PPC Steering Committee Meeting 1/7/06

PPC SC members in attendance: Linda Foley, Sarah Gonzales, John Kelley, Henry Kight , Nata Koerber, Stan Merriman, Linda Perez, Sheril Smith, Bob Turney - quorum reached.

PPC SC members unable to attend: Bob Dean, Ann Marie Schroeder, Jeri Segovia, John Tackaberry

PPC members in attendance:  Bill Baumbach, John Behrman, David Courtney, Bill Crosier
Brenda Fackler,W. David Griggs,Wendy Melton,Tomi Phillips,Nancy Russell,Janette Sexton,Aimee Turney,David Van Os,Lyn Wall

List of new PPC joining members: James Gibson, Anne Sermons Gillis, Mary Kasmitis, John Miller, Pat Poland, Peggy Walton

Guests: Jon Axford, James Gibson, Anne Sermons Gillis, Mary Kasmitis, Frank Macer, John Miller, Sammie Miller, Pat Poland, Melissa Taylor, Dot Nelson Turnler, Peggy Walton

I. Call to order

Meeting was called to order at 3:45pm, Saturday, January 7, 2006 by Sheril Smith.
Linda Perez, Sergeant at Arms confirmed that a quorum had been reached.

II. Approval of the Minutes

Henry Kight motioned to accept the minutes from the prior SC meeting in November 2005. Motion seconded. Vote carried unanimously to approve.

III. Treasurer’s Report

Henry Kight indicated that the current balance in the PPC account is $685.74.

IV. Membership report – Nata Koerber

Nata Koerber presented a letter of resignation from the membership chair position. Nata resigns due to other commitments and will continue to work with the PPC in the future. She also indicated that she will stay on as a member and provided a $25 contribution to the caucus.

Stan Merriman motioned that Steering Committee thank and commend Nata for her diligence and service and best wishes for the future. Motion seconded. Vote carried unanimously to approve.

V. Platform Committee report

The platform committee presented a resolution that is outlined below.

PPC Resolution: Transparent Use Of The Chair’s Platform Advisory Committee

The Progressive Populist Caucus Recommends An Openly Transparent Use Of The Chair’s Platform Advisory Committee

WHEREAS: The Texas Democratic Party wishes to maximize participation from the grassroots in the creation of its State Party Platform;

WHEREAS:  The Party is committed to open and transparent conduct of its business;

WHEREAS:  The grassroots people of the Party have expressed a need for increased participation in the affairs and policy positions of their State  Party and have many laudable ideas which have not previously had a venue to be expressed and State Party leadership has expressed the need for increased grassroots participation;

BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED:  that the Texas Democratic Party will deploy a gender, ethnic, lifestyle and geographically diverse group comprising the Chair’s Platform Advisory Committee to the primary task of each creating a regional hearing or “town hall meeting” to be convened prior to the commencement of SD/County conventions, or in conjunction with those conventions in locations accessible to West, Panhandle, South, Central, North, Northeast and Southwest/Gulf Coast Texas Democrats,

AND BE IT RESOLVED that these Committee members will collaborate with elected SDEC members in selecting date, time, location, venue for “testimony” and publication of meeting notices through local and State Party channels and the local media to maximize participation by Texas Democrats,

AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that these Committee members will prepare a succinctly written report summarizing in bullet-point form the ideas on Platform content on public policy issues for the Chair to provide to the elected State Convention Platform Committee for consideration in inclusion in and/or amendment to the existing duly constituted State Platform.

Discussion:
John Behrman wanted to announce that the PPC platform committee will meet on

January 21, 2006: noon – 3pm
Jovitas Mexican Restaurant
1619 South 1st Street, Austin 78704

This meeting will take place in order for the PPC to plan our contribution to the TDP state platform committee with the goal that we improve our ability to interject feedback from the grassroots and provide transparency in the process of writing the Texas Democratic Party state platform. We aspire to write a platform that both Democrats and candidates can respect and support. Current members of the platform committee include Tom Blackwell (Committee Chair), John Behrman, Karen Hadden, Sheril Smith, Hal Suter.

Stan Merriman proposed holding regional town hall meetings beginning in February 2006. Texas Democratic Party (TDP) currently appoints a pre-platform advisory committee that meets prior to the platform committee at the convention. There are some valid reasons this pre-platform committee exists. Within 8 hours, they are expected to write a complete platform document. Realistically, this can’t be completed in 8 hours; however, it has also been somewhat of a control mechanism for the party and is lacking a democratic process. This pre-platform advisory committee was also created to keep our resolutions out of the hand of Republicans. The TDP chair indicated that he works hard to create an ethnic and diverse group to whatever extent he can; however, also recognizes there is room for improvement in the process and would welcome our recommendation.
Town hall meetings could take place now and up until the convention around Texas. In May, the pre-platform advisory committee could bring together the results of these town hall meetings and compile them into an understandable list that would then be presented at the state convention.

