FDTC Minutes of October 15 and 17, 2006


Framingham Democratic Town Committee

Minutes of October 15 and 17, 2006
The minutes of both minutes are being combined as the second meeting was a continuation of the first.


Held at The Meadows from 7:00pm to 9:30pm.


Attendance October 15

Members

: Bob Berman, Randy Black, Rosalie Cotton, Nancy Coville Wallace, Gerard Desilets, Linda Fields, Bill Haberman, Esther Hopkins, Chris Lorant, Archie Lyon, David Magnani, Tom Mahoney, Stephanie Mercandetti, Sarah Micciche, Valerie Mulvey, Betty Muto, Joan Rastani, Chris Ross, Norma Shulman, Alan Silver, Rochelle Sivan, John Stefanini, Cheryl Tully Stoll, Parwez Wahid
Associate Members: Elsa Aviza, Susan Elwyn, Gerard Heng, Pam Roberts


Attendance October 17

Bob Berman, Randy Black, Nancy Coville Wallace, Gerard Desilets, Linda Fields, Donna Howland, Chris Lorant, Archie Lyon, David Magnani, Tom Mahoney, Kathie McCarthy, Stephanie Mercandetti, Sarah Micciche, Valerie Mulvey, Philip Ottaviani, Joan Rastani, Chris Ross, Norma Shulman, Alan Silver, Rochelle Sivan, John Stefanini, Cheryl Tully Stoll, Parwez Wahid
Associate Members: Elsa Aviza, Susan Elwyn, Gerry Heng, Steve Joyce (joined Oct. 17), Lloyd Kaye (joined Oct. 17), Laura Medrano (joined Oct. 17), Pamela Roberts
Guests on October 15 and / or October 17 (those that signed in):

Ralph Mero, Deborah Mero, Phil Jack, Adam Blumer, Tony Alencar, Carone Berman, Stan Berman, Mike Dineen, Phil Dinsky, Bill Dooling, David Finkelstein, Alan Frankel, Dennis Giombetti, Steve Grossman, Audrey Hall, Gwendolyn Holbrow, Helen Lemoine, Christine Long, Tom Manders, Larry Marsh, Susan Massad, Katie Murphy, Ilma Paixao, Chris Petrini, Wes Ritchie, Rep. Tom Sannicandro, Chris Sciaba, Adam Sisitsky, Charlie Sisitsky, Carol Spack, Sen. Karen Spilka, Pam Richardson
These were special meetings following the tragic and untimely death of the FDTC Co-Chair, our friend and leader, the State Representative Debby Blumer.


Remembering Debby Blumer

After a moment of silence in memory of Debby Blumer, people shared their memories, mentioning Debby‘s energy, inclusiveness and how she stuck to her principles no matter what. Adam Blumer, the youngest child of Debby, was gracious enough to attend our meeting, saying his mother would have wanted that. Adam talked about Debby’s tireless work to improve the community, the state and the country and that she had a strong moral compass which enabled her to take unpopular stances if she thought they were right. Adam mentioned Debby’s strong support for Deval Patrick’s campaign and urged everybody to volunteer and to amplify their efforts, to make 10 phone calls instead of one, as a fitting tribute to Debby’s memory.

Esther Hopkins submitted a motion to have the FDTC send the family a card, and it was passed.

On Tuesday Norma Shulman moved to donate 200$ in Debby’s name to a charity of the family’s choice. Motion was accepted.


Business

A lot of discussion took place about what to do about Debby Blumer’s seat in light of Secretary of State William Galvin’s ruling that votes for Debby Blumer would be thrown out and that no special election would take place, and the winner would be the one who got the most write-in votes. Joan Rastani moved to vote right then and there and choose the Democratic candidate, as the FDTC is an elected body and represents the Democrats in Framingham, so it was within our rights. There was a lot of discussion and the general feeling was that a special election would be the best and most-Democratic solution, and having a non-binding unofficial caucus the second most Democratic. Many favored running a candidate who would commit not to serve and so trigger a special election. John Stefanini moved to create a caucus committee who would arrange an unofficial caucus. At the end of Sunday’s meeting it was decided to convene on Tuesday to reach a decision, and Joan Rastani and John Stefanini tabled their motions.

