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Meeting notices, Progressive Democrats of Benicia

Our Next Meeting – January 12, 2021 – Moving Into the New Year


Tuesday, Jan. 12, 7pm
Election of Officers &
Thinking about PDB 2021 Goals

Moving into the New Year – What’s Next…

Mark your calendar for our next general membership meeting on January 12, 7:00 – 8:30 pm via Zoom. Members will be voting to elect officers for 2021-2023, and then we’ll set up breakout rooms to talk in small groups about our PDB club, Benicia, and suggestions for PDB actions in the New Year.  (Zoom link to be sent later, and available on request via Contact Us.)

JANUARY 12th MEETING
  • PDB Officers elections. Current officers Ralph Dennis (Chair), Maggie Kolk (Secretary), Kathy Kerridge (Treasurer) are offering to continue their roles. Craig Snider, current Vice Chair, has declined to run. Nominations for any of these offices will be accepted up to an including from the floor on Jan. 12th. Please submit your nominations through the Contact button on our web site at progressivedemocratsofbenicia.org/contact/ .
  • Discussion with members on plans for 2021. This part of the program will include breakout rooms so members can talk in small groups. Then, we’ll reconvene together for a review of the groups’ discussions.
    • We (the steering committee) really want to hear the thoughts of members – what you’re thinking about these days, what looks important to you in ’21, and maybe some thoughts on what and how the club should focus its attention. So, bring your thinking caps and gumption and share with us!!!
GEORGIA SENATE SEATS

Yes I know, you thought we were done with elections. But both Senate seats in Georgia are in runoff elections on January 5, 2021.  And there’s a lot of opportunity to help in getting Democratic candidates elected – Jon Ossoff and Rev. Raphael Warnock – which would give the Democrats a majority in the Senate (counting the VP’s vote in ties). Here are two links where you can provide some help:

  • CA Democratic Party (CADEM) – phone banks: https://www.mobilize.us/cadems/event/363063/ .
  • Vote Forward – The VF letter writing is complete, but you can still sign up for phoning, texting, and even volunteering to be a poll watcher!  From the VF website>> “With our 2020 letter writing campaigns now completed, here are some actions we recommend for the weeks ahead to help strengthen democracy in Georgia: Phone and/or Text Bank: Join initiatives led by organizations on the ground such as Fair Fight Action and the New Georgia Project and help reach out to Georgians ahead of the January 5th elections.  Become a Poll Worker: Power the Polls makes it easy to sign up to become a poll worker and ensure there are enough people to staff voting locations across the country. This opportunity is for those who live in Georgia.”  Source: https://votefwd.org/posts/Georgia-Runoff-campaigns GEORGIA CAMPAIGNS COMPLETE!
ASSEMBLY DISTRICT ELECTION MEETINGS (ADEM)

This is important stuff! An opportunity to elect progressives as Democratic party delegates who represent Benicia and Vallejo to the California Democratic Party (CADEM)

  • Democratic-registered voters in our Assembly District 14 will elect 14 delegates to the CA Democratic Party (seven women and seven non-female identified).  Among other activities, these delegates elect the CADEM party chair (upcoming April 2021), and vote on the party’s platform and positions on issues taken by CADEM.
  • This year, the vote for candidates is mail-in ballot only, and you must request your ballot by Jan. 11th.
  • AND, before requesting your ballot, first you must register to vote for the ADEM election. You do that here: https://ademelections.com/?isCandidate=False. If you have any questions, just let us know.  So remember: Jan. 11th is the deadline, and you’ve got to register first. We’ll send out via email to members the slate of candidates we’ll be voting for as soon as the slate is available.
Ralph Dennis, PDB Chair

I sure hope to see you on Zoom on Jan. 12th!  PDB’s membership just grew to 101 heading into 2021! During the course of this COVID-dominated year, we’ve been having 40 or so members join our zoom meetings. For Jan. 12th, let’s see if we can’t double that number – to vote for your officers and to talk about your club and our future in Benicia!  (Zoom link to be sent later, and available on request at Contact Us.)

PDB Election Eligibility

Eligible members may nominate and vote in the election of officers. (An “eligible” member is one who is either new and a member for at least 60 days, or a past member who has renewed dues to become current. Dues are due on January 1 and payable by January 31 of each calendar year.  Dues are only $20/year, payable on our website.)  Nominations can be submitted through the Contact button on the PDB website.  You can also let us know if you have questions about the status of your membership.

Air monitoring, Air quality, Benicia City Council

Benicia staff report on air monitoring – to be discussed at January 5 Council meeting

Benicia Independent, by Roger Straw, December 30, 2020

The City of Benicia released its City Council agenda for January 5, including an important discussion of air monitoring in our refinery town.

Local environmental activists (including me) are hailing this effort on the part of City staff as a show of responsiveness to years of citizen requests for more and better access to real-time air quality information.

Your thoughts are being sought by Benicia elected officials and staff.  Please read the staff report, and plan to attend the zoom Council meeting on January 5.

Staff Report: STATUS UPDATE: Benicia Air Monitoring and Improvements to the City’s Community Emergency Notifications

Agenda: (including instructions for virtual attendance and how to comment) Benicia City Council virtual meeting January 5, AGENDA

Napa/Solano Central Labor Council, Vallejo Education Association

Vallejo Education Association “outs” Jon Riley and quits the right-wing Labor Council

Vallejo Times Herald, Letters, December 13, 2020 (as posted in the Benicia Independent)

A matter of values

On Nov. 12 at our representative council, the Vallejo Education Association unanimously voted to leave the Napa Solano Labor Council effective immediately. This was not an easy decision — we have collaborated on many projects and campaigns in the past but we have come to determine that the NSCLC no longer shares our values. Our values, as stated by the California Teachers’ Association Mission Statement, are “to protect and promote the well-being of its members; to improve the conditions of teaching and learning; to advance the cause of free, universal, and quality public education for all students; to ensure that the human dignity and civil rights of all children and youth are protected; and to secure a more just, equitable, and democratic society.

Over the past few years, the VEA and the NSCLC and its executive director did not see eye to eye on many issues, including supporting politicians that advocate for charter schools, pushing to endorse a candidate who stated they would cross a union picket line, the use of misogynistic and homophobic language by its executive director, condoning attacks on the Black Lives Matter movement by member institutions and seeking to discipline those who criticized police and fire unions when they publicly and privately attacked our CTA members who ran for public office along with many other issues.

Although we have parted from the Napa Solano Labor Council, the Vallejo Education Association remains committed to supporting and engaging its members on issues of social justice and improving the lives of our students and teachers, as our students’ learning conditions are our working conditions. We will welcome partnerships and collaborations with any institutions that remain committed to improving quality public education for our students.

Steven Quinlan
Former Trustee, Napa Solano Labor Council
Political Action Chair Vallejo Education Association