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Our "Club Year" runs from May to May.  Our annual membership meeting is held in May of each year.


May 2009

Thanks to all of you who came to our Annual May Membership Meeting at the LaNebbia Winery May 8.  For those of you who missed this lovely event, the following is an update of my annual report.  I am pleased to have been reelected as you club president and look forward to working with all of you in the exciting year ahead.


President’s Report, May 8 Annual Membership Meeting, 2009

            Dear Coastside Democrats, thank you for everything you did to make this such a great year for Democrats and especially for all your efforts to help elect President Obama and Vice President Biden. Now we have a great opportunity to help solve the problems facing local, state, and national communities.  It’s more important than ever that all of us stay involved, work hard, and help make the Obama-Biden Administration a huge success.  Coastside Democrats are about winning elections AND governing wisely.

            The special guest speaker at our annual membership meeting was Assemblymember Jerry Hill who talked about the importance of supporting the Propositions, May 19 Special Election, and the legislation he has cosponsored with Senator Leland Yee to help the city of Half Moon Bay pay the costs of the Beechwood settlement, AB650/S650.  Other elected officials attending included Jim Grady, HMB City Council, Cecily Harris, MROSD, Deborah Lardie, MCC, and April Vargas, SMDCC.  We gave a special cheer for April, our Obama convention delegate, who was recently recognized as the Region 4 Volunteer of the Year at the State Democratic Convention. A food basket was collected for Coastside Hope to help with the growing needs of our neighbors.


            Our club now has135 members and over 100 additional Obama supporters. From one Pumpkin Festival to the next we registered almost 1,000 voters and have already started 2009 with voter registration at Dream Machines and Farmers’ Market.  Thanks to coordinators Marta Jacobsen and Roberta Gelt.


            During the Presidential campaign, members phone banked, hosted debate parties, raised money, traveled to swing states, put up yard signs, monitored elections, got out the vote, endorsed candidates and issues, and distributed 1,000 copies of our Endorsement Flyer.  Working with the Central Committee we sold $2,500 worth of buttons, bumper stickers, and yard signs, along with 200 Jeremy Zilber Mama Voted for Obama books. We sponsored a 19th Assembly District Candidate  Forum with the League of Women Voters and distributed Spanish language election materials to the Latino community.  Our September Campaign Party brought out over 200 people to hear Congresswoman Jackie Speier and Congresswoman Anna Eshoo. Thanks to Lenny and Christine Mendonca for hosting this event at the Half Moon Bay Brewery and to Cheri Parr for great photographs. 

            For President Obama’s inauguration we participated in a community service project for seniors, a citizen class survey at Moon Ridge, and Inauguration Parties.  There were good stories in the HMB Review and on Coastsider.com.  Thanks to Cheri Parr for  coordinating the senior volunteer effort and to the Pauls, the Holleys, and the Glauthier/O’Farrells for hosting inauguration parties. We also appreciated TJ Glauthier’s talk about his work on the Obama Transition Team at our December meeting.

            During the year we sent letters of concern to elected officials about issues like AB1991 and changes in the Midcoast Community Council. We passed a resolution in support of the Employee Free Choice Act to improve our labor laws and sent a copy to Senator Diane Feinstein urging her support.  Thanks to Dennis Paul and Deborah Lagutaris for starting a new CD Town Hall Email List and to Dennis Paul and Brent Turner for their continuing efforts on voter integrity issues.  Thanks to Emily Berk and Avis Boutell for updating the web page and member lists, to Diane Brosin for coordinating with Jackie Speier’s office, and to Shirley Holley and Nick Ramirez for their on-going Latino outreach efforts.  And thanks to John Lynch and his yard sign crew.


