Tues 9/26 at Library at 6:45 pm - September Meeting

Written by: Katherine Wallace on Sep 25, 2006 5:18 PM EDT

Linked to groups: Progressive Democrats of Somerville

Hi PDS,

PDS will hold its regular General September Monthly Meeting on the Fourth Tuesday of the Month, September 26. PLEASE NOTE OUR NEW LOCATION and TIME for this meeting! We will be meeting at the Somerville Public Library on Highland Ave (near City Hall and the High School). Accessible by bus via Highland Ave from Davis Square.

Our meeting time begins 15 minutes early to accommodate the Library closing time so we will begin at 6:45 pm and end by 8:45 pm.

It has been a pretty good September so far with a huge win for Deval Patrick as the Democratic Nominee for Governor. I know that many many PDSers were out working hard for this and in other important progressive races all around. It all makes a difference. Thanks to all.

As many of you know, we have two seats on the Steering Committee available and we are going to hold a vote to fill them on 9/26. If you are interested and have any questions please feel free to contact us.

PDS Meeting Agenda
September 26, 2006
6:45 pm to 8:45 pm
Somerville Public Library
79 Highland Avenue

Introductions and Question of the Month (10 min)
Can you tell us about an interesting moment you experienced on Primary Election Day such as an interaction with a voter or election official or fun moments at a victory party?

Elections
a) Deval Patrick and Mass Victory 06 (10 min)
We are very excited that our endorsed candidate Deval Patrick is the Democratic Nominee, but the election isn't over yet. The Patrick/Murray Campaign is now working with Mass Victory 06 to take back the Governor's office from the Republicans. We all need to work together to achieve our goal.
b) Congress (5 min)
When Congressman Michael Capuano visited us earlier this year, we pledged to take a day to go to a nearby state and canvass for Democratic Congressional Candidates so that the Democrats can take back the House from the Republicans. I spoke to him last week and he is planning on organizing some trips to key locations in New Hampshire.
c) PDS Elections (15 min)
We will solicit nominations and if any are put forward, we will vote to fill these open positions.
i) Co-Chair of the Endorsements Committee to serve along with Co-Chair Michael Conlon endorsements@pdsomerville.org
.
ii) Co-Chair of the Membership Committee to serve along with Co-Chair Greg Dennis membership@pdsomerville.org


Issues (40 min)
a) November Ballot Questions - Andy will let us know what questions you will see on your November ballot. Bring your Voter Guide if you got one in the mail from the Secretary of State's office.
b) Budget Update - What is the next step after our successful summer budget forum?
c) Jail Update - We've heard from Senator Barrios, Rep Toomey and Sherriff DiPaola. What's new in the plan for the Jail?
d) Participation - Issues are a big issue in Somerville. How can our Issues and Membership Committees increase participation and activism?

Committees and Commissions
a) What City Committees and Commissions (15 min) do PDS Members belong to? Which ones would PDS members like to participate in? There is a lot more to this City than the Mayor, Aldermen and School Committee. Committees, Commissions and other Boards make decisions and help our City government get things done. www.ci.somerville.ma.us/Boards.c...
b) Human Rights Commission Conversations Project (10 Min) - Cesar will talk about the Conversations Project that the Human Rights Commission will be holding in March 2007. "Young Somerville: Challenges and Changes"
www.ci.somerville.ma.us/CoS_Cont...
c) Somerville Commission for Women (5 min)- Katie will tell you about two upcoming events in October
i) Meeting to Discuss the Wall of Respect for Women October 3 Ciampa Manor 6:30 pm
ii) Vigil for victims of Domestic Violence October 11, Davis Square 6:00 pm

Plus/Delta (5 min)

Victory, Condos and Murray - PLUS Call for Volunteers

Written by: Katherine Wallace on Jul 26, 2006 5:48 PM EDT

Linked to groups: Progressive Democrats of Somerville

Below are the minutes from our meeting on Tuesday July 25 as written by our Secretary Paula Stuart.

Thanks to our guests we had a lively discussion on Mass Victory 06 - the push to elect a Democratic Governor in November, the proposed Condo Ordinance changes and learned more about Lt. Gov Candidate Tim Murray.

We did hold an endorsement vote for Lt. Governor, but because we have three fine Democratic candidates running any one of which we would be proud to support, the vote was not to endorse in this race. Hey, the Republicans don't even have one fine candidate! We are lucky.

Please make special note of the VICTORY 06 events on Saturday July 29. Come out and Support Joe Beckman at his Breakfast and Canvass and ME Katie Wallace at the Phone Bank. Please RSVP if possible. If you don't RSVP, you can still come by and volunteer. If I promise you fun can I get you to turn up? Details are below.

--
Katie Wallace
Chairperson
Progressive Democrats of Somerville

katewallace@att.net

Democracy Demands Participation!
www.pdsomerville.org/PDS/...

PROGRESSIVE DEMOCRATS OF SOMERVILLE
GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING
July 25, 2006



M I N U T E S



The July 25th General Meeting of PDS was held at the VNA on Lowell Street. Chair Katie Wallace opened the meeting with introductions. PDS welcomed three guests including Joe O'Brien (Campaign Manager for Tim Murray), Skip Schloming (of the Small Property Owners Association) and Joe Lazazzero from the Victory 06 Committee - representing Stephanie Nogeura.

Victory '06 Presentation - Joe Lazazzero
Joe Lazazzero was present from Victory 06 (filling in for Stephanie Noguera who had a scheduling conflict). He explained the Victory 06 Strategy for organizing by Precincts and noted a number of upcoming efforts they need help with.
Saturday (July 29) "100 Days to Victory" Phone banks being held and getting the organization solidified and motivated. He also ran through a list of Somerville Events. He brought sign up sheets to the meeting for people to sign up to canvas or to be Precinct Captains. (See attached lists of Precincts that still need captains and the Somerville Events.
Joe noted that it was 1986 when we last had a Democrat as Governor, drawing laughs when he noted that he was 20 yrs old and had therefore never experienced a Democratic Governor.
A list of Somerville Events was also distributed. These include:
 Somerville Victory'06 Cookout and Potluck July 27th 6:30 - 8:30 Hosted by Nancy Wollenburg and Helen Corrigan, 48 Irving Street, RSVP to Nancy Wollenburg at Nancyj6350@aol.com

 Somerville Victory'06 Breakfast and Canvass July 29th 9:00 am to 1:00 pm Hosted by Joe Beckmann, 22 Stone Ave. Breakfast 9:00 - 9:45. Canvass begins at 10:00. RSVP Joe Beckmann, 617-625-9369.