On Tuesday Joan Rastani withdrew her motion. Norma Shulman entered a motion to to choose a person who would refuse to serve, this triggering a special election no earlier than 14 weeks after the certification of the election. The Senator Karen Spilka and her aide Mary Anne talked about the risks and chances of bringing about legislation to allow votes for Debby Blumer to be counted and to have a special election. One risk – even if the law got passed, the candidate with the most write-in votes would likely sue the state and we could find ourselves in limbo, without representation. John Stefanini moved to hold a caucus with slight variations on Tuesday’s motion and Alan Silver suggested an amendment to pursue the legislation avenue in parallel to holding the caucus. Norma’s “faux nominee” motion was rejected and John Stefanini’s motion was passed. Full text of motion follows:

1) Ask Representative Sanicandro, Senator Spilka and Governor Romney to immediately file and pass legislation to allow Massachusetts, like other states, to vote for a deceased person in order to allow sufficient time to conduct a special election according to state law and to pass this legislation no later than Monday, October 23, 2006;

2) Establish a seven person committee appointed by the Chair, all of whom shall be registered Democrats from the district, including three members of the committee, one member of the Blumer family and three others, to organize, convene and publicize a Democratic caucus/forum amongst all registered Democrats interested in serving as state representative from the sixth Middlesex District to determine the Democratic candidate with a majority of support amongst Democratic caucus attendees, including the authority to:

  • spend up to $600 to complete its charge;
  • solicit written responses from candidates on the major issues facing this disrict and our state;
  • publicize nomination through a mailing to every good-voting Democratic household in the district;
  • Said forum shall be held at the Cameron Middle School on Sunday, October 22, at 4:30 p.m. All candidate choosing to participate shall be asked if they will abide by the vote of the caucus and support the winner of said straw poll. All caucus attendees will be requested to support the winner of said caucus.

3) Members of the Democratic town committee agree to support the winner of said caucus.

The members of the 7 person committee:

  • Parwez Wahid
  • Nancy Coville Wallace
  • Cheryl Tully Stoll
  • Adam Blumer
  • Mike Dineen
  • Steve Joyce
  • Helen Lemoine

Next Regular Meeting – November 12

Rochelle Sivan · (508) 333-5698 · shellyis@gmail.com

FDTC Minutes of September 17, 2006

Framingham Democratic Town Committee

Minutes of September 17, 2006

Held at Framingham Green from 7:00pm to 9:00pm.

Attendance

Members: Debby Blumer, Nancy Coville Wallace, Gerry Desilets, Linda Fields, Bill Haberman, Donna Howland, Tom Mahoney, Joan Rastani, Norma Shulman, Rochelle Sivan, Cheryl Tully Stoll, Parwez Wahid

Associate Members: Elsa Aviza, Pam Roberts

Special Guest speaker: Michael Sullivan former mayor of Cambridge and candidate for Middlesex County Clerk of Magistrate.

Guests: Wes Ritchie, Edward Sullivan, Jenn Dever

Treasurer’s Report

Cash on Hand as of 06/11/06 1648.60
Dues Received 75.00
Dividends 3.62
Other Income 0
Net Income 78.62
Itemized Expenses
N. Shulman Flag Day Expenses 171.84
N. Shulman Web Charges 01/06 – 05/06 44.75
N. Shulman Web Charges 06/06 8.95
Net Expenses 225.54
Balance as of 09/17/06 1501.68

One member owing dues for 2005 – 2006.

Sixteen members with paid dues for 2006 – 2007.:

Twenty-one members owing dues for 2006 – 2007.

Seven associate members for 2006 – 07.

