El Cerrito Democratic Club

Upcoming regular Membership Meeting will be held on August 28, 2018 at the Presbyterian Church at 545 Ashbury Ave, El Cerrito 94530. Meeting will start at 6:30 pm

Agenda submitted by Janet Abelson

• 6:00 Doors Open:  Pizza available ($5)
• 6:30  Call to Order
• 6:35 October 20 Dinner – Mark your calendar
• 6:40 Fall Precinct Walking Volunteers
• 6:45  Announcements

Announcements to include proposal by Hari Lamba to compose and send an ECDC Resolution to the national Democratic Committee, not to accept money from Fossil Fuel Companies – see short blurb in newsletter below.

Program Presentations (Information submitted by Paul Fadelli)

Democratic candidates for the following offices — who have either no opposition, have Republican opponents or have won that seat in the June primary — are on the ECDC Consent Endorsement list and will not participate in the August 25 event.  However, these candidates will be invited to address ECDC members at the August 28 meeting at the club’s regular venue if they wish to attend.

• Governor
  • Gavin Newsom
• Secretary of State
  • Alex Padilla
• Treasurer
  • Betty Yee
• Controller
  • Fiona Ma
• Insurance Commissioner
  • Ricardo Lara
• Board of Equalization
  • Malia Cohen
• Attorney General
  • Xavier Becerra
• Contra Costa County Supervisor
  • John Gioia
• CC County District Attorney
  • Diana Becton
• US Representative
  • Mark DeSaulnier

This meeting will continue the Club’s endorsement process. There are 12 propositions on the November General Election Ballot and the County Democratic Party has made endorsement recommendations on all of them.   Because of the great number of initiatives and the lengthy process it would take to review, the ECDC board is recommending that members review the endorsement positions of the county party and determine if there are any propositions which might warrant separate discussion and endorsement by ECDC members.

Following is the list of CA ballot initiative for the November 2018 election:

Proposition 1		Bonds		Issues $4 billion in bonds for housing programs and veterans’ home loans
Proposition 2	Bonds		Authorizes state to use revenue from millionaire’s tax for $2 billion in bonds for homelessness prevention housing
Proposition 3	Bonds		Issues $8.877 billion in bonds for water-related infrastructure and environmental projects
Proposition 4	Bonds		Issues $1.5 billion in bonds for children’s hospitals
Proposition 5	Taxes		Revises process for homebuyers who are age 55 or older or severely disabled to transfer their tax assessments
Proposition 6	Taxes		Repeals 2017’s fuel tax and vehicle fee increases and requires public vote on future increases
Proposition 7	Time		Authorizes legislature to provide for permanent daylight-saving time if federal government allows
Proposition 8	Healthcare		Requires dialysis clinics to issue refunds for revenue above a certain amount
Proposition 10	Housing		Allows local governments to regulate rent
Proposition 11	Labor		Allow ambulance providers to require workers to remain on-call during breaks paid
Proposition 12	Animals		Bans sale of meat from animals confined in spaces below specific sizes

For ECDC member review, following is the list of recommended positions by the County Democratic Party for the 2018 General Election. Please be prepared on August 28 to endorse those positions on the propositions as presented by the County Party on a consent list or to recommend further discussion of specific propositions to be taken up at the September 25th ECDC meeting.

Statewide Ballot Measures:

• Proposition 1 (Veterans Bond) – SUPPORT
• Proposition 2 (No Place Like Home Act) —SUPPORT
• Proposition 3 (Water Bond) —NO POSITION
• Proposition 4 (Children’s Hospital Bond) —SUPPORT
• Proposition 5 (Property Tax Assessment Changes)—OPPOSE
• Proposition 6 (Road Repair Fund Repeal) —OPPOSE
• Proposition 7 (Daylight Savings Time Repeal) —SUPPORT
• Proposition 8 (Regulation of Dialysis Centers) —SUPPORT
• Proposition 9 (Dividing California) —OPPOSE
• Proposition 10 (Rent Control Ban Repeal) —SUPPORT
• Proposition 11 (Ambulance Employee Break Restrictions) —OPPOSE
• Proposition 12 (Farm Animal Well -Being) —SUPPORT

Source: CDP endorsements: https://www.cadem.org/vote/endorsements

For more detailed information on the November 2018 ballot initiative measures go to:

https://ballotpedia.org/California_2018_ballot_propositions

As mentioned above, any candidate who does not need to seek an ECDC endorsement may request to address our club at this meeting. Additional information on the September 25 ECDC Meeting featuring WCCUSD Superintendent Mathew Duffy will be available early next month.

8:25 pm  Adjourn

Where: El Cerrito High School Cafeteria

10 AM to 5 PM: Voting Begins at 11 AM and ends at 4 PM

• 10 AM  Doors Open
• 11 AM Call to Order, Voting Begins, Speakers Begins

Program Presentations (Information Submitted by Paul Fadelli)

11AM  Begin Voting and Speakers.  Note actual speakers depends upon final filing and certification of those running.  Unopposed Democrats are offered the opportunity to speak at 6:30 on 8-28-18.

The 2018 ECDC endorsement process for the 2018 election will continue through the next two meetings scheduled in August — and possibly include the September meeting.  Members are encouraged to come hear participating candidates and vote for those they wish to be endorsed by ECDC.

