Wednesday, Dec. 21, 6 p.m., 233 Corte Linda, Santa Paula

The Santa Clara Valley Democratic Club will hold their December club meeting with a holiday social at 6 p.m. with a short meeting to follow, featuring State Senate District 19 Candidate Jason Hodge. A tamale dinner will be served. RSVP to Laura Espinosa at (805) 525-7690.

Potluck Dishes should be based on the following last name initials:

When I became Governor again — 28 years after my last term ended in 1983 — California was facing a $26.6 billion budget deficit. It was the result of years of failing to match spending with tax revenues as budget gimmicks instead of honest budgeting became the norm.

In January, I proposed a budget that combined deep cuts with a temporary extension of some existing taxes. It was a balanced approach that would have finally closed our budget gap.

I asked the legislature to enact this plan and to allow you, the people of California, to vote on it.  I believed that you had the right to weigh in on this important choice: should we decently fund our schools or lower our taxes?  I don’t know how you would have voted, but we will never know.  The Republicans refused to provide the four votes needed to put this measure on the ballot.

Forced to act alone, Democrats went ahead and enacted massive cuts and the first honest on-time budget in a decade. But without the tax extensions, it was simply not possible to eliminate the state’s structural deficit.

The good news is that our financial condition is much better than a year ago. We cut the ongoing budget deficit by more than half, reduced the state’s workforce by about 5500 positions and cut unnecessary expenses like cell phones and state cars. We actually cut state expenses by over $10 billion.  Spending is now at levels not seen since the seventies.  Our state’s credit rating has moved from “negative” to “stable,” laying the foundation for job creation and a stronger economic recovery.

Unfortunately, the deep cuts we made came at a huge cost. Schools have been hurt and state funding for our universities has been reduced by 25%.  Support for the elderly and the disabled has fallen to where it was in 1983.  Our courts suffered debilitating reductions.

The stark truth is that without new tax revenues, we will have no other choice but to make deeper and more damaging cuts to schools, universities, public safety and our courts.

That is why I am filing today an initiative with the Attorney General’s office that would generate nearly $7 billion in dedicated funding to protect education and public safety. I am going directly to the voters because I don’t want to get bogged down in partisan gridlock as happened this year. The stakes are too high.

My proposal is straightforward and fair.  It proposes a temporary tax increase on the wealthy, a modest and temporary increase in the sales tax, and guarantees that the new revenues be spent only on education.  Here are the details:

Millionaires and high-income earners will pay up to 2% higher income taxes for five years. No family making less than $500,000 a year will see their income taxes rise. In fact, fewer than 2% of California taxpayers will be affected by this increase.
There will be a temporary ½ cent increase in the sales tax.  Even with this temporary increase, sales taxes will still be lower than what they were less than six months ago.
This initiative dedicates funding only to education and public safety–not on other programs that we simply cannot afford.

This initiative will not solve all of our fiscal problems. But it will stop further cuts to education and public safety.

I ask you to join with me to get our state back on track.

Title: DSVC – December Meeting: ‘Eve Before New Years Eve Party”
Location: Lure Restaurant, heated patio
Link out: Click here
Description: SINGLE DEMOCRATS 40′S, 50′S, 60′s+ (any single Democrats 35 up)
Bring a friend! (unmarried Democratic couples are welcome too)
COST: $15 per person…paid at door includes appetizers and soft drinks(Cash bar avail for alcohol)
Appetizers will include Lobster-Spinach Dip, Fried…
SINGLE DEMOCRATS 40′S, 50′S, 60′s+ (any single Democrats 35 up)
Bring a friend! (unmarried Democratic couples are welcome too)
COST: $15 per person…paid at door includes appetizers and soft drinks(Cash bar avail for alcohol)
Appetizers will include Lobster-Spinach Dip, Fried Shrimp, Guacamole n Chips, Crab Cakes, Sweet Potato fries, etc.
Members and Guests — Please bring a new, wrapped gift to ‘recycle’ (something you or a family member received as a gift but do not need)
should you wish. All unclaimed gifts will go to charity.
Start Time: 21:00
Date: 2011-12-30

Please sign the online petition in support by going here!

