Green Party of Connecticut State Central Committee Meeting
June 12, 2019
Portland Waverly Center, 7 Waverly Ave, Portland, CT
In attendance: Fairfield County: David Bedell, Rolf Maurer, Cora Santaguida (stacker); Hartford County: Barbara Barry, Mike DeRosa (GPCT Co-Chair), Bill Glickman, Peter Goselin (GPCT Co-Chair), Martha Kelly, Chris Reilly, Jeff Russell, Mary Sanders; New London: Mirna Martínez (vibes), Bud McAllister, Bob Stuller (GPCT Treasurer), Ronna Stuller (GPCT Secretary, recorder); Shoreline: Lynne Charles, Owen Charles, David Younng; Waterford: not represented; Windham: Doug Lary, Cassandra Martineau, Amy Vas Nunes. At Large: Michelle L Bicking (GPCT Go-Chair, facilitator), Tina Campbell, Cheryl Curtiss, Tom Grant, Vic Lancia, Tim McKee (timekeeper), Eugene Woloszyn, Susan Ye. Guest: Greg Longo, Jr.
Start time 7:18pm; quorum was met.
1. Minutes
a. Barbara moved to defer approval of the minutes of January 9, March 27, and May 18 meetings until next month, 2nd by Mike. After a period of discussion, Peter called the question, 2nd by Cassandra; motion passed 13 – 7 with 6 abstentions. Members are asked to save their copies and read them prior to our next meeting.
b. Barbara moved to table the EC minutes until next month, 2nd by Mike; motion failed 9 – 14 with 2 abstentions. Jeff moved to receive the May EC minutes with the date corrected to May 30 (instead of May 28), 2nd by Owen. After some discussion, Ronna called the question, 2nd by Peter; May EC minutes were received as corrected by a vote of 13 – 10 with 3 abstentions. Mirna moved to accept the February and March EC minutes for the record, 2nd by Michelle; passed 15 – 6 with 5 abstentions.
c. Michelle suggested that we consider adopting a policy stating that minutes delayed by more than 2 meetings will be approved by default.
2. Treasurer’s report: Bob Stuller reported on the treasurer transition: (a) He and David Bedell are now on record with SEEC as Treasurer and Deputy Treasurer, respectively, and both have access to eCris; Chris Reilly is listed as Alternate Deputy. (b) A free account has been opened at Charter Oak Credit Union, with Bob and David listed, and the People’s account will be closed soon. (c) Online donations can now be accepted through Anedot. (d) The Federal account is still at People’s Bank, and Chris is continuing to file the FEC reports for now. Mary moved to accept the treasurer’s report, 2nd by Jeff; passed by consensus.
3. Chapter reports
Fairfield County: Cora visited the Venezuelan Embassy in solidarity. Rolf has been working to recruit candidates for local positions like Board of Education and Constable.
Hartford County: Mary Sanders is running for Court of Common Council, where there are 3 minority seats. Mike reported on the CT Peace & Solidarity Coalition, as well as a planned newsletter.
New London: The Greens will have an informational booth at Sailfest 7/14-15; other chapters are welcome to join us. Candidates are sought for Mayor, Council, and BOE.
Shoreline: No meeting in June. Candidate search for this year’s municipal elections has begun.
Waterford: No report.
Windham: Town Committee met on April 30 and elected officers: Chair – Jean de Smet, Vice Chair – Cassandra Martineau, Treasurer – Doug Lary, Deputy Treasurer – Sarah Winter, Secretary – Dagmar Noll. Cassandra is running for Board of Ed. The Windham Greens are partnering with NAACP and have held a meet-and-greet.
Other organizing: Amy is working on building a chapter in Windham and Tolland Counties. David is working to form an at-large chapter.
4. New business
a. Proposed policy amendment #1: Resolution on Privacy and Security
In the wake of concerns expressed at our Annual Meeting related to videotaping meetings, Peter researched the issue and shared his own concerns about lack of consent in light of political discussion and the potential to endanger some attendees. There was a lengthy discussion how to balance safety with transparency, as well as the possibility that we should separate business meetings from outreach opportunities. The value of being able to livestream or listen from home was also brought up. Discussion should be brought to chapters, and will continue at SCC at a later date.
b. Proposed policy on SCC Voting: Deferred to next meeting; members were informally asked to bring the proposal to their chapters for discussion.
c. 2019-20 Budget discussion deferred to next month.
d. Communication strategies: Ronna plans to open a MailChimp account for eblasts.
5. Green Party of the US
a. Representatives to GPUS standing committees: Ronna read the list of members who have volunteers to serve on committees. Mike moved to approve all volunteers on the list so far, 2nd by Cassandra; passed by consensus. The following members were approved: Accreditation: Barbara Barry, Tim McKee; Animal Rights: Megan Callaghan, Mary Lawrence, Mike Westerfield; Ballot Access: Mike DeRosa, Cora Santaguida; Coordinated Campaign: Barbara Barry (member), Ronna Stuller; Diversity: Mirna Martínez; Eco-Action: Mike Westerfield, Mary Sanders; Media: Rolf Maurer; Merchandising: Rolf Maurer; Peace Action: Mike DeRosa, Eugene Woloszyn, Vittorio Lancia; Platform: Tim McKee, Jeff Russell; Presidential Campaign: Barbara Barry, Tim McKee, Cora Santaguida: Banking & Monetary Reform: Mike DeRosa, Eugene Woloszyn.
Ronna will repeat the call for volunteers so we can approve more committee members next month. We will clarify with GPUS when the restart time for committee membership is; January 1 is likely.
b. The Annual National Meeting will be held in Salem MA July 25-29; several members from Connecticut are planning to attend and will report back next month.
6. Ronna moved to adjourn, 2nd by Bud; adjourned at 9:20pm.
Approved on November 13, 2019.