Framingham Democratic Town Committee
Minutes of May 23, 2004 meeting
Held at Framingham Green from 7pm to 9pm.

Attendance

Members: Steve Blesofsy, Debby Blumer, Rosalie Cotton, Jerry Desilets, Pat Dunne, Barbara Gray, Bill Haberman, Donna Howland, Chris Lorant, Barbara Mcgovsky, Kathie McCarthy, Stephanie Mercandetti, Terene Micciche, Joan Rastani, Chris Ross, Marilyn Safian, Norma Shulman, Alan Silver, Chery Tully Stoll, Parwez Wahid

Associate Members: Karen Spilka, Shelly Strowman, Edwina Weston-Dyer

Norma Shulman advised that the new meeting location at Framingham Green might not be available on a regular basis. The resident sponsor did not attend the meeting, however Norma acknowledged him for making the space available to the DTC. A few options for future meetings were offered such as the meeting room at the fire station, however no firm decision was made.

It was announced that an audio tape recorder would be used by the new secretary for recording the minutes of the meetings for transcription purposes; there was no objection from the assembly over the use of this device.

Norma acknowledged and thanked the outgoing officers for the service to the DTC. The outgoing President, Steve Blesofsky, acknowledged his officers and on their behalf expressed appreciation for the opportunity to have served the DTC.
OLD BUSINESS:

Outgoing treasurer Bill Haberman gave his final Treasurer’s Report. Bill reported:

Cash on hand 4/18/04   $1028.49

Dues received    85.00

Income from T-shirt sales   470.00
Sub-total 1583.49

Expenses (meeting room) 50.00

Cash on hand 5/23/04   $1533.49

4 members still owed dues for 2002-03

8 members owed dues for 2003-04

8 new members owed dues, (1 owed $15, 7 owed $5. One of the new members paid her $5 before meeting started to Donna Howland.)

There are 9 paid associate members.

Alan Silver reported that the audit of the treasury was in order, all financial records were consistent with the bank statements. Alan asked the membership to congratulate Bill Haberman for his services and a job well done.

The change of officers’ form needs to be completed. It is in Parwez Wahid’s possession. (This can likely get done during the by-laws subcommittee meeting.)

Minutes of the April 18th meeting were accepted.

Decision on proceeds from T-shirt sales. The T-shirts that were in the DTC’s inventory were all sold. Chris Lorant has a few remaining that he is selling and he may be contacted by anyone interested in a T-shirt.

Norma Shulman reported she had an additional $30 in sales, adding to the amount reported by Bill, the DTC now has $500 income from the T-shirt sales. Expenses for the T-shirts totaled $297.36, leaving proceeds of $202.64. Norma is to be reimbursed for the T-shirt expenses.

Motion was offered that the DTC reimburse Norma for her expenses and send the $200 to the Kerry campaign; motion was seconded. An amendment to the motion was offered that $250 be sent to the Kerry campaign as the DTC treasury has sufficient funds to permit this contribution. The amended motion was accepted and voted upon, the motion passed with no opposition or abstentions.  The T-shirt distribution on Marathon Day was considered successful as numerous T-shirts were seen being worn along the race course. Even runners were acknowledging the Kerry T-shirts.

Future location for meetings remains uncertain, suggestions are welcome. Meetings at the Framingham Green function room are subject to the meeting being sponsored by a resident of the Green. Suggestion was made for the fire department meeting room, however Norma advised that it is no longer available. Members should also investigate the suggested location first to determine availability and viability before suggesting it to the Committee.

Norma added that the Framingham Green remained an attractive option if the issue of sponsorship can be resolved. The community room at the Green offers a kitchen that would allow serving light refreshments during meetings. This would also be useful in attracting residents from the Green to attend DTC meetings and consider membership.

Also the Framingham Green policies allow for elected members of a town committee to hold informational meetings for constituents during a non-election year.

