Framingham Green 136 Maynard Road, Framingham, MA 01701

  Minutes – Sunday, April 3, 2016 at 7 PM 

1. Attendance: Members: Elsa Aviza, Lori Bornstein, Chris Broyles, Jeanne Bullock, Jeanne Eversley, Beverly Hugo, Mike Hugo, Lloyd Kaye, Barbara LeDuc, Jack Lewis, Chris Lorant, Tom Mahoney, Kathie McCarthy, Joan Rastani, Margareth Shepard, Norma Shulman, Jim Stockless, P. Nandi Varis, Parwez Wahid, Mel Warshaw. Lifetime Members: Jerry Desilets.  Associate Members: none. Guests: Rebecca Brodie, Ohad Klopman, Sheri Thomas.

2. 3-13-2016 Minutes: Secretary Barbara LeDuc                             Approved unanimously

3. Treasurer’s Report: Treasurer Margareth Shepard                    Approved unanimously

A total income of $ 638.00, and expenses of $104.98 increased the 3-13-16 balance of $3374.37 to $3907.39.  The expenses reflect reimbursements for food for the March breakfast meeting. 

4.  Announcements:

·         Joan Rastani reported that Betty Muto broke her hip last weekend. Joan has brought a get-well card for everyone to sign.  Betty is in a rehabilitation facility here in Framingham; Joan will provide further information as it becomes available. 

·         The committee held a moment of silence for Frank Volpe, who passed away at 93 years.  Frank was a very active Democrat in Natick: Norma Shulman recounted stories of campaigning with Frank. Jerry Desilets noted that Frank was known as “Mr. Natick Democrat” for over 50 years.

·         Parwez reported that the DSC has expanded the number of Disability At-large seats from 2 to 6 for a total of 3 male and 3 female Disability seats. Anyone qualified and interested in seeking one of these seats should contact the Mass. Democratic Party for further information at 617-939-0800. The additional seats will be filled at the DSC meeting in Newton on May 7.

5.  Candidates forum. The following candidates spoke for up to 2 minutes:

– Teresa Walsh, candidate for delegate to the National Convention for Hillary Clinton from 5th             Congressional District.  Election will be Watertown High School Sat Apr 9 .Doors open 12:30

– Norma Shulman, also a candidate for delegate for Hillary Clinton.

– Chris Lorant, candidate for the Disability DSC seat & Bernie Sanders National Convention Delegate

– David Perlman, candidate for a DSC male disability add-on seat.

– Jack Lewis, candidate for the 7th Middlesex State Representative seat being vacated by Tom             Sannicandro.

– Rebecca Brodie, candidate for Sheriff of Middlesex County, who explained her positions as a prison reform advocate and asked for nomination signatures. 

6.  Report of the Audit Committee: Chris Broyles and Elsa Aviza had been designated to perform an audit of our FDTC finances, as is customary when a new treasurer takes office.  This Audit Committee  found no inconsistencies in our financial accounts.  A motion was made by Mike Hugo and seconded by Chris Lorant to accept the Audit Report.   The vote was 13-1-1; the motion passed.

7. Excess funds raised for the DSC meeting. Jerry Desilets made a motion (Parwez seconded) to donate the excess $425 to the Coordinated Campaign for use in the Fall election campaign.  The motion passed unanimously.

8. Thank you to our outgoing officers:

·         Bev presented Mel Warshaw, outgoing Treasurer, with  several boxes of Ghirardelli brownie mix and a huge bag of Starbuck’s Verona coffee, to replace those Mel has used while hosting many committee and subcommittee meetings over the 4 years he has served as Treasurer.

·         Bev presented outgoing Chair Jerry Desilets with the very same very large stainless steel soup ladle that Jerry had used in place of a gavel, mounted on a lovely wooden plaque.  (The soup ladle was preferred to a gavel because it produced a louder sound, and had been found to be unbreakable over 4 years.)  Per prior agreement, a replacement ladle has been purchased for The Green.

9.  Program:  This evening’s program on electronic privacy was provided by Kade Crockford of the ACLU.  Kade addressed several bills concerning civil liberties and privacy protections which are currently proceeding through the MA legislature:

– S.903/H. 1531 An Act to protect electronic privacy (sponsor: Karen Spilka)

– H.3009 / S.1817 An Act to regulate license plate tracking. (J. Hecht)

– S.2034 / H.386 (S.962)  An Act relative to social media privacy protection. (Sponsor: C. Creem)

– H.1382 An Act providing community-based sentencing alternatives for primary caretakers of             dependent children convicted of non-violent crimes. (Sponsor: R. Holmes)

Members seeking further information are welcome to contact Kade at [email protected]

10.  Bylaws Subcommittee: Mike Hugo reported for the Bylaws subcommittee and led an animated discussion of certain of the Bylaws revisions, which will be voted on at our next regular meeting on

May 15. Copies of the Bylaw revisions have now been delivered to all FDTC members. Some members recently provided commentary, and Mike will incorporate those changes into the current draft.  Items discussed at this meeting included the use of the word “partisan” in the preamble, designating a “work requirement” for members, and the future formation of an “executive committee”.

The meeting was adjourned at 9 PM.

Respectfully submitted by Barbara LeDuc, Secretary