1 2 3 Draft Minutes Linn County Democratic Central Committee May 23, 2017 7:00 PM 4 5 6 Officers Present: Bret Nilles, Valerie Smith, Sam Gray. Sarah Stutler, Laura Geary Bell, Michael McGree 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Actions taken at the May 24, 2018, meeting: 1. Central Committee Member Andrew Leonard was elected Treasurer of Linn County Democrats. 2. Motion to approve the Draft Minutes of the April 24 2018 meeting of the Linn County Democratic Central Committee as amended was moved, seconded, and carried on a voice vote. 3. Motion to approve the April 2017 Treasurer s Report was moved, seconded, and carried on a voice vote. 4. Joey Zahorick (CR 34; Member) and Wendy Cooper (Alternate, TGRA) were elected to the Central Committee on a voice vote. I. Call to Order a. A regular monthly meeting of the Linn County Democratic Central Committee was held on May 23, 2018, at the Hiawatha Community Center in Hiawatha, Iowa. Chair Bret Nilles called the meeting to order at 7:04 PM, and Michael Page 1 of 7
26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 McGree, Recording Secretary, was present. A quorum was present. II. Pledge of Allegiance a. Chair Bret Nilles led the Central Committee in a recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance. III. Recognition of Guests, Elected Officials, and Candidates a. Chair Nilles welcomed elected officials in attendance i. Iowa General Assembly 1. Sen. Rob Hogg, Sen. Liz Mathis, Rep. Staed, Rep. Abby Finkenauer ii. Municipal 1. Cedar Rapids Councilor Ashley Vanorney, Ely Councilor Kay Hale iii. Linn County 1. Supervisor Brent Oleson, Supervisor Ben Rodgers, Supervisor Stacey Walker, County Attorney Jerry Vander Sanden b. Chair Niles recognized candidates for Elective Office in attendance. i. Tracy Ehlert (HD 20), Scott Foens (HD 68), Eric Gjerde (HD 67), Abby Finkenaur (IA 1 st District Rep.), Thomas Heckroth (IA 1 st Page 2 of 7
51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 District Rep.), George Ramsey (IA 1 st District Rep.), Courtney Rowe (IA 1 st District Rep) c. Chair Niles recognized other notable guests. i. Amb. Swat Dandikar (Former US Director, Asian Development Bank; Former IA legislator) d. Candidates for office and elected official addressed the Assembly. IV. Secretary s Report: Co-Secretaries Laura Geary Bell & Mike McGree a. Seating of Alternates i. The following Alternate Committeepersons were seated for the duration of the meeting: 1. Jon Fisher (CR01), Lori Martins (CR07), Helane Golden (CR14), Sunny Story (CR14); Debora Engmark (CR18), Andrew Leopold (CR19), Dale Evans (CR20), Rachel Greene (CR24), Courtney Rowe (CR25), Laura Kline (CR37); Nicholas Maybanks (CR39), Brent Oleson (MR05), Noreen Tonkin (MR06); Mary Burke (TFRA); Robert Zahorick (TFRA) b. Approval of Minutes i. The April 23 2018 Draft Minutes of the Linn County Democratic Central Committee were approved as amended on a voice vote. Page 3 of 7
78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 c. Resignations i. None d. Nominations i. Committeeperson 1. Joe Zahorick (CR34) ii. Alternate 1. Wendy Cooper (TGRA) iii. Election of nominees 1. The persons named above were elected to their respective offices on the Central Committee on a voice vote. V. Treasurer s Report : Treasurer Andrew Leonard a. Approval of monthly report i. The Treasurer s Report for April 2018 was approved as distributed on a voice vote. ii. Cash on hand: $38,035.42 b. Pass the hat i. This fundraising activity generated $291 in donations from the Assembly. VI. Finance Chair: Sarah Stutler a. Ms. Stutler reported on planning for upcoming Linn County fundraising events. VII. Committee Updates Page 4 of 7
102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 a. Affirmative Action: Committee Chair Lindsey Ellickson i. Mrs. Ellickson reported that she continues to attend constituency caucus meetings to increase her understanding of issue and initiative of significance to these caucuses. ii. Ms. Ellickson also discussed the benefits of caucus membership. b. Disability Caucus: Caucus Chair Catherine Crist i. Ms. Crist reported on accessibility issues as they pertain to the State Convention. 1. She cited Linn County s Convention as a model for the state. ii. Ms. Crist stated that volunteers were needed to act as Accessibility Assistant for the State Convention. c. Labor Caucus: Joey Zahorick i. Labor Caucus meets the 2 nd Tuesday of each month at IBEW local 4015 at 5 P. d. Veterans Caucus: Caucus Chair Kevin Techau i. Mr. Techau reported on continuing efforts to organize the Linn County Veterans Caucus as a standing constituency caucus. e. Stonewall Caucus: Caucus Chair Harvey Ross Page 5 of 7
129 130 131 132 133 134 i. Mr. Ross reported that Stonewall Caucus will meet on the 2 nd Wednesday in June and July. ii. Pridefest is coming up July 7. iii. Mr. Ross announced he will resign as Chair of Stonewall Caucus after PrideFest. 135 VIII. New Business/Announcements 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 a. Primary Election June 5 i. Kevin Burgess, IDPP 1 st District Organizer, reported on activities relating to the Primary election. ii. Valerie Smith reported on absentee voting voter registration, and voter ID requirements. b. Additional items of New Business: i. Matthew Clay reported on an initiative to audit the State Central Committee election held at 1 st District Convention. ii. Ashley Vanorney provided event announcements and spoke about decorum in campaigns. iii. Dale Todd spoke about City Council service and an upcoming event at the History Center on June 2. IX. Old Business a. 2018 Parades Page 6 of 7
154 155 156 157 158 159 160 i. Angie Spink provided updates to the schedule of upcoming parades. 1. The Linn County Democrats Float will be part of these parades X. Adjournment a. The meeting adjourned at 8:43 PM Page 7 of 7