The By-laws subcommittee will be staffed by the immediate past and present officers of the DTC. Committee members may attend the sub-committee meetings as well. The first meeting will be on June 13th hosted by either Bill Haberman or Donna Howland. Some printed copies of the by-laws were available and an electronic (soft) copy would be sent to all members with the minutes of this meeting.

Sample by-laws are available at the Mass Dems website. Members may visit this website to review the sample by-laws and compare with the DTC by-laws. (The link to the website is given at the end of these minutes.) Suggestions on updates from the members are welcome; input should be sent to Parwez Wahid.

E-mail buddies are needed for 3 Committee members who do not have e-mail access. Members not receiving email are sent the minutes and meeting notices by regular mail, however they are unable to receive last minute updates and other fast developing information. An e-mail buddy would typically phone their partner upon receipt of any e-mail updates from the DTC and relay this information. The 3 members needing email buddies are Archie Lyon, Mary Murphy and Caroline Ray. Debbie Blumer offered to act as e-mail buddy for Archie. Two more volunteers are needed; any Committee members interested can contact Norma or Parwez.

Another request was made to remind all committee members on the Mass Dems credit card. By filling out code F07 in field A, a $40 contribution will be made to the Democratic Party and of that $10 is given to the DTC. The card can be applied for on-line at www.juniper.com/1445. (This was mentioned at the state convention as well.)
NEW BUSINESS:

Mat Helman will head the program sub-committee. Norma gained some ideas for DTC programs during the state convention. Suggestions for future programs are welcome. Norma also showed the buttons she had purchased during the convention and added that she would be willing to sell some of these to anyone interested in purchasing the items; proceeds would go to the state party.

One idea on future programs was to discuss privatization of public functions.

Another sub-committee to consider would be a hospitality sub-committee that could arrange for refreshments at meetings. This would be particularly useful for attracting Green residents.

It was also mentioned that if meetings are held at the Framingham Green, the DTC could make a donation to the Green’s tenants’ association, as the DTC would not be charged any rent for holding meetings when sponsored by a tenant.  The idea of a unity breakfast was also raised. This would be held in the 2MN Senate district following the state primaries in September. A sub-committee for this program would need to coordinate with the other town committees in the 2MN district for holding the unity breakfast. It was mentioned that David Magnani was already considering such an event.

Joan Rastani also mentioned the plans for an event to honor David Magnani’s service in the Senate. This would be a dinner celebration that will be held on September 29th at the Framingham Sheraton (formerly Sheraton Tara) Hotel. Proceeds from the event will go towards two of Dave’s favorite charities, one local and one global. This function would also serve to foster unity in the party.
Question was raised if the unity breakfast would be redundant. It was suggested that the unity breakfast be moved to October closer to the elections.

Norma presented a packet of information that was distributed at Fuller Middle School when Governor Romney visited. Norma made a video of the Governor’s presentation and hopes to have this available soon.

It was suggested that the legislators who attended the Romney presentation at Fuller should have a follow-up response discussion. Norma would video tape this discussion as well.
PROGRAM:

Russell Ashton of the Democratic State Committee addressed the audience on behalf of the John Kerry campaign. Russ described the excitement that the Kerry campaign has generated across the state. He talked of the importance of voter registration and holding house parties to support the Kerry campaign. He left several copies of voter registration forms, also in several languages. During his visit to Lowell he was able to get several Spanish speaking persons to register. This outreach effort would be very important to show inclusion.

Another important document Mr. Ashton presented was an absentee ballot and again he stressed the importance of getting this to people who anticipate being away during the election day. It was pointed out that the deadline for voter registration is 20 days prior to any election. Bumper stickers were another important item to distribute to get Kerry’s name more visibility.

Ashton talked about the upcoming convention in Boston and the need for volunteers to help out. It was mentioned again that locally the Metrowest Alliance had been founded as a volunteer team to work at the convention. Another effort to consider is canvassing in New Hampshire.

A question was raised on the issue regarding Kerry delaying his acceptance of the nomination, specifically how to address this subject it comes up during canvassing. Ashton replied that he had no specific answer at that time. The best answer that seemed to be offered was that delaying the announcement would level the playing field for the candidates.

