CT Green Party State Meeting Minutes
March 27, 2001

Contact people (committees)
Fundraising:

Laura Cordes at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., 860-701-0483
(Fundraising by phone, Green Times ads or articles: Mike de Rosa at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., 860-956-8170)
Finance committee:
Tom Sevigny at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., 860-693-8344
Elections committee:
Tom Ethier at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., or Chris Nelson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., 860-701-0483
Communications committee:
Karin Norton at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., 860-429-1976
Bylaws committee:
Amy vas Nunes at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or Penny Teal at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., 860-536-4980

Contact people (chapters):
{Chapter contact people: please send any corrections or additions to Penny T. Thanks)
Hartford: Mike de Rosa at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., 860-956-8170
Central: Vic DeLancia at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Fairfield: Paul Bassler at 203-846-2909
NE: Jean de Smet at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., 860-456-2188 or Max and Chris at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., 860-456-1804
New Haven: Pete Ellner at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., 203-397-8261 or Tony Santini at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
NW: Tom Sevigny at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., 860-693-8344 or Tom Ethier at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
SE: Penny Teal at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., 860-536-4980

MINUTES:

I. Treasurer's report

Green Party funds: approximately $1800 for the state, and $2800 for individual chapters. Some Chapters have accrued large cash reserves of which, it was suggested, they may want to contribute a part for State expenditures. Chapters may also need to contribute in the future for newsletter and insurance costs. $350 in ad revenue has been received to help pay for the Green Times. Send leads for potential advertisers to Mike de Rosa (see above).

OLD BUSINESS

I. Committee reports

A. Finance: An official reimbursement request form now exists, which will make clear to the state treasurer that expenditures have been approved locally, before he gives out chapter funds for reimbursement. The committee will meet before the next state meeting. The committee will submit a proposed budget to guide state spending.

B. Fundraising: A company (Community Labor Administrative Services) currently used by the New Party and various other not-for-profit organizations could transact automatic monthly credit card contributions for the CTGP for a $75 monthly fee plus 3% of all donations. This avenue was explored in the hope of making the treasurer's job easier, as well as to provide us with a guaranteed monthly income. The treasurer voiced reservations, explaining that under CT law his job may become far more difficult if we went this route. Also, donations must be less than $50 per donor, because there would be no accompanying signature. A suggestion was made to call members to get a minimum number of people committed to making monthly donations before contracting with CLAS. There is also an option of allowing for automatic monthly donations directly from individual checking accounts. We are making Green Donation Boxes for people to sit on their counters to collect a dollar a day, or all one's spare change. Please contact Penny Teal (860-536-4980) if you have extra shoebox or coffee can-sized containers for this purpose. A suggestion was made to assign a fundraising phone caller, who will make calls once a week to people on our mailing list. The Hartford office can be used for the phoning. Contact Mike de Rosa.

C. Bylaws: The convention will be held after the November elections, in order to give each chapter time to review the proposed changes to the existing bylaws (proposals and old bylaws are available on the CTGreens web page) and to allow time to develop a vote-by-mail system. Suggestion: bylaws committee should address the balloting and ballot counting procedures, which were ambiguous at the previous convention. Bylaws people have met once, and will meet again soon.

D. Communications: The listserver is being updated; the old one went down temporarily and some messages posted during the failure are still filtering through. To subscribe to the listserver go to www.ctgreens.org.. The web page is being modified to include a calendar of events and activities (for the general public) and a less-accessible timeline of dates important to Greens. There is a form on the web page for posting items to the calendar, etc. Contact Kevin at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if you're having problems. Assistance with creating web pages is available through Kevin at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or Dmitri at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Chapters interested in establishing their own listserver should contact the communications committee. The committee is also discussing establishing a Green phone tree. E. Elections: The campaign training session is still being planned for 28 April in New Haven; the time is not yet certain, as the anti-prison march in Hartford is on the same date.

II. Legislative update

A. The Filthy Five hearing was very successful; many thanks to all the Greens who attended and testified. Please continue to call members of the Environmental Committee throughout the week. A vote will be held by 9 April at the latest. B. A watershed bill to protect state-held watershed lands (to the same level as privately owned watersheds now enjoy) has been proposed by Jesse Stratton. More to follow. C. Ana Lachelier and Mike de Rosa are meeting with legislators to discuss energy deregulation and restructuring. Contact Mike to participate. Also, press releases and Op-Ed pieces on the sublect are welcome.

