Green Party of Connecticut
State Central Committee Regular Meeting
March 22, 2018 • Portland Waverly Center, 7 Waverly Ave, Portland, CT
Approved on May 23, 2018
In attendance: Fairfield County: David Bedell, Richard Duffee, Rolf Maurer, Cora Santaguida (timekeeper); Hartford County: Barbara Barry, Mike DeRosa (GPCT Co-Chair), Chris Reilly (GPCT Treasurer); New London: Bob Stuller, Ronna Stuller (GPCT Secretary, recorder); Shoreline: Owen Charles; Waterford: Emily Garfinkel (GPCT Co-Chair), Joshua Kelly; At large: Vic Lancia, Douglas Lary (facilitator), Eugene Woloszyn Quorum was met. Meeting started at 7:10pm
1. Minutes.
(a) Minutes of the February 28 SCC meeting: Joshua moved to approve, 2nd by Emily;
passed by consensus.
(b) Minutes of the January 15 Executive Committee meeting were accepted for the record
by consensus.
2. Treasurer’s Report: Balance on 2/28/2018 was $984.98. Income was $390, expenses totaled $346.37; current balance is $1,028.61. Federal account balance remains $1,218.12.
3. Chapter Reports and Green Activities in Other Areas
Fairfield County: Several candidates are running for office: 3 for State Rep, 2 for State
Senate, 1 for Board of Education, and 1 or more for Registrar of Voters. Current issues:
allowing a medical marijuana dispensary, enacting fracking waste ban and plastic bag ban.
Hartford County: Met on March 5; Barbara Barry was endorsed to run for State Senate,
and additional candidates are being sought for other offices. At the meeting, Tom
McCormick reported on his campaign and endorsements.
New London: Held a fundraiser on March 18 which netted $300. Andrew Lopez and Bob
Stuller were appointed to the new SustainableCT team. Next meeting is Friday, April 6.
Shoreline: The chapter is celebrating 1 year! Website has been revamped. Eric Bergman
has been appointed to the Clinton Charter Revision, and candidates are being sought for
2018 elections. Fracking waste ban passed in Guilford.
Waterford: Next meeting on April 7 will be followed immediately by a clean-up at near
Camp Harkness. A birdhouse fundraiser is in process. Green RTM members continue to
push for a plastic bag ban.
Windham: The town committee’s annual meeting/election of internal officers will be held
on April 4.
Middletown/Central CT: The last meeting had to be cancelled due to weather, will soon
be rescheduled.
4. Old business
a. Committee updates:
(1) Communications/Social Media: Brian Merlin has offered to photograph/video
Green Party candidates. Committee is discussing upgrading the GPCT website
perhaps adding online donation capability, and looking into eblast systems. The
committee is also looking to create policies and guidelines related to our email
lists and Facebook page and group.
(2) Conflict Resolution: Recommendation was shared that each meeting will have a
timekeeper and “vibe watcher.” Committee will start to address dispute claims,
following its preliminary work on policies and procedures.
(3) Fundraising: The Howie Hawkins event was a success; additional speakers for
similar events are being sought (perhaps Cheri Honkala?).
(4) Creation of Direct Action Committee: Vic Lancia is interested, and we are
seeking additional committee members. All are encouraged to support Vic on
his day in court next Monday at 9am.
b. 2018 general elections:
The following individuals have announced their intentions to run for statewide
offices: Mike DeRosa for Secretary of the State; Peter Goselin for Attorney General;
Ed Heflin for Comptroller; Jeffery Russell, TJ Elgin, and Angela Capinera for US
Senate. There was a brief discussion about eligibility requirements and vetting
process for candidates seeking Green Party endorsement.
c. Annual Meeting – Saturday, May 12
(1) Executive Committee members are responsible for planning the annual meeting;
Mike moved to add volunteers Barbara Barry, Doug Lary, and David Bedell to the
committee, second by Doug; passed unanimously.
(2) Declared candidates for internal elections at time of deadline: Co-chairs - Barbara
Barry, Rob Barstow, Mike DeRosa, Joshua Kelly, Cassandra Martineau, Rolf Maurer;
Secretary - Cora Santaguida, Ronna Stuller; Treasurer - Chris Reilly; GPUS Reps -
Rob Barstow, Owen Charles, Mike DeRosa, Joshua Kelly, Tim McKee, Cora
Santaguida, Linda Thompson.
(3) There was a brief discussion of voting procedures, and Doug shared information
about the ongoing problem on Greens dropped from the voting list.
5. New business – no new business
6. Green Party of the US
a. Voting ends on March 25 for GPUS co-chair/member of steering committee; candidate
bios are available on GPUS website.
b. The Ballot Access Committee is holding a silent auction fundraiser to help achieve
access for Green candidates.
c. The Dispute Resolution Committee has developed a map for how to deal with conflicts.
7. Legislative updates
a. SB412 would get rid of regional election monitors, who provide an important service in
small towns. Testimony can be submitted online.
8. Updates and reports
a. There will be Spring Anti-War Actions on April 14 and 15, in Greenwich and NYC.
b. March for Our Lives, demonstration for gun control, in Hartford, March 24, 12:30-3pm.
c. Community Land Trust panel with Shirley Sherrod, Hartford YMCA, April 11, 3-4:30pm.
9. We will next meet at our Annual Meeting on May 12, 11am-4pm, at Portland Waverly Center.
Meeting was adjourned by consensus at 9:04pm.