Framingham Democratic Town Committee

Framingham Green, 136 Maynard Road, Framingham, MA 01701

MINUTES — Sunday, April 13, 2014 at 7:00 p.m. 

Call to Order:  The meeting was called to order by Chairman Jerry Desilets at 7:05 PM.

1.  Candidates/Guest Forum: The following political candidates and officials offered comments (limited to two minutes), followed in some cases by questions from FDTC members and associate members.

• Michael Sullivan (candidate for District Attorney for Middlesex County)
• Leland Cheung (candidate for Lt. Governor)
• Warren Tolman (candidate for Attorney General)

2.  Attendance:  Members: Elsa Aviza, Jeanne Bullock, Carmen Chico, Jeff Cox, Jerry Desilets, Jack Duffy, Jeanne Eversley, Linda Fields, Adam Freudberg, Beverly Hugo, Michael Hugo, Barbara LeDuc, Brian LeFort, Chris Lorant, Kathie McCarthy, Stephanie Mercandetti, Sarah Micciche, Betty Muto, Ramuel Raagas, Joan Rastani, Norma Shulman, Cheryl Tully Stoll, P. Nandi Varris, Parwez Wahid, Chris Walsh, and Mel Warshaw.  Lifetime Members: None.  Associate Members: Chris Broyles and Pam Richardson.  Guests: Leland Cheung, Calvin Feliciano, Sue Kennedy, Ilton Lisboa, Pablo Maia, Alan and Nadia Riley, Michael Sullivan, Tom Sannicandro, Sheri L. Thomas, and Warren Tolman.

3.   Chairman Desilets asked that the Committee observe a moment of silence to acknowledge the recent deaths of former Representative Barbara Gray and Bernadette Manning Reilly, mother of Anne Manning.

4.  Mr. Calvin Feliciano of the Raise Up Massachusetts coalition and a member of the Service Employees International Union, Local 509, presented an informational session on the status of the Minimum Wage bills now before the Massachusetts legislature. The Senate bill requires $11 / hr over 3 years and is indexed to inflation. It includes a provision for tipped workers.  The House version of the bill increases the minimum wage to $10.50 in 2 yrs, but is not indexed to inflation.  The date for a Conference Committee is not yet determined.

        – In order for a ballot initiative to proceed, 66,000 certified signatures will need to be collected between May 10 and June 15. Signature sheets will become available on May 8; volunteers will be needed to assist with signature collection.

        – The mandate for Earned Sick Time for all workers in Massachusetts will go directly on to the November ballot. The legislature has not yet addressed this issue.

        Chairman Desilets thanked Mr. Feliciano for coming to Framingham to present this session.

5.    A motion was made, seconded and approved unanimously that “the FDTC indicate support for the Minimum Wage Senate bill, that the House support it, and that the ballot initiative be supported if the Senate bill is not passed.”

6.   Representative Tom Sannicandro reported that the Domestic Violence bill had passed the House.  This bill mandates that perpetrators be held by the police for a minimum of 6 hours before release, and that victims of domestic violence be  entitled to a 15 day Leave of Absence from their employment.

        In addition, a House budget plan has been released; debate is ongoing regarding resolution for local aid and funding for cities and towns. The House  should complete its version of the budget by the end of April.  Chairman Desilets thanked representative Sannicandro for his report to the Committee.

7.   3/16/2014 Minutes                                                                                                                   Approved unanimously

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

        Total income of $429.29, less total expenses of $217.55, increased the balance from $3,301.90 to $3,513.64 as of 4/13/2014.  Mel encouraged all members to pay their dues this evening, if possible.

9.   Chairman Desilets informed the Committee that our caucus results had been upheld by State Democratic Party.  It has been announced that Mr. Pablo Maia will be an add-on delegate to the June convention. Jerry thanked Sue Kennedy of the state party for her assistance in resolving this matter. In the future, this Committee will work more closely with the Framingham Town Clerk’s office.

·         The due date for payment of the convention fee has been extended by two weeks for add-on delegates.

10. Norma Shulman announced the names of the Framingham add-on delegates for the Massachusetts Democratic Convention.  They are Jeffrey Cox, Troy Dunlap, Vanessa Gatlin, Shahid Khan, Pablo Maia, Farooq Mirza, and Ramuel Raagas.  The Committee sends congratulations to all!

11.  Chairman Desilets called for nominations of candidates to fill the vacancy on the FDTC due to the earlier resignation of Caraline Levy. Linda Fields was nominated, and subsequently elected unanimously.

12.  Announcements: 

        Norma announced that she, Barbara LeDuc, and Cindy Rubin had met to explore any relative advantages of Google groups vs. Yahoo groups for updating our listserve.  They will also meet with Dylan Hayre of the Natick DTC; Dylan designed their listserve and website using Google groups and WordPress.

        Bob Cassidy reported on plans to test electronic voting at the June convention for possible future use. “Shadow tellers” will need to supply their iPads, and training will be available. Official votes will be tallied by the normal method.

        Norma Shulman asked that anyone who has served on the FDTC for 20 years (not necessarily consecutively) please contact her.

      Chairman Desilets recognized Cheryl Tully Stoll and offered the congratulations of the Committee on her recent election as Selectman.

        Jeffrey Cox asked members for suggestions on Outreach Programs. There is a series of programs on local towns.  Jeff will invite a representative to our next meeting. Further, the State Party has hired a new representative to work with communities of color, and it was suggested that Jeff might make contact with him.

13. Discussion: Chairman Desilets began a discussion about scheduling our meetings on days other than Sunday evenings, as that time is difficult for families with children.  However, many of our committee are members of Framingham Town Boards which meet during the week.  After much discussion, it was suggested that some meetings might be held on Monday evenings (except before and during Town Meeting) or over the summer.  Barbara LeDuc will survey Committee members.

14. Charity:  At the suggestion of Joan Rastani, next month’s charity will be Advocates, Inc.  Donations will be made in memory of former Representative Barbara Gray.  Checks can be written directly to Advocates, Inc., and Joan will deliver them.

15. Next regular meeting:  The next FDTC meeting is scheduled for Sunday, 5/18/2014 at 7:00 p.m. at the Framingham Green, 136 Maynard Road.

Adjourn:  The meeting was duly adjourned at 8:35 pm.