            A special thank you goes to our outgoing board members for their service this year—Merrill Bobele, Sofia Freer, and Brent Turner—and welcome to our new board members—Deborah Lagutaris, Fran Pollard, and Ann Sklute.  And thank you to our continuing board members: vice president Deborah Ruddock, treasurer Barbara Lohman, at-large members Julia Hansen, Marta Jacobsen, John Moseley, and past president Dennis Paul.  My apologies in advance if I have forgotten any of you for your wonderful service.


            I look forward to working with all of you this coming year as we plan issue forums, register voters, do community work, and prepare for local elections in November and state wide elections in 2010. Our regular executive board meetings are the third Wednesday of every month, 7:30 pm, Lesley Gardens, 701 Arnold St (at Main St), Half Moon Bay.  Everyone is encouraged to join us. As club president, I also participate in the San Mateo Central Committee meetings, where I also serve as alternate for April Vargas, and attend the State Convention. If you have questions on any of these activities don’t hesitate to contact me .Please visit our webpage for more information on our activities and to volunteer:  www.coastsidedemocrats.org, and thank you for re-electing me,


Brigid O’Farrell, President


2008


Our Annual Fall Party succeeded beyond our wildest dreams!  Over 200 people exhibited a great deal of energy despite standing room only conditions, and enjoyed listening to Rep. Anna Eshoo, Rep Jackie Speier, former Senator Liz Figueroa, and other political figures. We are grateful to all who attended, the members who put so much work into making this event a success, including substantial financial support. 


The event was held at Half Moon Bay Brewery on Sunday, September 21, 2008, from 3PM to 6PM.


We sold enough tickets to the San Mateo Democratic Presidential Straw Poll to have a table there.


2007


At our Annual May Membership Meeting we reviewed this past year’s activities for Coastside Democrats. In the Fall, we sponsored a Health Insurance Forum and cosponsored the Energy Fair. Our September Campaign Potluck featured County Supervisor Rich Gordon as well as local Democratic candidates and we most recently hosted a forum for the 19th Assembly District race that was shown on MCTV and Montara Fog. Our outreach to younger voters got high school students involved in voter registration and the Energy Fair and we participated in two events with the HMB Junior Statesmen of America. Eight voter registration days registered @150 voters at Pumpkin Festival, Energy Fair, Dream Machines, and Safeway before the primaries. Our board planning retreat in January led to setting goals such as doubling our membership, registering 500 voters, and supporting candidate and issues forums. We are well on our way to achieving these goals, but need all of you to help. For more detail on these activities and those for past years see ACTIVITIES below.

On-going activities include:

  • Regular board meetings on the third Wednesday of every month to set plans, get updates on issues, county/state activities, etc., and you are all invited to participate.
  • Voter registration activities, including Pumpkin Festival
  • Immigrant outreach efforts
  • Endorsing candidates and propositions
  • Passing resolutions
  • Get out the vote initiatives
  • Precinct walking for elections
  • Coordinating with San Mateo Central Committee
  • Annual Membership Meeting Buffet, May
  • Campaign Kick-off, September
To see our brochure, CLICK HERE!

ACTIVITIES 2008

ACTIVITIES 2007

ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING--May

The Annual May Membership Meeting was held at Casey’s Café. The food, drink, company, and political discussion were all terrific. Our Ballot Measure Forum was moderated by former State Senator Liz Figueroa. Kathee Tyson from the League of Women Voters presented the pros and cons of Propositions 98 and 99 on eminent domain, as well as Measure Q, the occupancy tax increase for HMB. Member Merrill Bobele answered questions about Measure O for the Parks and the club passed a resolution endorsing the measure. On the business side, we unanimously elected the nominated slate of new officers and passed the proposed bylaws amendments. The Treasurer reported slightly over $1,000 in the bank as we plan our activities for November and the President summarized the past year’s activities. There was an update on the status of AB 1991 and the Beechwood settlement in Half Moon Bay. We decided to continue following the issue carefully, but not to take any action now beyond the letter of concern sent earlier.
Special Thanks were extended to all of our volunteers: past board members Mike Ferreira, Pam Fisher, and Urs Willimann; Dennis Paul for organizing the Health Forum and Energy Fair; Emily Berk for web page updating, Cheri Parr for design of our new brochure, Cheri and Letty Dolmatz for new voter registration signs, Diane Brosin for coordinating our 12th Congressional District efforts, and Avis Boutell for maintaining our membership lists, mailings, and nominating committee work. Dennis Paull and Brent Turner have also been doing great work on voting machine issues. Thanks also to the entire Executive Board, new and old.

