11. November Minutes of the Washington County Democrats
The Washington County Democrats meet on Tuesday, November 11, 2008 with 23 members present. Vice-Chairman, Richard Gilmore, called the meeting to order at 7:00 pm.
Minutes of the previous meeting were read. Ferd Marie moved to accept the minutes. Robin Plattenberger seconded. Motion approved.
Kay Ciha gave the treasurer’s report which had a balance of $304.04. The rent on headquarters has been paid through November 15th so we need to have everything out of there by then. The report will be filed for audit.
Kay Ciha reported a membership of 75 households.
Under Standing Committees: Affirmative Action needed to replace David Smithers. Louise Frakes nominated Tami Schweitzer. Seconded by Steve Maxon. Kay Ciha nominated Jay Santana. Seconded by Dave Schweitzer. Pete Morison moved that nominations cease. Seconded by John Greener. Tami Schweitzer won the vote and will be replacing David Smithers on the Affirmative Action Committee. It is not clear who is the chairperson for this committee.
The Platform Committee had no report.
There was some discussion about who was the chair of the Candidate Development Committee, but no action was taken.
Community Events chairperson John Greener had no report.
Terry Philips was not present to give a Veteran’s Caucus report, but we did have all Veterans stand and be recognized as today was Veterans Day.
It was decided that whether we wanted to recognize other State Approved Caucuses would be discussed at the Organizational Meeting in March.
Under Old Business, Louise Frakes reported that she has reserved the 4-H Building for Sunday, October 18, 2009 for our Annual Fundraiser Dinner. She has also contacted Senator Harkin, Representative Loebsack, Senator Becky Schmidt, and Congressman Marek to come speak at that event. She had not heard back from any of them yet. It was suggested that she also contact Governor Culver. Louise agreed to do that.
Ferd Marie reminded the group that he wants to have the wiener roast in September next year.
Sending thank you notes to those who sponsored the Election Night celebration was discussed. Nan Stark volunteered to write a note to Lorraine Williams for the use of Do-Dici and to Jay Santana for supplying the food.
GOTV was discussed. Chris Street and Jay Santana agreed that it was successful because we had a lot of out-of-the-county help, but that the last day many Washington County people did come out to help. It was stated that we really need to work on getting more Washington County people involved earlier. Jay Santana reported that Obama lost Washington County by only 88 votes! Also, he reported that there was only 44 % voter turn out in Washington county.
Chris Street reported that he has contacted IDP to ask them to please put Washington County with Johnson County when they divide up the counties next time.
Each of the candidates who ran for office and were present asked to speak to the group. Dave Schweitzer thanked the group for their moral and financial support. He reported that his campaign ended up about $1500 in the red. He said he is open to suggestions for how to improve if he runs again.
Merle Haige also thanked the group for their moral and financial support. He said, “I don’t like to loose. I did the best I could but he still beat me. I hope I live long enough to see a Democrat win in Washington County.”
Rodney Stogdill also thanked the group for their moral and financial support. He said, “We need to take the race very seriously and put more effort into it. The Candidate Development Committee needs to work with the candidates more so they’ll know what to do.”
Chris Street spoke on behalf of the Larry Marek campaign. He thanked the group for their financial support and for all their help. He reported that Larry was in Des Moines tonight.
Robin Plattenberger commended Harold Frakes for his letter to the editor. Many others agreed.
Under New Business, Jay Santana reported that there is still a working phone in the office. He volunteered to have all the Democratic possessions stored at his new home as there will be plenty of room. He would like help getting everything packed into marked boxes. Keys need to be turned in to Jay. Larry Marek signs should be returned to Larry.
Richard Gilmore and Robin Plattenberger offered their Victorian Farmhouse for our Christmas Party next month. It will be on our regular meeting date, Tuesday, December 9th, at 7:00 pm. People should bring snack food to share.
Kay Ciha discussed the mailing list with the group. She plans to contact Bill Fredrick for a disk of Washington County voters. Dave Schweitzer and Jay Santana both added that there would be a lot of useful information on the disk.
It was suggested that we put the next meeting dates on our calendars: December 9th —Christmas party; January 13th – regular meeting at Halcyon House; February 10th regular meeting at Halcyon House; March 10th Reorganizational Meeting at Halcyon House.
Meeting adjourned at 8:03 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Louise Frakes, secretary.
