Minutes, 6th District Democratic Committee

Meeting, 7 p.m., November 19, 2013

Room T112, Tech Building, BRCC, Weyers Cave VA

Present: Elaine Owens, Dorothy Blackwell, Elise Dee Beraru, Karina Gerald (guest), Sandra Price-Stroble, Peggy K. Raines, Linda Shuler, Tom Mall, Warren Campbell, Cliff Garstang, Laura Kleiner, Howard Brown, Ned Kalle, Bill Ney, Leslie Ney (guest), Vivian Sanchez-Jones, Joe Fitzgerld, Ron Good, Linda Good (guest), Bruce Elder (guest)

  1. The meeting was called to order by Joe Fitzgerald, Chair. The committee approved the agenda for the meeting and the minutes of the previous meeting.
  2. Treasurer’s Report: The federal account contains approximately $ . The state account, which is used this year, contains $ . (The final minutes distributed at the next meeting will contain the exact amounts in the Treasurer’s Report.)
  3. Officer’s Reports: Vivian Sanchez-Jones reported that her committee is planning a May fundraiser, either a Derby Bash or a Preakness Bash.
  4. City-County Reports:Bruce Elder, who is seeking the Democratic nomination to oppose Bob Goodlatte in November 2014, spoke briefly. He noted that three top issues in 2014 will be immigration reform, fracking, and transportation. Goodlatte’s problems next year include Sen. Mark Warner being up for re-election and the fact that Goodlatte may face a primary challenge by noamnesty.org. To follow Bruce’s campaign for the nomination, one can go to bruceelder.com.
  5. Sixth District YDs:Several Virginians were appointed as national directors. Isaac Sarvis was appointed deputy chief of staff. Attempts are being made to organize a club at Mary Baldwin College.
  6. Outreach Committee: There will be a report from this committee following the December 2013 meeting of the State Central Committee.
  7. Resolutions Committee: There will be five resolutions before the Central Committee in December. Two are relatedto anti-fracking; one opposes uranium mining in Virginia; one is about immigration; the last concerns filling open judicial positions.
  8. Business Committee: Local chairs are receiving information from a NoVA group. The business caucus will meet at the December Central Committee meeting.
  9. Herring Document Request: The Mark Herring campaign wants to get photographs of machine tapes and the official statements of election results. Local chairs are being asked to co-ordinate this effort.
  10. Convention Planning: A motion was made and passed, with two dissenting votes, that the Democratic candidate for the House of Representatives in 2014 be chosen through a convention, rather than a primary. Factoring into the decision was the cost of preparing for a primary when, as of now, only one candidate has expressed interest in running. The deadline for candidates to file for the nomination is March 2014. Filing Fee: A motion was passed unanimously to make the filing fee for the 2014 Democratic nomination $3,500. It was explained that no motion can be entertained to return the filing fee to whoever receives the nomination until the money has actually been received by the committee. Other Convention News: The next step for the convention committee is to find venues that meet the needs that have been identified. Dorothy Blackwell remarked that one fundraising possibility will be jeopardized if the convention is held far from Lexington.
  11. Local Committee Reorganization: Reorganization will begin December 7. Locals have four weeks after that date to reorganize. Most locals have already set the date for reorganization. The locals should have notified the DPVA of the reorganization date by November 1, but some have not. The Chair reminded the committee that locals now can publish their Notice of Caucus by website and email, but they still must send a press release to their local newspaper. If any of the 19 locals have more questions, they can contact Joe Fitzgerald.
  12. New Business and Announcements: The December 7, 2013, Central Committee Meeting will take the place of the monthly 6th District meeting. At the meeting in Newport News, there will be a breakfast with “interesting guests.” Cost is $20.