Paid Members:

D. Blumer, N. Coville Wallace, G. Desilets, L. Fields, W. Haberman, D. Howland, R. Litter, C. Lorant, D. Magnani, T. Mahoney, M. Murphy, J. Rastani, N. Shulman, A. Silver, R. Sivan, C. Tully Stoll, P. Wahid

Business

  1. Minutes for the June meeting were accepted
  2. Bill Haberman presented the results of the biennial review of the DTC’s financial records performed by the Finance Audit Committee consisting of : Nancy Coville-Wallace, Bill Haberman, Donna Howland, Alan Silber: The audit found that the previous treasurer, Donna Howland had done an excellent job – everything was in order and there was an exact match to the bank account figures. The audit was accepted.
  3. Norma Shulman gave a report of the information table she set up for the FDTC on Flag Day and during the Friday night Concerts on the Green. Four of the nights were rained out; a handful of people wrote their names on the sign-up sheet; and Tim Murray the candidate for Lieutenant Governor made an appearance one evening. Norma suggested creating a leaflet or brochure promoting the FDTC and obtaining a tent for future events.
  4. The motion from the previous meeting to authorize a Victory 06 donation with a cap of $500, was rescinded in favor of a new motion: To donate 200$ to the Metrowest Alliance with the provision that the FDTC officers can raise the amount up to 500$ without a new vote taking place. The new motion was accepted.

Program

Norma Shulman spoke for Mike Firestone from the Victory 06 program, who couldn’t attend in person. Norma described the new office on route 9 east, 280 Worcestor Rd., with 5 phone lines for phone banking and the canvassing and festive opening scheduled to take place on September 30, and the debate-watching party taking place at Senator‘s Karen Spilka’s house on September 25th.

Special Guest Speaker:

Michael Sullivan urged everyone to remember go to the bottom of the ballot where his position was listed and to vote for him. He described the duties of the clerk: scheduling the important trials and presenting a human face at the courthouse. Then Michael introduced his uncle, Edward Sullivan, who has served as Middlesex County Clerk for 48 years(!), and who was the first elected Democrat for the job. Michael Sullivan also spoke about the importance of Victory 06 and electing a Democratic Governor responsive to the needs of the towns and cities. He brought up a story of Governor Romney presenting the budget to the mayors and town managers and the press with much fanfare when Sullivan was the mayor of Cambridge. Michael Sullivan had checked the budget figures and saw that they didn’t add up. He told this to Romney, who simply arranged his hair and walked out without answering him. Lieutenant Governor Kerry Healey wordlessly followed Romney out of the room. In the end, a much lower level official responded that they knew the budget was wrong but that corrections would be forthcoming shortly. And that was the Romney / Healey administration in a nutshell – all style, no substance.

FDTC Minutes of June 11, 2006

Framingham Democratic Town Committee

Minutes of June 11, 2006

Held at Framingham Green from 7pm to 9pm.

Attendance

Members: Rep. Debby Blumer, Jerry Desilets, Linda Fields, Donna Howland, Dave Magnani, Tom Mahoney, Stephanie Mercandetti, Joan Rastani, Alan Silver, Norma Shulman, Rochelle Sivan, Cheryl Tully Stoll, Parwez Wahid

Associate Members: Elsa Aviza, Pam Roberts

1.                   Treasurer’s Report

Cash on Hand as of 05/21/06

1628.60

Dues Received

20.00

Dividends

0

Other Income

0

Net Income

20.00

Itemized Expenses
Net Expenses

0

Balance as of 06/11/06

1648.60

One member still owes dues for 2005-06.

For the current term, there are 13 paid members, 24 owe dues.  There are 6 paid associate members.

Treasurer’s report was accepted.

A proposal was made to list the paid members and associate members at the end of the minutes.  Motion to accept this proposal was made and passed.  (The names of the current paid membership appear at the end of these minutes.)

2.                   Minutes and Attendance

The Minutes of the May meeting were accepted with two spelling corrections that had been applied.

