Tuesday, April 14, 2009
April Minutes
Minutes of April Meeting
The Washington County Democrats met at the Day Lounge at Halcyon House on Tuesday, April 14, 2009 with 26 members present. The Chairperson Louise Frakes called the meeting to order at 7:02 pm with the group reciting the Pledge of Allegiance and singing “America”.
Minutes of the last meeting were provided in written form for the group. Minutes were also posted on the blog. Motion was made by Tom Antosiak and seconded by Ferd Marie, that the minutes be approved. Motion carried.
Treasurer Kay Ciha presented the current Treasurer’s Report, and written copies were provided to the group, said report reflected a balance of $1,642.86 and will be filed for audit.
The Treasurer gave a membership report. We had 57 households who have paid their 2009 dues. Membership written report will be filed for record.
The Chairperson called for reports from the standing committees, as follows:
Affirmative Action – Kathleen Salazar, Chairperson – It was noted that Kathleen was not present and no written report was available.
Platform – Matt Schaeffer, Chairperson – It was noted that Matt was not present but Harold Frakes did received an e-mail from Matt and read same to the group.
Candidate Development – Rose Jaynes, Chairperson – Rose gave a short report, indicating that Supervisors for area 2 & 3 will be up for re-election in 2010 and that we need to find candidates for those supervisor positions. We also need to support Barb Edmondson for County Attorney, as that position will be up for election in 2010.
Community Events – Harold Frakes, Chairperson – Harold reported that individuals would be assigned to organize each of the various parades this summer. Also, it was noted that October 18th, 2009 would be the annual fund raising dinner and that we needed at least 200 people in attendance. He also noted that June 19 there was a scheduled cake quilt at the Kalona Days event and that the Washington County Democrats should participate. Marily Whitenack and Doris Parks were recommended as possible persons to contact.
Veterans Caucus – Terry Phillips, Chairperson – It was noted that Terry was not present and that no report was available.
Old Business:
The Chairperson Indicated that the materials owned by the Washington County Democrats have been moved to the Frakes basement. Some additional material may be elsewhere and an attempt is being made to locate that material.
Harold Frakes indicated that he was working on the Web site and that the Executive Committee had paid the past due fee balance and transferred ownership to the Washington County Democrats.
Report of the Audit Committee, was made by Kay Ciha in the absence of Diane Schaeffer and Shirley Pfeiffer who were not in attendance. The committee found no problem with the previous years accounting.
All members of the committee attended the 2nd District meeting from Washington County. Harold Frakes noted that the group was doing a quilt construction, and needed two blocks from Washington. It was recommended that a committee of Mimi Jacobson, Doris Parks, Shirley Pfeiffer and Robin Plattenberger work on this project .
The Chairperson Called for other old business and finding none moved to new Business.
New Business:
Harold Frakes reported that the Viet Nam wall was coming to Richland. He noted that the cost of the event was about $5,000.00 and that donations were being sought. Bob Spenner moved that the Washington County Democrats give $100.00 toward the project. Motion was 2nd by Tom Antosiak. Motion passed.
The Chairperson Noted that Iowa is reported to be the 2nd happiest state in the union next to Nebraska.
The Chairperson announced that there would be a Legislative Briefing on Saturday, April 18th, 2009, from 10:00 am until noon, on the second floor courtroom in the Washington County Courthouse located on West Main Street. Becky Schmidt our area State Senator and Larry Marek our State Representative will be in attendance to answer questions, in addition to providing reports.
Legislative Issues were again presented by Harold Frakes and the Chair, asked people to take a stand on their feelings. A conscientious attempt was made to discern the feelings of the group on the following political issues:
1. The Iowa 700 Million Bonding issue for infrastructure, resulted in a majority of those present in favor of the issue.
2. On the Federal Tax deductibility issue again resulted in a majority of those present in favor of the issue.
3. The proposed constitutional amendment to override the recent Supreme Court of Iowa decision of discrimination on the issue of gays and lesbian marriage. A majority of those present were opposed to having such a constitutional amendment.
The Chair indicated that the next meeting would be held Tuesday, May 12th, 2009, at 7:00 p.m. at the Halcyon House.
Members were invited to stay for “coffee and treats” and continue their discussions of the evening’s business after the meeting is adjourned. Dave and Tami Schweitzer & Harold and Louise Frakes were in charge of the coffee and treats. Members were encouraged to sign up to bring treats at future meetings.
The Chair called for any other business and finding none the meeting was adjourned at 7:56 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Peter G. Morrison, Secretary