Returning to the subject of house parties, Russ Ashton again stressed the importance and value of these. The amounts raised would need to be large sums, but the more house parties held that raise a few hundred dollars would add up to more substantial figures. Chris Lorant (who hosted a house party the previous day) offered some contact information on getting more house party information. He also announced several upcoming meetings for the Metrowest Alliance, Stop Bush and the Kerry Meetup. He also announced dates for the ZBA meetings at the Memorial Building.

Russ Ashton mentioned the forms he brought could also be downloaded from the Secretary of State’s website on mass.gov. Norma mentioned that absentee voting can also be done at the town clerk’s office at the time the absentee ballot is picked up.

Much of the information that was shared on voter registration and absentee ballot could also posted on the Framingham DTC website, that Mat Helman maintains.
Chris Lorant also mentioned upcoming canvasses on June 12th and July 10th.
UPDATE ON JULY CONVENTION:

Many who had volunteered through the website had not heard back on their volunteer status confirmation. It was mentioned that the information is still being entered into the system and people should be hearing something soon. A representative (Megan?) would be visiting to meet the Metrowest Alliance to give more information on the convention.

Getting to the convention could be a problem due to the traffic restrictions. The idea of getting a bus was offered.
STATE CONVENTION:

Norma described he own experiences from the convention that she felt was very positive. She obtained a resource list that will be included in the minutes. This lists various sources of information for sample by-laws and the Mass Dems guide, an email newsletter subscription.

Other feedback:

Joan Rastani attended the Campaign Track, which consisted of several concurrent sessions. She found the workshops to be useful. At one of the workshops, Congressman Markey made an appearance and spoke for several minutes.

Also in the Campaign Track, Steve Blesofsky found quite interesting the amount of opposition research gathering that is done in addition to the candidate’s own research.

The Issues Track was described as very useful, but also containing a great amount of information that could hardly be covered in the amount of time given. A suggestion was offered that such workshops should always have a bullet point handed out distributed at the end of the program that covers the highlights of the session. This information could also be posted on a website.
REPORTS FROM HILL:

Karen Spilka commented that the budget should be completed in the House and Senate by the end of June. It will then go to the Governor who may veto parts of it, however it should all be finalized before the national convention in July. Some of the major issues in the budget concerning health care and education should survive the various levels of reforms between the House and Senate.
OTHER ITEMS:

Barbara Mcgovsky announced her resignation from the DTC, she is moving to Florida.

Lyn mentioned that the warrant for town manager did not pass. Norma added that on the charter commission, the people elected were those who had town-wide name recognition. It was recommended that those who oppose a city form of government not sign the petition unless the charter has some recognition of the town form of government.

Some discussion on participating on the Flag Day parade, June 13th. There was a suggestion to authorize $200 towards the parade, another suggestion to use the $200 of the $250 discussed earlier towards the parade. This money would be used purchase a large “KERRY” sign and march in the parade in support of John Kerry.

A motion was made to authorize $200 of the $250 towards the parade if the DTC can organize a fair sized group to participate. If the group cannot be organized, the money will be sent to the Kerry campaign as originally discussed.
An opposing comment was offered that the entire $250 could be better spent if it were donated to the campaign as originally discussed.

There was additional discussion on having people line the parade route wearing Kerry items like T-shirts, buttons and caps and also carry signs. Norma will call the Kerry campaign office for suggestions on how best the $200 can be utilized with respect to the parade.

Vote was taken on the motion to authorize spending of the $200 if it was seen as a viable action based on information from the Kerry campaign and also the efforts of the DTC. The motion passed 14 to 2.

(In a follow up note, Norma Shulman contacted the Kerry campaign office regarding participation in the parade. The office advised that unless the candidate himself is marching it would not make sense to have a group participate in the parade. The entire $250 that was authorized will be sent to the Kerry campaign office. The campaign office did indicate that Kerry bumper stickers and other such items would be sent to the DTC for distribution to the spectators during the Flag Day parade.)