 Somerville Victory'06 Phone Bank July 29th 11:00 am - 1:00 pm at Carl Sciortino's Campaign HQ at 78A Cameron Avenue near Davis & Teele Square. Katie Wallace will be supervising the phone bank. RSVP to Katie Wallace at katewallace@att.net 617-461-4605 or Stephanie Noguera at snoguera@massvictory06.org 617-776-2676.
Todd Kaplan noted that the largest growing group of voters is unenrolled, and asked how we would reverse this.
Joe said that Stephanie is pushing to see how many Dems we can turn out for the election. We need to cancel out votes from the Republican enclaves. Identifying unenrolled voters that could be counted on to vote Democratic is another priority.
Ellen noted the issue of getting some neighborhoods together in areas where there are large numbers of newcomers.
Alex noted that the independents on his street are ticked off at the Party leaders and don't want to be considered Democrats.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Presentation by Joe O'Brien on behalf of Tim Murray, Lt. Gov Candidate
Joe O'Brien (campaign manager for Tim Murray) was present to talk about his candidate. Tim is sorry not to have met with us personally but scheduling didn't allow. He knows of PDS from Carl's campaign and is aware of how successful we've been with other campaigns (referring to PDS co-founder Rebecca.Gewirtz who was present).
He went on to give us a brief bio of Tim Murray. He has been Mayor of Worcester for two terms (the youngest mayor in the city's history).
Joe noted that their campaign sometimes has the difficulty that Tim is not viewed as Progressive in some circles. He promised to make the case that Tim Murray was the most progressive candidate - and went on to list a number of reasons.
Joe noted that Worcester is a conservative city in which Tim has pushed forward progressive issues, including gay marriage. He's been a leader on environmental issues such as the task force on renewable energy, commitments to meet energy conservation goals. Murray is President of Mass Brownfields Association.
Healthcare. Tim strongly supports Universal Healthcare and Health Care for All. Supports school based health centers. Doubled the number in city during his tenure...and they serve families after schools are closed.
Education - leader for funding for urban school systems, after school programs, have tripled ESL and GED programs despite budget issues during his tenure as mayor.
Transportation - Supports commuter rail and mass transit. Led an effort to double commuter rail trips to Worcester.
Immigrant rights - Tim supported in state tuition bill.
Being supported by: Cong. McGovern, Sen. Pam Resor, 200 elected officials, more labor endorsements than any candidate for any statewide constitutional officer.
Why Murray? He can help the ticket win. Joe noted the strength of Tim's Convention win - 24 senate districts. Has a strong organization, and can mobilize organized labor, mayors, etc. He also talked about the importance of a Democratic win in Central Mass where Tim has a strong organization.
Questions from PDS members:
Ellen Q: We've been waiting 20 years for the Green Line extension - What is Tim's position on Green Line
Yes.....clearly important. Supports strongly.
Fred Q: City of Worcester has refused to apply for funding for housing for the homeless. Why?
Tim's first job was working with Homeless folks. Task force of agency providers met to create a voluntary sitting policy. He offered to get back to Fred about the specific federal programs.
Greg Q: Reconcile his environmental record with the opposition to the Cape Wind project
Joe said he thinks that all the candidates are struggling with this issue...he thinks that there is some funding and process issues.
Ofer Q: Two biggest cities in the state, including Worcester wouldn't vote against the Patriot Act...Tim Murray was instrumental in stopping the council from considering it. Why?
Joe explained that the Worcester City Council has a policy of not taking votes on matters that are not "directly related to council business". He said that this was not the only issue of this type where the council didn't take a vote on something not within its purview.
Will Q: What are Tim's priority issues?
First is Local aid. Believes that RE taxes are regressive, and opposes income tax rollback.
Lawrence Q: Given the stated large number of endorsements has it translated into fundraising?
Joe noted they had $382K as of end of month but have spent on field infrastructure. They've lead all others in fundraising. They're looking to mobilizing the groups that endorsed him, and have a field organization in place.
While it was clear that questions could have gone on longer, and as several PDS members noted during the question period, Joe was an excellent and articulate representative for his candidate, Katie broke in to note that time had expired for this portion of the meeting. Katie thanked Joe for coming.
Joe asked about the endorsement process and Katie explained that with three Lt. Governor candidates and the high threshold PDS has for endorsements, it seemed unlikely that any one would get enough votes for an endorsement, but that after the primary PDS would be working hard for the nominee of the party.
Katie provided copies of handouts about Tim Murray and the other candidates for Lt. Governor and noted that there would be an endorsement vote later in the meeting.

Condo Conversion Ordinance Discussion

Katie opened this topic by explaining that representatives of both those in favor of the proposed ordinance and those opposed would speak.

Todd Kaplan, a PDS member who represents low income tenants as an attorney with Cambridge and Somerville Legal Services will speak in favor of the ordinance

Skip Schloming, Executive Director and founder of the Small Property Owners Association will speak in opposition to the ordinance.

Fred explained that there would be three similar questions asked of each side and began the discussion.


Why is/isn't there a need for this legislation?

Todd:
Both State law and Local Ordinances exist, but local ordinance is full of loopholes. 113 condos are now on the market over priced at more than $400K and another 193 under $400K.

Every condo represents a diminishing of rental units available. This ordinance will not stop people from converting...it will just conform benefits to state law.

Skip:
The question to be asked is whether the ordinance will make condo conversions work or not? Only Somerville's ordinance would cover 2 and 3 family properties.

What his members are most concerned about are the new eviction provisions they believe that they are back door rent control.

What should the legislation Accomplish/ What problems would it create?

Todd:
As it is, it protects tenants. Now it is 1 or 2 years protection. The new ordinance would be 2 and 4 years notice. Todd said that he believed that tenants would receive better notification and information. He cited examples of landlords that are engaging in activities that push tenants out the door. Ordinance also increases tenant relocation fees from $300 to $1,000

Skip:

Increasing the number of years is a huge issue for his members (especially at 4 years). He distributed a table of what 80% of median income covers - the group to be protected as "low income" and noted that few tenants would not qualify for the longer notification.

Rent Control part "rebuttable presumption" language re: rent increases. This applies to any eviction where a claim is made that there has been an "unreasonable" increase.

How would advocates address the objections of opponents or vice versa?

Todd:
Opponents are stressing this rebuttable presumption issue....and he thinks that portion of the ordinance could be left out without affecting the ordinance....because most tenants are not represented by counsel. Ordinance would be fine without it. The intent to protect tenants with proper notice sufficient notification time


Skip:
The real legitimate concerns being expressed can be dealt with by "tweaking" the existing ordinance.

SPOA would also want to keep the shorter notification periods. The notification period for the tenants most targeted for protection would wind up being the notification period for everyone in the building.

Questions from PDS:

Katie Q - why does Somerville need its own ordinance rather than just using the state law? If the current ordinance isn't being enforced why will changing it help?

Todd:
State law does not have a permitting or administrative process spelled out. In Somerville you have to apply for a permit and show that you have provided notice. Currently there is no enforcement of this. This is a huge loophole. You could empty the building and sell it to a developer who could apply and say that this building is empty.

The Affordable Housing Organizing Committee has requested that changes to the proposed ordinance be made but as yet the Mayor has not done so..

Skip:
What about a landlord that gets rid of tenants first and then does a conversion. He suggested that there would be another way to achieve that goal. Process must allow for condo conversion, not make it impossible.

Andy Q - If the eviction section went away (to Skip) would that resolve the whole "back door rent control" issue?

Skip - That would solve some of it, but there is a section regarding rent increases during the notice period as well, and it doesn't require 4 years for tenants to find new housing. ...."Someone pays"

Mike G Q: The current environment is to take every rental unit on a given street and try to turn it into $400K condos. He's distressed that elderly and disabled tenants are not given more consideration.

Katie thanked Todd and Skip for their presentations, and particularly thanked Skip for coming to the meeting with about three hour notice after the originally scheduled speaker had to cancel.

Endorsement Discussion for Lt. Governor

Madison pointed out that while he's going to vote for Silbert, he doesn't think a lot of energy should be spent and we should not endorse.