Sheril Smith pointed out that if we begin to hold these town hall meetings before the primary, it would also help generate interest in attending the primary conventions.

John Kelley indicated the PPC in Corpus Christi is hosting a Progressive Convention at the end of February to train people about the primary convention process. This would include training on how to present and write resolutions, Robert’s Rules of Order, and the overall primary process.

Stan Merriman indicated that the intention of these town hall meetings is to generate and compile an issues list from the grassroots and present it to the TDP Chair and SDEC. Ultimately, it is intended to go to the platform committee at the state convention. Reports from the town hall meetings would include summaries from meetings around the state, in readable bullet form such that the platform committee is made aware of issues from the grassroots and the people of Texas they consider to be important. They could take this input and amend, as appropriate, into the platform.

This effort is meant to be a joint effort with other progressive groups, not just the PPC. We encourage participation from others who share our values and goals.

Nata Koerber suggested that we include other caucuses and Democratic organizations.

Stan Merriman indicated that the County party could drive participation in these town hall meetings and would be instrumental in extending invitations to clubs and organizations in their area that support Democratic activity. The goal? Energize the base. This is not a PPC endeavor alone, It would encompass all other groups.

John Behrman made the distinction between Party governance resolutions versus other types of resolutions. Governance resolutions have a direct effect on the party and are generally accepted as long as no party rules are violated. This resolution is a party governance resolution. Our goal is to improve the platform process and nothing else.

Resolutions were given to the platform committee for the first time in party history at the last convention in 2004.

David Van Os – he hopes the next step after this effort is to abolish any pre-platform advisory committee that is appointed by the TDP Chair. David has served in multiple capacities in writing the platform. The next step would be a rules change that prohibits the TDP Chair from appointing people to a pre-platform advisory committee. Democracy improves the legitimacy of any effort. The Texas Democratic Party platform should be written by people who are elected to represent the people (i.e. – the delegates and party officers), not individuals appointed by the TDP Chair.

Linda Foley indicated that this is going to take time to change this process. Currently, the platform committee at the Senate District conventions are not elected. They are selected by the SDEC and SD Chairs.

Linda Foley also suggests that we should see a lot more participation from Democrats in the party process by providing a means for them to participate. This includes voting in the primary and participation in the primary convention process.

Bill Baumbach requested a friendly amendment to remove some harsh language in the resolution.  

Nata Koerber motioned to accept the resolution with the friendly amendment. Motion seconded. Vote carried unanimously to approve.

VI. Annual Meeting discussion

David Sirota has accepted our invitation to be our annual meeting keynote speaker. David Sirota is the co-chair of the Progressive Legislative Action Network (PLAN), has previously been a fellow at the Center for American Progress, and is a regular contributor to the Nation magazine along with many other accomplishments. He has recently completed a book – “Hostile Takeover” which will be released in the Spring of 2006. If possible, he would prefer to come after his book is published. We could also promote a book signing as a part of our event to draw even more people.

Sheril Smith proposed a time change for the annual meeting. Standing rules state the annual meeting will be held in February of each year. At the previous SC meeting in November 2005, we voted to reschedule for January. Sheril indicated that the book publish date is not currently set. Several SC members pointed out that April 16 is Easter weekend and Cindy Sheehan will also be in Crawford on that weekend. In general, this is a bad time to host a meeting. April 8th and April 29th are other possible dates.

Sheril Smith motioned that the standing rules be waived to hold the annual meeting no later than April 2006. Motion seconded. Vote carried unanimously to approve.

Stan Merriman motioned that we agree to host our annual meeting in Austin, Texas no later than April 2006 with the date pending approval by our keynote speaker. Motion seconded. Vote carried unanimously to approve.

VII. Technical Update

Sarah Gonzales informed the group of some new developments including:

The texasPPC Yahoo list has been shut down and replaced with a new list => escramble('Texasppc','texaspopulists.com.'); No action is required by the current members of the Yahoo group and this was communicated to the current Yahoo list members.

Regional mailing lists are also now available for use by the other PPC regions. 

Sarah Gonzales commented that we need to get a handle on how the regions are handling PPC membership currently and how to ensure that new members are disseminated to the membership chair. Online membership signup should be available no later than the end of January 2006.

VII. Convention Strategy 2006

Aimee Turney distributed a map of senate districts all across Texas and outlined a strategy report.

