In this
Issue:
State Convention Report
Ron Platt Courage Awards - 2009
Propositions 1A - 1F
The Revitalized Central
Committee
CCDCC Guest Speaker:
Dr. Amerish Bera
Candidate for CD 3 against Dan Lungren
Marcie Bayne - Region 7
Volunteer of the Year
May Special
Election - Important Dates
Events
The message coming out loud and
clear from the California Democratic Convention held in
Sacramento April 24 - 26 was that Democrats MUST register
voters, get out the vote, and
fill local positions in ALL 58 counties. Everyone spoke of the
momentum generated by President Obama and that we must take
advantage of it.
In the November 2008 election, for
the first time ever, more voters under the age of 35 voted than
those over 65. At this years convention, there were over
800 delegates under the age of 35, up from just a little more
than 300 in 2008.
Calaveras delegates included Gail
Bunge, Assembly District 25, Tillman Sherman, CCDCC
chair, Barry Griffin, proxy for Ginger Griffin,
CCDCC secretary, Sharon Romano, CCDCC treasurer, and
CCDCC members Bob Dean and Janice Bassett.
The convention was an exciting place
to be. Saturday was devoted to caucus meetings and
workshops. Addie Jacobsen from Ebbetts Pass Forest
Watch (www.epfw.org) gave a
powerful presentation to the Rural Caucus, chaired by
Jamie Beutler of El Dorado County, about the devastation
caused by Sierra Pacific Industries clearcutting throughout the
Sierra Nevada. Addie will be working
with the Rural Caucus and other party officials on a resolution
to be presented at the Executive Board meeting later this
year to halt the destruction of our foothills.
The California Democratic Party
(CDP) elected the following officers:
Senator John Burton, Chair
Eric Bauman, Male Vice Chair
Alexandra "Alex" Gallardo-Rooker, Female Vice Chair
Hilary Crosby, Controller
Reginald Byron Jones-Sawyer, Sr., Secretary
Gary Robbins, Region 7 Director
Distinguished speakers scheduled to
address the convention (in alphabetical order):
Assembly Speaker Karen Bass
Congressmember Xavier Becerra
Secretary of State Debra Bowen
U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer
State Attorney General Jerry Brown
State Controller John Chiang
San Francisco Board of Supervisors President David Chiu
CA Board of Equalization Member Judy Chu
Governor Howard Dean
Lieutenant Governor John Garamendi
Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson
California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM)
Chairman Bob Klein
Congressmember Barbara Lee
State Treasurer Bill Lockyer
Congressmember Doris Matsui
San Francisco Mayer Gavin Newsom
Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell
U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
CTA President David Sanchez
U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis
Senate President pro Tem Darrell Steinberg
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa
CA Board of Equalization Chair Betty Yee
There was the 2009 Convention
Tribute Dinner Honoring Chairman Art Torres, and
hospitality suites and receptions hosted by candidates, elected
officials and caucuses. There was something to do from
early in the morning till late at night.
The next California Democratic Party
Convention will be held in Southern California. It would be
exciting to see more Calaveras Democrats attend as delegates and
observers.
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Ron Platt Courage Awards - 2009 |
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Take Back Red California (TBRC)
hosted a dinner that featured guest speaker Governor Howard
Dean, and honored Calaveras' very own Ron Platt.
The first Ron Platt Courage Awards were presented to:
Lt. Col. Charlie & Jan Brown
Francine Busby
Dr. Bill & Diane Durston
Congressman Jerry McNerney (CD-11)
Russ Warner
(To read the tributes to Ron Platt and information about
each of the
recipients, please click
here.)
The delegates at the Democratic
State Party Convention discussed and voted on the
propositions voters are being asked to consider in the
special election being held May 19. In order for a
proposition to be supported by the CDP, 60% of the delegates must vote
in favor of the proposition. Below is a brief description of
each proposition and the official recommendation of the
Party.
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Proposition 1A - Budget Stabilization Act
Creates an enhanced Rainy Day
Fund to ensure savings during good times, so
that money is available in bad times to help
protect against more cuts to education,
healthcare and other vital services. A portion
of the reserve will repay some of the cuts made
to education. |
Neutral |
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Proposition 1B - Protect Education Funding
Starts the process to restore
funding for education as our economy improves.