3.                   Schedule for 2006-07

The meeting schedule that was published in the minutes of the May meeting was accepted and will be posted on the website.

4.                   Convention De-Briefing

Parwez mentioned that there was an individual on the convention floor (whom he knows personally) who was not carrying proper credentials and was still able to pass through security into the convention.  Parwez believes this person entered through the press gate.  The concern was that when a great deal of emphasis was given to delegates to carry photo ID and credentials, why did the press entry not have equal security.

Norma Shulman also mentioned some delegates who felt undignified in having to present photo ID when reporting to the District Teller after presenting photo ID to the security guards upon entry.

Also Norma described how the tallying took place behind the convention stage where no step up or arrangements had been made for the tally-takers.  Also there was the potential for a challenge on the seating of the alternates.  The Framingham DTC had assigned Chris Ross as the first alternate, however the State Committee listed the alternates alphabetically making Phil Giffee the first alternate.  This was avoided because during the roll call, Chris Ross had left his seat and thus Phil Giffee was seated as the first alternate.

Regarding attendance, Jerry Desilets reported that nearly 100% of the Framingham delegation was accounted for.

The Framingham DTC acknowledges Bill Dooling for his efforts as District Teller for the Second Middlesex Norfolk.

For future conventions Alan Silver thought a suggestion should be passed to the State Committee to use bar code readers for voting.  The bar code readers could scan the code on each delegate’s credential.

 

5.                   Flag Day Event

The Framingham DTC participated in the Flag Day Festival at Farm Pond where an information table was setup to distribute literature on the 2006 elections.  Norma had a weatherproof banner made for the DTC at a cost of $150.

Thanks to the following for volunteering to help the DTC during the Flag Day Festival:

Steve Joyce (and son Brendan)

Adam Blumer

Elsa Aviza

Pam Roberts

Rochelle Sivan

Debbie Lannon

Stephanie Mercandetti

Rosalie Cotton

Gerry Heng

Debby Blumer

Karen Spilka

(And anyone else who might have been missed on this list.)

6.                   Friday Concerts

The Friday Concerts on the Framingham Green commons will resume starting on June 16th.  The DTC will set up an information table, similar to the one setup at the Flag Day Festival.  Volunteers are needed for each Friday of the summer through the end of August to setup, break down and staff the table.

7.                   Authorize Coordinate Campaign Expenses

Motion was made to authorize a budget with a cap of $500, largely for printing material, in expenses related to Victory ’06.  This was approved.

8.                   Announcements

Norma made an appeal for more sign-ups for Victory ’06 to canvass streets in Framingham.

The Natick DTC will hold its annual cookout on July 24th, Framingham members are welcome to join.

Debby Blumer will host a DTC on July 15th from 4 to 8pm; with a rain date of July 16th.

Volunteers are needed for the Program Committee and Membership Committee.  Those interested in Program should see Debby Blumer.  Those interested in Membership should see Chris Ross.

9.                   Program.

No formal program was presented.  Debby Blumer brought some light refreshments to share with the members to acknowledge Norma Shulman for her two years as Chair of the DTC.

Motion was made to dispense any remaining business.  Motion passed.

Next meeting: September 17th.

Current paid Members for 2006-07:

Debby Blumer, Nancy Coville Wallace, Jerry Desilets, Linda Fields, Wolf Haberman, Donna Howland, Chris Lorant, Dave Magnani, Mary Murphy, Norma Shulman, Alan Silver, Rochelle Sivan, Cheryl Tully Stoll, Parwez Wahid

Current paid Associate Members 2006-07:

Elsa Aviza, Carrie Daly, Susan Elwyn, Gerry Heng, Farooq Mirza, Pam Roberts

FDTC Minutes of May 21, 2006

Framingham Democratic Town Committee

Minutes of May 21, 2006

Held at Framingham Green from 7pm to 9pm.

