Author: Kathy Fleming

* Too Close to Call

BOLD is an endorsed candidate that won or a measure that turned out the way the club endorsed

Strike Through is an endorsed candidate that did not succeed or a measure that did not go as endorsed

 Statewide Democratic Candidates:

• U.S. Senator Diane Feinstein
• Governor Gavin Newsom
• Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis
• Secretary of State Alex Padilla
• Treasurer Betty Yee
• Controller Fiona Ma
• Superintendent of Schools *Tony Thurmond
• Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara
• Board of Equalization Malia Cohen
• Attorney General Xavier Becerra

City of El Cerrito Candidates and Measures:

• El Cerrito City Council Gabe Quinto
• El Cerrito City Council Janet Abelson
• Stege Sanitary District Al Miller
• Stege Sanitary District Dwight Merrill
• Stege Sanitary District Juliet Christian-Smith

Measure V

El Cerrito Charter City

YES

Contra Costa County Candidates:

• U.S. Representative Mark DeSaulnier
• County Superintendent of Schools Lynn Mackey
• West Contra Costa County School District Consuelo Lara
• West Contra Costa County School District Madeline Kronenberg
• West Contra Costa County School District Stephanie Hernandez-Jarvis

Regional Candidates and Measures:

• AC Transit Dollene Jones

Measure FF

Extends existing $12/year parcel tax for wildfire protection, public safety and habitat enhancement

YES

Statewide Ballot Measures:

Prop. 1	Issue $4 billion in bonds for housing programs and veterans’ home loans	YES
Prop. 2	Authorize $2 billion of millionaire’s tax for homelessness prevention housing	YES
Prop. 3	Issue $8.9 billion in bonds for water-related infrastructure and environmental projects	no decision
Prop. 4	Issue $1.5 billion in bonds for children’s hospitals	YES
Prop. 5	Revise process for homebuyers who are age 55 or older or severely disabled to transfer their tax assessments	NO
Prop. 6	Repeal 2017 fuel tax and vehicle fee	NO
Prop. 7	Authorize legislature to provide permanent daylight savings time if federal government allows	no decision
Prop. 8	Requires dialysis clinics to issue refunds for revenue above specified amount	YES
Prop. 10	Allows local government to regulate rent	no decision
Prop. 11	Allow ambulance providers to require workers to remain on-call during paid breaks	NO
Prop. 12	Bans sale of meat from animals confined in spaces below specified sizes	YES

Propositions 3, 5, 6, 8 and 10 were defeated with a NO vote.

As of this article, we have assigned about two-thirds of the walks to volunteers.  We are using walks developed by Rose Lernberg, refined by Yvonne Stefan and now curated by Scott Lyons.  Each walk is designed to be a small enough area to be accomplished in about one hour.  The club has 120 walks and needs about 120 hours of volunteer-time to deliver our endorsements.  Thanks to members that have literally stepped up – Al, Juliet, Dwight and Gloria, Ruby and Bob, Marlene, Marty, Linda C., Linda G., Jonee, Hari, Paul, Janet, Jan and others.  If you can, please consider going by 7 Pomona Ave and seeing if there are any materials left on the porch for delivery!

We will need to conduct some business at the Annual Dinner. The Democratic Party of Contra Costa County, also know as the Central Committee, made changes this year to allow for each Club to have voting representation on the Central Committee. We need to change our Bylaws to include how that representation will be selected. A second change adjusts the effective date of dues paid during September of the year. Previously, new member dues paid after October 1 were applied to the following calendar year. The recommendation is for new member dues paid after September 1 be applied to the following year.

The Executive Board is requesting two changes to the Bylaws, including 1) changing the date regarding effectiveness for new dues, and 2) introducing a method for selecting representatives and alternatives to the Democratic Party of Contra Costa County (DPCCC), also known as the Central Committee.

1. The Executive Board proposes to change the underlined word from “October” to “September” as follows:
   

   IV. Annual Dues: The members shall determine the amount of the annual dues at the September meeting and shall be at least $5/year. Dues may be waived by the Executive Board for good cause, such as inability to pay. Annual dues are for the calendar year. Dues must be paid by June 1st. Annual dues paid after September 1st shall cover the remainder of the calendar year and the following calendar year.

2. The Executive Board recommends a process similar to how we select our pre-endorsement delegates (see Standing Endorsement Rules on the website). The Executive Board recommends adding a new section that reads:

   XII. Representation to the Contra Costa County Democratic Central Committee:
   ECDC is affiliated with the Contra Costa County Democratic Central Committee (DPCCC) and entitled to a voting delegate to the DPCCC. ECDC shall select a DPCCC Representative and a DPCCC Alternate to two year terms starting in January of odd numbered years, starting in January 2019. Members shall select the DPCCC Representative and DPCCC Alternate during the September meeting of even numbered years. The affirmative vote of at least 50% of the members present and voting, but not less than 5% of the membership or 10 members, whichever is greater, is necessary to select the DPCCC Representative and DPCCC Alternate. All members present at the meeting are eligible to vote. Before the vote, candidates may speak. Voting by proxy shall not be permitted. Balloting shall be by show of hands or by secret ballot at the discretion of the ECDC Executive Board. The ECDC Executive Board shall determine the process for voting administration, and may select a member or members to serve as judge(s) to monitor the fairness of the voting. Members that are already DPCCC voting member are not eligible candidates to represent ECDC. The ECDC Executive Board shall appoint members to serve any unfilled delegate positions.

These revisions will be considered at the October 20, 2018 Annual Dinner and General Meeting.