Minutes of Meeting
December 16, 2009
Present: J. Bakey, D. Sirotkin Butler, M. Butler, A. Coolidge, M. Cummings, B. Cutler, R. Elwell, D. Goldsmith, K. Haase, A. Kraus, W. Logan, E. Schwartz, R. Smith, D. Landskov, K. Donnelly, S. Belkziz, E. Greene, J. O’Donnell, L. Bishop, H. Fowles, Nora Mann, Clarissa Rowe. (22)
Each attendee introduced him- or herself to the group.
Clarissa Rowe, who had headed the Capuano campaign in Arlington, congratulated the Coakley campaign and thanked Nora Mann for leading a great campaign.
Nora Mann noted that Arlington’s 35% voter turnout more than doubled the state’s average turnout. The goal for the final is to keep it that way, continuing with phone calls to turn out the voters. The Coakley campaign is not taking State Senator Brown for granted. Dick Smith noted that the Republican candidate will have a lot of money, and that the state elected 4 Republican Governors in a row.
Nora will be communicating further details regarding campaign activities on the ArlingtonDems list.
The minutes from the meeting of November 10 were unanimously accepted.
Ed Schwartz, Treasurer, reported that the current ADTC account balance is $10,772.07. This includes $5,970 already earmarked for next year’s campaign office. He reminded members that dues are now on a calendar year basis, so they are payable in January.
No activity this time.
Aimee reported that the Committee will hold a caucus on Saturday, February 13, 2010 to elect 35 delegates and 5 alternates to the State Convention to be held June 4-5 in Worcester. This is a nominating convention, with all constitutional offices in contention. The Governor and Lt. Governor are running uncontested, but there will be competitive campaigns for Treasurer, Auditor, and hopefully Attorney General. The Community Safety room is reserved, but Aimee is looking into getting a larger space because of all the contested races.
The upcoming busy campaign season was discussed. There was general agreement that the Committee should plan a forum in the spring at the Sons of Italy to which all candidates would be invited. It would be a low-dollar event ($10 probably, to pay for itself) with the goal of informing the electorate and attracting volunteers. State Senator Ken Donnelly volunteered to call the campaigns when we have a date. Aimee circulated a signup sheet for volunteers to help organize the event.
In addition, the ADTC will reach out individually to constitutional office candidates and invite them to future ADTC meetings to introduce themselves.
Deborah Goldsmith suggested putting a piece in the Advocate and on the Arlington Listserv with this year’s busy election calendar and deadlines. Kim volunteered to start by putting the information on the web site so that anyone could take it from there.
Aimee reported that the Patrick campaign would be once again looking for precinct-level organizers. There was a lively discussion to the effect that committee members wanted help with talking points on issues for Gov. Patrick, from the campaign itself and elsewhere. Aimee agreed to call the campaign and get a place and time for a campaign representative to provide this information and for members to discuss it.
Aimee reported that the state party sponsors two scholarships and an internship for young people. She will send the information to the list and encourage members to disseminate it.
Janice Bakey reported that the MLK observance is Sunday, January 24, from 6 to 9 pm at Town Hall – not on the holiday itself, which is the day before the Senate election. Rep. Marie St. Fleur is the speaker. Janice asked people to be sure to hand their food to a Boy Scout when they arrive; the Scouts are in charge of this task as part of their community service.
A motion was made and approved unanimously to contribute $50 in sponsorship to the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday Committee.
Mary Cummings reported that Rep. Will Brownsberger has an appealing website that is actually in the form of a blog that encourages comments from readers. She noted that it is fairly labor-intensive to maintain. Other members agreed that this might take too much time and attention from the Committee’s main purpose. Mary will work on a simple redesign for a less interactive site.
Ed Schwartz reported that there was a major distribution of gifts to residents, based on wish lists they had submitted. He noted that because some families had longer wish lists than others, some inequities resulted. He also reported that the number of families there is down to the 30’s (it was in the 70’s not too long ago); many have obtained housing vouchers from stimulus money.
Aimee reported that the new chair of the Republican Town Committee, Jim Dolan, had asked to come to a meeting, introduce himself, and talk about possibly working together on some issues. After discussion with the other officers, she had turned him down, with the sense that common ground was unlikely to be found and that this would be a distraction from our mission (and theirs). There was general support in the Committee for this position.
The next regular meeting will be Wednesday, January 13, at the Community Safety Building, 112 Mystic Street, at 7:30 p.m.
Planned dates for future meetings are Wednesday, 2/10 (7:00 at the Library); Thursday, 3/18; Tuesday, 4/13; Thursday, 5/13; and Wednesday, 6/16.
A motion to adjourn was made and approved unanimously.
Respectfully submitted,
Kim Haase
Secretary