Ofer echoed that all of the LG candidates were fine and that any of them would be good on the ticket. Of the three choices he feels Silbert would be best.

Todd said there was a rumor that Deval Patrick would endorse a LG candidate and he feels we should wait.

Andy said that he read in the paper that a LG candidate contacted Deval...not the other way around, and he then decided to meet with all of the candidates.

Lawrence said that we should also pay attention to LG because they could become Governor....

Mike G noted that no Democratic Governor in 50 years has left office early...

Katie said that the benefit of a PDS endorsement might be to trigger a DFA endorsement

Alex...was impressed with Tim Murray. Has a personal friend who just bought in Worcester and likes Murray. Thinks Deval and Murray would be an interesting ticket.

Andy said although LG is not a big race, he's a strong Tim Murray supporter. He thinks that the Central Mass Base, the field organization will be important. He also said that Deval is a good progressive but he has a couple of black eyes in his resume. He thinks that Murray is progressive.

Ellen - At the last meeting when we decided to support a vote and later had second thoughts. Think we should strategically be thinking about the Governors race.

Fred will be voting for Silbert but also thinks we should not endorse. Calling for more local aid is a safe strategy issue on Murray's part, but Fred's not convinced he's progressive.

Katie then called for a vote. The choices were to vote to endorse one of the three candidates (Goldberg, Murray, or Silbert) or vote to do No Endorsement. Ballots were completed and collected to be counted while the meeting continued.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Announcements -

Learn your rights forum at the Welcome Project. (Katie)
Have you ever been stopped by police while driving? Or had officers knock on your door? The Human Rights Commission is sponsoring a workshop on your rights and responsibilities when dealing with police.
Date: Thursday, July 27, 2006
Time: 6:00 p.m.
Location: Mystic Activity Center, 530 Mystic Ave #103

Fred noted that PDS would have a table at the Welcome Project annual Picnic on August 22.

Katie announced that Tim Toomey would be at the August Meeting and it will be held at the Stop & Shop Community Room in East Somerville.

Ellen - Wednesday 8/2 there is another comment period related to the Green Line project. Notice will be in the paper Thursday....STEP will send out more info.

STEP is sponsoring a bus survey. About to launch Spanish, Portuguese and French versions. Want both bus riders and those who don't ride to respond.

LG Endorsement Results

When tallied up, the result of the vote was to Not Endorse in the Lt. Governor's race.

Plus Delta and Adjournment:

The meeting adjourned at 9:08.

Meeting Agenda 7/25/06

Written by: Katherine Wallace on Jul 24, 2006 12:49 AM EDT

Linked to groups: Progressive Democrats of Somerville

This week has the Fourth Tuesday of the Month and so it is time for our Monthly July PDS Meeting. PDS will meet on Tuesday July 25 at 7:00 pm at the Visiting Nurse Assisted Living Community Room on Lowell Street.

We have two major portions of the meeting this month.

Endorsements - We have previously been visited by Lt. Gov Candidates Andrea Silbert and Deborah Goldberg and on Tuesday we will be visited by Tim Murray's campaign manager. Later in the evening we will vote to endorse in this race. You have already received materials on each of the candidates from our Endorsement Chair Michael Conlon. Last week I sent you a summary of the visits of the two candidates from May. Please read these prior to coming to the meeting.

Issues - We will have an educational segment on the proposed Condo Ordinance. We will hear from a Pro and a Con speaker on the issue and you will have a chance to ask questions as well. It is possible that there may be a vote taken on this issue although it is unlikely to be on a specific ordinance language, but rather on general concepts of principle.

7:00 -7:10 (10 min) Intro and Announcements
7:10 - 7:20 (10 min) - Mass Victory 06 - Stephanie Noguera
7:20 - 7:40 (20 minutes) Tim Murray's Campaign Manager Joe O'Brien
7:40 to 8:25 (45 minutes) Condo Ordinance - Speakers representing Pro and Con with Q&A
It is possible that there could be a vote of some kind on this issue.
8:25 - 8:55 (30 minutes) Endorsement for Lt. Gov - discussion and vote
8:55 Plus Delta (5 minutes)


In other PDS news...

Did you know.......
That the Mass Scorecard has votes from the 2005-2006 House Session posted? It does.
www.massscorecard.org/MA-House.a...

Did you know........
That PDS has its own Official US Post Office MailBox? We do.

PDS
P.O. Box 441434
Somerville MA 02144

Send us some mail! Or your dues! Or a greeting card! We like to get mail.

Progressive Democrats of Somerville
General Meeting
Tuesday July 25, 2006
7:00 - 9:00 pm

Visiting Nurses Association Assisted Living Facility
259 Lowell Street, Somerville
#88 and #90 buses from Davis Sq. on Highland Ave to Lowell


See you on Tuesday night.

Reflections on the Budget Forum

Written by: Katherine Wallace on Jul 24, 2006 12:47 AM EDT

Linked to groups: Progressive Democrats of Somerville

On June 29, 2006 PDS held a forum to explain what goes into making a city budget "Somerville Budget Basics!"
*What is in a city budget?
*Where does the money come from?
*What does it pay for?
*How is the budget created in Somerville?
*What is the budget process in other cities?
*How can I get involved?

Our Issues Co-Chair Fred Berman shares his thoughts on the forum:

The following are my thoughts about last week's very successful PDS Budget Forum, and where we go from here. Thanks again to all the panelists. We encourage you to help us think about next steps. If you are not already members of PDS, we encourage you to join us!!! (to download a membership brochure, go to www.pdsomerville.org/join.pdf... ) If you are interested in helping to think through the next steps in this process, please reply to Fred Berman at Fredlori@rcn.com or 617-776-0503

General Thoughts

(1) We had a great turnout, probably a total of 25 people plus the panelists -- and everyone got to leave in time to see the fireworks!. (By comparison, only four people testified at this year's Board of Aldermen's budget hearing; could it have been that we served food?).

(2) The panelists at our forum did a very good job of painting a general picture of the budget and budget process. It took just about all of the first 90 minutes to cover that ground; it's a good thing that we didn't plan on addressing specific issue areas.

Although we only scratched the surface, we probably have to find ways to short-circuit most of the detail we DID cover ... if we hope to make future discussions about the budget accessible to a broad segment of the public. Most people probably don't have the time or stamina to participate in a generalized workshop on the nature of the budget and the budget-making process AND to engage in a discussion about more specific aspects of the budget.

(2) At the same time that we need to think about strategies for condensing the time and energy it takes to get up to speed about the "big picture", we need to be thinking about which aspects of the budget are worth exploring in greater detail.

Are we better off focusing on what we are getting for our money, rather than on how much we are spending and what we are spending it on?

That is, rather than looking at line items, should we be working to come up with performance measures (a la SomerStat) that focus on the how well City government is meeting our needs? Whose needs? What needs? As per notes below, these are the kinds of questions that were raised in the discussions about how other cities, like Newton and San Francisco, have navigated the tradeoff between line item analysis and outcome analysis....

Stephanie Hirsch's impressive presentation about how substantially the Somerville Budget document has evolved in even the past few years, the brief comments about the impact of the Internet in making the Budget more accessible, Sandy Pooler's discussion about the evolution of the Newton Budget (where, like Somerville, the Mayor proposes, and the Board of Selectmen can only cut or make recommendations for increased or new appropriations), and various references to other Cities' budgets all provided food for thought about HOW a budget document can be a useful tool for City policy analysts and residents, and how the FORMAT of the document can help inspire discussion and helpful analysis / planning. Sandy observed that PERIODIC CHANGE in the format may be intrinsically valuable in that it forces all of us to re-examine how the budget is put together and what it all means.

