Minutes from the 11-28-06 SCC CTGP Meeting

Place: Portland Senior Center, 7 Waverly Avenue, Portland, CT (a block east of Portland Public Library) Phone: 860-342-6760 Time: 7PM to 9PM

Voting attendees:
Fairfield: Paul Bassler, David Bedell, Janet Cory, Richard Duffee, Patricia Kane;
Greater Harford: Barbara Barry, Secretary of CTGP, Michael DeRosa, Co-chairperson of CTGP; Cliff Thornton;
New Haven: Allan Brison, Caleb Kleppner, Jerry Martin;
New London: Andy Derr; Northeast: Jean DeSmet Co-chairperson of CTGP; Amy Vas Nunes.
Non-voting: Christopher Reilly, Treasure of CTGP.
Facilitator: Andy Derr.

A. Preliminaries:

1. Introductions of attendees; identification of voting and non-voting representatives and chapters; adoption of ground rules: timekeeper: Caleb Klepper

2. Approval of tonight's proposed agenda, additions: closing of the Greater Hartford Chapters office at 418 A New Britain Avenue, Hartford, CT; and deletions: reports: #2 and National Security Agency update.

3. Approval of 8-29-06, 9-26-06 and 10-31-06 SCC minutes.

4. 9-11-06, 10-17-06 and 11-20-06 EC meetings were received. Consensus: SCC will no longer approve EC minutes but will receive them.

5. (3 minutes): Treasurer's report by Christopher Reilly: net income: minus $723.94 due to need to pay for: Toll-free phone, candidate contribution and postcards use around 11-06 election.

B. Reports:

1. Discussion about CTGP campaigns:

MD: suggest excel spreadsheet of towns in which candidates got votes; he got media coverage about how the current Secretary of State, Susan Bysiewicz would not debate; no essential coverage about how she signed a contract to buy Diebolt voting machines but stated otherwise. CTGP did better than the Working Families Party where they did not cross endorse.

AVN: How much money was spent to get the vote out after the petitioning was done?

CR: $13,000 for one candidate, Cliff Thornton for Governor. No other candidate got money.

JdS: we cannot run a campaign without money; also need more training, evaluate for better strategies; how we can build our CTGP base; we tend to grow our base with issues, not campaigns.

CK: need to focus on local candidates not state candidates.

AD: need 20 candidates for state representatives/senators and town offices for 2008/2009.

PK: need appropriate candidates.

BB: as a political party, we need to promote issues and run candidates for all offices including major state and national offices. Otherwise, we will be viewed as only a local, minority party and will be further discounted as a political force to be reckoned with.

CK: the Green Party in Maine lost their only state GP legislator. If we can not win state races then we should only do local races.

PK: need to review by-laws.

CT: I wanted to run to get the CTGP name out there. CTN covered the candidates sometimes twice a week. Some print media did not provide the desired coverage.

DB: we may need placeholders to keep our ballot lines available; need volunteers to hand out postcards; writing letters to the editor is effective.

JdS: we did the right strategy to run a full state-wide slate. We are building a party. We also need to talk 1:1 at fairs and going door to door. People are dissatisfied with politics.

2. Deleted: U.S. Green Party report by CTGP representatives: Tim McKee and Charlie Pillsbury:

3. Chapter reports:

Northeast: JdS: still doing the TV show and the 3rd Thursday of the month events.

New Haven: CK: New Have did pay to fund the public finance board for the municipal area. Caleb is on that board.

Fairfield: DB: we have the video of our meeting with Diane Farrell.

PK: we need a tighter definition of what is a CTGP member; we tried to recruit members on the streets of Stamford by carrying balloons.

Greater Hartford: MD: the chapter is closing it's office at 418A New Britain Avenue in Hartford as of 11-30-06 after using it for 62 months. We are still committed to our concerns.

New London: AD: still doing our TV show; doing monthly movies with Peace and Justice and our weekly vigil for peace.

