The Washington County Democrats met at the Café Dodici Shop on Tuesday, April 12, 2016 with 20 attendees. Vice Chair Richard Gilmore called the meeting to order at 7:00 pm and the Pledge of Allegiance was recited.
Minutes of the February and March meetings were approved as sent out and will be posted on the blog. Kay Ciha gave the Treasurer’s report for March 8, 2016-April 12, 2016 with updates to membership fees, donations and the Candidate Fund. New expenses include Cafe Dodici ($286.87) to correct a previous entry for an in-kind donation and Washington Community Schools for caucus night facility maintenance ($63.78).
With regards to the previous entry correction, state ethics no longer permit in-kind donations. The club will need to pay Café Dodici for the value of the donation. A motion to pay Café Dodici was made by Robert Spenner, seconded by John Greener and passed unanimously.
Report of the Chair:
Today’s guests are Mary Krier, former Chairperson of the Keokuk County Democrats, Ryan Siskow, newly
elected Chair of the Keokuk County Democrats, and Al Bohanan, 2nd District Chairperson and member of
the Cedar County Democrats.
Robin Plattenberger read aloud a letter from Harold Frakes thanking the club for the generous donations
in memory of Louise Frakes.
A brief overview of the 2nd District Convention (24 counties) was provided by Richard and Al. Delegates
and alternates are being contacted to confirm attendance. In 2008 the convention went to 2:00am. In
2012, it went to 7:00pm. Anyone who wants to be a delegate or committee volunteers and has to
provide a statement regarding their interest, so there could be lengthy periods of listening to their
arguments for selection. There are no plans for a formal dinner, so we may be ordering pizza or
sandwiches if it goes late. Because the rules provide for another realignment of preference groups, it
may happen.
Old Business:
The Washington County Democrats, as hosts of the 2nd District Convention, are needed to help with setup,
sales of lunch and concession items, and clean-up after the convention adjourns. Sign-up sheets
were passed around for members to sign up for duties for set-up/clean-up, food serving, and money
collection.
On April 29th at 5:00pm, chairs need to be moved from the Methodist Church, YMCA & Art Domestique
to the Washington High School & set-up. If there is inclement weather, high school sports practices will
be held inside and set-up will be delayed to 7:00pm.
On April 30th, tickets will be sold for lunch ($15.00), baked goods, soda, coffee and tea. 2-4 people are
needed to plate food for 350+ attendees. There will not be a “Wine Down” afterwards. Also, a volunteer
is needed to pick up baked goods from Golden Delight bakery by 7:00am. Doris Parks will pick up the
baked goods with John Greener on call as a back-up. Coffee, with stir sticks & creamer/sugar included,
will be provided from HyVee.
Fees will be collected as cash or checks. A motion to have Kay withdraw $200 cash for the change box
was submitted, seconded and passed unanimously.
With regards to the auction at the convention, state ethics now requires all raffle items need to
reported, including a description, donor information & estimated value of the item(s). We need an
auctioneer. Club members should approach community democrats about items to donate for the
auction. We need to show-off our community, but we cannot have items from an incorporated or
limited liability corporation company. For anything alcoholic, provide a certificate for the item and give it
to them later. Ethics’ job is to be transparent about why an action was taken. They are there to help.
Kim Davis, 2nd District Convention Credentials Committee Member, reported all delegates are to pay a
$30.00 fee either in advance via PayPal to Bob Wiese or by cash/check when registering at the
convention. In the past, the club has offered to pay the fees for up to 10 delegates from Washington
County. Washington currently has 9 delegates, however some delegates prefer to pay their own fees.
After discussion, it was suggested that delegates pay their own fees but can submit a request for
reimbursement to the club. A motion to approve was submitted by Robert Spenner, seconded by Peter
Morrison and passed unanimously. The credentials committee will be using a new application to
register delegates, but will plan to have paper and pen copies as back-ups. Credentials committee
members will be going to training on April 24th. Mike Jesse, Chair of the Credentials Committee asks
delegates to be patient at registration.
New Business:
Discussion of state convention carpooling is delayed to the next meeting. Kay Ciha suggested the club
should give Art Domestique something for the use of their space & utilities.
Committee Reports:
Affirmative Action: Gary Murphy
None.
Candidate Development: Jim Gorham
Kimberly Davis is running for District 4 supervisor (Wards 1 & 4). Harold Frakes has donated $200
towards her campaign fund and hopes the club will provide funds from the Candidate Development
Fund as well. Lorraine read aloud a message of support from Harold encouraging the club to be a
foundation of support with regards to advice/guidance on interviews, the process of running for office,
how to file expenditures, etc. In Lorraine or Harold’s (??) words “we have a young, lovely person
running for office and we need to support that.” Historically the club has given $250 to supervisor
candidates. Robin Plattenberger motioned to pay $250 to Kim’s campaign fund, seconded by John
Greener. There was no discussion. Motion passed unanimously.
Also, Marcus Fedler, a libertarian from Washington, is running against Jared Klein.
Community events: John Greener
Convention, convention, convention.
The club needs to decide on whether or not to reserve a fair booth. The cost is the same as last year at
$200. Two fair passes are provided with a booth, but additional fair passes can be purchased if needed.
Season passes are $20 until June. Motion to approve reserving a fair booth was submitted by Robin
Plattenberger, seconded by Robert Spenner and passed unanimously.
Platform Committee: Steve Maxon
Andrew Allison reported that the 2nd District Platform has been drafted and is ready for the convention.
The 2nd District process is different from Washington County. The group breaks into subcommittees on
the first day and then are fully involved on the second day.
Next Meeting:
The next meeting will be Tuesday, May 10th at 7:00pm at Art Domestique.
At 8:10 pm, Robin Plattenberger motioned to adjourn. It was seconded and passed unanimously.
Attendees: Lorraine Williams, Richard Gilmore, Robin Plattenberger, Sonya Housholder, Peter Morrison,
Shirley Pfeifer, Kay Ciha, Robert Spenner, Ron Carey, Kitch Shatzer, Kimberly Davis, John Greener,
Isabella Santoro, Mary Krier, Ryan Siskow, Doris Park, Steve Maxon, Nan Stark, Ben Griggs, Andrew
Allison.