19TH ASSEMBLY DISTRICT CANDIDATE FORUM

Democratic Candidates for the 19th Assembly District June 3 Primary

Jerry Hill, Richard Holober, Gina Papan
Moderated by the League of Women Voters
Thursday, May 1, 2008, 7-9 PM, Community United Methodist Church, Social Hall, 777 Miramontes St., Half Moon Bay
The debate was well attended and could be seen during the following week on both MCTV and Montara Fog.

ACTIVITES 2007

Annual Campaign Potluck

Thanks to all of you who made our Annual Potluck such a success! For those of you who weren't able to join us, and there were a lot of competing events, we had about 50 people plus kids. Food and Company were all fabulous.
Supervisor Rich Gordon responded to a wide range of questions including health insurance, affordable housing, incorporation, water issues, and fixing Ocean Blvd. Andrew Byrnes, Chair of the San Mateo Democratic Party, talked about efforts to stop a ballot initiative now circulating to change the allocation of votes in the Electoral College that would disadvantage California. He encouraged everyone to participate in the first ever 2008 Presidential Straw Poll for San Mateo County on October 21.

We were joined by several more elected officials including Jim Grady, HMB City Council, Gina Papan, Millbrae City Council, Jim Larimer, Coastside County Water District, School Board Members John Moseley and Jolanda Schreurs, Montara Water and Sanitary District Board Members Kathryn Slater-Carter and Scott Boyd.

Several candidates also introduced themselves. For November 6, standing for reelection are Jim Larimer, Scott Boyd, and Kathryn Slater-Carter. Running for the Midcoast Community Council are Deborah Lardie and Neil Merrilees. For the May Primary, the 19th District Assembly seat is open because our current Assembly member Gene Mullin is term limited. Gina Papan is running for that position and others spoke on behalf of Supervisor Jerry Hill and Community College Trustee Richard Holober who are also candidates, but were unable to join us. 2008 Presidential Campaign buttons were available and Eric Schiller briefly spoke to the Send Al Gore Your 2 Cents campaign.

Report on ECO ENERGY EXPO and FREE Coastside Eco-Energy Expo

Was held on Saturday, Sep 15th at Half Moon Bay High School
Vendor displays, presentations on green building, energy and climate
Local Non-profits describing their activities, Food and good cheer

Solar Home Tour from 2 pm to 5 pm.


We saw the electric meters spinning backwards
www.eco-energy-expo.org

Report on Health Care Forum, June, 2007

on Saturday, June 30, 2007 from 2:00 to 4:30 pm, at 110 Higgins Canyon Rd, Half Moon Bay (the Depot near the Johnson House) ...

Fed up with 10-15% annual health insurance inflation?

Learn about the major proposals for reforming California's health insurance system.
We will have health care reform . . . the momentum is building.
-- Arnold Schwarzenegger
a forum on

Health Insurance Reform from a Coastside Perspective

Panelists

Maya Altman, Executive Director of Health Plan of San Mateo, expert on countywide insurance programs

Claudia Chaufan MD, PhD, Board Member of California Physicians Alliance

State Senator Leland Yee, member of the Senate Health, Human Services, and Appropriations committees

