Green Party of Connecticut
September 26, 2018 • Portland Waverly Center, 7 Waverly Ave, Portland, CT
State Central Committee Meeting
Minutes, approved on November 14, 2018
In attendance: Fairfield County: David Bedell, Richard Duffee, Rolf Maurer, Cora Santaguida; Hartford County: Barbara Barry, Mike DeRosa (GPCT Co-Chair), Chris Reilly (GPCT Treasurer), Jeff Russell; New London: Bud McAllister, Bob Stuller, Ronna Stuller (GPCT Secretary, recorder); Shoreline: Owen Charles, Colin Souney; Waterford: Emily Garfinkel (left at 9:05pm); At Large: Brian Gay (arrived at 7:40pm), Vic Lancia, Cassandra Martineau (GPCT Co-Chair, facilitator), Tim McKee, Amy Vas Nunes, Eugene Woloszyn, Susan Ye.
Quorum was met. Meeting started at 7:09pm.
1. Minutes of the August 8 SCC meeting: Barbara moved to delay approval until the next SCC meeting, so that members can read the Secretary’s job description in our bylaws, 2nd by Mike; passed by a vote of 11 in favor, 7 opposed, 1 abstention. Minutes of the August 22 nominating meeting: David moved to approve, 2nd by Bud; passed 16 in favor, 1 opposed; Mike will submit an addendum about the election-related discussion which occurred after adjournment. Note: not every individual present participated in the votes.
2. Treasurer’s Report: State acount: Beginning balance $154.76; there were $17.56 in expenses and $325.00 in contributions which have been earmarked for various state candidates; current balance is $462.20. Federal account: Beginning balance $1,224.12; contributions totaled $150, and $600 was paid out to our candidates for Congress; $774.12 remains in the account, part of which will be allocated to Jeff’s campaign for US Senate. Colin moved to accept the report for the record, 2nd by Barbara; passed by consensus.
3. GPCT chapter reports and other organizing activities
Fairfield County: Megan Cassano, who has received the National Association of Social Workers’ endorsement, will be attending the 9/29 Stamford Beer Fest; statewide candidates are invited to attend.
Hartford County: Barbara has received the National Association of Social Workers’ endorsement; Mary Sanders is campaigning actively.
New London: “Thinking Green” is back on the air and seeking guests; NLGP members have become involved in New London’s SustainbleCT initiative and the SE Connecticut Community Land Trust.
Shoreline: Participated in the successful Prison Strike Solidarity event in New Haven; a fundraiser for Michelle L Bicking’s Congressional campaign attracted 60+ people and raised over $900.
Waterford: The campaign for a plastic bag ban is progressing; Waterford Green Party doorhangers have been purchased for distribution to unaffiliated voters; next meeting is Saturday 9/27 at the library, and a pasta dinner+trivia fundraiser will be held in the evening at the community center.
Windham: Is in the process of organizing to become a GPCT chapter; Cass is seeking information clarifying the process and requirements.
Other Green activity: David has been researching non-competitive races for ROV (where only one party is running); Sean Ames will run as a write-in in Deep River, and candidates are being sought in West Hartford, Bethel, and Sterling before the 10/24 deadline. Amy reported that the NECT group is planning a potluck.
4. Old business:
a. Committee updates
(1) Communications/Social Media: Rolf, David, and Mike are trying to raise the
visibility of our candidates and will share media contacts.
(2) Dispute Resolution: Committee has not met.
(3) Fundraising: Has not met; we are considering a yard sale or speaker event after
the election.
b. 2018 general elections
(1) Jeff reported that some invitations are coming in, including an event at the
West Indian Social Club, BUT there have been very few debates, and the major
party candidates frequently don’t show up at the more informal events.
(2) A consolidated event calendar that lists all issue- and election-related activities
statewide would be helpful, so our candidates can easily find out about
worthwhile upcoming events.
5. New business
a. Mike described complications in dealing with the SOTS office, which threatened to keep
our 3 Constitutional candididates of the ballot. David read off the SOTS list of
candidates, which confirmed that Mike’s efforts to make sure they were listed were
successful, and that Mike, Peter, and Ed were listed on the ballot, as were the other
Green Party-endorsed candidates who were nominated at duly noticed regional,
chapter, and town committee conventions. Ronna moved to accept the SOTS list of
candidates, 2nd by Tim; failed with 8 in favor, 10 opposed. There was a lengthy
discussion about the cross-endorsements of Democrats Baird Welch-Collins (A-38) and
Chris Soto, by the Waterford TC and New London TC, respectively, as well as
interpretation of our bylaws’ requirements for candidate eligibility and nominating
authority. Richard moved to withdraw the cross-endorsed candidates from our slate,
2nd by Barbara; however, after it was pointed out that only the candidates are legally
able to pull out of a race, the motion was withdrawn and a replacement motion offered.
David moved that a letter on GPCT letterhead be sent to the 2 candidates urging them
to withdraw from the Green Party line, 2nd by Richard; passed 10 in favor, 5 opposed,
1 abstention. The Secretary agreed to send the letter no later than Friday 9/28.
Note: not every individual present participated in the votes.
Due to the late hour, the remainder of the agenda was tabled to the next SCC meeting, which
will be held on Thursday, October 25, 7pm, at the Portland Waverly Center.
Ronna moved to adjourn, 2nd by Cora, passed unanimously. Meeting ended at 10:19pm.
Note: If you have serious disagreements with the accuracy of anything written in these minutes, please contact secretary Ronna Stuller at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 860-772-8439. If your e-mail or letter is titled “I remember things happened differently” or “I remember that this also occurred”, I will treat your correspondence (or a summary of it) as an addendum to these minutes. Such communications must be received within 2 weeks of the date of approval to be considered as an addendum. – RS