Links:

Field services manual – http://www.massdems.org/Contact/FieldManual.pdf

MassDemsGuide – To subscribe send email to:  [email protected]

Next meeting: May 23, 7:00 (Location TBD!)

Watch for notice of new location – your suggestions are welcome

Potential agenda: Reports from the May 8 State Convention, National Convention volunteers update, Subcommittee reports

Minutes – Democratic Town Committee – April 18, 2004
Called to order 7:06 PM.
MEMBERS ATTENDING: Steve Blesofsky, Rita Blum, Debby Blumer, Jerry Desilets, Pat Dunne, Linda Fields, Jim Gordon, Bill Haberman, Esther Hopkins, Donna Howland, Shahid Kahn, Ruth Litter, Chris Lorant, Barbara Magovsky, Kathie McCarthy, Stephanie Mercandetti, Joan Rastani, Marilyn Safian, Norma Shulman, Alan Silver, Cheryl Tully Stoll, Rev. Faith Tolson.
ASSOCIATE MEMBERS ATTENDING: Bob Edwards, Karen Spilka, Lee Mason.
OTHERS: Chuck Gerstein, Shelley Strowman, Courtney Elgart, Wes Ritchie, Margo Deane, Margo Roman, David Baldwin.
MINUTES (Norma Shulman): Minutes of March 21 approved.
TREASURER’S REPORT (Bill Haberman)
Cash on hand 2/22/04    986.62
Dues received                  65.00
Interest                            1.87
Subtotal                         1053.49
Expense (meeting room)   25.00
Cash on hand 4/18/04        1028.49
4 members still owe 2002-03 dues. 9 members owe dues for 2003-04.
Report accepted.
REPORT FROM THE HILL – Representatives Karen Spilka & Debby Blumer
Karen brought copy of Ways & Means budget summary from the House.
Debby reported that the amendments are available on the Internet – 1220 of them.
Restoring the 20% cut from chapter 70 money to Framingham is NOT happening. Unfortunately they are not fully funding the special ed circuit breaker after all – but may be at about 60-75%. The full charter school reimbursement is currently in the House budget.
Local aid and lottery money would be level funded for Framingham.
There is more money in the senior pharmacy program to keep the co-pays level. There are 90,000 people enrolled statewide up to the time when enrollment was closed. It would be good for the local councils on aging to report back on how many wanted to enroll, but didn’t get to. There are clearly more people who need it than there are enrolled.
School Building Assistance has been taken out of the budget to bond it. So reimbursements for current programs will be guaranteed on time and at the amount expected.
The summary includes cuts to welfare accounts, which may be money lost for social workers. Karen noted that one of her amendments would put back money for childcare and other assistance for single parents who need this help in order to work.
Question about section 8 – Federal vs. MA rental assistance (Rental Arrears and Housing Fund). Section 8 cuts would make about 1200 MA families homeless. This will likely hurt people just when they have gotten on their feet. And we could end up having to fund them in hotels for more money. They reformed the uncompensated care pool, which will help with that area.
House W & M included a raise for direct care workers, who haven’t had a raise in years.
Mass Health Essential program has been put back, although at a lower level. It may end up being fully funded. There are amendments to fully fund the children’s medical security, which had been cut.
Higher ed still was cut. There will be more amendments to restore some of these cuts and others like this. This is the first step and they may be able to work with the Senate.
There may be legislation on 40B coming. They want to see the senior tax program come out of the legislature. A question was raised about the housing program – they have a short-term fix.

ELECTIONS

Nominations were taken from the floor, and elections for officers for 2004-2006 were held. The Officers elected are:
Chair: Norma Shulman
Vice-Chair: Mat Helman
Treasurer: Donna Howland
Secretary: Parwez Wahid
We conduct a treasury audit when we change officers. Alan Silver will head the audit committee with the old and new treasurers. Anyone who is interested, please contact Steve to participate.

