June 6, 2013 Central Committee Minutes

Johnson County Democrats Central Committee Minutes
Thursday, June 6, 2013
29 People signed in plus 1 Excused
Events below happened out of order – I put them back in the original order of the Agenda.
1. Approval of June 6, 2013 Agenda – Without Objection.
2. Approval of May 2, 2013 Minutes – Without Objection.
3. Chair Report – this has been a busy month
a. Hall of Fame – Thanks to everyone who came and worked the event
i. Financially it was a good turnout.
ii. It was mentioned that the coffee was turned off early – Mike will note to make sure it is left on next year.
4. Treasurer Report – Without Objection.
5. Exec. Committee Reports
a. Dennis Roseman handed out a very informative “We Proudly Support You” handout to be available at the Pride Parade on 06/15/2013 at our table. It has 2 pages with our platform views on Diversity and 1 page which contrasts the JC Republican’s platform. Mike will try to resize and get printed. I have copied it to the end of the minutes.
b. IDP may also supply materials for the table
6. Recognition of Elected Officials
a. Janelle Rettig, Travis Weipert, Patrick Hughes, Brad Kunkle, Bob Dvorsky
7. Old Business
a. Free Lunch – raised $77.25 … attendance keeps growing, now over 100
i. Looking for help for August 2nd, 10-12 or 12-2. Contact Robin.Roseman@gmail.com if available
b. Resignation of Karla Smith from IC11 and to opening in NL3. Approved. Contact info@jcdems.org if you have any suggestions for Central Committee members.
c. Still have 3 openings for the 2nd District Central Committee – Contact info@jcdems.org if interested.
8. New Business
a. Senator Bob Dvorsky spoke on the Iowa Legislative Session Review
i. Wanted to get 4 things done and got them done.
1. Education Reform
2. Expansion of Medicaid
3. Commercial Property Tax
4. Balance the budget
ii. Couldn’t get everything they wanted as it was a compromise between Governor, Senate and House
iii. 4 things they will be working on going forward
1. Elder Abuse
2. Domestic Violence
3. Food Bank
4. Water Quality Nutrient Management
b. Iowa NEW Leadership Lunch Review
i. Week-long conference which we supplied lunch one day – 50 woman in attendance
1. Mike C, Gerene D, Diana C and Kathryn V attended
2. JC Republicans were invited to attend but declined.
c. ICE: Data & Communication Committee Report
i. John D is cleaning up his data
ii. John D and Gerene D were instructed on My Campaign
iii. Donations – Brad K looked into various ways to set up on jcdems.org site.
1. Paypal and ActBlue seem the best routes – we may already have an ActBlue acct.
d. Justice Center election review
i. Janelle R spoke – 5 Supervisors with 5 different views. Etheredge believes we can build without Unions …
1. Basically we are starting over – all plans are back on the table.
ii. Thanks to Janet, Lonnie and the Board of Supervisors for all they did to try to get this done.
1. JCDems donated but didn’t do much else. We need to step up and be more involved and provided more help.
e. Hall of Fame Review
i. Pic finally made it to the Press Citizen (who cropped out the JCDem sign)
ii. Need to start planning earlier on all of our events – get more people involved Contact info@jcdems.org if you are interested in assisting with future events
f. Fall BBQ
i. Tom Larking moved to set a date of October 13, 2013 for the Fall BBQ. Seconded. Approved.
1. If need to change we still can but at least we can start moving forward with plans
ii. A BBQ Committee was set up to work on it
1. Janelle R suggested trying to make it fun again. If you have ideas or suggestions please send to info@jcdems.org.
g. Parades – (so far) up to date schedule below
i. Will hand our jcdems stickers at most parades – will include all info (facebook, email etc)
ii. Pride Parade will be beads.
iii. For the Freedom Fest parade (July 4) Pete U will pull a big trailer with bales of hay for the electeds and people who cannot walk the whole parade. Janelle R will pull the smaller trailer.
h. Board of Supervisors: Districts Special Election
i. Not going to be one now
i. Johnson County – Cedar County Dems picnic Aug 3 in West Branch
i. May be at David Johnson’s house. Potluck? Mike will have more info at next CC meeting.
j. Other new business
i. Move Central Committee around during the summer (CVL, N. Liberty etc). Provide rides if you can. If you need a ride to any event please send an email to info@jcdems.org and we will try to find a ride for you. It is important to us that you attend events!
9. Speakers and/or Announcements
a. Braley Campaign – Casey Petrashek (caseypetrashek01@gmail.com – (515) 720-5305) and John Hall (JohnRHall91@gmail.com – (608) 215-3391)
i. Believe this will be a 100 Million Dollar race – depending on groundwork
ii. Looking for County Coordinators – if interested contact John or Casey
iii. Looking for a self-motivated Intern – if interested contact Casey or John
b. Brian Kirschling – Sept 10 School Board Election
i. From IC, moved away, came back in 2000
ii. Believes IC a great community to raise kids
iii. Is running because IC schools gave him great tools to succeed and wants to give back
iv. Schools need to be proactive instead of reactive
v. Lots of challenges facilities wise. It is time for a 3rd High School
c. Jim Tate – Sept 10 School Board Election
i. Has been involved with the School Board for the last 3 years
ii. Grew up in Maryland and Virginia – 4 years with the Marines
iii. Wanted the best opportunity for his children so moved to IC
iv. Believes we need a 3rd High School but we can wait a couple more years and should spend the time getting it set up correctly. Build smaller and add on as needed.
d. Kingsley Botchway II (botchwayk@gmail.com) – Iowa City Council
i. From S. Carolina – went to UI Law School
ii. Stayed because there are a lot more opportunities than back home
iii. Police need to be out in the community more. Recruitment and Retention of minorities. Expanding the arts in Iowa City
iv. June 29th – Juneteenth Celebration at Mercer Park
10. Meeting Dates
a. Executive Committee – Thursday June 27th, 2013 @ 6 PM. ICPL Room E
b. Central Committee – Thursday July 11th, 2013 @ 7 PM. Location TBD
i. Note that meeting is a week later than normal due to 4th of July
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WE PROUDLY SUPPORT YOU.

