Please note: These minutes are subject to amendment and approval by the Arlington Democratic Town Committee.
Minutes of Meeting
July 14, 2010
Present: D. Sirotkin Butler, M. Butler, S. Cleinman, A. Coolidge, M. Cummings, B. Cutler, P. Deal, R. Elwell, C. Friedman, S. Garballey, D. Goldsmith, K. Haase, G. Hooper, W. Logan, I. Rhodes, E. Schwartz, B. Weniger, D. Landskov, P. Schwartz, E. Greene, L. Bishop, H. Fowles, Susan Stamps, Gloria Zarr, David Levy, Mikel Satcher. (26)
Each attendee introduced him- or herself to the group.
The minutes from the meeting of June 16 were unanimously accepted.
Ed Schwartz, Treasurer, reported that the current ADTC bank account balance is $11,669.01, the same as last month. $6,020 of that are funds already earmarked for the campaign office.
Susan Stamps, having previously been nominated at the June 16 meeting, was elected as an Associate Member of the Committee by a unanimous vote.
Lynn Bishop and Heather Fowles, having previously been nominated at the June 16 meeting, were elected as Full Members of the committee by a unanimous vote.
Chair Aimee Coolidge noted that Tim and Cam Shannon have moved to Maine and have resigned from the Committee. A motion was made and approved unanimously to delay nominations for full member until the next meeting (owing to the low attendance among current associate members).
See New Business/Announcements for further actions.
Carol Marine spoke on behalf of the Campaign to Protect the Affordable Housing Law (http://protectaffordablehousing.org). The State Party voted at the convention to support this campaign, which opposes the ballot question that seeks to repeal the 40B affordable housing law. Carol said that although the 41-year-old law (enacted in part as a civil rights measure, to open up suburbs as well as cities to affordable housing) has flaws, it is necessary because housing costs still outpace median income and are a major cause of out-migration from the state.
If the ballot question passed, Carol noted, 12,000 currently planned affordable units would be lost. 300 organizations support the campaign against the question, along with the three major candidates for Governor.
There was some discussion of the complexities and problems of the law. Small towns have been unable to influence the legislature to make changes in the law; it is hard for a densely populated town like Arlington to add the 3500 units needed to make the 10% affordable cutoff. David Levy of the Housing Corporation of Arlington noted that HCA’s practice of converting existing housing to affordable status is the most workable method for towns like Arlington. In addition, Arlington has inclusionary zoning that requires 15% of new multiple-unit developments to be affordable.
No members of the Diversity Committee were present. Aimee reported that the topic of electing a new chair and affirmative action officer would be taken up at the September meeting.
Marc Butler, chair of the Town Day subcommittee, reported that he was the first in town to submit an application for a Town Day booth. He will hold a meeting of the subcommittee in August. He and Aimee both pointed out the need for creative ideas to counter a more energized Republican presence.
Aimee reported that most of the spaces identified by the office subcommittee are either not available for short-term rental or are prohibitively expensive. The possibilities have narrowed to 1343 Mass. Ave., which is not accessible to the disabled (up one step to enter, and down a flight of steps to the restroom) and a space in East Lexington that is expensive and may not actually be available (the current tenant has yet to move stuff out).
Aimee asked for a sense of the Committee on a couple of propositions. The Committee agreed by a vote of 11-3 (1 abstention) that a space that met 90% of our needs but was not accessible would be acceptable if no other space was available. The Committee agreed by a vote of 8-6 to support raising additional funds for an office that is expensive but otherwise meets our needs. Deb Goldsmith agreed to lead this effort, with help from Lexington, should it be necessary.
Aimee reported that the Patrick-Murray campaign would meet on Wednesday, July 28, at 7:30 at 130 Jason St. and that a set of excellent talking points would be posted to the ADTC website shortly. These need to be condensed into an elevator speech. Deb Butler suggested that each precinct should hold a barbecue.
Barbara Cutler announced that a celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act would take place on Boston Common on the afternoon of Monday, July 26. She also requested that the ADTC co-sponsor a planned September 16 forum at the Arlington Senior Center to educate and encourage people with developmental disabilities to vote. Motion made and approved unanimously to co-sponsor this forum.
A motion to elect Mikel Satcher as Associate Member was made and seconded. The vote will be taken at the next meeting he attends.
The next regular meeting will be Tuesday, August 17, in the second-floor meeting room of the Community Safety Building, 112 Mystic St. Planned dates for future meetings are Thursday, September 23, Wednesday, October 13, and Monday, November 8.
A motion to adjourn was made and approved unanimously.
Respectfully submitted,
Kim Haase
Secretary