Attendance

Members: Rep. Debby Blumer, Nancy Coville Wallace, Bill Haberman, Donna Howland, Chris Lorant, Tom Mahoney, Stephanie Mercandetti, Terene Micciche, Joan Rastani, Chris Ross, Norma Shulman, Alan Silver, Rochelle Sivan, Parwez Wahid

Associate Members: Elsa Aviza, Farooq Mirza

Recent Associate Members: Steve Robinson

Guests: Hon. Bob Bernstein, Tom Scionti

1..                   Treasurer’s Report

Cash on Hand as of 04/09/06

1791.40

Dues Received

330.00

Dividends

0

Other Income

0

Net Income

330.00

Itemized Expenses
Postage P. Wahid

7.80

Donation Fram. Green Tenants Assoc.

100.00

Town of Framingham, Cameron Use

385.00

Net Expenses

492.80

Balance as of 05/21/06

1628.60

One member still owes dues for 2005-06.

For the current term, there are 12 paid members, 25 owe dues.  There are 6 paid associate members.

Treasurer’s report was accepted.

2..                   Minutes and Attendance

The Minutes of the April meeting were accepted with no corrections.

3..                   Program, Auto Insurance Reform

Hon. Bob Bernstein

Former State Senator Bob Bernstein was introduced by Debbie Blumer.   Bob first ran for office in 1992.  He chaired the committee on insurance.  In describing the current state of the insurance industry he recalled how the Insurance Commissioner once testified “…no one fully understands how cars are insured.”

He related how Massachusetts is the only state with fixed and established auto insurance.  This is based on annual aggregate data fixed by the Commissioner, sort of a “one size fits all” system.  There are approximately 19 companies that write auto insurance in Massachusetts, this is well below the national average.

Current TV and radio ads on insurance reform have given the “He says, she says” impression, leaving consumers bewildered.  While some state that rates have declined and that the system should remain as is, consumers find they are paying more.

Others point to the lack of competition in the state for auto insurance.  All national insurers are not doing business in the state.  Bob Bernstein feels the system is under capitalized, with not enough companies.  Thus fewer companies are assuming more risk.  Fundamentally, this group argues that more competition grows business.

Bob covered 3 major issues regarding auto insurance reform.

1 – Fraud.  While $30 million was recovered in Lawrence, this did not result in savings to that community.  The system does not allow for quick changes.

2 – Introduce Competition.  Allow consumers to shop around.  Have mandatory rate reduction for Step 9 drivers and guaranteed caps as well.  Companies would then compete within this band.

3 – Residual Markets.  These are the bad drivers that no one wants to insure.  This can be done by a cost sharing mechanism where companies share the cost of bad drivers.  Insurance companies would get a percentage of the pool of bad drivers based on their percentage share of the market.

Regarding how cars are insured, Bob stated it was based on where the “car sleeps”.  He cited his own example where he lived in Worcester and commuted 3 miles to work at City Hall.  Because he lived in Worcester, he paid more for insurance than another driver who lived outside the city and commuted 10 miles to the same location at City Hall.  He criticized the system as designed for non-accountability.  While there is also the thought that the Insurance Commissioner should be elected, he thinks it will politicize the debate.

4..                   Selecting candidates for Town Election Board

This item is not needed at present.  Linda Fields was appointed last year by the DTC, her term is for three years.

5..                   Review Proposed Meeting Schedule for 2006-07

A proposed schedule for the 2006-07 meeting dates was distributed for review.  One adjustment was made moving the April 2007 meeting to April 1st.

The 2006-07 Schedule proposed as follows:

17-SEP-2006

15-OCT-2006

12-NOV-2006

(No Dec Meeting)

21-JAN-2007 (subject to caucus)

11-FEB-2007 (subject to caucus)

11-MAR-2007

01-APR-2007

20-MAY-2007

10-JUN-2007 (optional)

6..                   Briefing For Delegates

The “Call To Convention” was issued by the State Party, however some delegates stated they had not received their copy.  Norma Shulman will copy some of the key information for those delegates who did not receive the “Call To Convention”.

