Democratic Caucus on Saturday, February 8, at La Campagna.

Doors close at 2:00.

CAUCUS NOTE: Please note that the method in place this year allows for candidates for delegate who are unable to be present at the caucus. This is similar to 1999, 2000, and 2001. If you are interested in being an elected delegate or alternate and cannot attend your local caucus, contact your chair for information.

The next Democratic Town Committee meeting is

Sunday, March 9, at 7:00 PM at La Campagna.
ANNOUNCEMENT: If you are interested in working on the Kerry NH campaign, call Letticia Reeves, 617-367-1551. For information on the 3/10/03 Kerry $1000/ticket Boston fundraiser, contact Shahid A. Kahn, 508-620-9660, [email protected]. (http://www.johnkerry.com/)

Minutes – Democratic Town Committee – January 12, 2003

Called to order 7:07 PM.
MEMBERS ATTENDING: Steve Blesofsky, Debby Blumer, Linda Fields, Bill Haberman, Esther Hopkins, Donna Howland, Barbara Magovsky, Rene Mandel, Stephanie Mercandetti, Cesar Monzon, Betty Muto, Lyn Safian, Norma Shulman.
ASSOCIATE MEMBERS ATTENDING: Scott Burke, Barbara Gray, Mathew Helman, Ahmed Kahn, Norbert Riegelhaupt, Nancy Coville Wallace. OTHERS ATTENDING: Warren Chamberlain, Allan Smith, Parwez Wahid, Bill Sammons.
MINUTES (Norma Shulman): Motion to accept Oct and Nov meeting minutes approved.
TREASURER’S REPORT (Bill Haberman): Reports given in Nov and Jan approved.
Cash on hand 11/17/02  $568.71
Deposits (dues)               $95.00
Interest                            $4.16
Subtotal                        $667.87
Expenses                          $0.00
Cash on hand 1/12/03    $667.87
As of 1/12, 3 still owe dues for last year. 11 owe dues for this year. Reminders will be sent.

Old Business:

Continued discussion from November meeting: We are looking for additional suggestions for how to energize the Committee. The web site has been bringing people in. One guest suggested reaching the unenrolled voters; the parties need to respond to the needs of the people. The Democrats have an opportunity to reach out now, especially with the convention coming in 2004. Perhaps we should notify the paper about our meetings and have speakers covered. Did we learn anything about the possibility of having a Democrats group at Framingham State? What would be our marketing strategy? A subcommittee will look into it: Betty, Barbara, Mat, Alan Smith. There was a question about what is involved as an associate member: a beginning way to get involved. The requirements are to be a Democrat and pay $10 dues.
Reminder: The Caucus is 2/8. To participate in selecting delegates for the issues convention in Lowell 6/7, be there by 2. The convention is a good preview for the next governor’s election.

New Business:

Report from the MW Alliance and State Committee (Lyn Safian)
The Alliance will be hosting/providing food for the State Committee meeting. Our Chair has arranged for dinner at Ken’s before the meeting and funds are being raised to cover it. The meeting is at Ken’s Monday, January 27, at 7 PM. Come from 6-7 to eat and visit. The meeting is open; all Democrats are encouraged to attend.
Report from the Hill (Debby Blumer)
The legislature is still organizing for the session, making assignments and leadership positions. They will be in session tomorrow about giving the Governor authority to cut local aid. The state budget has to be balanced by August. There is a philosophical discussion going on about whether the legislature should let the difficult choices fall on him or whether they have to keep their authority and make the hard decisions. There was a discussion about concern for funding of special education for children in residential and private schools. Taxes? There isn’t the will to do much with this. Charter schools? Financing of charters will be one of the issues under discussion.
This Thursday the selectmen will be discussing funding.

Speaker: Martha Coakley (Middlesex District Attorney)

In July 2002, Martha Coakley was honored by A&E Television Network as one of their 2002 Biography Community Heroes for her contribution to public service, the community, and inspirational leadership. Coakley, along with 10 other honorees from Boston, were part of A&E’s traveling exhibition over the summer.

A sampling of her comments and the subsequent discussion is provided:

The four years has gone by so fast. She has family in the Metrowest, but came from western MA. She has 54 cities and towns in her district. It is important to be focused on what is happening from the ground up. Even without the corner office, most offices are held by Democrats. We need to work together to solve the current problems. The DA office responds whenever someone is arrested or there is a crime committed. There are 800-900 felonies and many more cases in the district courts; these depend on the DA staff to ensure a prompt and fair process. They are working on creating incentives for the DA staff to stay longer in order to develop a staff of more experienced people. In Middlesex County they have teams to meet with the schools, provide services to children, a program to prevent problems. They are looking at a program to respond to middle school truancy – voluntary services, help for the families and parents. It’s a way to intervene before they are in worse trouble. They will avoid cutting these prevention services in this economic climate. Safe schools are about understanding our kids.
They have passed a statute against stalking. They may respond legislatively like this to prevent crimes if this is a way to deal with a particular issue.
They are looking at ways to work on public safety on a community level, especially for situations in a particular community. Community-based safety issues are not just dealt with by the police, but also by the schools and the community and other community organizations.

Questions and discussion:

Is the MA justice system better than IL in terms of the conviction of the innocent? Without the death penalty here, do people in MA not get the same level of close review. We do use DNA to convict and exonerate. The review of the higher courts and how the police are restricted in MA makes our system strong.
Is moving some of the court staff (probation officers, etc.) into the administrative division to help improve management? Further discussion followed on this question. Who should pick this staff? Is there patronage motivating this area?
Are we making progress with persons with mental illness or substance abuse getting any better response from the judicial system? There are barriers and prejudices against people with these issues. There are stigmas. We should recognize these as illness and how better to respond to them. We need to do more. How we go about the issue of treatment is complicated – the criminal justice system is the last catchall. Especially in bad economic times, when people hit bottom – and the criminal justice system becomes the last safety net for some people (the only way to get services for some people). It is an expensive problem to deal with.
What about the problem with profiling in certain communities? What can we do to help? It is helpful to have members of minority communities involved, working together at the grassroots level and up.
How does intervention earlier help? We don’t have good data on this, but we should be investing early to prevent the costly efforts later. The truancy program may provide data on how this early intervention is working.
Question about the public reaction to public violence? What can be done on a public level to help people not directly involved in an incident? Our public safety personnel need to get help with response to stressful events. Communities have come together to support people with tragedies.
Are you seeing an increase in domestic violence? Fewer domestic homicides. More serious assaults. Number of restraining orders is up. When the economy is bad, you do see an increase in restraining orders, etc. We are getting better at agencies working together.
Is terrorism an issue in your dept.? They looked at all the agencies and groups that should be involved and have done a lot of teams and planning. Have police, fire, and EMTs on the same page. And this planning will be important for any other kinds of crime and issues.
Talked about the checks and balances and concern about whether we are profiling and treating people as we did with internment camps – detainees.