Prop. 1B establishes a repayment plan to ensure
that schools and community colleges are repaid
the $9.3 billion they are owed under the state's
minimum school funding law (Proposition 98). |
Support |
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Proposition 1C - Lottery Modernization Act
Modernizes the lottery to improve
its performance with increased payments and
effective management. Provides $5 billion in new
revenues to help close the budget deficit.
Public schools will continue to receive the same
amount of funding as receive today. |
Support |
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Proposition 1D - Children's Services Funding
Temporarily redirects a portion
of unspent funds from the tobacco tax to pay for
children's health and social services. The
Children and Families Trust Fund has about $2.5
billion that has not been spent. A portion of
those funds will pay for critical health and
social services for children. |
Neutral |
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Proposition 1E - Mental Health Funding
Temporarily redirects a portion
of the funds from the Mental Health Services
Trust Fund, approved by voters as Proposition 63
in 2004, to help pay for children's health
programs including health care screening,
diagnosis and treatment. |
Neutral |
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Proposition 1F - Legislative Salary Freeze
Prohibits state legislators, the
governor and other state elected officials from
getting pay raises whenever the state budget is
running in a deficit. |
Support |
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The Revitalized Central Committee |
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In September 2008, the Calaveras
County Democratic Central Committee was down to five
dedicated, hardworking members. At the May 14 meeting,
member 19 will be sworn in! We've come a long way!
With the help of Steve Wilensky,
the CCDCC Revitalization Committee identified and recruited
leaders from the various sectors of the community:
labor, faith-based, arts, health, education, and more.
If you are interested in taking
part in the exciting things that are happening in the
Democratic Party, contact the CCDCC chair, Tillman Sherman
at (209) 559.2672, or email
chair@calaverasdemocrats.org.
Watch for more information about
the new, exciting and revitalized central committee!
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CCDCC Guest Speaker:
Dr. Amerish Bera
Candidate for CD 3 against Dan
Lungren |
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Meet
Dr. Amerish Bera at the May 14 meeting of the CCDCC,
6:30 pm in the Board of Supervisors Chambers, 891
Mountain Ranch Road, San Andreas.
Dr.
Bera has declared his candidacy for the
congressional seat currently held by Republican Dan
Lungren.
Dr.
Bera
is a dynamic physician executive with over 15 years
progressive leadership experience in public health
care management, medical and graduate medical
education, hospital and medical group
administration, and managed care and integrated
delivery systems. |
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Dr. Amerish Bera |
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Amerish recently stepped down as Associate Dean
for Admissions at the University of California,
Davis School of Medicine, a position where he
had primary responsibility over all aspects of
the admissions and workforce development
process. During his sabbatical year, he has
returned to clinical practice, continues to
teach as a Professor of medicine and is pursuing
his interest in the intersection of spirituality
and its role in healing and relief from
suffering.
In his prior role as Chief Medical Officer for
Sacramento County, Amerish worked with the four
regional health systems, government entities at
the local, state and federal level, and with the
business community to create and manage a safety
net system for the county’s 200,000 uninsured
residents. As part of this safety net, he
helped create SacAdvantage, a unique
health insurance subsidy program that targets
small businesses and low wage employees to make
health coverage more affordable and accessible.
The program has been highlighted in many venues,
has been presented to both the state and federal
government as one potential solution to the
uninsured challenge, and has been broadly
supported across traditionally disparate
organizations: business and labor; insurers and
providers; advocates and CEO’s; and Republicans
and Democrats. |
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Marcie Bayne
Region 7 2009 Volunteer of the Year |
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At the convention, each of the 21 regional
directors recognized an outstanding
volunteer from their region. Gary Robbins presented that award to Marcie
Bayne, member of the Amador Central
Committee, for her tireless efforts to
promote issues important to Democrats and to
getting Democrats elected.. |
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Marcie Bayne
& Gary Robbins |
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May Special Election - Important
Dates |
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32nd Annual Garamendi
Basque Barbecue