NEW BUSINESS

T-Shirts. We got in an order of Kerry “Race for the White House” T-shirts for Marathon Day. Anyone needing one, see Norma after the meeting.
By Laws committee needed. Things have evolved since the By Laws were last updated. We need to look at our bylaws and see what is in sync with the state party, and we also have a question about the fiscal year that we use (should match when members are elected). Jan 1 is the report date for the treasurer. We have been using September as the fiscal year for dues payment. Discussion also of when the newly elected officers take effect, as there is also no clear answer to that schedule either.
Moved and approved to have the past and new officers be on the by laws committee. When the subcommittee meets, an email will go to everyone so anyone can attend. We need to research when new officers take effect. Norma and Bill will call a meeting.
Meeting Location. We have been notified that, for next year, we would have to make our meeting time 6-8 at Heritage on Sundays to be out earlier. This was not supported by the members present. Another option is to go to Gold Star India on a weeknight. Or find another place. We can ask about Civic League and any other options we can identify. Jim Gordon will make some calls to help locate a meeting room. Framingham Green has a community room if any member lives there. The consensus was we could not select the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd Monday – other boards meet then. And other weeknights have conflicts with town meeting and other boards. What about Framingham State, Callahan, or Danforth, or can we meet in a town building? We believe it is permissible – as we are an officially elected organization. Jim Gordon will head a committee to look for a location and report back next meeting. Jim’s email for any ideas of locations or to help find a location is[email protected]. You can also reply to Norma with any suggestions. NOTE: We have just learned that we need a new location for May 23, too.
The Audit, Bylaws, and Meeting Location committees will report back 5/23.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Reminder about the state convention 5/8 in Amherst. If you need a ride, or want to carpool, and need help arranging that, contact Norma at [email protected] (877-5377).
There will be canvassing for Kerry in NH (on 4/24, and other dates coming up). Your help is needed. Chris Lorant had a list of meetings: to sign up for canvassing or campaign work, call Kerry headquarters at 617-367-1551. DNC meetup at Ken’s this Wed at 7 – see Chris. Kerry meetup 4/24; Stop Bush meetup at Vinny Testas 4/28. Last day to register is 10/13 for the primary. Also looking for people to hold house parties for fundraising.
Margo Roman reported about plans for the marathon. Hopkinton wants to have lots of Kerry shirts in the opening marathon photos at the starting line. She has other t-shirts with bigger logo – they want people in Hopkinton for a line up to get the media’s attention.
Karen Spilka thanked people who came to the fundraiser at her house 4/4/04 at 4:00 – they raised over $20,000! And she announced that she was elected a Kerry delegate.
Adjourned at 8:30.

Called to order 7:08 PM.

