June 14, 2018 Membership Meeting Votes on Endorsement for NYS Attorney General
June 14, 2018 Membership Meeting Minutes
Tish James wins VID’s endorsement for NYS Attorney General
The June 14, 2018 Membership Meeting began with presentations from three candidates for the NYS Attorney General position: Leecia Eve, Tish James, and Christine Gonzalez, speaking for Zephyr Teachout. After this, and a general discussion of the candidates, James won the endorsement with 23 votes, with Teachout second with 13, Maloney (?) 1, Eve 1, and one no endorsement.
The June 14, 2018 Membership Meeting continued with Rachel Lavine, State Committeewoman, who opened her remarks by telling us she seconded Zephyr Teachout for AG at the NYS Democratic Committee Convention. She and others founded the NY Progressive Caucus a couple of years ago, and it is now the largest caucus. They have accomplished a lot of things, among them, that the State Committee can no longer funnel donations, and won’t support any candidate who caucused with the IDC. Catalina Lopez is the Vice Chair.
NYS Commmittee Woman, Rachel Lavine
She spoke about the Jeff Klein investigation into his alleged sexual harassment, and said it was a whitewash where the victim was not interviewed. JCOPE will do an independent investigation. The goal is to make the state standard congruent with the city standard.
She next tackled the question of why she voted for Cuomo at the Convention. She has had differences with the Governor, but could not support Nixon because she’s a celebrity candidate–like Trump. Cuomo needs to be pushed to the left, but there needs to be a qualified candidate in every small area. She closed with good words for Ben Yee.
Allison Stowell speaks of the Youth over Guns March on June 2, in which 1,500 people articipated.
Deb Sherman and Allison Stowell made their report for the Gun Reform Committee. They spoke of the Youth over Guns march on June 2, in which 1,500 people participated. They got 365 anti-gun postcards signed, with 19 volunteers. The Extreme Risk Protection Act (ERPO) law passed in Massachusetts. The same law is in the legislation here. Senators Kavanaugh and Hoylman are working on it, and Kavanaugh is hopeful it will pass.
Nat Johnson spoke for the Environmental Committee, and their current project, VID reusable bags, which Deb was also working on. They should be ready soon. He spoke of the next meeting’s agenda: the plastic bag bill, a ban on styrofoam, a field trip in the fall to the Recycling Center, and a January Town Hall on recycling.
Tony Hoffmann gave the report for the Voter Reform Committee, as Laurie Hardjowirogo was upstate in CD19. He said they would adopt one or two anti-IDC handcards. There was a discussion about the cards. Petitions should be in by June 30.