Minutes of Meeting
April 29, 2008
Present: E. Benson, D. Sirotkin Butler, S. Cleinman, M. Crewe, B. Cutler, R. Elwell, R. Feldman, K. Haase, G. Hooper, A. Kraus, W. Logan, J. Marzilli, E. Schwartz, S. Marzilli Shaer, T. Shannon, B. Weniger, Susan Elberger, Paulette Schwartz, David Landskov, Gloria Zarr, John Kneeland, Don Rickter, Phyllis Rickter, Andrew O’Brien, Beverley Brinkerhoff, Lynette Fast Horse. (26)
Tim Shannon, Vice-Chair, chaired the meeting in the absence of Aimee Coolidge, Chair. All present introduced themselves.
The minutes from the meeting of March 13 were unanimously accepted.
Ed Schwartz reported a current balance in the Committee account of $8,674.33. There are $209.46 of checks outstanding against the account, yielding a net balance of $8,464.87. He noted that dues of $25 for full members are due.
The motions to elect Susan Elberger, David Landskov, and Paulette Schwartz as Associate Members of the Committee, which were made and seconded at the last meeting, were approved unanimously.
Motions to elect the following as Associate Members of the Committee were made and seconded: Beverley Brinkerhoff, Phyllis Rickter, Don Rickter, Andrew O’Brien, John Kneeland, and Lynette Fast Horse. The vote will be taken at the next meeting each attends.
Three Brandeis students who have been researching Massachusetts' use of aversive therapy for the mentally disabled presented their findings and position. (The presentation was arranged by Barbara Cutler.) They spoke about the Judge Rotenberg Center in Canton, which uses electric shock and other punishments as part of its program. There have been legislative attempts to ban aversive therapy, but the JRC has well-funded lobbyists and enough state legislators on its side to block previous efforts. The JRC is funded by school boards who pay $200,000 per year to send students there (from other states as well as Massachusetts); much of the funding goes to public relations. The Brandeis group is hoping that a strong grassroots effort can overcome these powerful opponents. They are supporting two bills, H.109 and S.1123. They handed out a flyer and sample letters to legislators. They also circulated a signup sheet for those who wish to be on their mailing list.
Tim led a discussion on fundraising plans. Because the fundraiser with Lexington last fall probably raised enough to fund a campaign office for the fall, the ADTC had considered that the primary goal for a future fundraiser would be outreach to a wide audience of potential volunteers, so that it would probably be a low-dollar but high-attendance event. Questions were raised about the kind of space needed (this would depend on whether liquor would be available and whether Lexington would be involved, among other things), when would be the best time (after the September primary might draw the most interest), and how much effort would be involved that could be better spent otherwise –- it might make sense to combine the fundraiser with a campaign office kickoff for maximum effect. The consensus was that a very low dollar event (with the goal of breaking even) would be best, possibly before the campaign kickoff, possibly along with it.
Tim reminded the group that the 2006 campaign office on Summer Street was very nearly ideal in that it was very large, had plenty of parking, and was easy to find even for Lexington volunteers. The total cost, including 3 months rent ($1500-$2000/mo.) and 2.5 months phone, came to under $10,000. Jim Marzilli said that the much smaller office on Mass. Ave. that he had used was $1000/mo. Various possibilities were mentioned –- the Hodgdon-Noyes car dealership space, the Summer Street space (which has been refurbished and is probably more expensive now), the old Brattle Pharmacy (which lacks parking and is expensive), and the Hollywood Video space near the Lexington line. It is not known whether these will be available for the period of September to November. Tim reported that the Lexington DTC did not think there were any suitable locations in Lexington. He also said that Aimee thinks it unlikely that landlords will be able to commit to anything before June or July.
A motion was made and approved unanimously to authorize the Executive Committee (the ADTC officers) to acquire an office space for a campaign headquarters from September 1 to November 30, and to spend up to $5,000, in partnership with Lexington.
Tim reported that the state Democratic Party had asked each Town Committee to select one male and one female high-school student to attend the State Convention June 7, along with a chaperone, by May 16. Deb Butler suggested getting in touch with the Arlington Young Democrats. Tim agreed to get in touch with them and ask them to choose two delegates from among their members. Deb Butler offered to serve as chaperon if the students cannot find one. Information is on the state Party web site at http://www.massdems.org/dsc/dscon_resources08.cfm.
There was some further discussion of the aversive therapy situation. Jim Marzilli said that he is a co-sponsor of one of the bills to ban aversive therapy. However, he is not optimistic about the bills' chances because of the JRC's powerful allies in the legislature. It is much easier to block action than to bring it about.
Jim Marzilli announced that because of a paperwork obstacle, the group ActBlue.com, an online clearinghouse that allows people to contribute to Democratic campaigns all over the country, cannot take contributions for Massachusetts candidates (though it is actually based in Cambridge). A volunteer with a little time to work with ActBlue and the Office of Campaign and Political Finance could solve this problem. He asked anyone interested in this task to get in touch with him.
Bill Logan announced that he was running for Assistant Town Moderator (the vote to be taken April 30) and asked for the support of ADTC members who were also Town Meeting members.
Jim Marzilli reported that both Jack Hurd and Ken Donnelly were gathering signatures to run against him in the fall. The primary slate will not be definitely known until early June, however. It appears that no one has taken out papers to run against Will Brownsberger, Jay Kaufman, or Sean Garballey, so the State Rep seats may all be uncontested.
The next regular meeting will be Thursday, May 22, at the Community Safety Building, 112 Mystic St. The next meeting after that will be Wednesday, June 25.
A motion to adjourn was made and approved unanimously.
Respectfully submitted,
Kim Haase,
Secretary