MEMBERS ATTENDING: Steve Blesofsky, Debby Blumer, Nancy Coville Wallace, Jerry Desilets, Barbara Gray, Mathew Helman, Donna Howland, Chris Lorant, Dave Magnani, Barbara Magovsky, Stephanie Mercandetti, Terene Micciche, Betty Muto, Joan Rastani, Chris Ross, Marulyn Safian, Norma Shulman, John Stefanini, Cheryl Tully Stoll, Parwez Wahid.
ASSOCIATE MEMBERS ATTENDING: Bob Edwards, Rochelle Sivan, Karen Spilka.
OTHERS: Toni Serafini, Steve Joyce, Rosemary Fletcher, T.H. O’Neil.
MINUTES (Norma Shulman): Minutes of Feb. 22 approved.
TREASURER’S REPORT – no report this month
ANNOUNCEMENTS
… Kerry fundraiser 4/4/04 at 4:00 at Karen Spilka’s.
… Blumer pre-election party at Noscot Café 3-5 3/28.
… Barbara Gray’s farewell gathering 4/4 3-5 at The Barn.
… Dave Magnani has announced he is not running for another term in the State Senate. We owe Dave a tremendous debt for over 20 years of public service – a friend as well as a legislator. Barbara Gray is also leaving town, moving to the west coast. Not only Framingham, but the whole Commonwealth has benefited from her efforts. The best thing that happened to her and us was when she became a Democrat…and she will come back to keep an eye on us. Steve remembered when she was not a Democrat, but she knew the landscape and how to get things done. And we will miss this skill and will miss her. John Stefanini added that two wonderful people and two friends are moving on. It is important for us to remember those 22 years of Dave’s service. We had an event for Barbara when she retired from the legislature and raised money for a charity. Maybe in Sept. we can have a similar event for Dave.
… Congratulations to all the people elected to the DTC in March.
… We have the chair of the Natick DTC Theresa Toowey and Frank Volpe of Natick present.
… Election of officers is at our next meeting 4/18. The current four offices are open for nominations. Let Steve know if you are interested.
… Bob Edwards reported that he is now working with Health Care For All.
… The State Convention is May 8 in Amherst. There will be a May 23 DTC meeting.
… Karen announced that they are compiling the MW volunteers team for the national convention. They will get her the list of people who have signed up. Debby is still getting calls from people who want to sign up.
… Bob Cassidy is here from State Committee. Congratulated John Stefanini on his new position with a nationally known law firm. John S noted that we have an opportunity of a lifetime – we have a lot of connections to people who are in the Democratic presidential campaign. We should all be engaged in the Kerry campaign. Donna – getting involved is critical, how do we do it effectively? John S – What is your level of commitment of time? For locally based, work on the convention? Connecticut and Maine are important states for this campaign if you want to do some campaign work in those. Maine divides its 4 electoral votes. MA is winner-take-all. For more traveling, try OH, MN, PA, NY – all are in play. Chris L suggested to go to www.johnkerry.com and see the Kerry Traveler program, also go to the office in Boston on Canal Street. 617-367-1551. Bob Cassidy went to MN, Humphrey’s grandson was happy to see them – a very important state that is in play.
… Dave arrived to a standing ovation. He encouraged all to sign up for our convention volunteers’ yahoo group: MetrowestAlliance04 on yahoo.com. If you haven’t signed up, do so. Point people are Karen, Debby, Dave. Go to www.Boston04.com to sign up and tell them you are part of MetrowestAlliance04 team. Dave plans to be involved for a long time. He expects that this seat will remain democratic. It is an honor to be involved with this DTC – extraordinary Democrats. We have a chance to change the world.
… Mat Helman brought literature for his school commitee campaign.
… Valerie has new Vote signs – made at Keefe tech part of the Votes project.
… LWV is sponsoring a candidates’ night.
Program: Health Care Insurance for Mass – Constitutional Initiative Petition
DISCLAIMER: These notes of the program are snippets of what was said. The numbers and other facts are as accurate as I could get while trying to capture as many of the points as possible. This is not intended as a transcript – only as an attempt to share the general discussion for those who missed it.
AIM was not able to attend, but will send up their testimony in opposition to the petition.
Barbara Waters Roop, Chair of the committee.
1. Everyone in MA should get the health care they need.
2. Affordable comprehensive insurance is the way to get them this care.
The idea is to create an enforceable right through a constitutional amendment.
They got 90,000,000 signatures in 7 weeks. Students, health care workers, retirees, etc., collected these signatures.
We need to reform our health care system.
There are more people in MA without insurance than there are people in the city of Boston.
Many people pay more than 10% of their income on health care.
This amendment would require MA to find a way to provide access to affordable insurance.
The state has cut thousands of low income children and adults from health care.
This is not a luxury; it is a necessity. We already pay for the uninsured’s health care through our tax dollars. It’s time for action. Just like the guarantee in our constitution provides public education, we need the same for health care. It is a moral imperative, but it is also just plain smart.
MA was once a leader in expanding access to health care, but not now. They chose the ballot to move this issue along. They need the 50 votes in the constitutional convention, and then in the next constitutional convention. The voters can make this happen when it gets on the ballot.
Why opposition? Some say because it doesn’t specify the solution. But the committee feels that they need to establish the process to get this going. AIM and the Mass Retailers are concerned that there could be an employer mandate.
Concern was expressed about not having any solutions on the ballot. But it is premature to start doing this before the constitutional convention.
Comment about knowing people who had access only to the emergency room – and it costs all of us. What of the other states that are moving in this direction. HI has employer-based sort-of universal system.
Tom O’Neil mentioned he worked on this issue some time ago (with Barbara Gray). The constitutional convention process is long. Shouldn’t the legislature do something NOW? Answer – the legislature is burned out on this issue. And different groups have different priorities.
How is it going to be funded? What it would cost and how it is funded will have to be made down the road? Could be private payments, public funded, or a mix.
Debby suggested we have to look to the governor’s office for leadership on this. Right now we see the reverse of this. We are cutting services. So this would bring the issue of universal health care coverage to the forefront.
They think they have the 50 votes.
Barbara was the only Republican who voted for universal health care under Dukakis. This year several of the leading senators are under attack by the Governor. For this issue it is important that we don’t lose any Democratic senate seats.
Steve J mentioned that in an industry where people are coming in and out from other states, this looks so vague, how can you sell something so broad without a funding mechanism?
John S mentioned that the model the health care committee (when he was chair) looked at was a “here’s the goal now you figure out the rest”. This puts a pressure cooker together, making them put the groups together and do it. He thinks this is a good strategy. If the voters support it, there will be a timeline and will have to come up with a plan. For 5 years he sponsored the single-payer bill and then they had it as a target to attack.
Karen said without this push, it will keep getting put off. If it was too specific – like clean election – people kept trying to change the specifics.
Betty – asked about the statement that the money to pay is already in the system. Where? It is being spent now on health care. 39% of every health care dollar now goes to administration.
Bob asked about Mass Health Dental – what is the option of restoring it? There have been a lot of cuts since Weld.
Question about BCBS being so profitable. Answer – In fact there are ways to do this without costing the taxpayers a dime. Maybe we could ask for a discount plan from profitable insurance companies where we could share the costs from the uninsured care pool. BCBS is a quasi-public corporation.
Are there any states that we could use as a model? Maine has recently put together a state-wide insurance pool. CA has an employer mandate that is now in the courts. And others.
Archie commented on the cost to the Town for health insurance., and how it is going up so much. At some point it’s going to break the bank. Whether you are a city or business or individual, it is going up so much. Answer – Are we going to have inflation on quality, good value care, or inflation on the huge administrative costs and poor value care? Compare the cost of good prenatal care at $400 to the cost of one premie’s care at $400,000. We all pay every time an uninsured person walks into the hospital.
Currently it’s a really stressful system for the health care professionals. That’s why many have signed this petition.
We don’t publish the health care data that most other countries do.
Committee for Health Care for Mass: June for the constitutional convention this year, and then again in 2005-2006, on ballot in Nov., 2006. www.healthcareformass.org
——-
Adjourned at 8:55 PM.