Following are the DRAFT details of the ECDC endorsement events.  Because of filing deadlines this month, some of this information will have to be updated with candidates’ names after August 13 — based on which candidates ultimately decide to run for office:

This event encourages candidates to present their case for endorsement and to answer specific questions created by the ECDC Executive Board.   All local Democrats are welcome and encouraged to attend.  Only eligible ECDC members, however, will be able to vote at this event to endorse. for Other clubs will do their endorsement voting at their own meetings at a subsequent date.

As in times past, for each race (listed below), the event will open with short statements from each candidate, followed by a moderated Q&A and concluding with brief (1-2 minutes) closing remarks. The Club members will then vote to endorse according to our endorsement rules. If a candidate receives 60% of the vote (voting members who attend) then they will receive the Club’s endorsement.  If no candidate receives 60% of the vote, then there will be no endorsement.

All candidates are welcomed to attend the endorsement forums; however, the Club will only endorse Democrats. ECDC endorsements are made in each election cycle according to our bylaws. Only members in good standing for 45 days prior to the endorsement forum may vote, and the ECDC may only endorse Democrats in any race whether partisan or non-. A candidate must be selected on 60% of the members present to gain the club’s endorsement.

With California’s “top two” primary rule ECDC will in several cases have to decide between two Democratic finalists.  The Club will hear from candidates/representatives and endorse competitive candidates representing the following offices:

11:00 to 1:00

• Lieutenant Governor:
• Assembly District 15
• El Cerrito City Council

1:00 to 3:00

• WCCUSD Trustees
• West Contra Costa Healthcare
• AC Transit Director

3:00 to 4:00

• Contra Costa County Superintendent of Schools
• Contra Costa College Trustee

Upcoming July 24, 2018 Meeting Preview – ECDC Leadership

Meeting will be held on July 24, 2018 at the Presbyterian Church at 545 Ashbury Ave, El Cerrito 94530. Meeting begins at 6:30 PM.

AGENDA FOR THE BUSINESS MEETING – JANET ABELSON

• 6:00 Doors Open:  Pizza available ($5)
• 6:30  Call to Order
• 6:30  Approval of Minutes of June 26, 2018 Meeting
• 6:35  Treasurer’s Report
• 6:40  Summary of EBoard Actions of June 4, 2018 – Janet Abelson
• 6:45  Committee Reports
• 6:55  ECDC Board for next year – Peter Chau
• 7:00 Upcoming Endorsement Meetings – Peter Chau, Mister Phillips
• 7:05 October 20 Dinner – Mark your calendar
• 7:10  Fall Precinct Walking Volunteers
• 7:15  Announcements

PROGRAM

The following are articles and speakers for the Program

7:25   El Cerrito Council Members Greg Lyman and Paul Fadelli

El Cerrito is presently a “General Law City” but is considering becoming a “Charter City.” Residents will have to allow such a change by voting in the general election this November.  As a Charter City, El Cerrito would have more options for funding important local services or important capital projects.  Potentially, the biggest impact for El Cerrito would be the ability to implement a Real Property Transfer Tax (RPTT).   A RPTT could generate approximately $2.7 million annually and would be levied whenever a property is sold and changes ownership.

The City held public hearings on May 1 and June 18th to discuss becoming a Charter City and to hear community input.  The City Council was scheduled to formally consider placing the city charter decision and implementing a RPTT on the November ballot at the July 17, 2018 regular meeting at City Hall.  If the Council agrees to put such an option on the November ballot, Councilmembers Greg Lyman and Paul Fadelli will discuss the background and advantages of becoming a Charter City and review the ballot language and the ramifications of a yes or no vote.

Hon. Greg Lyman has been a City Councilmember since 2008 and was Mayor of El Cerrito for two terms.  He is a civil engineer employed by the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC).  Lyman received Civil and Environmental Engineering degrees from Cornell University.  He was a member of El Cerrito’s special Charter City Committee.

Hon. Paul Fadelli was elected to the City Council in 2016.  Before that he was the Manager of State and Federal Legislation for the SF Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART).  Fadelli has worked for several elected officials in the state and federal capitals.  He holds Political Science and History degrees from UC Davis and a graduate degree in Journalism from UCLA.  He was a member of El Cerrito’s special Charter City Committee.

7:55 Robert Cheasty, Executive Director, Citizens for East Shore Parks

Citizens for East Shore Parks (CESP) focuses on the acquisition and preservation of parkland in the San Francisco Bay Area.   CESP works to protect open space along the East Bay Shoreline for natural habitat and recreational purposes through advocacy, education, and outreach. The mission of CESP is to preserve and enhance the natural resources and recreational and educational opportunities of the east shore of San Francisco Bay, creating a necklace of shoreline parks from the Oakland Estuary to the Carquinez Strait.  Since its founding in 1985, CESP has worked to secure approximately 1,800 acres (730 ha) of public land, primarily through the creation of the 8.5-mile (13.7 km) long Eastshore State Park in 2002. Increasingly, CESP has been focusing on raising awareness of the issues involved with climate change and the resulting rising tides which will impact the Bay Area shorelines and parks.

Robert Cheasty, Executive Director of CESP, will discuss the impacts of climate change and global warming on our EastShore coastline and parks and what can be done about it.  He is the former President and a founding member of the organization.  For the past ten years he has served as President of the Bay Dredging Action Coalition, an organization dedicated to ecologically sound and efficient dredging solutions in San Francisco Bay.  Cheasty has also served as Mayor of Albany and held numerous public positions with the Albany Redevelopment Board, Albany Pension Board, Albany Earthquake Preparedness Program, Solano Avenue Association, and League of California Cities.  Cheasty  also heads a Berkeley law firm specializing in civil litigation located on Solano Avenue.

8:25  Adjourn