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California Legislature, Endorsements, Meeting notices

Our Next Meeting – Wednesday, September 13

MEMBER MEETING
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2023, 7:00 PM

ZOOM MEETING

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There is a hotly contested State Senate race this year to replace Bill Dodd. We have the fantastic opportunity to hear from and ask questions of all three candidates at our next meeting on Wednesday (note the day), September 13, at 7 pm. Many of you met the candidates at our July Garden Party.

This will be a more formal meeting with each candidate presenting separately, followed by a time for us to ask questions.  The candidates (in alphabetical order) are Christopher Cabaldon, former Mayor of West Sacramento, Jackie Elward, City Council Member of Rohnert Park, and Dr. Rozzana Verder-Aliga, Vice-Mayor of Vallejo.

 

From left to right: Christopher Cabaldon, Jackie Elward, & Rozzana Verder-Aliga

The candidates have answered a few questions in writing to give you more background before this meeting:

State Senate Race 2024:
Candidate Questions & Answers

 

Please read through them. We want to be able to really zero in on their responses to these questions and use this meeting for your more specific questions.

After the meeting, we plan to use our Google Group to discuss the candidates before we have our endorsement vote.  We will have our endorsement vote a week or so after our candidate meeting, and we will most likely run it through our website.  In the primary only the top two candidates will advance, so our endorsement is important.  The top two will likely be from this group.  Please make sure your dues are paid, as only current members can vote.  

We will also hear briefly about the Save our Streets initiative that is currently gathering signatures. You can sign at the Farmer’s Market for the next few weeks.

Finally, we will vote as a club on whether or not to send a letter in support of Solano County boards and commissions.

Check Out the United Dems Candidate Interviews

The United Democrats of Southern Solano have already held in-depth, hour-long interviews with Jackie Elward and Christopher Cabaldon.  The recordings of these interviews are available on their Facebook Page.  Their last interview will be with Rozzana Verder-Aliga and will take place on Wednesday, September 6 at 7pm.  Everyone is welcome to attend and we will share the link when it is available.

An endorsement from the Progressive Dems is important both to candidates and to our club, and there may not be unanimity in our membership regarding who we support. Watching these interviews in advance, reading the questionnaires when we send them out and seeing all three on the same night will help you make an informed decision.

Zoom Sign-In

Our Zoom meeting details are below.  Our Zoom link and sign-in details will be the same through October if you would like to save them to your calendar.

Join PDB Zoom Meeting:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82362109045?pwd=bG9SMzE3RnA5VlJWeXhUMWhUNjk5Zz09

Meeting ID: 823 6210 9045
Passcode: 039610
One tap mobile
+16699006833,,82362109045#,,,,*039610# US (San Jose)
+16694449171,,82362109045#,,,,*039610# US

Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kdtJHvmFU6

Don’t miss this important meeting!

See you on Zoom, Wednesday, September 13 at 7:00 PM! 

 

Progressive Democrats of Benicia

Response to Untrue Allegation in Recent Media

There have been recent allegations that PDB was somehow responsible for having a local resident “cancelled” and fired from her job. This is untrue. I want people to know the truth. Here is how I responded to requests from the media and here are the facts.

The resident’s allegations that the Progressive Democrats as an organization had anything to do with her firing are untrue. As an organization, we did not write any letters or contact her employer. The letter that was written to a local paper was not written by a member. A letter to her employer was written by a member, but under her own name. We do not require our members to seek club approval before exercising their free speech rights and we do not control our members’ activities.

This club was not consulted and did not approve of any letters regarding the resident. In short, the Progressive Democrats of Benicia had nothing to do with her being fired. Put simply: we did not fire this person, her employer did, using their own internal guidelines, which we did not seek to influence, nor do we even have access to.

The Progressive Democrats of Benicia do firmly support LGBTQ+ rights and recently had a speaker about the current threats and attacks on that community. The resident’s website promotes the views of the American College of Pediatrics, which has been labelled a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. As a club, we believe people need to know the truth, and the truth is we had nothing to do with the resident’s firing. But we wish she would not promote hate groups on her website.

