Framingham Green 136 Maynard Road, Framingham, MA 01701

Minutes – Sunday, October 18, 2015 at 7 PM 

1. Representatives of Presidential campaigns:

Chris Lorant spoke on behalf of the Bernie Sanders for President campaign and described two recent very successful rallies.  Supporters are encouraged to visit MetroWest for Sanders 2016 on Facebook.

Norma Shulman spoke on behalf of the Hillary Clinton for President campaign. Supporters can visit the MetroWest for Hillary Facebook pages or sign up to visit NH or make phone calls.

2.  Attendance:  Members: Elsa Aviza, Tom Barbera, Jeanne Bullock, Jerry Desilets, Jeanne Eversley, Linda Fields, Adam Freudberg, Beverly Hugo, Mike Hugo, Steve Joyce, Lloyd Kaye, Shahid Khan, Barbara LeDuc, Jack Lewis, Christopher Lorant, Tom Mahoney, Kathie McCarthy, Stephanie Mercandetti, Sarah Micciche, Farooq Mirza, Betty Muto, Ilma Paixao, Norma Shulman, Jim Stockless, Cheryl Tully Stoll, P. Nandi Varris, Parwez Wahid, Rep. Chris Walsh, Mel Warshaw. Lifetime Members: none.  Associate Members: Cindy Rubin, Margareth Shepard Guests:LeVarr Brewster, Elliot Schmiedl, Sheri Thomas.

3.  9-12-2015 Minutes: Secretary Barbara LeDuc                            Approved unanimously

4. Treasurer’s Report:  Treasurer Mel Warshaw                             Approved unanimously

A total income of $413.65, with expenses of $104.21, increased the 6-14-15 balance of $2,427.23 to $2736.67.  (Many members have not yet paid their annual dues.)

5. Election of new member: The election had to be postponed until our November meeting since notice of this election, although submitted to local news outlets, was not printed.  Public notice of such elections is required under Massachusetts Democratic Party guidelines.

Several residents interested in becoming full or associate FDTC members were present, and each spoke for a few minutes to introduce themselves to the current membership.  The prospective members were Margareth Shepard, Cindy Rubin, Elliot Schmiedl, and LeVarr Brewster.

6.  Reports of the Subcommittees:

Bylaws Subcommittee: Mike Hugo: no report at this time.

Legislative Subcommittee: Mel Warshaw: no report at this time.

Civics Education Subcommittee: Chairman Jack Duffy will report at a later meeting.  

Programming Subcommittee: Chairman Bev Hugo listed the following dates:

            Oct. 31: Sat. morning over coffee, then traveling to Worcester for Joe Petty for Mayor

            Nov 1: Fund-raiser for Jim McGovern; 9AM at O’Connor’s, 1160 W. Boylston St. Worcester, MA                                    01606.  Donation: $25 / person.  

            Nov. 3: GOTV

            Nov. 15: our regular meeting

            Nov. 21: smoc (Saturday Morning Over Coffee) at B. Sisters coffee shop.

            Dec. 6: our Holiday Party from 4-7PM. (Natick’s party will be from 1-3 PM on the same day.)

            Dec 12: National Delegate Workshop at the downtown Framingham Library (Costin Room) from                            1-3 PM.

            Jan 10, 2016: Regular meeting & Presidential Inaugural

            Jan. TBA: Politics & Pizza party to watch Pres. Obama’s last State of the Union address

            March 1: Presidential Primary

            Mar. 13: 10AM, Candidates’ Forum

            Apr. 10: Annual Meeting: elections & reorganization

            May 15: 7PM; Delegate Briefing (bring Asian Food)

7.  Volunteers for this years’ Holiday Party Committee are: Elsa Aviza, Linda Fields, Bev Hugo, Mike Hugo, Barbara LeDuc, Betty Muto, Cindy Rubin, Mel Warshaw. Additional members interested in volunteering can contact Barbara LeDuc or Bev Hugo.

8. Announcements:

·         Jerry Desilets mentioned that there will be a need for members to volunteer to go to NH to promote the Democratic candidate after the Presidential Primary on Mar. 1.  Framingham members helped in NH in the last Presidential election, and assistance by Mass Democrats made a big difference in the NH outcome.

·         Jerry noted also we will need a transition team for the transition of the current FDTC officers to the next officers. This will take place sometime after the election on March 1, 2016.

·         Shahid Khan reported on his recent activities of fundraising on the national level for former Sec. Hillary Clinton, Sen. Richard Blumenthal of CT, and Sen. Ed Markey, amongst others.

·         Tom Barbera announced that Mushtaque Mirza, one of the first Muslim members of the DSC, passed away recently.  He was a great friend, and will be missed! 

·         Rep. Chris Walsh is running for the Democratic State Committee.  Norma had his signature forms, and asked everyone to sign before leaving the meeting.

·         Norma announced that the January 26, 2016 meeting of the Democratic State Committee will be held at Framingham High School.

·         Norma announced that FDTC had 29 delegates attend the convention in Springfield.  Delegates had excellent seating on the floor, probably due to our multiple requests for accessible accommodations. Also, this year there were a number of excellent breakout sessions; please send your recollections to Norma and she will compile them for distribution.

·         Tom Mahoney noted that he had an opportunity to speak with Tom McGee at the convention.  Chairman McGee stated there will be no more taking attendance by hand at future conventions; attendance will now be taken by bar code.  Hooray!

9. Charitable donations:  Tonight’s charity donations are for the Pathways Shelter.

The next FDTC business meeting will be on November 15 at 7 PM and the November Charity will be the Curtis Family Dinner – to support Thanksgiving Dinner for so many Framingham residents. 

Contributions (cash or checks made out to Curtis Family Dinner / United Way) can be brought to the meeting and we will hand-deliver them to United Way of Tri-County, 46 Park St. Framingham, MA 01702.

Please note: The charity for December will be for toys for the children at Framingham’s shelters, so please start your shopping early!!

The meeting was adjourned at 8:02 PM.

Respectfully submitted by Barbara LeDuc, Secretary