Congressional Committee to Organize the Second District

Meeting Minutes: May 19, 2002

Present: Gloria Bailey (Davis), Alan Bohanan (Cedar), Sandy Dockendorff (DesMoines), Maureen Donnelly (Johnson), Dale Fenton (Appanoose), Brian Flaherty (Johnson), Don Foor (Louisa), Richard Gilmore (Washington), Daryn J. Hamilton (Jefferson), Cheryll Jones (Davis), David Loebsack (Linn), Travis Lowe (Coordinated Campaign), Pat Marshall (Linn), Dennis McCoy (Wapello), Don Paulson (Muscatine), Sharon Savage (Muscatine), Phil Scott (Jefferson), Sally Simpson (Johnson), Norm Sterzenback (Linn), Bob Thomas (Appanoose), Julianne Thomas (Linn), Pete Thurman (Linn), Faith Wilmot (Johnson), Kendra Wyse (Henry), Louise Young (Johnson)

Call to order:
The meeting was called to order by Alan Bohanan at 2:01 p.m. at the Senior Citizen Center in Fairfield, Iowa. It was declared that a quorum was present.

Minutes: A motion was made, seconded and carried to approve the minutes of the 3-23-02 meeting.

Julie Thomas Campaign Report: TheThomas campaign reports that they are making progress. Emily’s List is officially on board and they are now endorsed by the National Women’s Political Caucus, as well as many labor organizations. The Letter Carriers of Burlington have endorsed Julie as well as the American Trial Lawyers. They are in the process of adding more staff. The Thomas campaign is also planning a Beach Leach party on August 4th from 2:00 to 4:00 at the Coralville Reservoir and they suggest that members attend and bring their families.

Sandy Dockendorff made a motion that the 2nd District hosts a fundraiser brunch on Sunday, June 16th and that we pay a portion of the expenses for the brunch but that all of the proceeds go to the Thomas Campaign. The brunch will occur at the Hotel Savory in DesMoines. The motion was seconded and carried. The district will pay for the room and the Thomas campaign will pay for the rest.

Sandy Dockendorff made a motion that we donate to our congressional candidate, the maximum amount that the campaign and IDP determines is the maximum amount but not more than $5,000. Pat Marshall seconded the motion and it was carried.

Fundraising for the Second District: It was determined that regional fundraisers are profitable and that getting celebrities to attend is helpful. Sheila McQuire Riggs has agreed to do a fundraiser with Jefferson County and perhaps Julie could participate in that. Julie needs to know when each count fair occurs and when major county events are scheduled. There needs to be a group of people identified who will be dedicated to work with the Thomas campaign for fund raising events. It was recommended that the Chair look into having generic tickets designed and pre approved that could be copied on a laser or ink jet printer and that could be made available for fundraisers.

Senator Mark Shearer was present and introduced himself and spoke briefly.

Allocation of District Support for Candidates: The district is responsible for our legislative candidates that cross county lines as well as our congressional candidate. Sandy Dockendorff moved that once we reach our maximum spending limit on the congressional race, that the remaining funds be divided between legislative candidates which cross county lines. The motion was seconded and passed.

Treasurer Report: The Treasurer, Sandy Dockendorff submitted the following report:

May 2002 Treasurer’s Report

Beginning Balance

    

$1,167.57
       

Deposits

$4,916.00

    

Interest earned

0.48

    
       

Total Deposits

$4,916.48

    
       

Sec’y Expenses

  

$49.62

  

Convention Room Exp

  

80.00

  

Convention Creden. Exp

  

41.93

  

Bank Fees & Taxes

  

8.46

  
       

Total Expenses

  

$180.03

  
       

Ending Balance

    

$5,904.02

2002 2nd District Convention as of May 18, 2002

Revenue

Expense

Delegate Fees

$3,385.00

Room

$80.00

Silent Auction

880.50

Cred. Comm

41.93

Bucket Pass

650.50

    
       

Totals

$4,916.00

  

$121.93
       

Balance

$4,794.07

    

It was moved, seconded and carried that the Treasurer’s report be approved. The funds are all presently in a federal account and will remain so until the requirements are clarified. Sandy and Alan expect to receive the necessary information in the near future.

Election of Officers: Alan Bohanan said that it is necessary for balance of gender, age, race,etc. be considered in the election of officers. Alan Bohanan was nominated Chair of the Second district. Daryn Hamilton was nominated as Vice Chair. Sandy Dockendorff was nominated as Treasurer and Sharon Savage was nominated as Secretary. The nominations were seconded and carried.

Ratification of 2nd District Constitution: Norm Sterzenback moved that we substitute article 4, section 1, with the language from the state constitution (article 5, section 5, para.8). The motion was seconded and carried. Don Foor moved moved that we adopt the constitution with this amendment. It was seconded and carried.

Sheila Brown from the Harkin campaign addressed the group and said that the Harkin campaign is doing well. The farm bill passed and financial aid disclosure results will be available within the next week. The campaign is encouraging people to contribute small amounts of money. Members can obtain a "Tom Packet for $10.00

Travis Lowe from the Coordinated Campaign addressed the group and said the staff of the coordinated campaign is increasing by 120 people. They are working on the canvas program, which is composed of 100 people statewide. They are trying to get voters to fill out their absentee ballots. The coordinated campaign is also working on a master schedule and a post card program. The VAN system will allow us to remove those who have voted from calling lists more efficiently than in the past.

State Central Committee Report: A state central committee meeting occurred yesterday. Bob Thomas reported that the State Democratic Party took in 1 ½ million dollars in the first quarter but the amount that they need for the campaign is $3.4 million. He said that VAN uses Explorer 5.5 or higher and not Netscape. It does not work well on Macs. It is recommended that people download bits of information at a time and not huge list or whole counties.

Media and Research Report: Brian Flaherty described his Jim Leach oppositional research listserve. The purpose is to gather information and to track Jim Leach. He requested that district members read the local newspapers daily and send any Jim Leach or Julie Thomas information on to listserve. In this fashion, information can be centrally located in one place for the use of the Thomas campaign.

Communication: Sharon Savage recommended that the committee consider purchasing its own webspace. The district website is now located on Sharon’s private webspace. It is also recommended that the committee purchase its own website name. A name could be purchased that could easily be remembered by members such as ‘second district’. A group of people from the local counties could be identified to work together on the website. It was moved that Sharon research the website options and get back to the committee.

Sub-Committees: Alan suggested that people select the sub-committee that is of interest to them from Education, Finance, Programs and Issues. A sign-up sheet was passed around for that purpose. The following was selected: Finance…Don Foor, Brian Flaherty, David Loebsack Programs….Norm Sterzenbach, Phil Scott Issues..Kendra Wyse, Sally Simpson, Richard Gilmore, Faith Wilmot, Pete Thurman, Louise Young Education…Irvin Pfab, Daryn Hamilton, Don Paulson

Affirmative Action: Faith Wilmot said that she needs the names of the affirmative action chairs from each county. The affirmative action chairs met in April. They have identified groups to focus upon. It was moved, seconded and carried that the affirmative action statement generated by the second district be disseminated widely.

The meeting adjourned at 4:40 p.m.

Submitted by,

Sharon Savage, Secretary