Read excerpts from the Platforms of your local Democratic and Republican Parties. Decide for yourself: Local Democrats or Local Republicans— Which party better represents YOU?

Excerpts from the
Johnson County Democrats Platform 2012

Statement of Principles
1. We believe the purpose of government is to act on behalf of the public good, to create and execute policies and laws that promote and protect everyone’s human rights equally, to protect our shared environment, to promote justice, safety and security and to oversee the equitable distribution of resources, affording all citizens the opportunity to attain their highest level of social, cultural, economic, mental and physical well being.
2. We value diversity. We are committed to the inclusion and full participation of diverse populations in our society, in the Democratic Party and in the democratic processes of government regardless of status within any protected class such as age, race, gender, religious belief, sexual orientation, gender identity, physical characteristics, associational preference, ethnicity, disability, illness or language.
3. We affirm our commitment to social and economic justice. Whenever the rights of any of our citizens are threatened, the rights of all are endangered. We take seriously the obligation to uphold the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, to preserve, protect and secure basic human rights, civil rights and civil liberties.
4. We believe in a society in which fairness and community are guiding values, where every person has an equal opportunity.
5. We believe the family, whether traditional or non-traditional, should be sustained and enhanced. We share, through government, the responsibility to assist those families who cannot adequately provide for their members.
Statement of Issues

Economy, Commerce and Labor
Job Security and Workers’ Rights
We support:

78. Equal workers’ rights and employment opportunities for GLBT people.

Education
Education Curricula
We support:
131. Comprehensive, evidence-based sex education presented by qualified personnel.
Bullying
We support:
140. Prevention of and intervention in bullying in all its forms.

Government and Law
Civil Rights and Liberties
We support:
149. Equal adoption rights regardless of sexual orientation of parents and foster parents.
Criminal Justice

We support:
167. Hate Crime Prevention Act

Marriage and Civil Unions
We support:
207. RFMA (Respect for Marriage Act) and all future bills seeking to repeal DOMA.
208. Civil marriage for same-sex couples in Iowa and the US.
201. UAFA (United American Families Act).

We oppose:
202. DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act).
212. Discrimination against GLBT on parenting rights.
213. A Constitutional Convention for the purpose of limiting marriage equality.

Veterans
We oppose:
224. GLBT discrimination.
In contrast, excerpts from the
Johnson County Republican Platform
****** Check it out yourself if you want: ******
4. Education:
4.17 We oppose the promotion of homosexual life styles in government schools.

4.18 We oppose the teaching of sex education in any form, at any grade level without written parental consent.

6. Family Values:
6.1 Traditional, marriage-based (one natural male and one natural female) families are intrinsically procreative and thereby essential to a stable, thriving, and lasting civilization. Therefore, public policy must always be pro-family, encouraging marital and family commitment, while also supporting parental rights and responsibilities.

6.2 We support an amendment to the Iowa Constitution stating that “To secure and preserve the benefits of marriage for our society and for future generations of children, marriage between one man and one woman is the only domestic legal union that shall be valid or recognized in this state.”

6.3 We support an amendment to the United States Constitution stating that “Only marriage between one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized in the United States, and that neither the Federal government, any state government, or the political subdivisions thereof may create or recognize a legal status identical or substantially similar to that of marriage for unmarried individuals.”

6.4 We encourage adoption of children by heterosexual married couples consisting of one man and one woman; we oppose adoption by same-sex couples

6.6 We believe in the sanctity of marriage and call upon the Iowa Legislature to rescind “no-fault divorce” laws.

6.9 We oppose any law, ordinance, or policy that would approve the practice of homosexuality.

10. Law and Justice:
10.14 Non-profit religious organizations should not be subject to the anti-bullying bill.

Find the complete Johnson County Democrat’s Platform 2012 at
http://jcdems.org/resources/JCPlatformAsApproved2012.pdf

Find the complete Johnson County Republican’s Platform 2010 at https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B7T8QHet2T_GUFJXVE5zOWRoMEU/edit