All of that discussion suggests the need for a re-examination on OUR part as to what we hope to get out of broader public debate about the budget: On the one hand, line item analysis and the micromanagement it entails might be useful if we think that there are inefficiencies or misuse of funds. On the other hand, if that isn't much of a concern, or if the effort to answer such questions is too great or unsustainable, then line item analysis may be a level of detail that distracts from policy questions that have more tangible implications for us and other members of the public.

(See breakdown at the end of this email about possible topics for detailed explorations. )

(3) Somerville is so heavily dependent on Local Aid (33% of appropriated operating budget) that it is difficult to plan too far ahead, since we don't know what the "Cherry Sheet" will allocate. Given that level of dependence, and given the proportion of the Budget that is tied up in "fixed" costs, a relatively small change in Local Aid can have a major impact on the availability of funding for discretionary spending. So, any planning on discretionary spending has to be couched in terms of contingencies: if Local Aid comes in at THIS level, we can allocate it thusly, whereas if Local Aid comes in at THAT level, we should allocate it differently.

(4) As hinted at in #2 above, my takeaway from the Budget Forum was that we need to step back and think about WHY we are looking to broaden participation in the budget process, and then think about the ONE or TWO interventions that might help forward our objectives.

** Are we concerned about accountability on spending? Why? Is it because we think that City funds are being inefficiently used or used inappropriately? In what ways can the City use the budget document to provide greater transparency? If we are to engage in a discussion about actual line item spending (as opposed to spending priorities), what kinds of ground rules are needed to ensure that the tone remains constructive and cooperative, rather than accusatory or defensive?

** Are we interested in building broader support for taxes and a possible Prop 2 ½ override or other sources of revenue generation? What is so important to fund that we need additional revenue? Is there broad-based support for those funding priorities?

** How does the budget reflect current funding priorities? How would different constituencies characterize their funding priorities? What are the budgetary implications of those priorities? How do those priorities differ from constituency to constituency? What are the tradeoffs underlying decisions to fund or increase funding for one program or initiative vs. another?

(4) The last half hour of brainstorming and audience participation provided some excellent suggestions as to HOW to make the budget development process more accessible to residents...

(a) focus on the budget before the only decision is what to cut, that is, LONG BEFORE it is formally sent from the Mayor to the Board of Aldermen. Besides allowing more creative input into the budget process, earlier involvement will allow more time for discussion, as compared to the gotta-get-it-done pressure that the City feels as June draws to a close.

(b) since budgets don't change radically from year to year, do a "post-mortem" in the FY 2007 budget to identify targets for changes in FY 2008.

(c) figure out creative ways to use media to illustrate budget questions, and to make policy and other debates more accessible to residents.

(d) instead of trying to mobilize a big crowd to a single hearing, plan a number of smaller meetings, perhaps focused on specific interest areas, so that people feel a PERSONAL and COMPELLING reason to participate

(e) involve decision makers (and opinion leaders with differing perspectives), so that participants can hear articulate discussions about the pros and cons of different budget strategies

(f) numbers can be boring. Find ways to link numbers to meaningful and tangible aspects of life in Somerville or the performance of government.

(g) Focus on a few key decisions at the formative stage of the budget, and work with the Administration to find openings for discussing the City's choices

(h) Include food and refreshments at all meetings.

(i) work with Somerstat (Stephanie Hirsch is very amenable to sitting down to talk about opportunities to use SomerStat)

(j) work with representatives from the Mayor's office and the Board of Aldermen to explore strategies for building a more interactive budget development process that gives the Aldermen more time to understand what they are being asked to vote on. When the Mayor was an Alderman, he had the same concerns about lack of lead time that members of the BOA have today.

(5) TO BE CONTINUED!!!!!!
-----------Possible topics for future in-depth explorations -----------------------------

(a) Revenues

(i) how property taxes are set, and the interactivity between commercial and residential property taxes;

(ii) how federal funds are used, and potential alternative uses;

(iii) the kinds of grant funding that the School Department, Health Department, and other City Departments access, and the opportunities for and barriers to accessing additional grant funding;

(iv) what are the best opportunities to increase revenues with minimal adverse impact to Somerville residents and businesses?

(b) Capital Expenditures, Bonding, Our Bond Rating and Its Determinants

(i) the kinds of capital projects we are currently paying off, their cost, and their contribution to our annual debt service

(ii) the kinds of capital projects that are awaiting bond funding (sewer separation? more bridges? High School re-construction? Library renovation?), and the projected magnitude of their costs and annual debt service

(iii) how capital projects are budgeted, how actual expenditures are monitored, what we can learn from the experience of the Lincoln Park School (which has a longer term payback period)

(iv) our Bond Rating and what we can do, if anything, to lower our interest rate

(v) where affordable housing fits into the picture

(c) The Operating Budget

(i) "Fixed Costs" - Health insurance, pensions, and other "fixed costs" constitute a large portion of the municipal budget. Is it worth learning the details of what we are paying for in these areas, or is our energy better focused on discretionary spending?

(ii) School Budget: to what extent is additional line item analysis useful? To what extent is greater line item detail needed to allow meaningful analysis? To what extent can we link line item funding to specific educational objectives?

(iii) Public Safety, Public Works, Public Health and Human Services, Arts/Culture and Recreation: to what extent is line item analysis useful? To what extent is greater line item detail needed to allow meaningful analysis? To what extent can we link line item funding to specific objectives?

(iv) Other priorities: what kinds of priorities are inadequately funded? How can City funds leverage other sources of funding for these priorities?

PDS in June - Issues and Endorsements

Written by: Katherine Wallace on Jul 24, 2006 12:46 AM EDT

Linked to groups: Progressive Democrats of Somerville

June had lots of issues of interest to PDS members getting attention in Somerville. We endorsed a few candidates at our monthly meeting and held our Budget Forum.

It's almost time for our PDS JULY Meeting on Tuesday July 25 at VNA on Lowell Street, but before I send the agenda out for that let's catch up on June.

PDS met on Tuesday June 27 at the Church at Chapel and College Ave. The following is a combination of notes from our Secretary Paula Stuart and me (mostly Paula with some editing and additions by me).

1) Endorsements
We started off with a recap of the recent Endorsement Committee meeting and discussed the endorsement processes we would be using this summer for various races.

Governor

PDS endorsed Deval Patrick early this year.

Lt Governor

In May, candidates for Lt. Governor Andrea Silbert and Deborah Goldberg met with a large and lively PDS meeting just prior to the Democratic State Convention. Earlier this year we met with Sam Kelley before he dropped out of the race. The only Lt. Gov candidate from whom we have not yet heard is Tim Murray. Candidate Murray is not able to make it to our meetings due to scheduling conflicts, but his campaign manager will speak at our July meeting. Prior to the meeting information on all three candidates will be sent to the list and then we will vote for endorsement during our July 25th meeting.

Secretary of State

Bill Galvin was invited to address PDS meeting or send a representative and his campaign declined to respond. We had already heard from the campaign manager for John Bonifaz at our May meeting, and there are a number of PDS members who had been actively working on John's campaign. Prior to the June meeting information on both candidates was distributed to the list and we scheduled an endorsement vote for the Secretary of State race this June 27th meeting.

