CT Progressive

One of the problems with discussing the successes and failures of our political parties is the reality that relatively few activists have had the opportunity to experience them first-hand, especially at the statewide or national levels. These organizations have their own rhythm and logic, and it’s hard to come up with reforms to address shortcomings in a culture you don’t fully understand.

I’ve made an effort to attend Democratic State Central committee meetings during the last two years, and it seems to me that sharing notes of these meetings is a worthwhile service for activists to understand what the parties do (and don’t do). I’ve written up minutes below the fold.

---

Attendance (District in parentheses)

Present:
Hector Robles (1)
Jean Holloway (1)
Helene Shay (2)
Larry Pleasant (2)
James H. Throwe (3)
Patricia Morianos (4)
Nicholas Paindiris (4)
Barbara Gordon (5)
Joseph S. Stafford (5)
Emma Pierce (6)
Kevin Murphy (6)
Carol Censki (7)
Judith Hample Russo (9)
John M. Kelly (9)
Andria Matthews (11)
James R. Ball (12)
P. Martha Carlson (12) - arrived late
Stephen T. Zerio (13)
Christine M. Bourne (13)
Linda B. Stephenson (14)
Renato Ricciuti (15)
Christine A.Shanley-Buck (16)
Thomas K. McDonough (16)
Pauline A. Sampieri (17)
Scott Bates (18)
William Rudis (19)
Sharon Palmer (20)
Anthony Basilica (20)
John Fabrizi (22)
Mary Markham (22)
Loretta Williams (23)
Alberto Ayala (23)
Dianne Eppinger (24)
Gwen Briggs (25)
Peter Thor (25)
Martha Aasen (26)
Susan P. Barrett (28)
William Burke (28)
Mae Flexer (29)
Brian Anderson (29)
Audrey Blondin (30)
Thomas Ragaini (31)
Joella Mudry (31)
Sharon Sherman (32)
Dorothy A. Mrowka (33)
Lon Seidman (33)
Gene Ruocco (34)
Robin Hettrick (34)
Gloria A. Collins (35)
William Pakulis (35)
Mary B. McNamee (36)

Absent with Proxy:

Ken Curran (32)
Patricia W. Gately (3)
Ted Hoffstatter (26)
Andrea Jackson-Brooks (10)
Michael T. Long (8)
Myrna Watanabe (8)

Absent:

Richard J. Buturla (21)
John Cox (10)
Kevin Creed (30)
Elaine Curran (15)
Michael D'Agostino (11)
James Diamond (27)
Dorothy Doucette (18)
Yvette Jacaruso (19)
Marggie Laurie (27)
James Maloney (24)
James R McMahon (14)
Carl J. Schiessl (7)
David M. Singer (36)
Gerald T. Weiner (17)
Eileen S. Wilson (21)

Nominations:

Mae Flexer gave a speech nominating Nancy DiNardo for Chair.

I’ve seen first hand the results of the strong grassroots organization that she’s built here at State Central.

Scott Bates gave a speech seconding the nomination of Nancy DiNardo for Chair.

This about what you have to do to be State Chair in Connecticut: You’ve got the progressive community, and you know who you are — you’re a very passionate group, you’re committed, and compromise is not always the order of the day.

A motion was made to close nominations and cast a single ballot for Nancy DiNardo as Chair, which passed unanimously.

Chairwoman DiNardo gave an acceptance speech.

• Has been working with Town Chairs to recruit candidates for local office
• Will be offering campaign trainings for candidates running in May and November elections
• Will hold upcoming statewide Town Chairs meeting and Democratic Mayors/First Selectmen meeting
• Wants to keep Dean’s 50-State Strategy alive in Connecticut
• Key focus to be an effective party: fundraising
• Will be reaching out to new prospective donors
• Will solicit ideas to make a stronger state party

Brian Anderson gave a speech nominating Steve Fontana for Vice Chair.

Sharon Sherman gave a speech seconding the nomination of Steve Fontana for Vice Chair.

A motion was made to close nominations and cast a single ballot for Steve Fontana as Vice-Chair, which passed with 3 nays.

Vice-Chairman Fontana gave an acceptance speech.

Joseph Stafford gave a speech nominating Barbara Gordon for Secretary.

Dorothy Mrowka gave a speech seconding the nomination of Barbara Gordon for Secretary.

A motion was made to close nominations, which passed unanimously.

A motion was made to accept the nomination of Barbara Gordon as Secretary, which passed unanimously.

Secretary Gordon gave an acceptance speech.

Kevin Murphy (newly appointed to replace Ned Statchen) gave a speech nominating Emma Pierce for Treasurer.

Martha Carlson gave a speech seconding the nomination of Emma Pierce for Treasurer.

A motion was made to close nominations and cast a single ballot for Emma Pierce as Treasurer, which passed unanimously.

Treasurer Pierce gave an acceptance speech.

Chairwoman DiNardo gave the Chairman’s Report

• Asked members to support the Senate Vacancy Bill [requiring a special election in the case of a U.S. Senate vacancy] with their local State Reps and State Senators
• Noted that Dodd was being considered for Vice President until days before the announcement of Biden, and that the lack of either a Senate Vacancy law or a Democratic governor was a factor in his not being chosen
• Will be sending election calendars to State Central members and Town Chairs
• Announced that 2 State Central members from the Young Democrats will be voted in during the March meeting
• Mentioned the Lieberman letter

Jim Throwe spoke in support of the letter to Lieberman.

Vice-Chair Fontana gave a legislative report.

• Spoke in support of the Senate Vacancy law
• Discussed the deficit mitigation bill, noted that Gov. Rell mischaracterized the bill as eliminating all or any substantial part of the current deficit, and that only $7m of $185m were cuts to current programs. The remainder of the bill removed money from currently-collected funds for renewable energy, energy efficiency, public access television, housing, and open space acquisition.
• Discussed possible adjustments to ECS funding in the next 2-year budget.
• Discussed an upcoming meeting between the State and Federal legislative delegations to discuss the Federal stimulus package.

Chairwoman DiNardo made a motion to accept the previous meeting’s minutes, which passed unanimously.

Treasurer Pierce gave the Treasurer’s Report.

The Federal account has $49,700

The non-Federal account has $58,000

Discussion was held on the subject of the current budget and the state of the State Partnership Program (”50 State Strategy”).

Shirley Steinmetz from the Wethersfield DTC was recognized to discuss an ongoing Congressional internship program for high school students conducted by her Town Committee.

Two students from Wethersfield discussed their experience with the internship program.

Chairwoman DiNardo discussed the recent Democratic National Committee meeting where Governor Kaine was elected as Chairman by acclaimation, along with Mike Honda, Donna Brazile, and Debbie Wasserman-Schulz as Vice-Chairs. Discussed expectations for the continuation of the “50 State strategy”, and offered favorable comments on the tenure of Howard Dean.

Chairwoman DiNardo made a motion to adjourn, which passed unanimously.

This entry was posted on Saturday, January 24th, 2009 at 8:35 am and is filed under Party Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.