Registration opens at 3:00PM on Friday June 2nd.

Credentials will be received about 3-4 days prior to the convention.

All delegates and alternates must have a photo-id as well as their credentials.

Lost credentials will cost $50.

The Second Middlesex Norfolk teller is Bill Dooling.

Speeches start at 9:45AM on Saturday.  Gubernatorial speeches will be last.

All delegates must be checked in before 11AM, otherwise the alternates will be seated.

7..                   Announcements and other new business

Parwez Wahid mentioned that he, Norma Shulman and Rochelle Sivan visited the Sumerville Senior Housing at Farm Pond to view the meeting spaces available.  The DTC would likely continue to hold its meetings at the Framingham Green, however the Farm Pond facility does offer a large dining room where the DTC might consider a holiday party during December.

Parwez also mentioned that the DTC website could use some enhancements to make its appearance more sophisticated.  Parwez received some training from Mat Helman on making website changes two years ago and this was sufficient to keep the DTC website current with items like minutes and agenda.  Parwez is hopeful that someone with greater web design skills can make significant changes to the website.  Elsa Aviza mentioned her son might be available to help.

Norma Shulman mentioned an event by the Natick DTC where they honored their life members.  The even featured some prominent guests such as the State Party Chair and former governor, Mike Dukakis.  She suggested that the Framingham DTC consider doing more events and obtain a banner for display.  The banner could include the DTC’s website address.

Two opportunities for events are the Flag Day celebration and the Concerts on the Green.  (However the Concert series is in jeopardy of cancellation due to lack of funding.)

Joan Rastani will look into setting up a table for the Flag Day celebration on June 11th.

Chris Ross will check into the Concert series and see if the DTC can set up an information table.

Norma Shulman mentioned Victory ’06 Training at Sumerville Senior Housing on Monday May 22nd.  Precinct Captains and Block Captains are needed for the coordinated campaign.  Without appropriate coverage to canvass houses door-to-door it will be difficult for the Democrats to win the Governor’s race.

There will be a summer event hosted by Debby Blumer around the July 4th holiday.

The June 11th meeting can address ballot questions.  Volunteers are needed for the Program Committee to address specific questions that will be appearing on the ballots.

Chris Lorant mentioned that he won a free lunch for 15 at the Tin Alley Grill for May 30th.  He extended invitation to anyone interested.  He also stated that more Town Officials should come to DTC meetings and mentioned several Town meetings for Planning Board and ZBA.

Tom Mahoney mentioned several upcoming Planning Board projects: Sudbury Landing and the old clinic on Rt. 9 would become a branch office for Middlesex Savings Bank.

8..                   Reports From The Hill

Rep. Debby Blumer mentioned that the House budget is completed; the Senate is currently doing its budget.  The Economic Stimulus bill is still in progress as well as bills on property development.  The seat belt bill is going to the Governor’s desk.

Next meeting: June 11th.

FDTC Minutes of April 9, 2006

Framingham Democratic Town Committee

Minutes of April 9, 2006

Held at Framingham Green from 7pm to 9pm.

Attendance

Members: Rita Blum, Rep. Debby Blumer, Nancy Coville Wallace, Jerry Desilets, Bill Haberman, Esther Hopkins, Donna Howland, Chris Lorant, Waldo Lyon, Dave Magnani, Tom Mahoney, Stephanie Mercandetti, Sarah Micciche, Terene Micciche, Mary Murphy, Chris Ross, Norma Shulman, Alan Silver, Rochelle Sivan, Cheryl Tully Stoll, Parwez Wahid

Associate Members: Elsa Aviza, Carrie Daly, Susan Elwyn, Gerry Heng, Farooq Mirza, Pam Roberts, Steve Robinson

Elected Officials: Rep. Tom Sannicandro, Town Moderator Joel Winett

Guests: Herb Chasan, Chris Gabrieli, Sam Kelley, Michael Sullivan, Jennifer Dever, Laura DiPalo,

  • Treasuer’s Report
Cash on Hand as of 03/12/06

1747.97

Dues Received

40.00

Dividends

3.43

Other Income

0

Net Income

43.43

Itemized Expenses, Norma Shulman

0

Net Expenses

0

Balance as of 04/09/06

1791.40

Treasurer’s report was accepted.