Moderated by Rich Watters from Health Care for All

Major Plans explained

  • Governor Schwarzenegger's proposal would mandate private coverage for all adults with a employer-financed fund to cover low-income Californians;
  • Sen Kuehl's SB 840, a universal, single-payer plan, would eliminate private insurance coverage;
  • Sen Perata's SB 48 would require businesses to spend a % of payroll on employees' health insurance or pay into a state fund to expand services;
  • Asm Nunez's AB 8 would re-engineer the existing private health insurance system to expand coverage while containing costs.
Local impacts explored

What will it cost you to cover your family? What benefits will be available? Will everyone be covered? How will undocumented workers get treated? Will children's health care improve? Will provider income go up or down? How will referrals work? Could crowding and delays increase? How will new health care improvements be funded? Will services improve? Who will pay for prescription drugs?

Pumpkin Festival Voter Registration

Here are the results of our Pumpkin Festival Voter Registration tabling:

County                 Num            Dem      Rep      DTS      AIP      Green
San Mateo            27               19         1            6            1         0
Santa Clara           20               18         1            1            0         0
San Francisco       16               13         0            2            0         1
Alameda               8                  6          1            1            0         0
Contra Costa        2                  1          0            1            0         0
others                   7                  7          0            0            0         0
______________________________________________________
Totals                  80                64         3            11          1         1

Of the 27 San Mateo Co registrations, 9 were from the Coastside. Another 20 voters were registered by the Obama Volunteers and on Sunday we were joined by Volunteers for Edwards.  We collected $40 from our buttons but ran low. We probably could have gotten at least double the donations if we had double the number available. Special thanks to the volunteers who helped staff our booth:  Barbara Lohman, Ric Lohman, Judy Zilber, Marta Jacobsen, Deborah Ruddock, Antoinette Wrubel, Dennis Paul, Urs Willimann, and high school student, Cody Sullivan.  In all, a most successful weekend.
 
San Mateo County Democratic Straw Poll
 
The Straw Poll was great.  Thanks to all of you who bought tickets and especially those who were able to be there and vote.  Front page of the San Mateo County Times reported that "With the festive air of a football rally, more than 1,000 eager Democrats packed into Oak Hall."   Edwards took the top spot with 29% of the vote. Presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich brought the crowd to their feet and secured second place, followed by Obama, Clinton, Gore, Richardson, and then Biden, Dodd and Gravel.  Get the full story at
Click here: Inside Bay Area - Edwards tops San Mateo straw polling
 
Also on the front page was our own Judy Zilber and her son Jeremy, complete with pictures.  Jeremy was selling signed copies of his book, Why Mommy is a Democrat.  He "imagined a nation of parents using the book to teach their children tolerance, fairness and equality--values he had associated with the Democratic Party since childhood."  "Judy Zilber, a member of the Coastside Democrats," said that "If her children came to support the Democratic Party, it's because of the values they learned at home:  honesty, trust in yourself and your judgment, respecting people's rights to live in the way they see fit according to the Constitution."
Congratulations Jeremy and Judy.  For the complete story see:
 
Click here: Inside Bay Area - Author stands up for Democratic values   and visit the web page:
 
Click here: Why Mommy is a Democrat
 
Our banner and brochures looked great and we got a new member!  This was a very successful fund raiser for the Central Committee and we are now in good shape to get a Campaign Office up and running in 2008.

ACTIVITIES 2006

Like Democrats across the country, our club had a good 2006. Coastside Democrats now has over 100 members. This past year we registered over 160 people to vote and worked in both the primary and general elections to inform our members about candidates and propositions. We developed, printed and distributed over 3,000 copies of our own Coastside campaign flyer for the November election. We walked precincts, phone banked at the San Mateo headquarters, put up yard signs, and monitored the new voting machines.
We held 11 meetings, with speakers on issues of concern to the Coastside, as well as candidates running for office and our elected officials. These included the annual membership meeting and buffet dinner at Casey's Cafe and the fall campaign kick off family potluck with Assemblymember Gene Mullin and several candidates for school board. We endorsed candidates and propositions and kept you updated on all of this through our emails and web page.


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