Endorsement Vote for Secretary of State:
Prior to taking a vote on the Secretary of State race, there was a general discussion about the job and what it entailed, as well as the merits of the two candidates, the incumbent William Galvin and the challenger John Bonifaz.

Bonifaz supporters spoke fervently about his work in voter's rights and clean elections issues and the importance of this as a progressive issue. Bonifaz has an impressive record on voter's rights issues.

Melissa McWhinney also raised the public records laws as another key role the Secretary of State plays and that she thought it important to have someone in the office that would enforce the public's right to access information.

Paula pointed out that much of the Secretary's job is about making the trains run on time, and that although Bonifaz may have an impressive record with voting rights, there were other aspects of the job that he had no apparent experience with, including being responsible for monitoring securities firms, registering and overseeing corporations, etc.

Mike Grunko expressed the feeling that the Governor's race was crucially important to win in November and concern that PDS not dilute its efforts too much - especially as it seems unlikely that Bonifaz can win.

Katie reminded members the PDS endorsement could trigger an endorsement from DFA - which would generate some press and some resources for the campaign.

Following a lively discussion, a vote was taken to endorse for Secretary of State. John Bonifaz won the endorsement with exactly the 66% (two thirds) vote required.

Uncontested Races

Pat Jehlen, Jarrett Barrios, Denise Provost, Carl Sciortino, and Tim Toomey, are all unopposed in this November's state election. We discussed whether PDS should endorse in the uncontested races. There was clear support for endorsing candidates that PDS worked hard to get elected in the many many special elections last year and in 2004.

There was a more mixed reaction to Tim Toomey due to past history. Katie gave a quick synopsis of this for new members. Two years ago PDS endorsed Avi Green instead of incumbent Tim Toomey. Representative Toomey won the election by a narrow margin in Cambridge precincts, although the PDS endorsed candidate won in every Somerville precinct in the district. Toomey requested the PDS endorsement, and when he did not receive it chose to challenge the legitimacy of the organization and to demand - through the press--a list of members and a breakdown of how members voted.

Joe Beckmann reminded members that it was important to open a dialog with Representative Toomey and pointed out that the proposed jail was being targeted in his district. Ron Newman then made a motion that was duly seconded and voted unanimously to table and endorsement for Tim Toomey and to invite him to attend a future PDS meeting.

Senator Jarrett Barrios attended this meeting to talk about the proposed jail. After he left we discussed voted on his endorsement.

Endorsement Votes for uncontested races. In four separate votes, the members present:

Voted unanimously to endorse Senator Patricia Jehlen
Voted unanimously to endorse State Representative Carl Sciortino
Voted unanimously to endorse State Representative Denise Provost
Voted to endorse Senator Barrios by 83% in favor

2) Budget Forum:

Fred did an overview of the budget forum scheduled for Thursday June 29. A number of interesting presentations are scheduled, including an opportunity for those present to distribute budget jelly beans as they think appropriate. Newton CFO and Somerville resident will show how Newton puts its budget together; Stephanie Hirsh from the Somerstat program will talk about Somerville's budget process. Paula Stuart will outline federal funds and the role they play in Somerville. Paul Bockelman and Jim Thomas will present an overview of Somerville's budget trends.

Lawrence noted that this budget forum was the beginning of an effort to get community members more involved in and aware of the city budget process and how it will affect them.

By now you should have read Fred's summary of the forum.

3) Issues Committee:

The committee is discussing how PDS should deal with the various issues about which we are concerned and which other groups ask us to take a position on. There will be a further discussion at the next general meeting. Issues used as an example include the Condo Conversion Ordinance, the possibility of a jail in Somerville, and the ongoing debate about Assembly Square.

Fred Berman framed the question about how the issues committee would work. He used the Condo Conversion Ordinance as an example, saying that he hoped PDS would take a position on the ordinance in the future. He said it does not appear that any action will be taken by the BOA until the fall. He stated that the debate is larger than the specific issue of the ordinance -- impacting on tenant and landlord rights as an example. Marty noted that it was important to understand the existing law in order to compare it to the proposed ordinance.

4) A Somerville Jail?

Melissa McWhinney reported on a recent meeting that was held to raise awareness of the proposal by Middlesex County Sheriff James DePaulo about combining the badly needed new Somerville police station with a new jail to be located in Somerville, replacing the overcrowded Cambridge facility about to close for asbestos remediation.

The Cambridge facility will be closed for three years. This means that the 500 + prisoners (these are people being held prior to trial). Apparently there are plans to add 300 new cells at the Billerica House of Correction and the Sheriff is proposing a 600 bed facility in Somerville. She noted that Framingham was also suggested but has already said "hell no" to the idea.

Melissa believes that DePaulo has proposed a Bond Bill that she think she wants approved before the end of the fiscal year, although that would be in just a few days.

Jarrett Barrios joined the meeting and was asked to comment on the jail issue. He said that it was important to understand what kind of a facility it would be and weigh the benefits. He noted that a facility would have to be cited somewhere in the county and that Somerville was close to the original location and to the Courthouse itself (for when it reopens). Unlike others in the Somerville delegation, he did not come out against locating the proposed jail in Somerville. He did say that the matter was not going to go through the Public Safety Committee, upon which he serves, but through another process or committee.

5) Committee Openings

Katie Wallace noted that the co-chair positions for the committees on Membership and Endorsements were both open and suggested that anyone interested in either of these positions talk with the current co-chairs to see what is involved.

6) Other June Happenings
June was a busy month. Many PDS'ers were involved in various hearings on topics such as Condo Ordinance, Assembly Square, MBTA, McGrath Highway Street Crossing, and School Issues. Fun was had at Rebekah Gewirtz' fundraiser, blogging events, Gay Pride Flag Raising at City Hall, Marching in the Gay Pride Parade and the Somerville Fireworks.

7) PDS JULY Meeting on Tuesday July 25 at VNA on Lowell Street
Agenda coming soon!

Notes from Pre Convention Meeting, the Convention and Candidates

Written by: Katherine Wallace on Jul 24, 2006 12:44 AM EDT

Linked to groups: Progressive Democrats of Somerville

What has PDS been up to in the recent past?

The Democratic State Convention was held in Worcester June 2 & 3 and many PDS members attended as delegates, alternates or volunteers. To prep for the Convention, we turned our regular monthly meeting on May 23rd into our "Convention Edition".

1) Convention and Delegate Training
All of the PDS delegates were committed to Deval Patrick for Governor. The first part of the meeting was devoted to Convention and Delegate Training. We talked about the credentials, the delegate guide, rules and rules changes, voting procedures, rumors, when to be where, what to wear. In addition to Katie we had guests Carlene Campbell and Lauren Leeman demystifying the convention process and answering questions. Carlene and Lauren were the Deval Patrick floor whips for our 2nd Middlesex district.

2) Secretary of the Commonwealth
Stephanie Sanchez, then John Bonifaz' campaign manager, now the campaigns Senior Strategist spoke about his candidacy.

3) Lt. Governor Candidates
Two of the Candidates for Lt. Governor visited our meeting to talk about their candidacy and answer questions from our members. Our Secretary Paula Stuart took the following notes about the two Candidates as they spoke.

