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2014 Annual Dinner tickets available now

Join us on October 4 with Fiona Ma, ECDC-Endorsed candidate for Board of Equalization and former California Assembly-member.

Purchase tickets via PayPal on the ECDC website. Or mail us a check at El Cerrito Democratic Club, PO Box 192, El Cerrito, CA 94530. $40 per person.

About Fiona Ma

Fiona Ma was elected to represent the people of California’s 12th Assembly District from November 2006 to November 2012 (after serving the maximum of three terms.) She was the #112th woman to ever be elected to the California Legislature and the first Asian woman to serve as Speaker pro Tempore since 1850.

Assemblywoman Ma first became interested in politics as a small business owner and a Certified Public Accountant advocating on behalf of other small businesses. She was an elected delegate to the White House Conference on Small Business under President Bill Clinton, which produced a report to Congress on the 60 top policy recommendations to help small businesses grow and prosper in the 21st century.

She formally entered the field of politics in 1995, serving as a part-time district representative for the former President pro Tempore of the California Senate, John Burton. It was a position that would last for seven years, after which she was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, where she served for four years until 2006. During her tenure on the Board of Supervisors, she authored the landmark Local Business Enterprise ordinance on behalf of women and minority business owners and passed legislation to tackle human trafficking.

While serving in the Assembly, in addition to NCSL, Fiona served as Western States Chair of Women in Government; was an Executive Board Member of the California Democratic Party; and is Member of the Aspen Institute’s 2009 Class of Aspen-Rodel Fellows.

She is currently on the Board of CA Women Lead; Board of Directors for Curry Without Worry;  Board of Directors of Asian Inc; President of the Asian American Donor Program Honorary Chair and Spokesperson of the San Francisco Hep B Free Campaign; and Honorary California Chair of the New Leaders Council. She serves on the Advisory Boards of the James L. Brady Riding Program for Children with Disabilities, Family Connections, Alliance for Girls and the SF Ethnic Dance Festival.  She is also a member of the Screen Actors Guild.

 

 

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September Meeting Preview

Regular Club Meeting and Kensington Endorsement Forum

    Tuesday, September 26

6:00 p.m.

Zion Presbyterian Church

545 Ashbury Ave

The Club will hold an endorsement forum for candidates running for Kensington Fire Protection Board and Kensington Police Protection, Community Services District, Prop 1 and 2 and for State-wide races (on consent calendar) at the September Club meeting. Please see the list of candidates for these races on page 2.

Are you ready to walk? With the ECDC endorsement season coming to a close, it’s time to get out the vote for our endorsed candidates. We need volunteers to deliver ECDC literature to homes in El Cerrito and Kensington on for two to four hour windows, the first two weekends on October. Please contact the ECDC President (ecdc.pres@gmail.com) to volunteer. If you’re unable to walk, we also need volunteers to help bundle the walking packets.

BUY YOUR ANNUAL DINNER TICKETS TODAY

The Club will hold it’s annual dinner on Saturday, October 4, 6:00-9:00 p.m. at the Kensington Community Church. Club members are asked to bring dessert and salads for 10 people.  Buy your tickets online at www.ecdclub.org  ($40 per ticket or $75 for two tickets) or please bring a check to the September Club meeting. We also need volunteers for food services and for clean up.

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Endorsement Meetings

The Club will hold its final endorsement forum on Tuesday, September 23.

The process will be the same as the previous two forums  For each race (listed below), we will open with short statements from each candidate, followed by a moderated Q&A from the audience, and concluding with brief (1-2 minutes) closing remarks. The Club members will then vote to endorse according to our endorsement rules (see page 3). If a candidate receives 60% of vote (voting members who are present) then they will receive the Club’s endorsement. If no candidate receives 60% of the vote, then there will be no endorsement.  In addition, we will also take a straw poll in each race of any non-members present—the results of the straw poll should not in any way be construed as a replacement or proxy for the Club’s endorsement process.

We have invited all candidates to the endorsement forums however, the Club will only endorse Democrats.

The following races and candidates will be considered on Tuesday:

Kensington Fire Protection (2 seats)

Janice E. Kosel

Nina Harman

Michael Kassarjian

 Kensington Police Protection and Community Services District (3 seats)

Alan (Len) Welsh

Steven B. Bates

Simon Brafman

Peter Conrad

Derek Suring

Kim Zvik

Rachelle Sherris-Watt

Vanessa Cordova

 The Executive Board recommends the Club will vote to endorse (on consent) the following Democrats in State-wide elections

 

  • Edmund G. “Jerry” Brown-Governor
  • Gavin Newsome-Lieutenant Governor
  • Alex Padilla-Secretary of State
  • John Chiang-Treasurer
  • Kamala D. Harris- Attorney General
  • Dave Jones-Insurance Commissioner
  • Tom Torlakson- Superintendent of Public Instruction (Non-partisan)

 

Proposition 1-Water Quality, Supply, and Infrastructure Improvement Act of 2014.

 

Authorizes $11.14 billion in general obligation bonds for state water supply infrastructure projects, such as surface and groundwater storage; ecosystem and watershed protection and restoration; Bay-Delta Estuary sustainability; drinking water protection; water recycling and advanced water treatment technology; water supply management and conveyance; drought relief; wastewater treatment; emergency water supplies; and public water system improvements.

Appropriates money from the General Fund to pay off bonds.

Requires certain projects to provide matching funds from non-state sources in order to receive bond funds

Fiscal impact statement

Increased state bond repayment costs averaging $560 million annually over the next 40 years. Increased state costs, possibly in the low tens of millions of dollars annually, to operate and maintain projects built with these bond funds.

Savings to local governments related to water projects, likely averaging a couple hundred million dollars annually over the next few decades.

 

Proposition 2- Rainy Day Budget Stabilization Fund Act

Require the controller to deposit annually into the rainy day fund: (A) 1.5 percent of general fund revenues and (B) an amount equal to revenues derived from capital gains-related taxes in situations where such tax revenues are in excess of eight percent of general fund revenues. Deposits to the rainy day fund would begin by no later than October 1, 2015. Deposits would be made until the rainy day fund balance reaches an amount equal to 10 percent of general fund revenues.

Require that from the 2015-2016 fiscal year until the 2029-2030 fiscal year, 50 percent of the revenues that would have otherwise been deposited into the rainy day fund must be used to pay for fiscal obligations, such as budgetary loans and unfunded state-level pensions plans. Starting with the 2030-2031 fiscal year, up to 50 percent of revenues that would have otherwise been deposited into the rainy day fund may be used to pay specified fiscal obligations.

Permit the legislature to suspend or reduce deposits to the  rainy day fund and withdraw for appropriation from the rainy day fund upon the governor declaring a budget emergency.

Create a distinct budget stabilization fund known as the “Proposition 98 Reserve” or Public School System Stabilization Account (PSSSA). The PSSA would be funded by a transfer of capital gains-related tax revenues in excess of eight percent of general fund revenues. Funds would be appropriated from the PSSSA when state support for K-14 education exceeds the allocation of general fund revenues, allocated property taxes and other available resources.