4. Issues for CTGP legislative agenda for 12-06:

MD: we have an agreement from CT Senate Pro Tem, Donald Williams, that he will meet with CTGP about our concern/issues: re-structuring energy laws due to scheduled increased costs of from 38 to 55% as of 1-1-07 ; changing the 2005 Campaign Finance Reform law; universal health care for CT; drug reform, Patriot's Act as it pertains to CT law enforcement and CT residents, living wage; divestment of CT State funds in various funds; IRV voting; automatic counts of votes. The more Greens at meetings the better.

PK: also: eminent domain, uniform marital laws; marital property reforms; IVR voting equipment.

CK: CTGP represents 30-40% of all voters.

AVN: gay marriage; divestment of investments in places such as Danfur, tobacco products, nuclear weapons &/or energy; "dirty" energy; review CT's dependence of the military-inductrial complex.

RD: impeachment resolutions in towns.

PB: ballot access for minor parties.

CT: if minor parties get ballot access, then must get into all debates.

BB: we could sponsor our own debates.

JdS. Don Williams has stated that CT should censor anything perceived as "negative" campaigning. People who want to join the Legislative Committee:

PB: IRV, ballot access for 3rd parties; debate access.

CK: IRV, voting machine compatibility; ballot access.

JdS: universal health care.

MD: campaign finance reform; electric rates.

PK: eminent domain; marital property law reform.

CT: all issues.

AVN: divestment, tobacco, environment, defense.

5. Chapter study groups about political issues of concern.

JM: need CTGP platform so we can go into these coalitions to maximize our influence or effect change.

6. Green Days: MD: We can have Green Days e.g. monthly at the legislature and throughout the year with news releases.

7. CTGP website needs volunteers to write about 10 Key Values on the website; moderators are: Christopher Reilly and David Bedell. Need new moderator for the listservs.

AB: to be a moderator, one must be a Green and all contacts must be relayed to the EC.

8. V.O.T.E.R. update: ACLU lawsuit regarding 2005 CT "campaign finance reform" law. The ACLU wants to turn the lawsuit over to the Hartford Law firm of Day, Berry and Howard. However, the State of

CT would not grant an exemption stating that this law firm has worked for the state in the past. ACLU states this action by the state to not grant an exemption is atypical of past state actions. ACLU is still planning a 12-18-06 hearing.

9. Articles for and deadline for "CT Green Times" newspaper. Eric DeVos has purchased a printing press that can print: full sized newspaper or books or magazines. He is willing to print the newspaper for us with him incurring the cost of the paper and the ink. Present goal if for a 4 page newspaper with the theme that the 11-06 election was a historic moment for the CTGP because it successfully petitioned to get all state-wide candidates on the ballot and we ran candidates for these offices. Anyone interested in working on the newspaper can come to a meeting on 12-3-06. Time and place, to be determined. Additional articles are likely to be: our legislative agenda; chapter meeting schedules and contacts; pictures of the state-wide candidates from the recent campaigns.

9A: deleted: National Security agency response to CTGP freedom of information request.

10. The New Haven Chapter request: JM: we need bylaws, a definition of quorum; a definition of who can be a CTGP member.

a) We would like an update on the plan to change state party rules to allow for a more workable quorum requirement. I believe that the definition of what an active chapter is has also been a part of this planning.

b) A rule change that would clarify the grounds under which a duly nominated candidate can be asked by the party to withdraw.

c) Plans for making on-line contributions available on the CTGP web site similar to the method used by the Thornton campaign. Patricia Kane Proposal: we need to form a bylaws committee. The committee group can define these things for the 4-07 CTGP. We need a draft from the committee for the next SCC meeting (either on 12-26-06 or if deferred until 1-07), then (chapters can) comment at the 2-07 (SCC meeting) so any bylaws can be presented at the 4-07 CTGP convention. I'd be willing to get the group going.

Vote: Yes: 11, No: 1, Abstain: 1.

11. Consensus: next SCC meeting to be moved from 12-26-06 to 1-9-07. Place: to be determined.

TPL_BEEZ2_ADDITIONAL_INFORMATION