Please feel free to contact us at [email protected] if you have questions.

Alcohol & Drug Advisory Board (ADAB), LGBTQI+ Community, Meeting notices, Solano County

Meeting Reflections – August 8, 2023

MEETING REFLECTIONS
AUGUST 8, 2023


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Our August general membership meeting was held on Tuesday, August 8, 2023, at 7pm, via Zoom.

Agenda:

  • Call to Order
  • Quorum
  • Treasurer’s Report
  • Acknowledgements/Announcements
  • What are Advisory Boards/Commissions?
    • Ramon Castellblanch, Ph.D. ED ADAB
    • Monica Brown, Solano Co. Supervisor, Dist. 2
  • Jonathan Cook, ED Solano Pride Center
  • Endorsement Poll – membership
  • Wrap Up – Next Meeting 9/13 at 7:00 pm

Announcements

  • Mayor Steve Young reported on:
    • City Council appointed Mario Giuliani as City Manager
    • the City Council meeting on August 15th – topics to be discussed: shutting off water for non-payment; resolution in opposition to SB 532 on bridge toll increases
    • Sept. 5th meeting: two-step request to drop Wells Fargo as City’s bank
    • Concern about Flannery Assoc. buying up land around Travis Air Force Base
  • Supervisory Brown gave a quick report on today’s board meeting
  • PDB is looking for members to join the ByLaws Subcommittee and the Steering Committee
  • United Democrats of Solano County are holding in-depth, hour-long interviews with each state senate candidate. Recordings of these interviews will be made available on their Facebook page.
    • August 9 – District 3 Senate Candidate  Christopher Cabaldon, former mayor of West Sacramento
    • Sept. 6 – District 3 Senate Candidate Rozzana Verder-Aliga, Vice-Mayor of Vallejo

Program

We had a discussion about the Advisory Boards and Commissions in Solano County. Maggie Kolk described the role played by the County boards and commissions.  Supervisor Monica Brown and Alcohol and Drug Advisory Board (ADAB) Chair Rámon Castellblanch, Ph.D. discussed the future of the boards. Both fielded questions.

Steering committee member Jack Kolk shared more about the PDB Google Group and why you should sign up to join it.

Our featured speaker was Johnathan Cook, Executive Director of the Solano Pride Center.  He described the meeting he attended in Vacaville organized by a conservative group speaking out against recognizing June as Pride Month and against raising the Pride flag.  He also spoke about:

  • the numerous anti-LGBTQ+ bills introduced in state legislatures across the country in 2023.
  • AB 1314 mandating that teachers “out” students to their parents. Solano Pride Center opposes this bill.
  • Similar battles going on in school districts throughout the state.
  • HR 734 banning trans and intersex students from participating in sports. Solano Pride Center opposes this bill.
  • AB 957 introduced by Assemblymember Lori Wilson: TGI (Trans Gender-Expansive Intersex) Youth Empowerment Act seeks to update the Family Code allowing judges to take into consideration in custody hearings a parent’s or guardian’s  acceptance of a child’s gender identity. Solano Pride Center supports this bill.

Membership Poll

The membership poll favored voting on which candidate to endorse via the PDB website.

Here is the link to the video recording of this important meeting! If asked, enter the passcode:   %!gQaHZ9

Sept. Meeting Date Moved for State Senate Endorsements

Our September meeting will be on Wednesday, September 13 to accommodate our speakers.  We will be hearing from all three candidates who are running to replace Bill Dodd in the State Senate.

We will offer members an opportunity to vote on which candidate to endorse via the PDB website.  The bylaws state “New Members shall be entitled to vote on all Club matters sixty (60) days after payment of dues. Existing members, upon payment of membership renewal dues, shall be eligible immediately to vote on all Club matters.”

In other words, if you haven’t yet renewed your membership, please do so as soon as possible to ensure you are eligible to vote on the endorsements in September.

An endorsement from the Progressive Dems is important both to candidates and to our club, and there may not be unanimity in our membership regarding who we support.

Don’t miss this important meeting!