Timeline:

• Always recruit progressives to serve as precinct chair or captains.  Conduct precinct convention workshops before March 7.
• Now through primary March 7th, recruit progressives to chair or serve on the resolutions and nominations committees at SD conventions on March 25.
• Now through primary March 7th, if credentials have been a problem in the past, recruit progressives to volunteer for credentials committee at their SD conventions on March 25.
• Now through primary March 7th, recruit one progressive for each Senate District to chair their respective SD caucuses at the state convention should there be a need for stronger leadership at the state convention.
• Now through steering committee after SD conventions on March 25, recruit candidates for SDEC, resolutions, platform, rules and nominations committees (if necessary) at SD caucuses at the state convention.
• A resolution should be in place for precinct conventions no later than February 28.  Please submit resolutions considered important, that can serve as a galvanizing issue as soon as possible.

 Recruiting and Communication

• Members are serving on the pre-platform committee.  Recommendations prior to meeting today – Tom Blackwell, Karen Hadden.
• Recruit from organizations with similar goals, i.e., Democracy for Texas, Progressive Action Alliance, DriveDemocracy
• Forum for communication will be established on the website.

Establish SD Coordinators    

Discussion:
John Behrman indicated a change in rules and practices for this process is in the works. The election officials would actually prefer to separate the job of Election Judge and precinct chair. This is largely due to the problem that a large percentage of the precinct chairs only want to run the elections and preside as the Election Judge versus being responsible for actually organizing their precincts. This would separate the tasks and provide the Democratic party with better options for manning elections and organizing precincts.

Election judges are appointed at the County Executive Committee (CEC) meeting, assuming the vacancy chair’s report is approved.  The party rules indicate that an individual must have voted in the recent Democratic primary in order to be a precinct chair. The only exception to this is in the event there is no precinct chair and noone has filed to be on the primary ballot. Under those conditions a precinct chair may be appointed to fill the vacancy.

Aimee Turney stressed NOT to wait on your Senate District (SD) or SDEC chair to appoint members to the various convention committees. Volunteer for inclusion on the various committees at the Senate District (SD) convention!!!!

An SDEC member, David Griggs who was present at our meeting voiced that this suggestion is warmly received and badly needed as the SD Chair needs help planning and organizing for the SD convention.

Linda Foley indicated that the people who run the SD conventions NEED to know Robert’s Rules of order and party rules well!

The credentials committee is particularly important as they are responsible for verifying that SD members attending the precinct conventions have been elected as either as a delegate or alternate to allow voting privileges. You should be prepared to verify credentials and have a process in place to manage disputes should they arise.

It should be noted that if the SD Chair isn’t effective or isn’t familiar with how to run a convention, members of the Senate District can elect someone to chair the caucus at the state convention IF the SD chair didn’t do a good job at the SD convention.

Stan Merriman indicated that it is very important that in addition to recruiting candidates for the state convention, we need a floor leader / progressive PPC member for EACH of the 31 Senate Districts who will be the communications conduit for information.

Bill Baumbach pointed out that in order to be effective, this floor leader needs to understand and have READ, understands, and be well versed in the TDP party rules and Robert’s Rules of Order. They should have cell phones and a clear means to communicate!

John Behrman commented that it is currently quite difficult to find out who are our elected leaders are. He has been told that the TDP is implementing a database system to track the SDEC / SD Chairs / DNC members / County Chairs / Precinct Chairs, etc…

Linda Foley also mentioned that with respect to the delegate selection process, the rule book is currently under revision regarding attendance at a convention. A delegate ONLY needs to have voted in the primary to participate. If you sign a petition for a candidate outside of the Democratic Party, you may NOT participate as a delegate.

Aimee Turney is currently soliciting volunteers to form a PPC sub committee to write resolutions for primary conventions. If you’d like to participate in this, please contact her at escramble('houston','texaspopulists.com.');

Bill Crosier indicated he would be willing to coordinate this effort.

Stan Merriman indicated that the previous convention strategy included focusing on a single issue that could serve as the PPC’s mission of reforming and changing the party governance / process. Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) was selected during the 2004 convention process as it was not ideological, it was non partisan issue and popular across many diverse groups. Stan advocates considering if modification of an issue could continue to increase PPC presence.

John Kelley suggested a resolution that every Democratic candidate running for office has to initial every page of the Texas State Democratic Party platform and sign it.

David Van Os pointed out that this will be the first election that the rural areas will use electronic voting machines. We could push into those areas with VVPAT.

Announcements

1. Aimee Turney requested that we setup a mailing list for communication of convention strategy. If you’re interested in participating, please contact Aimee Turney at escramble('Houston','texaspopulists.com.'); Sarah Gonzales will setup the mailing list.
2. Aimee Turney is currently soliciting volunteers to form a PPC sub committee to write resolutions for primary conventions. If you’d like to participate in this, please contact her at escramble('Houston','texaspopulists.com');
3. John Kelley indicated the PPC Corpus is having a mixer for Democratic clubs in the areas on January 20, 2006. They sponsored an Art for Social Justice art show and were very successful in soliciting entries.
4. PPC platform committee will meet January 21, 2006: noon – 3pm in Austin, Texas
5. please see the website for more details at http://www.texaspopulists.com/event