  • Minutes and Attendance

The Minutes of the March meeting were accepted with no corrections.

  • Program, Candidates for State-Wide offices

Chris Gabrieli, candidate for Governor.

Introduced by Debbie Blumer and Dave Magnani. Chris talked about the concept of community schools that can be used year around or for extended hours rather than just 6 hours per day. He talked of how the cut to local aid has impacted parts of the state including communities like Framingham.

Gabrieli’s parents immigrated to the United States and opted to settle in Buffalo, New York (he quipped on how this showed that his parents knew very little about America!). He does credit the education system in Buffalo but as he grew older he knew that he had no future in Buffalo with its lack of opportunities. He came to Massachusetts for education and became extremely fond of the area. Chris was originally in medical school but had to withdraw to support his family.

In 1983 he founded a company in health care software that did well. He gained support from venture capital funding to start new companies. He worked in Silicon Valley for many years before returning to the Boston area. He companies he helped created generated some 100,000 jobs.

To explore new challenges he became involved in non-profits and think-tanks. He made reference to the recently passed health-care bill as the types of exciting challenges he hoped to contribute towards as a way of giving back. But in referencing the new health-care bill he also stated how its most important sections were passed through a veto-override in the legislature. He felt frustrated at how Massachusetts was under-performing in its capabilities and wants to bring changes in this area.

The task he feels is to explain to voters in the sub-urban areas that a Democratic candidate for governor will be results oriented and not govern under fear of the legislature.

Gabrieli stated that all voters are for jobs, education and health care; he offered as to what this really means. On education he feels that children do not spend enough time in schools, the school-days are too short. Engaging parents is helpful. The 180-day calendar is not enough to give children the skills needed for the 21st century. Better after school programs are needed for middle schools. This will give students more attention in areas where they are struggling and well as enrichment in arts. He acknowledges the many issues in pursuing this such as negotiating with teachers’ unions. As governor his approach would be to understand the problem deeply and bring in people committed to executing the project; he would never engage such efforts on his own.

He talked of jobs creation which is badly needed in Massachusetts. He also mentioned how the state has lost population for 2 years in a row. He cited rising cost of living and lack of jobs as the prime reasons for the lost population. He criticized the Governor who had billed himself as the “Jobs Governor” for failing to create jobs as promised. He found this perplexing given the resources in the state, including some of the finest colleges in the world, which are available to spur job creation.

He admitted that he entered the race late and this has drawn some criticism. When asked by others as to why he would not run as an independent (thus avoiding the need to get 15% at the convention), he replied that he is a Democrat first and foremost and would not consider running outside the party. In February he was called by Democrat friends who voiced there concern over the candidates in the race and felt that the party might be in jeopardy of losing in November. To break the 16 year streak of Republican governorship, he felt compelled to enter the gubernatorial race.

Chris went on to cite the strength of the Republican Party in running election campaigns and warned not to take them lightly. He mentioned how the Republicans were able to make John Kerry’s war record look worse than Bush and Cheney’s non-participation in the military. From his 2002 campaign experience he felt he is the best candidate to take on the Republicans in November.

Sam Kelly, candidate for Lt. Governor.

Dr. Kelly spoke briefly as this was his second visit to the Framingham DTC. Sam Kelly mentioned the progress of his campaign and how he has been doing well in various straw polls. He made a TV appearance to discuss the recent healthcare bill. He also mentioned his event on April 21 hosted by DTC member Shahid Khan.

Michael Sullivan, candidate for Middlesex County Clerk of Magistrate.

