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Meeting Notes CfD Business Meeting, June 21, 2007 at the First United Methodist Church of Oneonta 1) The meeting was convened at 7 pm by facilitator Paddy Lane. In attendance were Nick Albaugh, Jonathan Collett, Norman Ehrlichman, Dave Grodsky, Paddy Lane, Ed Lentz, Jack Maier, Suzanne Miller, Alice Richardson, Joe Richardson, Stef Seifried and Walter vom Saal. 2) Special refreshments, provided by Suzanne and Walter in celebration of the successful effort to recruit signers and financial backers for the full-page “Enough!” ad (see #6 below), were enjoyed with thanks by all present. 3) The minutes of the May 17 business meeting, as posted on the web, were approved. 4) Treasurer's report: Treasurer Alice Richardson reported a $100 contribution by CfD to the Step it Up organizers to help defray costs of the global warming awareness activities in April, and receipts of $2137 by contributors to the “Enough” advertisement. The cost of the ad will be $1238 for inclusion in the Oneonta Daily Star and its subsidiary, the Cooperstown Crier, and approximately $850 for the Norwich Evening Sun. Since the funds in hand exceeded these costs, a strictly symbolic, celebratory passing of the hat among the attendees raised no further funds. 5) Events list: There was discussion regarding modification of the listserv or website to include a separate category that would include only announcements of upcoming public events; Paddy will look into the possibilty of using a separate listserv she knows of for events, Ed will investigate possibilities with the current Yahoo listserv. 6) What to do with our ad: There was much discussion regarding the citizens’ protest advertisement (“Enough..”), that will appear in the Daily Star on June 30 and the Cooperstown Crier on June 28. More than 600 signatures were obtained for this full-page ad, on petitions that will be duplicated and delivered to senators Clinton and Schumer and representatives Arcuri and Gillibrand. Since the response both in signatures and in contributions had exceeded all expectations, a vote was taken to place the ad in an additional paper, the Norwich Evening Sun, and was enthusiastically approved. Those responsible for the creation of the ad and the collection of signatures were warmly congratulated for their hard work. We will discuss other follow-up at our next meeting. 7) Ed Lentz presented a draft of a proposed constitution for CfD, drawn up by him primarily because a constitution was required for the organization to apply for 501(c)(4) tax-exempt status as a nonprofit. A number of modifications were suggested, and accepted as friendly amendments; the stipulation that there be a quorum requirement for business meetings at which binding CfD decisions are made was deleted by vote. A subsequent vote to approve the whole constitution, with suggested minor revisions, was passed, subject to posting on the listserv and finalization at the July meeting. Ed was thanked for his efforts! 8) Nick Albaugh presented the draft of a proposal to create an advisory Policy Committee to, among other things, record CfD’s positions on issues, identify emerging issues and concerns, and recommend positions on these consistent with CfD’s mission. The proposal was adopted by vote. Nick agreed to be convenor, and Ed Lentz and Paddy Lane volunteered to be committee members; Nick will canvass the listserv for other volunteers. 9) Ed and Paddy presented a draft job description of the position of CfD chairpersons. Minor modifications were agreed upon by those present (see attached). 10) Nominations: In accordance with the draft constitution now under consideration, the positions of co-chairpersons (2), secretary and treasurer are now open for nominations. At our upcoming meeting on July 19 we will choose a nominating committee to consult together on who to bring forward as a slate of candidates and to call people they would like to ask to serve. Stef Seifried expressed interest in being on the nominating committee. All are invited to consider whether they may wish to serve on this committee. 11) In the wake of the April annual meeting, which focused on reports from CfD’s active Work Groups, Ed Lentz suggested that the activities of these groups needed to be brought to members’ attention more regularly. His proposal to hold two CfD plenary meetings per year (fall and spring), reporting on Work Group activities, met with general approval but was not put to a vote. 12) Paddy Lane reported on a recent meeting with Representative Arcuri in Utica, at which both CfD and the Utica Move-On group discussed with him issues of concern. Paddy reported that members of our Health Care, Environmental, Iraq/Iran, and Election Reform groups made strong presentations, and that Arcuri “really listened” [a full report of this meeting has already been circulated on our listserv]. CfD members who attended had mixed reactions to the meeting, and are hopeful of future active interactions with Arcuri. 13) Very brief reports of Work Group activities were presented. The Health Care Group made a strong half-hour presentation to the Otsego County Board of Representatives advocating a national single payer health insurance system. Regarding the ongoing issue of voting machines, Dave Grodsky reported on a successful lobbying and phone call barrage in Albany in conjunction with the League of Women Voters which prevented weakening of NYS 2005 voting machine standards. A stealth amendment would have allowed any source code to remain proprietary and never be placed in escrow. 14) Paddy Lane called attention to an ACLU Day of Action on June 26 in Washington highlighting civil rights, habeas corpus and a return to the rule of law. A bus passing through Whitney Point will bring people from our area to Washington and back on the same day. The lively meeting adjourned at 9:15 pm. Joe Richardson, recorder
minutes amended and approved 7/19/07
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