Tuesday,
July 15 2003
Park Hill Library
Agenda:
Party, Fundraiser
Rick as Coalition/Diversity Chair
Icatha hours
Columbus Day
Bridget/Treasurer
Web Site
Attending:
Christy Bouchard, Roger Green, Ian Kernan, Brian Wiley, Rick VanWie,
Sunny Maynard, Bridget Helgoth, Randy Richter
Dave Chandler is sick, Bruce was going to try to make it but couldn’t.
(Judy
the librarian collects $20 from Bridget for the use of the room. Sunny
asks her if the librarians have complained about the fee, and Judy
says “yes, to no avail.” She says their weekly groups
have all canceled anyway, so it’s not as though the DPL is making
any money by charging for the room. Sunny states that citizens’
right to assemble in a public place is being curtailed.)
6:45,
meeting begins.
Sunny:
I am really concerned about this issue: Rs2477. If a track has been
used as a road through federal land, the county can open it up and
use it as a road. It’s an old federal statute. Gov. Owens is
backing it. They are trying to turn any old thing in the wilderness
into a road, which will hurt ecosystems and also enable many federal
lands to be stripped of their wilderness status.
Rick
VanWie
Fundraiser
Something that didn’t occur to me: do we need a special event
permit to sell alcohol?
Sunny: If the alcohol is donated, you could sell the bottle, not serving
it. But you can’t charge by the drink.
Rick: Well then, we’re just having a party and accepting donations.
Party info: 4-8 pm, Bruce’s house, 4305 Wolff st.
Rick organizing, Christy providing snack food, and all the drinks
since no one else has volunteered. Randy will bring pizzas. Sunny
will bring tamales.
Raffle tickets: If you have donatable items, bring them.
Music will be prerecorded (Lanny never responded to Rick’s emails)
Columbus
Day
Rick has been involved with All Nations Alliance. Greens never joined
(no consensus). Last year Greens issued a statement saying they concurred
with the “Transform Columbus Day” sentiment. Rick was
going to apply for a parade permit for Columbus day, but ANA asked
“Are you authorized to apply for that, since the Greens are
not part of ANA?” Rick realized that he should have cleared
it with the DGP before making that assumption. He did not end up applying
for the permit. He does not want the DGP to think that he would just
go out and do something like that. (Various members of the DGP had
expressed through email that they did not want him to do that without
consensus.)
Rick was going to apply for the permit because it’s a lottery
to get the permit, the more groups submit names the better.
Rick wants to just start a dialog about DGP participation in the Transform
Columbus Day events/philosophy at this point.
Sunny: We have supported the efforts in the past. In the past, it
seems like that was all we talked about at some meetings.
Ian: Very few people are going to drawn to that issue; the average
voter is not going to have that be their “issue”. Participation
might be good to make a point, or to get press.
Brian: But we need to get more people of color involved in the GP.
Sunny: It is hard. In certain situations, those people are receptive
to us, but most of the time they think it’s a white liberal
thing. But we are growing and we have people around the state working
on how to reach the people.
Randy: A lot of people agree that Columbus Day is not a key issue.
Sunny: I think it’s fine to participate and carry a banner,
but it shouldn’t be What We’re About all year.
Roger: Maybe we need guidelines and goals on what types of events
we are going to participate in? So that Rick is authorized to initiate
certain actions and events.
Christy: Sometimes, like with Pride Fest, things come up in the middle
of the month and Rick has made good decisions about those things.
Rick: All these comments are really valid and worth thinking about.
I will give all of this consideration.
Coalition/Diversity
Committee
Coalition/Diversity is the body in charge of outreach for the DGP
to communities of color, activists, involvement in the events and
issues of those communities. Lending aid and support to those communities.
Rick proposes that he take over chairpersonship of the Coalition/Diversity
Committee. Allen Butcher has given his OK. Favorable comments have
been made in the online groups.
7:37 pm: all in favor of Rick VanWie becoming chair of Coalition/Diversity.
Treasurer
Bruce has offered to step down as co-chair and take over treasurer’s
position instead.
Randy would probably take over Bruce’s position but he is undecided.
Sunny says that he should just do it, and asks for the group’s
approval of Randy taking over Bruce’s position of co-chair.
7:42 all in favor.
Sunny:
Let’s take suggestions on what sorts of activities we should
be working on.
Randy: Definitely the registration drive.
Sunny: Increasing funds and numbers is priority.
Fundraiser
concert
Randy Richter
Dave and Randy are working with Josh to negotiate the $2500 deposit.
Date is still set but the problem is when you only have 30 days to
promote it, you get less of a turnout. National GP wants 50% of the
profits to put up the seed money, but they don’t seem to quite
comprehend the scope of the undertaking; they’re viewing it
like we asked for $50 to buy paper for a mailing.
Sunny: Can’t we sell tickets in advance?
Or, if anyone wants to put up the money, it’s only a 5-week
investment. They’re saying $7000 profit.
Ian: Offer 25%, since that’s less than the national GP wants.
Josh is writing up a professional memo to send to National about the
concert and the DPG’s plans for future fundraising solvency.
Ithaca
Hours
Sunny: (Presentation)
This is a community goods and services system based on trade. People
pay a nominal fee to be listed in the directory. You say what service
you provide. Then you barter your skills in return for other people’s
skills. Rate is $10 per hour and it’s apparently legal since
it’s not real money. I want to set up this program statewide
and use a small percentage of the listing fee in the directory as
a continuous revenue stream.
Paul Glover, who started this program in NY, is thinking about being
GP presidential candidate.
I’m looking for the right person to spearhead this movement
in Colorado.
Group agreed to take up the question next month when there is more
time. Randy offered to bring his TV/VCR so that Sunny can show her
video.
Roger:
Have we resolved the issue of where to meet next month?
Churches, taverns, coffeehouses?
Please make calls to all your contacts.
Rick: Randy, can you contact Eric Karnes and ask him if any Unitarian
Universalist churches would have a room available? For instance, the
Unitarian church on 14th is centrally located.
Brian: Downtown is too far for people who live in Aurora.
I want to look into starting an Arapahoe county chapter.
SEIU news
Rick
Janitors got a great contract. The protest march had 1000 people downtown.
It sent a strong message to employers that a strike would have been
long and hard.
Janitors got health care entirely paid for by their employers, $9
per hour, personal days, paid time off to deal with immigration issues.
Now the nurses are trying to organize. 4 clinics are going to be closed.
1 at MLK HS and 1 at East High. Nurses need people to start showing
up at Denver Health board meetings to show the government that the
community is concerned and involved.
Denver Health is looking at the clinic closings as purely a fiscal
issue, but for many people these clinics are their main source of
health care. Closing the clinics will increase ER use anyway. Nurses
are going to start organizing around this issue.
Sunny: DGP should really make a stink about this. Health care is an
important issue and this affects low-income people. Rick, can you
contact Kirsten Marr about it?
Ian: Health care is the #1 issue for registered Democrats.
Sunny: Let’s make it our issue too. Is anyone good at financial
data? We should look at Denver Health’s numbers and see what
they’re really talking about.
8:40
meeting adjourned.
Next
meeting:
Tuesday, August 19th, 6:30-8:30 pm
Location TBA
Respectfully
Submitted,
Christy
