Minutes of Meeting
March 13, 2008
Present: E. Benson, D. Sirotkin Butler, K. Campbell, S. Cleinman, A. Coolidge, M. Crewe, M. Cummings, B. Cutler, P. Deal, R. Elwell, S. Garballey, K. Haase, A. Kraus, W. Logan, P. Morrison, I. Rhodes, E. Schwartz, C. Shannon, T. Shannon, B. Weniger, Susan Elberger, Paulette Schwartz, Judson Pierce, Brigid Kennedy Pfister, Erna Greene, Mark C. Jewell, Leba Heigham, David Landskov. (28)
To introduce the new Town Committee, Aimee Coolidge, the Chair of the previous Committee, read the names of all the elected members and asked each one present to raise his or her hand.
Aimee requested nominations from the floor for officers of the new Committee. Nominations were made and seconded for the following candidates, all of whom were elected unanimously:
Aimee Coolidge, Chair
Timothy Shannon, Vice Chair
Kim Haase, Secretary
Ed Schwartz, Treasurer
Tim Shannon, as outgoing Treasurer, reported that the previous committee left to the new committee a balance of $8,901.40. A few outstanding reimbursements totalling about $200 were still to be paid, for expenses for the Unity Breakfast, for the web site, and for photocopying expenses.
Tim noted that dues of $25 for full members are due at this time. He recommended that members bring checks to the next meeting or mail them to the new Treasurer, Ed Schwartz (20 Robin Hood Rd., 02474). Associate Member dues are $15.
Aimee noted that in addition to the new committee, several other changes had taken place among Arlington Democratic officeholders. Pat Deal is now a 20-year member of the Democratic State Committee, and Deborah Sirotkin Butler has taken her place as the elected State Committeewoman. (Bob Peters of Lexington is our State Committeeman.) Jim Marzilli is now our State Senator, and Sean Garballey has just been sworn in as the new State Representative for the 23rd Middlesex district.
Two Democrats who are candidates for School Committee spoke, Leba Heigham and Judson Pierce.
Leba Heigham reported that her interest in the schools is based on her background as a public-school student and by her 15 years as a teacher of math and science at all levels. She is currently a math coach to teachers and has held other leadership roles. She encouraged people to visit her web site (www.lebaheigham.com) and to contact her through that site or by speaking to Kiera Campbell or Mary Cummings, two Town Committee members working on her behalf.
Judson Pierce reported that he had also attended public schools. His civic involvement to date has largely been through arts organizations such as Arlington Friends of the Drama. His web site is judsonpierce.com.
Aimee encouraged members to attend the League of Women Voters’ Candidates’ Night on March 27 at Town Hall.
Tom Walsh of the Ed O’Reilly Senate campaign introduced himself and asked for signatures for O’Reilly. John Kerry signature sheets were also available.
Pat Deal described the procedure for electing the 67 delegates to the Denver convention who are to be allotted by congressional district based on the vote in the February 5 primary. Caucuses will be held on April 5 in each congressional district. Our district (the 7th) will elect 2 Obama delegates and 4 Clinton delegates, balanced by gender. The Obama and Clinton campaigns will hold separate caucuses, open to all Democrats (no one may attend more than one caucus). The exact times and places are not yet known. Barbara Weniger announced that she and Sean Conroy will be running as a slate in the Obama caucus. Pat Deal will run as a Clinton delegate.
Aimee asked members to think about priorities for the committee for the next two years. This year the focus will be on elections. She asked for a sense of the committee as to whether it wished to continue the previous committee’s plan to rent an office jointly with the Lexington committee for the fall coordinated campaign. There was general agreement in favor of this.
Tim Shannon mentioned that the committee had also considered doing another fundraiser, probably a lower-dollar, higher-volume event to generate interest and volunteers. Adele Kraus suggested possibly a fall event to kick off the election season. Deb Sirotkin Butler suggested an ice-cream social in June.
Aimee mentioned that other committees had held breakfasts, barbecues, and other kinds of events. The committee’s Town Day booth would be another opportunity for outreach. She asked members to think about possibilities and bring them to the next meeting.
Aimee noted that the primary method of communication among members was the ArlingtonDems email list, which is used for notifications and discussions, but not for the conduct of any official business. To place items on a meeting agenda, members should contact Aimee or another officer.
There was some discussion of the use of the email list, which sometimes seems to get out of hand. Tim mentioned that the list serves those who are more comfortable with email than with attending meetings. A few possible guidelines were suggested. A motion was made and approved unanimously that a small committee be appointed to come up with some guidelines for list usage by the next meeting. Aimee appointed Paul Schlichtman and Kim Haase in their capacity as the list moderators, and David Landskov volunteered to be the third member.
Sean Garballey, our new State Representative, spoke briefly. He announced that Mike McCabe, former principal of the Thompson School, will be his legislative aide. His office number is room 134. In response to a question, he said he will continue the State Rep’s regular meetings with constituents at the Senior Center and will also have meetings in West Medford.
Aimee announced that Rep. Will Brownsberger is planning kickoff parties for his reelection campaign on April 27 in Belmont and Cambridge and is looking for an Arlington location also. She also reported that Congressman Markey is holding Town Meetings on Global Warming on March 16 in Melrose and Weston, and that Sen. Kerry is holding a signature collection day on March 15. Sen. Kerry is seeking an Arlington coordinator for signature gathering; anyone interested should contact Aimee.
Motions were made and seconded to nominate the following as Associate Members of the committee: Mark Jewell, Paulette Schwartz, David Landskov, Susan Elberger, Leba Heigham. The vote will be taken at the next meeting that each attends.
The next regular meeting will be Tuesday, April 29, at a place TBD. Other future meetings will be Thursday, May 22, and Wednesday, June 25.
A motion to adjourn was made and approved unanimously.
Respectfully submitted,
Kim Haase,
Secretary