Lt. Governor Candidate Andrea Silbert:

Andrea Silbert was introduced. Katie mentioned that both State Rep Denise Provost and State Senator Pat Jehlen have endorsed Andrea.

Andrea introduced herself as a working mother of three. Education and other issues related to children are important reasons for her to run. She noted that she had just signed up her first child for kindergarten today. She and husband concerned that her children may not get the same education they got.

She noted that Massachusetts has one of highest rates of childhood asthma in the state.

Why Lieutenant Governor? She's "bringing a job description with her.

She founded and runs the Center for Women and Enterprise, which has provided small business training and assistance with finding venture capital for new business ideas - among their success stories is Zip Cars...

How do we get more money back from Washington? Need to work on regional priorities with other New England states.

Andrea said she started out working on Wall Street, and she wanted to be "part of the solution" Lived in Brazil and Costa Rica and saw the worst of the gap between rich and poor. This is what our country does not want to become, she said. She wants to make Massachusetts the first state in the union to end hunger and homelessness and believes that is possible.

Note the following Q&A's are given as samples, and are not word-for-word transcription of either the questions or the answers. (Some of the questions, and some of the answers, were quite long). These excerpts are intended to convey the flavor of the exchange only.

Bill Bennett: Asked for her thoughts on the Lottery and having money come back to cities and towns.
Answer "That's where it should go"

Ron Newman asked: "Do you support Cape Wind?"
Answer: "Yes," She noted that she also supported Regional Green House Gas amendment.

Ofer asked: "You seemed to support MCAS as a graduation requirement...?"
Answer: "No. It is part of what you look at, but shouldn't be sole criteria"

Fred Berman asked: "would you support elimination of mandatory sentences."
Answer: "Yes...but we need more detox beds, and we need more prevention."

Marty Martinez asked: "How would you influence the Democratic Party structure?"
Answer: "I lead by example."

Mellissa McWhinney asked: "Do you support a raise in the minimum wage?"
Answer: "Yes, absolutely."

Andrea thanked PDS for the opportunity to talk with us and asked for delegates to consider supporting her at the convention.

Lt. Governor Candidate Deborah Goldberg:

Lt. Gov Candidate Deb Goldberg thanked the group for the opportunity to meet with us and then gave a brief introduction of her qualifications and background. She said she's been politically active for her whole life. Ran for town meeting in Brookline in 1997 and became a Selectman in 1998, serving as Chairman 2002 to 2004. She talked about how her experiences in Town government - such as budgeting and homeland security issues - were good training."

She said she's running for LG because we have an obligation to take stands that are ethical and stand up. She said, as an example, that she supported the Mayor of New Bedford in issuing diplomas to those who fail MCAS but meet all other requirements for graduation...

Note the following Q&A's are given as samples, and are not word-for-word transcription of either the questions or the answers. (Some of the questions, and some of the answers, were quite long). These excerpts are intended to convey the flavor of the exchange only.

Bill Bennett asked "How do you feel about taxes?"
Answer: "I worked against the tax rollback."

Ron Newman asked: "What do you see as the role of the Lt. Governor?"
Answer: "Among the most important is to work on appointing the right judges - overseeing the Governors Council - Interfacing with local communities."

Greg asked: "What about campaign reform, public financing, fair elections, etc. ???"
Answer: "We need access to media"

Ellin Reisner asked: "How do we finance public transportation?
Answer: "MassDevelopment has funding to invest in transportation projects. They want to invest in these types of deals. There are alternative financing options she'd like to work on."

(Note that Ms. Goldberg's presentation was considerably longer than the other candidate and left less time for questions).

4) MassScorecard.org
Jesse Gordon and the Scorecard Committee have been working on updating the Scorecard with new votes. In May we discussed if we should we spend time between then and the convention to do a handout for the convention. Pros and Cons were discussed. Concerns were largely related to having time to vet the questions to be listed and put together something we could be proud of in such a short amount of time. Supporters, including Marty and Katie pointed out that this is the issue PDS is known for, and we can have access to an exhibition table so it will be an informational effort and will serve to keep the issue before active members of the Party. We agreed that i t was best to go forward. Jesse and Company put together the materials and we distributed them at the convention. Since then the Scorecard now has posted the new votes for the legislature online live at www.MassScorecard.org.

5) Announcements & Issues
a) Helen Corrigan announced the Mass Victory 06 Campaign which will work to make sure that we elect a Democrat as Governor in November. We'll hear more details about this campaign in July.
b) We voted to go forward with an endorsement process for Secretary of the Commonwealth (in June) and Lt. Governor (in July)
c) We voted to contribute $40 to the cost of the table at the convention to be sponsored by DFA, CPPAX, PDS, PDC etc. The group voted unanimously to do so. At the Convention we had new sample Scorecard vote flyers as well as a new press release and FAQ which we distributed from the table and on the floor.
d) We voted to approve the request of Melissa McWhinney for PDS to co sponsor a legal observers training program. (Not yet scheduled)
e) Issues Chair Fred Berman announced that the Board of Alderman would be considering and holding hearings on a proposed new Condo Ordinance. The Ordinance is still under review and we will feature an educational session on the proposal at our July meeting.
f) Lawrence Paollela announced he had filed a FOIA request revealed with the city that revealed $600K had been spent to date supporting bad legislation at Assembly Square.

6) The Convention!
I had a fun time at the convention. It was great to be there with so many PDS members and friends. We had over 40 from Somerville alone! On Friday night Senator and 1972 Presidential Candidate George McGovern addressed the convention and later he was sitting right next to our delegation. I was excited to be able to say hello to him because in 1972 as a young girl I stayed up every night until about 4 am watching the Democratic Convention on TV. Yes, I had a few political junkies in my family too. I was glued to the set. So you can see that I loved Democratic Conventions from an early age. The speeches, the vote counting, I can't get enough.

We had a great location on the floor of the convention and we all met just about everyone who is anyone in Democratic politics.

In Pat Jehlen's Second Middlesex District (which for purposes of the convention seating included all of Somerville and Medford) there were 130 delegates present and the votes from Somerville and Medford were:

Governor 129 votes cast
Patrick - 90
Reilly - 32
Gabrielli - 7

Lt. Governor 124 votes cast:
Murray - 49
Silbert - 46
Goldberg 29

Secretary of Commonwealth 130 votes cast
Galvin - 84
Bonifaz - 46

There were several people who passed on voting for Lt. Gov and 1 person who Only voted for Galvin, not Gov. or Lt. Gov.

Somerville had 50 elected, 19 ex-officio and 12 add on delegates for a total of 81 eligible delegates but not all of them attended. Of these it was divided about evenly between PDS people and the Mayor's people with a few unknown add on folks. The rest of the delegation was from Medford.

Almost all of the Somerville delegates voted for Patrick with the exception of Jack Connolly and Alderman Dennis Sullivan who voted for Gabrielli. A couple of the add-on delegates voted for Reilly and at least one voted for Gabrielli. The Mayor, our State Legislative Delegation, our Congressman and PDS had all endorsed Deval Patrick early.

For Lt. Gov in Somerville virtually all of the Mayor's people including the Mayor voted for Murray and virtually all of the PDS people voted for Silbert with a few voting for Goldberg.

For Secretary in Somerville all of the Mayor's people voted for Galvin and about 90% of the PDS people voted for Bonifaz. Our Mayor, our State Legislative Delegation and our Congressman all voted for Galvin.