Called to order 7:11 PM.

MEMBERS ATTENDING: Susan Abrams, Steve Blesofsky, Debby Blumer, Jerry Desilets Linda Fields, Bill Haberman, Donna Howland, Dave Magnani, Barbara Magovsky, Stephanie Mercandetti, Chris Ross, Lyn Safian, Norma Shulman, John Stefanini.
ASSOCIATE MEMBERS ATTENDING: Randy Black, Carlos Cunningham, Jim Gordon, Mathew Helman, Chris Lorant, Terene Micciche, Kimberly Oakley, Joan Rastani, Karen Spilka, Parwez Wahid, Nancy Coville Wallace.
OTHERS: Darlyn Scott, Thomas Myers, Bill Dooling, Adam Alboyadjian, Archie Lyon, Caron Berman, Stan Berman.

MINUTES (Norma Shulman): October 19 minutes accepted.

TREASURER’S REPORT (Bill Haberman)
Cash on hand 9/14/03    641.12
Dues received    390.00
Interest    0.00
Subtotal    1031.12
Expense (meeting room)    25.00
Cash on hand 11/16/03    1006.12
Report accepted.
There are still a few who have not paid dues for last year. The year runs from September through August, so dues are now payable for 2003-2004. 3 owe dues for 2 years ago; 7 for last year; 19 for this year.