III. Chapter updates (Suggestion: each chapter should have its own listserver.)

A. Hartford: sent out a mailing to 750 people, which raised a few hundred dollars. Had a meeting in Windsor and will have another in Wethersfield to try to form new chapters. Holding a fundraiser at the Hartford office on 31 March, for which they need chairs! (Contact Mike de Rosa.) Will have a tag sale at the office on 19 May from 7am to 3pm; need donations and volunteers.

B. Central: Presenting forum on the War Against Drugs at 6:30 on 26 April, in Middletown. Contact Vic De Lancia (above) or Adam Hurter (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.). Would like an approximate head count of expected attendees for the anti-prison, anti-drug war march on 28 April, from each chapter. Have invited all local faith-based organizations, the mayor, and police to attend the conference, and are canvassing lower-income communities to promote attendance.

C. New Haven: Have established a series of forums, the first of which (Yale Univ: Partner or Predator?) was well attended. Next is on racial discrimination, on 7 April at the New Haven office. Will hold a fundraiser in the NH office on 2 June ($20/person, with wine, beer, hors d'oeuvres, etc.) Contact Tony Santini (above) for tickets. Are searching for candidates for 5 wards in which incumbents may retire; have found 4 candidates so far (2 in New Haven, 1 in Oxford, 1 in East Haven). Have created a newsletter; have set up a PAC; and are all experimental subjects in a never-need-sleep drug trial.

D. Northeast: Had outreach meeting on 26 March; are actively involved with watershed legislation hearings; are trying to establish new chapters in the area.

E. Southeast: Have defined issues and some policies for the New London city council race; are still seeking candidates. Have written new bylaws for the chapter and will soon hold elections for officers. Are planning another speaking event; have tentative plans for a July fundraiser; are going to launch a voter registration drive by early summer as part of campaign.

F. Western: Have attended town meetings; tried (but unsuccessfully) to establish a student chapter; are experiencing membership turnover which is impeding progress. Two cable programs (one exclusively Green) are being produced. Have been involved in several issues, including demonstrations against Starbucks.

G. Northwest: Have 1, maybe 2 candidates for Torrington city council; are working to prevent a proposed mall from being built in downtown area; want to provide a Green development alternative. Will send envoys to the upcoming anti-General Electric meeting in Albany.Have been finding people registered as Greens, and adding them to the mailing list.

NEW BUSINESS

I. CT Green 2000 still has a debt. Chapters are requested to pass a hat at their next meeting. Make checks payable to CT Green 2000; record date of all contributions, and personal info (name, phone, address, etc.) for contributions of > $50.

II. ASGP update

A. GPUSA, which had agreed earlier this year to merge with the ASGP, failed to discuss the merging at their Feb. meeting.

B. ASGP is filing for national party status with the FEC.

C. The next ASGP meeting will be held in Santa Barbara on the last weekend of July. The following meeting, as anticlimactically as possible, will be in New Jersey.

D. Nader's staff has been preoccupied with a routine FEC audit. Nader is on a tour of college campuses, and is planning a downscaled version of his stadium super-rallies. He has been doing fundraisers for the GP of each state he visits. Nader is also planning a nationwide fundraising drive, to help finance the opening of an office in Wash., D.C. A national meeting of all state parties and Nader and his staff is tentatively planned for the fall, in D.C.

E. Ten new states are seeking affiliation with the ASGP, which could bring the total of member states to 39.

F. Democratic Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney may join the Greens in the near future. G. There will be a meeting of all 90 national Green Parties in Canberra, Australia, in early April.

III. The CTGP will join with the Clean Water Coalition in promoting a New England- wide Zero Mercury Campaign; the first goal is to reduce Hg emissions into water by 50%, by the year 2003.

IV. There will be a table at the May Day celebration on the Green in New Haven, on 1May from late morning till 5 pm.

V. Our insurance policy is up for renewal; the rate for this year is $1236 (last year's cost about $1500). This covers events and offices; and candidates can get coverage for their campaigns for only $1.

VI. David Cobb (from TX) will speak on Fri., 29 March and will be at a fundraiser in Hartford on Sat., 31 March ($15/person). Contact Mike de Rosa.

VII. The state's mailing list now resides with the secretary (currently Penny Teal- see above). Please be sure to send ALL CHANGES to chapter mailing lists to the sec. so that the lists will be up-to-date and consistent with one another.

VIII. Next State meeting will be held at 7pm on Tues., 24 April, at Wesleyan Univ. (Fisk Hall, 3rd floor) in Middletown.

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