In Medford, Reilly had won a majority of the Caucus delegates and for Lt. Gov it seemed split between Murray and Goldberg with a lesser amount for Silbert. For Secretary, Galvin got most of the votes from Medford, but there were some Bonifaz voters.

Most Mayors seemed to be voting for their fellow Mayor Murray and asking their people to vote the same.

The Percentage Totals for the entire Convention Vote which required 51% for endorsement and 15% to get a spot on the September Primary Ballot were:

Governor
Patrick - 57.98%
Reilly - 26.66%
Gabrielli - 15.36%

Lt. Governor:
Murray - 49.02%
Silbert - 28.94%
Goldberg - 22.04%

Secretary of Commonwealth
Galvin - 70.70%
Bonifaz - 29.3%

The roar for Deval Patrick when he won the endorsement was huge. It was so awesome to see so much support. Bonifaz surprised a lot of people by getting twice the percentage he needed to get on the ballot. The Lt. Gov candidates agreed to allow a voice vote for the second ballot and Murray was declared the endorsed candidate of the convention.

PDS Meets Congressman Michael Capuano

Written by: Katherine Wallace on Jul 24, 2006 12:42 AM EDT

Linked to groups: Progressive Democrats of Somerville

On May 8th Congressman Michael Capuano met with a group of about 40 members of PDS at the VNA building on Lowell Street. Our newly elected PDS Secretary Paula Stuart took the following notes during the meeting.

Katie Wallace welcomed Congressman Capuano on behalf of the group and each member present introduced themselves, specifying their roles in PDS (we had both of our founding members present that evening), their ward or neighborhood and other political affiliations (such as members of the City Committee, PDC, etc. State Representative Carl Sciortino and Alderman Rebekah Gewirtz were also present. Congressman Capuano was accompanied by his wife Barbara, his son Michael and Kate Auspitz of the congressman's staff

After introductions, Katie presented a brief history of PDS and how it was formed and what we have been involved in to date, including elections, caucus activities, endorsements, educational activities such as candidates forums and other events, and cooperative efforts with other agencies, and organizations.

Marty Martinez provided details of some of our organizing and education efforts.

(It was, when you heard it all together, an amazing list of accomplishments for such a young organization! - my editorial comment and personal opinion).

At Katie's suggestion, Mike then talked about what he's been working on in Washington and his efforts to help the party elect Democrats in other districts. He expressed how tiring it is to not only not be able to win an issue, but to be prevented from even presenting one. He provided a glimpse of how the party in the majority was able to manipulate the rules of debate and voting to make it very difficult to even present alternative ideas to those of the leadership.

He said that he's also found himself deeply involved in issues he didn't expect to be, such as the situation in Darfur. As a former Mayor he expected to be involved in domestic issues, rather than international ones, he said, but "Some issues come to you, you don't have to go looking for them"

Then the fun began as PDS members asked the Congressman questions ranging from divisions within the party to immigration laws to progressive vs. conservative voting patterns.

Mike talked about differences in even Democratic districts across the country. He noted that he had colleagues to whom he really can't discuss gun control because it was a deal breaker in that Rep's district. He noted that the same congressman was a staunch and effective ally on other progressive issues. He talked about needing to get 51% of the vote before you could change anything. He also talked about no one being anointed with the right answers.

In response to Mike's comment about not being afraid of the voters on issues, he was challenged with the example of a civil rights issue such as gay marriage, and whether that type of issue should be put to the voters. Mike's response was that now might not yet be the time for that vote to occur but that at some point, having the electorate vote to uphold those laws actually could make them stronger.

In answer to a question about whether deficit reduction was possible, he talked about the importance of paying for the services we want and balancing the budget. Noting that he believed we had to pay for the services we want and that voters needed to have the information to make some of those choices.

He referred to the divisions within the party as being "a family fight" a comment that generated some lively discussions after the formal meeting was over and folks were chatting in smaller informal groups.

In response to the question of what PDS could do to help elect Democrats, Mike talked about a couple of potential candidates in New Hampshire and the need to "get on a bus" and help with some of those campaigns. Katie noted that many PDS members had done just that for prior elections and would be willing to do so again. Mike promised to get back to us at the appropriate time.

The meeting ended a little after 8 pm but with a series of small discussions breaking out among members

May 23rd Convention Edition

Written by: Katherine Wallace on May 17, 2006 12:32 AM EDT

Linked to groups: Progressive Democrats of Somerville

The Progressive Democrats of Somerville will hold its regular monthly meeting on Tuesday May 23 at the VNA on Lowell Street beginning at 7:00 pm. As promised this will be our Convention Edition. Many of our delegates have asked for a delegate training and that is how our meeting will begin. But if you aren't a delegate, don't feel left out. I promise you'll be entertained and informed even if you won't be going to the convention. We will have two special guests, Lt. Gov Candidates Deborah Goldberg and Andrea Silbert who will appear separately to answer your questions. We'd like a big turnout for this meeting so I hope you will come.

Progressive Democrats of Somerville
General Meeting
Tuesday May 23, 2006
7:00 pm

Visiting Nurses Association Assisted Living Facility
259 Lowell Street, Somerville
#88 and #90 buses from Davis Sq. on Highland Ave to Lowell


1) Delegate Training Session (30 minutes)
What is it like at the convention? What time I have to be there to be counted? How long do I have to stay? Will there be a lot of speeches? How does the voting work? Where do we sit? Can we help our candidates? What happens on Friday? Is it important?

These and other questions will be answered in the first half hour of our meeting. Do you have other questions you'd like answered? Please let me know.

2) Who is running and why should I vote for them? (20 minutes)
PDS has endorsed Deval Patrick for Governor, but there are 4 candidates running for Lt. Governor and 2 candidates running for Secretary of the Commonwealth. Do you want to advocate for your favorite candidate? This is not a formal endorsement process but a chance to give others reasons why you will be voting for a particular candidate.
www.deborahgoldberg.com
www.samkelly2006.com
www.timmurray.org
www.andreasilbert.com/
www.johnbonifaz.com
www.billgalvin.org

3) Budget Forum (10 minutes)
Our Issues Committee has been hard at work preparing for their budget forum which is scheduled for June. They will report on their progress and get you excited about attending the forum next month.

4) Lt. Gov Candidate Andrea Silbert (20 minutes)
The candidate will answer your questions. Do your homework at www.andreasilbert.com/...

5) Announcements (10 minutes)

6) Lt. Gov Candidate Deborah Goldberg (20 minutes)
The candidate will answer your questions. Do your homework at www.deborahgoldberg.com/...

7) Plus Delta (10 minutes)

Everything You Always Wanted To Know About the Annual Meeting

Written by: Katherine Wallace on Apr 24, 2006 3:58 PM EDT

Linked to groups: Progressive Democrats of Somerville

Everything You Always Wanted To Know About the Annual Meeting

Who is it?

Progressive Democrats of Somerville
Annual Meeting

When is it?

Tuesday April 24, 2006
6:30 pm - 9:00 pm

Where is it?

Visiting Nurses Association Assisted Living Facility
259 Lowell Street, Somerville
#88 and #90 buses from Davis Sq. on Highland Ave to Lowell

What's Going to Happen There?

We will have an agenda of food, fun, elections, guests as well as take a close look at our past and more importantly our Future!

What kind of Food will be there?