Announcements:

• Update on card – Mat reported on the first in the nation Democratic State Party credit card. The state party gets $40.00 the first time you use it. If you use our Framingham code on the application, Framingham Town Committee gets 10.00 from the 40.00. Our code is F07 (F zero seven) in field A for internal use only. MBNA, which underwrites other cards, some of their money goes as soft money contribution to the Republican Party. Ours is Juniper Bank, a top underwriter, and they are very excited about this project. The state party will get continuous updates on the amount of money. They spent a good deal of time researching banks to set this program up. You can even charge contributions to candidates, if they accept charges.
• Question raised about healthcareformass – no one knew about it.
• January 10 caucus [changed to 1/25] – Because of the national convention in July, the state annual convention will be May 8 (in Amherst), therefore, making the caucus early, too. We will have a February meeting instead. No meeting in Dec. Need a caucus location [decided on Heritage].
• Raising the dues motion to be voted in February. We are spending about 200 for rent and 250 a year for coordinated campaign office every two years. Susan A moved to raise dues to $20/$15 for 2004-2005, seconded, and then tabled to Feb.

Program:
DISCLAIMER: These notes of the program are snippets of what was said. The numbers and other facts are as accurate as I could get while trying to capture as many of the points as possible. This is not intended as a transcript – only as an attempt to share the general discussion for those who missed it.

Discussion with our legislators about organizing a MetroWest team for
2004 National Convention Activities and Volunteer Opportunities

John, Dave, Karen, Debby led discussion to make sure we are actively involved in the convention.
The security is going to be very tight, practically shutting down the city. The best way to have some control of how we can volunteer is to volunteer in clusters, and go through our elected officials. Get names into the pool of volunteers before Jan so they can do the background checks. We can have between 20-30 people per cluster. And then we have team leaders to negotiate with the host committee on our assignments. We might need 4-6 coordinators, and solicit volunteers from the area. It’s a good tool to get people active and involved. Mat could put the volunteer form on the web site? How do we direct them all through one funnel. We could recruit people affirmatively. Send out instructions for people how to apply.
Put it online with instructions, send out email with instructions, etc. We could use the list from the coordinated campaign to invite volunteers to use MetroWest Alliance ‘04 as the team/referral source. We need to have a central email for volunteers to respond and then get them connected to a team leader. Maybe we need to have a series of meetings to go over possible assignments. 3 legislators + team leaders can go over logistics and then have a large meeting. Multiple levels of training involved, then leaders train the rest. They will have leader training starting in Jan. We can use the Alliance and maybe the Dispatch to look for volunteers. We can look for team leaders at the same time as general volunteers. People can fill in that the MW Alliance ‘04 referred you (“where you heard of it”) and also that you are part of a “corporate team”.
Chris L has already volunteered as a team leader and they are starting to have meetings on security clearance.
Suggested that the legislators set up 4 team leaders with teams of 25 each to start with. People who are interested in being team leaders should contact Debby, Karen, or Dave. Let people know they have to volunteer now or will not get in – the security alone will take time. Getting involved is the only way to get in the hall or to any of the events & forums elsewhere. Democratic State Comm. needs people to commit to hours of work well ahead of the convention date. Fill out the online form and also send us an email that it has been sent. Go to Boston04.com fill out application and then send email to the MetroWest Alliance Yahoo group that you want to be part of the MW Alliance team. We can also send mail and call other interested people in this area. We can send a notice to the paper as an area brief, using Debby’s second line perhaps, and the Yahoo group for people to contact, and a contact person. Work with Karen on press release after the legislators have worked on the logistics. The team leaders will be the key to getting this going. They will probably have some photo id system as part of the credentials.
DNC has electronic newsletter –should we be getting this after we are volunteers? And we can encourage people who volunteer to join their local committee.

Adjourned at 8:27 PM.