Michael is a former Mayor of the City of Cambridge and has been on the Cambridge City Council for 13 years. (His father was Mayor as well). He joked on how people are not often familiar with the position as used to be listed on the backside of the old ballots! The new ballots will list this office on the right side. As Mayor he made it a priority to see that government was responsive to the people and he personally returned all phone calls made to him. While the County Clerk is not a high profile office, Michael stated its importance in being responsive to those who come to seek services from the Clerk. He feels he can bring the human element needed to make the job more user-friendly. He also mentioned the 4-1/2 years he spent in the Attorney General’s office, Consumer Protection Division; he worked there because of the opportunity to truly help people with genuine problems.

Laura DiPalo, of the State Democratic Committee presented the State Party’s plans for Victory ’06. Laura had campaigned in Ohio for John Kerry during 2004 and described how the opposition had managed to nibble away at the Democrats lead by targeting precincts which traditionally do not have large turnouts and getting people in these precincts to vote for Bush. Although the Democrats exceeded all their targets for Ohio the strategy by the Bush team of getting out the vote worked and resulted in Kerry’s defeat. To win in the Governor’s race, Laura stressed that Democrats must knock on doors and reach out to more people. She distributed information on the Victory ’06 that describes how to form precinct captains to get people to come out and vote

  • Donation to Framingham Green Tenants Association

Donna Howland recommended that the DTC make a donation to the Framingham Green Tenants Association as the DTC is not charged for use of the community room. A figure of $100 was approved for this donation.

  • Formation of Finance Audit Committee

The Finance Audit Committee was formed to conduct the biennial review of the DTC’s financial records. The following members were appointed:

Alan Silver

Bill Haberman

Donna Howland

Nancy Coville Wallace

This committee will present its report at the September meeting.

  • DTC Officers Elections

The Nominating Committee submitted a slate of candidates during the March meeting. The floor was opened for additional nominations, no further candidates were nominated. Motion was made and passed to accept the nominees and close nominations.

Give no positions were contested, motion was made and passed for the Chair to submit a single ballot to elect the entire slate of candidates.

The elected DTC officers for the term 2006-08 are:

Chair – Parwez Wahid

Vice Chair – Debby Blumer

Treasurer – Nancy Coville Wallace

Secretary – Rochelle Sivan

Outreach Officer – Chris Ross

Nominating Committee also submitted a recommendation that the newly elected officers begin their term on July 1, 2006. This will allow continuity of leadership through the State Convention in June. Motion was made and passed to accept the recommendation.

  • Announcements

Jerry Desilets: Breakfast for convention delegates on April 29th in Holliston, hosted by the Holliston DTCand the MW Alliance. There is a $5 entry. All Primary candidates are expected.

Herb Chasan: Phone banking for out-of-state congressional races.

There was a notice read on the annual Roosevelt Dinner, May 1st in Boston. The event serves as a major fund raiser for the State Democratic Party.

Debby Blumer mentioned plans to set up an election campaign office during the general elections for phone banking and other campaign activities. The office might be setup before the primary.

Norma Shulman mentioned the forum on domestic spying that the DTC will be co-sponsoring with the Dover DTC on May 4th at the Great Hall in Dover.

Norma also read the names of the DTC members who were winners in the 2006 Town Elections:

Tom Mahoney, Planning Board

Nancy Coville Wallace, Library Trustee

Esther Hopkins, Keefe Tech School Committee

Faith Tolson-Pierce, Town Meeting, Precinct 13

Carlos Cunningham, Town Meeting, Precinct 12

Pam Roberts, Town Meeting, Precinct 10

Norma Shulman, Town Meeting, Precinct 5

Chris Lorant, Town Meeting, Precinct 1

  • Reports From The Hill

Rep. Debby Blumer stated that any report would be pending the budget that is due later during the week, amendments to the budget must be submitted by April 19th. The budget will be available on-line.

Prior to adjournment, Jerry Desilets asked the Committee to acknowledge the officers for their efforts of the past two years.

Next meeting: May 21st.