That depends"¦What are you bringing? Our Annual Meeting starts a half hour earlier than our usual meetings so we can fit in time for socializing and food. At 6:30 we will set up a table for a potluck of snacks, beverages and desserts. Everyone on the Steering Committee is bringing something. Perhaps you can bring something to share too?

Who is speaking?

Co-Founder of PDS and now Alderman from Ward 6 Rebekah Gewirtz is going to be our keynote speaker. Rebekah will rev up the crowd with excitement for how you can make a difference if you try and inspire you to get even more involved in helping PDS take action.

We'll also have a couple of other guest speakers interspersed between our Steering Committee elections.

How do I run for a position on the Steering Committee?

It's easy! When you come in we will have a nomination box. You can place your own name in the nomination box or someone else can nominate you. When the time comes for that particular race we will announce the names that were nominated and you will declare if you accept the nomination. If your name isn't in the box, you can still nominate yourself or have someone else nominate you too verbally.

Everyone running for a particular seat can give a 1-2 minute speech about why they are running or why they would be a great addition to the Steering Committee.

Then we will pass out the ballots and everyone eligible to vote will. A simple majority gets you elected. This year there are a few seats that have co-chairs so we are looking for two people. In that case the top two vote getters will get the position.

Am I eligible to vote?

If you have attended two prior PDS meetings or one PDS meeting along with PDS actions or activities and are current with dues or have had your dues waived you can vote. Karen and Elena will be at the door checking you in. They'll tell you if you are eligible.

What are the open positions we are voting for?

* 1 Chair
* 1 Vice-Chair
* 1 Secretary
* 1 Treasurer
* 1 Affirmative Action Chair
* 2 Issues Committee Co-chairs
* 2 Membership Committee Co-chairs
* 2 Endorsement Committee Co-chairs

Many of your current Steering Committee members are not running for reelection. If not enough people run to fill every seat, that seat can be held open and the vacancy can be filled at a future meeting.

Is this whole thing just about the Elections?

No. We will also be following up on the action item from our last meeting where we will go over who is running for what in the State in September and November and decide in what races we will hold an endorsement process in addition to Governor, State Senate and State Representative.

Hey! Isn't that Elections?

Umm, well technically yes, but it isn't the Steering Committee elections.

Yeah Right! Anything Else at this meeting?

Yes. I will recap the highlights of our past year. Fred and Lawrence will lead a discussion on the future of PDS, our goals and where you fit into that.

And What Is the Fun Part?

Everything will be fun! The food will be fun. The people will be fun. There will be other fun too. But you'll have to come to find out what that is.

I want to know more. This isn't everything!

Okay, I don't always have ESP. If you have any other questions contact me directly at katewallace@att.net or call me at 617-461-4605.

Meeting Agenda 3/28/06

Written by: Katherine Wallace on Mar 26, 2006 12:05 AM EST

Linked to groups: Progressive Democrats of Somerville

Hello PDS,

We have a lot of follow-up items this month but we will also have a guest visitor - Lt. Governor Candidate Sam Kelly. We are expecting him at 8:15 pm. We expect to have other candidates visit future meetings. I hope we'll see you there so we have a good turnout for our visitor and also for the important business of determining what roles the Steering Committee will have in the next year. The meeting will begin promptly at 7:00 pm!

The meeting will be held in the 2nd floor meeting room (room 24) at the College Ave Methodist Church at the corner of College Ave and Chapel St near Davis Square. The Church is T accessible from the Davis Square subway stop as well as numerous busses that go through the square including the #87 & #88.


Progressive Democrats of Somerville
General Meeting
Tuesday March 28, 2006
7:00 pm

1) Introductions and Question of the Month (10 min)

2) By Laws Changes (30 min) - We made some changes at our February meeting, but tabled decision on the changes relating to the Steering Committee to this March meeting. We need to make our decision on this now so we will be ready to elect new officers in April. The proposed changes were sent out in an earlier email. If you still need them please let us know and we will send them to you.

3) Campaigns this year (30 min) - What races should PDS endorse in? We have endorsed Deval Patrick for Governor. We have endorsed in our Municipal races and our local State Senate and State Representative races. How important is it for us to endorse in other state-wide races? We have heard arguments for and against. If we endorse in one, do we have to endorse in another? Where do we draw the line? In September and November we will be voting for US Senator, US Representative, Governor, Lt. Governor, Secretary of the Commonwealth, Attorney General, Treasurer, Auditor, Governor's Council, District Attorney, State Senator (2 races), State Representative (3 races), Register of Deeds, Clerk of Courts.

4) Follow Up to prior agenda items (5 min)
a) Op-Ed Group (1 min) - We are looking for a volunteer to take the lead on this. If you are interested, please contact Todd Kaplan at toddskaplan@yahoo.com
b) Budget Process Forum (1 min) - Jen Lawrence xcntry@hotmail.com will take the lead on this with Fred Berman fredlori@rcn.com. We hope to hold the forum in May.
c) Save Our Homes Walk (2 min) - At our February meeting we agreed that PDS would raise money to be a sponsor of this walk for the Somerville Affordable Housing Organizing Committee. The funds raised help those at risk of homelessness to secure housing with quick cash grants. If you would like to help us reach our $250 goal, please bring a check made out to "SCC Save Our Homes" to the Tuesday Meeting. Any amount small or large would be appreciated. We need to turn in our sponsor money next week. The 5k walk itself takes place on Sunday April 30. I along with many PDSers did it last year and it is lots of fun to walk with your friends and neighbors on the route that passes affordable housing landmarks.
d) Convention Training (1 min) - We are looking into holding training on what to expect at the Democratic State Convention with some other groups.

5) Visit from Lt. Gov Candidate Sam Kelley (15 min) - Lt. Governor Candidate Sam Kelley will discuss his candidacy and answer your questions. He recently endorsed Deval Patrick for Governor. This is a getting to know you visit, not part of an endorsement process. For more information on Sam Kelley, and to prepare your questions for him, please visit his website at www.samkelley2006.com/home.asp.... We expect him to arrive at 8:15 pm.

6) Annual Meeting Planning (10 min) -
a) The Agenda (6 min)-Our Annual Meeting is on Tuesday April 25. A big part of the annual meeting is the election of new officers and the Steering Committee. We also do a review of the past year. What else would you like to see happen at the Annual Meeting?
b) Open Steering Committee Positions (3 min) - We will be holding elections at our Annual Meeting on Tuesday April 25. Quite a few of our current steering committee will not be running for reelection so there will be many many open positions with no incumbent running. This is a great way to get involved and help shape the organization and I hope many of you will run.
c) Annual Dues (1 min) - Our annual dues of $10 is due at the Annual meeting (which can be waived by speaking privately with the Treasurer Elena Swaim), so please bring your check or cash on either 3/28 or 4/25 so we can be sure everyone is current with dues.

7) Announcements (8 min)
a) Monday May 8Th. (1 min) - Please save the date! PDS will meet with Congressman Michael Capuano on Monday May 8th. . We hope to discuss what he thinks the role of a group like ours should play in politics, issues and the community as well as how we can build bridges between the perceived "old" and "new" Somerville.
b) World Social Forum in Venezuela (5 min)-
c) Ironweed Film (2 min) - We are considering holding informal gatherings to view socially relevant films. www.ironweedfilms.com...

8) Plus/Delta (5 min)