The April 12, 2018 General Meeting endorsed two candidates, passed two resolutions and heard a report on the Democratic County Committee
Full April 12, 2018 General Meeting Minutes
Annette Zaner and VID President Erik Coler at the 61st Annual Awards night.
President Erik Coler opened the April 12, 2018 General Meeting by announcing three new committees: Gun Reform, chaired by Deb Sherman and Allison Stowell, Communications, chaired by Sara Kimbell, and the County Democrats Reform Committee, with Elissa Stein and Irene Kaufman. He also announced that The Executive Committee had agreed to make Annette Zaner VID member for life–and the membership unanimously agreed.
Jeanne Wilcke reported on the Democratic County Committee Rules Committee and how the process for reform was very laborious and detailed, with the minutes for the March meeting running to 17 pages! There was plenty of fighting on the grassroots level, with many complaints not acknowledged by the County Committee, no unified email list for notifications, etc. The Ethics Committee was divided on not allowing the County Leader to be a lobbyist–the vote was no, 9-3, based on language problems. Everyone agreed that the screening panel for judges should be comprised of Democrats registered in NYC. This triggered a small discussion about who was previously on the panel, and how do incumbent judges who are challenged get a fair hearing.
Deborah Glick rose to speak–and was unanimously endorsed. She spoke of her efforts to take abortion protections out of the penal code and put into health care federal law, which failed. She announced a shredding event at Sirovich Senior Center on May 1. Money for students economically and educationally disadvantaged was restored in the budget, along with support for child care centers. There was a $5 M matching grant for no-kill animal shelters. There was no support in the Senate for early voting. There is hope for a ban on fracking and money for reproductive health care in November, but we need a Democratic Senate.
Brad Hoylman was unanimously endorsed, but was not present. Liz Kreuger will be addressed next meeting.
The Resolution on the L Train was read, and changes were discussed. Elissa Stein discussed the 14th Street Coalition and the Arthur Schwartz lawsuit, amendments were made, and the resolution passed, with one no vote and four abstentions.
Alison Greenberg read her Resolution regarding the proposed rule changes at the LPC and calling for resignation of the chair and input from the public and preservation experts on any rule changes. After discussion, the resolution passed overwhelmingly with one no vote and one abstention.
Nat Johnson reported on the Environmental Committee’s focus on composting, mentioning Tal Zaken’s previous presentation on organic composting. He toured the Simms Recycling Center in Brooklyn and will show a power point presentation. Other concerns were the plastic bag task force, styrofoam and plastic straws. Nat set up a future meeting with the Manhattan Solid Waste Advisory Board.
Laurie Hardjowirogo reported on the Voter Reform Committee’s efforts to defeat John Faso in D19. Sara Kimbell sent 150 post cards for Conor Lamb. There will be a phone bank for the WFP on April 15, and Corey Johnson will host a Day of Action to get Shelley Mayer elected on April 22.
Tony Hoffmann and Laurie reported next on the Campaign Committee. They have collected about 1,000 signatures–660 for Nadler, and 330 for Maloney. They discussed the number of signatures needed –at least 1,250. And they noted that petitioning for local races starts June 5th.
At the end of the meeting’s agenda was election of Judicial Delegates. There was a discussion about whether to change the slate, sharing with VRDC and DID. It was agreed not to at this time, but change was possible next year. The candidates were Jen Hoppe (19), Allison Stowell (28), Deb Sherman (16), and Grace Price (3). The top vote getters were Delegates, and the others were Alternates.
Katharine Wolpe announced the passing of Stanley Geller on April 6 at the age of 98. He was an early President of VID as the Club grew to prominence in their opposition to Carmine DeSapio.