This legislation, AB 1148, would mandate a clear statement of sponsorship in political ads funded by wealthy individuals and big corporations. The Ventura County DISCLOSE Act Working Group is working to get this legislation passed directly by the state legislature next year or put on the ballot. A signature gathering effort is currently under way. This is a critical issue which affects us all.

Americans do not want their leaders and laws bought and paid for by corporate money. To learn more about this legislation that is rapidly gaining support across the state, visit www.caclean.org.

Everyone is welcome to join this working group. To sign up to help, go here or email Jay Kapitz at j_kapitz@yahoo.com. Speakers are available for your group meetings.

The Ventura Democratic Club hosted the first Town Hall Meeting where all three announced candidates for the new 26th District had the opportunity to answer questions from an overflowing audience. The declared candidates included Ventura County Supervisor Steve Bennett, Moorpark City Councilman David Pollock, and businessman David Cruz Thayne.

Watch the entire Town Hall HERE

Post-Town Hall interviews with individual candidates can be found HERE

There are few public institutions more cherished than our libraries, yet the Simi Valley City Council is contemplating withdrawal from the Ventura County Library system and entering into an agreement with a for-profit operator.

Citizens packed council chambers on Nov. 7 to declare their opposition to the move. The final decision may come at a meeting scheduled for Monday, Nov. 21 at 6:30 p.m.

This is a deliberate attempt to circumvent AB 438 that will go into affect in January 2012. Paying an out-of-state private firm to manage the Simi Valley Public Library is in direct conflict with the “Shop Simi Valley” campaign and could directly impact those employees who currently work there.

We urge you to contact the members of the Simi Valley City Council TODAY to let them know how much you value library services and that you oppose privatization. Please go here to use our online tool to share your thoughts.

Entities such as the American Library Association have widely decried privatization efforts and underscored a few key points:

• Public money will go to a for-profit entity with little transparency and accountability.

• Library privatization has hidden and uncontrolled costs and may not save money in the long run.

• A private company may shut the public out of the decision-making process.

• Private companies are in the business of making a profit and may let quality slip in the interest of doing so.

TIME: Networking, 6:00 PM; Program, 6:30 PM (Note Earlier Time)
LOCATION: Newbury Park Library, 2331 Borchard Road in Newbury Park (Location Change)

We will present a panel including Ricardo Reyes, USMC veteran with Afghanistan and Iraq service, Chair of the CPD Veteran’s Caucus and California Co-Chair of Veterans and Military Families for Obama 2012 ; Mario Rivas, USMC veteran with Iraq service, current Company Commander in the California National Guard, and environmental activist.  Other confirmations are pending.  The program will be moderated by Tom Mullens, US Navy Vietnam era veteran, national veteran steering committee member, and California Chair for Veterans and Military Families for Obama 2012.

The public is invited and welcome. Please join us for a lively discussion.

For more information contact Carol Keavney at cjkeavney@verison.net or call Sue Gunther at 805-499-7822.

House Republicans are dumping more and more money into their fight to uphold the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), but the Senate Judiciary Committee is pressing ahead with the Respect for Marriage Act – historic legislation that would repeal DOMA once and for all.

DOMA deprives same-sex couples of over 1,100 federal rights, benefits, and responsibilities of marriage. It’s not right, and it’s time for repeal.

The Human Rights Campaign will hand-deliver your signed petition to the U.S. Senate on Wednesday – the day before the first-ever debate on this bill – to remind lawmakers that we’re counting on them to act. Sign the petition now.

Supporters like you have already generated 80,987 signatures on this petition. Help get to 85,000!

Sign the petition by going here: https://secure3.convio.net/hrc/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=1285

Title: Democratic Singles Club of Ventura County
Location: Ventura County Democratic Party Headquarters
Link out: Click here
Description: Phone bank to support the Ventura City Council Elections and pot luck dinner.
Start Time: 6:30
Date: 2011-10-28