Framingham Democratic Town Committee
Minutes of September 19, 2004
Held at Framingham Green from 7pm to 9pm.
Attendance
Members: Steve Blesofsy, Debbie Blumer, Nancy Coville Wallace, Jerry Desilets, Bill Haberman, Esther Hopkins, Donna Howland, Ruth Litter, Chris Lorant, Waldo Lyon, Kathie McCarthy, Terene Micciche, Betty Muto, Marilyn Safian, Norma Shulman, Chery Tully Stoll, Parwez Wahid
Associate Members: Bob Edwards, Tom Sannicandro, Karen Spilka, Rochelle Sivan, Tom Mahoney.
Others: Herb Chasan, Paul Fahey.
The DTC welcomes members of the Framingham State College Democrats: Alex Morash, Jacob Oliveria.
Congratulations to the Primary winners: Karen Spilka and Tom Sannicandro. Karen and Tom join Debby Blumer on the November ballot. (Debby did not have a Primary race.) Jerry Desilets was also acknowledged for his bid in the Primary Elections. All candidates were given a few minutes to address the assembly. One of the Primary candidates, Chesley Oriel, was unable to attend but did offer his support to the Democratic nominee in November. Ginger Esty was out of state, but also indicated her support. Adam Sisitsky was expected to attend the meeting.
(Karen Spilka is seeking election to the 2nd Middlesex Norfolk State Senate seat, Tom Sannicandro is seeking election to the 7th Middlesex State Representative seat, and Debby Blumer is seeking re-election to the 6th Middlesex State Representative seat.)
All individuals attending the meeting were asked to briefly introduce themselves.
Former Chair, Steve Blesofsky announced that he and Marilyn are leaving Massachusetts for Florida. They will remain in Framingham until after the November elections. He thanked the DTC for all its efforts in the various activities they have done together during his term as Chair.
Steve also mentioned the unity breakfast the day after the Primary Elections and described the gracious concession speech given by Jerry Desilets at the unity breakfast. In this speech Jerry offered his support to Karen Spilka for the November elections.
Various campaigning activities were announced for state candidates and also for Kerry/Edwards.
The May 23rd minutes were accepted with no corrections needed.
Donna Howland submitted the Treasurer’s Report, the DTC has $990.67 in its account; dues for 2004-05 have not yet been recorded. At least $700 is expected to be received from the 35 DTC members, plus any additional from Associates.
Bill Haberman made a motion that the DTC contribute $200 to each of the 3 candidates seeking the state level positions (Karen, Tom and Debby). An amendment to this was offered by Lyn Safian to contribute $100, and then possibly another $100 later. It was pointed out that the candidates need as much support possible right away, therefore the amount given at this time would be more helpful than money given towards the end of the race.
After discussion the amendment to the motion was voted on first, this being to contribute $100 to the 3 candidates. The amendment to the motion did not pass, 3 to 12. The original motion was then voted on, for the DTC to contribute $200 to the 3 candidates. The motion passed 12 to 3. (Donna issued checks to all three candidates before the conclusion of the meeting.)
The proposed amendment to the DTC by-laws were presented. Norma acknowledged the by-laws committee for their efforts. Norma also gave mention to Nancy Coville Wallace and Rochelle Sivan for their role in the program committee. Norma also expressed her thanks to Donna and Parwez for keeping up with the business of DTC as Norma herself had been busy with some personal matters during the summer.
Norma summarized the proposed amendments to the by-laws. These would be brought forth for discussion at the October meeting and then voted upon at the November meeting. A two-thirds quorum is needed to amend the by-laws.
Some other items mentioned were the vacancies on the DTC Board. There are presently 3 vacancies (Mat Helman, Barbara Gray and Barbara Magovsky) and 2 more positions will open after Steve and Lyn move to Florida. One of the vacancies is also an officer position, that Vice-Chair. These will be filled at the October meeting, nominations are requested from the members for all vacancies. Norma Shulman should be contacted by anyone who is interested in becoming a regular member of the DTC.
Mat Helman had indicated he would be able to continue to serve as webmaster for the DTC website. Parwez has been able to make some changes to the webpage and can handle posting minutes and agenda. The State Committee has offered to host the DTC’s website.
E-mail buddies are needed for the 3 members who do not keep an email account. An e-mail buddy is a DTC member who assumes responsibility for contacting their “buddy” with any email updates that the DTC issues to its members. The e-mail buddy would typically call or write to their respective assigned contact to inform them of the updated announcement.
Norma also mentioned the Juniper Bank credit card that makes contributions to the Democratic Party from purchases on the credit card. If the application form is filled out with code “F07” then the Framingham DTC will get $10 for the first purchase on that credit card. Norma can be contacted for application forms.
Additional volunteers are needed for the program committee. The October program might feature a showing of one of the several election related documentary films. A hospitality committee would also be needed to arrange for refreshments at meetings.
Another need is that of publicity and volunteers are very much needed to address this area. It was also suggested that a press release be issued to announce the DTC vacancies.
During the Unity Gathering portion of the meeting, all candidates present made a brief address to the assembly; they thanked everyone for their support. Suggestions were offered with regards to seeking more campaign visibility over the next month and half to the elections. Debby Blumer reminded that the support available to the Republican candidates from their party should not be under estimated. There is a link on the John Kerry website that will help instruct how to write and respond to conservative views that are often heard on radio and in editorials.
Primary candidate Jerry Desliets thanked the assembly members for their support to the Democratic candidates. He emphasized the belief shared by the other Democratic candidates that government is a positive force, that health care is a right for people, that public education is critical for children, that local aid should be fair. He expressed his support Karen Spilka in the November elections, and urged everyone to give their best support to Tom, Debby and Karen.
Finally Karen Spilka addressed the assembly, also giving thanks for the support received and she acknowledged Jerry for his kind words. She felt the race did well to bring the important issues to the surface. The November elections, she described would be a very hard, tough battle. She also stressed the importance of retaining the three local seats in the Democratic column, and keep the conservative Republican agenda out of the district.
Jessica Kemp, Karen Spilka’s campaign manager, also addressed the assembly, requesting assistance in many different areas for Karen’s campaign.
Herb Chasan was recognized to talk about the Stop Bush meet-up that he has been conducting for several months. Herb described the activities of the group, which involve registering voters in battleground states.
Last item, a proposal was made to handout Kerry items (bumper stickers, buttons) at the Columbus Day parade, a cost of about $200. Vote was taken to authorize the Committee to investigate this proposal, passed 14-2