bauman, the program will feature updates from area non-profit organizations: Afghan Girls School, Conejo Valley Cares, Evan Ashcraft Foundation, Greater Contribution, MANNA Conejo Valley Food Bank and Wells Bring Hope.
DWCCV brunch admission is $20. Make reservations by calling, (805) 495-1515. Information also is available at http://dwccv.org.
Calendar by Kieran O'Shea
