New Business (10-15 minutes)

1.      Introduction of guests

2.      Approval of minutes

3.      Re-nomination of Terence Fry for Treasurer

4.      Treasurer’s report

5.      Chair and Vice-Chairs’ reports

6.      Ambassador’s report

Inauguration Community Service Events-

            Local event coordinator – Ed Ebbs (10 mins)

Linn County Commissioner Pete Sorenson (40 mins w/Q+A)

Old Business (5 mins)

            Next meeting in Sweet Home on Wed., March 11^th

            Other

Hot Button Issues (10 mins)

 

New Business:

1. Chairman Loyd Henion opened the meeting at 6:30 by introducing two invited guests – Pete Sorenson, Lane County Commissioner, and Ed Ebbs, local organizer for the Obama network of volunteers.  Following this, he asked for all present to give a short introduction of themselves (attendance list attached).

 

2. Minutes of the January meeting were unanimously approved without amendment.

 

3. Due to the withdrawal of Carla Mundt as Treasurer, Terence Fry was nominated to fill in as Treasurer for the short term until some past problems can be rectified and the “Treasurer-in-waiting,” John Walley, is ready to assume the post. Motion to elect Terence as Treasurer for a brief period was unanimously approved.

 

4. Treasurer’s report: Terence reported a balance of $1743 in the LCDCC account, and thanked the several people utilizing Act Blue to make contributions to the central committee.

 

5. Chair and Vice-Chair reports:

            Loyd reported on the status of the Valley-PAC proposal and a meeting he held on January 24^th with three of the four companion counties of the proposed PAC and Representative Sarah Gelser to discuss it.  He reported Rep. Gelser being cautiously supportive of the proposal, but not optimistic about funding coming from Future PAC as Valley PAC proponents are hoping. One of the outcomes of the meeting was an offer from Bud Laurent, LCDCC secretary, to draft a work plan and budget for LCDCC’s involvement in the proposed Valley PAC.  Bud completed a first draft which is now being reviewed by the Chair and Vice-chair. Loyd also described how we, on behalf of LCDCC, cooperated with the Benton County Democratic CC in making available two tickets to President Obama’s Inauguration; that contribution helped BCDCC’s fund raising efforts at their successful Inaugural Ball.

            Vice-chair Louise Owens’ report included a reminder to LCDCC members that we all need to lobby the Democratic Party of Oregon for more support of grassroots efforts such as the Valley PAC we’re trying to establish. She also urged LCDCC to re-institute the core Democratic principles of service to people, our natural base of support, by working more closely with the Obama volunteers and other civic organizations.

 

6. Ambassador’s report:

      Ambassador Matthew Hasek reported on his efforts to increase voter accessibility to persons with physical handicaps. As part of his recent work, he encountered a new resident to Linn County with visual limitations, Suzanne Brewster.  Ms. Brewster was in attendance with her guide dog and spoke movingly about how recent technological advances have now allowed the blind and severely vision-impaired to vote without assistance. Now, she and others can be afforded the same level of privacy that every other citizen expects as a right. President Henion had spoken to Ms. Brewster prior to the meeting and learned that she was interested in serving as a Precinct Committee Person.  Acting on that information, Ms. Brewster’s name was put forward into nomination and will be voted on at the next business meeting.

 

 

Inauguration Community Service Events:  Local Obama Volunteers Coordinator Ed Ebbs  reported on what his group is doing, post-election. On a Martin Luther King Day food drive, about 35 of their volunteers assembled to gather four large truck loads of food. Following this, President Obama announced the launching of “Organizing for America” campaign. The first event of that campaign will be held on 2/11 in cooperation with LCDCC at our HQ and will be focused on the economic stimulus plan. Mr Ebbs invited LCDCC members to participate.

 

Mr. Ebbs observed that some of his group’s members may be interested in helping or joining LCDCC, but some won’t be, preferring  task-oriented work over process-based meetings. As a result of Mr. Ebbs report, Chairman Henion recommended adding Mr. Ebbs to the LCDCC Ex. Committee as an “Organizing for America” liaison. Motion made and passed unanimously. Laurent asked if we could include a link to the Organizing for America campaign to the LCDCC website and Mr. Ebbs said he would check.

 

Guest speaker for the evening – Pete Sorenson, Lane Co. Commissioner.  Prior to becoming a County Commissioner (he’s in his fourth term), Mr. Sorenson served two terms as an Oregon State Senator, and ran for governor in 2002 against the eventual winner, Ted Kulongowski.  Since being elected to the Lane County Commission, Mr. Sorenson has worked to get more progressive candidates elected and for counties to be more representative of their electorates, succeeding in both cases in his home county. Lane now has a majority of Democrats serving as Commissioners and established voting districts for Commissioners in a departure from the Oregon tradition of at-large districts. One of his current goals is to work on carbon sequestration through production forests.  Mr. Sorenson spent one month in 2008 working in Pennsylvania as a volunteer for Barack Obama and came back from that experience more convinced than ever that the Democratic Party needs to build a broad coalition of members across the social/political spectrum. 

 

In response to questions from LCDCC members, Mr. Sorenson made the following remarks: 

·        Like Linn County Dems appear to be doing, Lane County Dems are trying to find meaningful tasks that Obama Volunteers and Central Committee Democrats can do together; he believes that the Obama Volunteers have eclipsed the traditional Democratic Party and that it must adapt new strategies if it is to be successful;

·        He firmly believes that citizens are better off with county districts and 5-member boards rather than having at-large elections of three member boards. This would give more opportunity to Democratic candidates in getting elected in presently “Red” counties.  How Linn County could make the switch could take any of several paths, stemming from Commissioner action to voter initiative;

·        Lane and Linn counties are currently working together on a biomass project involving grass seed farms and waste water;

·        Drug programs need to be based on understanding of the problem as a disease;

·        Funding for programs aimed at basic human needs should be expanded in times like these, not simply reduced proportionally with other programs;

·        All counties need to become involved in carbon sequestration, and he intends Lane County to be the third county in Oregon to create workable programs;

·        To the question as to why candidates seem to become less interested in their constituents following their elections, he felt that the way campaigns are funded has changed who gets elected.

 

In concluding, Commissioner Sorenson offered his support and help on a variety of issues, ranging from districting to common projects. Laurent suggested that he might begin by supporting LCDCC’s proposal for a funding “jump-start” incorporated in the draft work plan just being circulated; he said he would be happy to review the proposal.

 

Other New Business:

Pete Boucot gave a report of the Labor Council meeting he attended earlier in the evening as a representative of LCDCC. He said that Labor Council members were extremely happy to have an LCDCC representative actually sent to their meeting and would like to see that continue. In fact, Pete reported that they would like to have a reciprocal arrangement by having a seat on LCDCC’s Ex.Committee, and a motion to create such a position was immediately moved, seconded and unanimously approved by LCDCC members in what may have been a record for action taken without prior announcement or subsequent discussion.  Pete also announced that the Labor Council will join in on a National Education Association rally in Salem on 2/16 to protest possible job cuts in public education and hoped that LCDCC members would join them.

 

Louise announced that a Health Care Forum will be held at the Corvallis Main Library on 2/5 at 3 PM. 

 

Hot Button Issues, due to the hour, were tabled until the April meeting.

 

Old Business:  Next meeting,  3/11/09, at the Sweet Home Police Department conference room.

 

Meeting adjourned at 8:45 PM

 

Submitted by Bud Laurent, Secretary