Category Archives: LGBTQI+ Community

LGBTQI+ Community, Meeting notices

Our Next Meeting – Tuesday, June 11

MEMBER MEETING
TUESDAY, JUNE 11, 2024, 7:00 PM

ZOOM MEETING

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Dear members and supporters—

June is Pride Month!

In honor of Pride Month, our speaker will be Will McGarvey (pictured right), who describes himself as an out every-gender-loving man who has turned his attention from the religious sector toward the plight of his country’s LGBTQ+ community.

Will now serves as the Exec. Director of the Solano Pride Center.  He served on the Board of the Rainbow Community Center in Concord for six years, and was instrumental in helping change the policy around ordination and marriage equality in the PCUSA, and protecting marriage equality here in California. Will is also a fierce advocate in the fight against climate change.

For Pride Month, Solano Pride Center has organized several events that you should put on your calendar, including Suisun City’s first-ever Pride Event this Saturday, June 2, from 12 to 5pm – have weekend plans?  You do now!  Then save the date of Sunday, June 23 for Pride in the Park Vacaville.

For those of us in Benicia, the Rellik Tavern is hosting a Sunday Funday event in collaboration with Benicia’s LGBTQIA Network, and City Hall will raise the Pride Flag at 11am on Monday, June 3 (observers are welcome). Later on, there will be a Pride Night Mixer at Baxter’s on First Street on June 21.  (PDB is not affiliated with any of these organizations or businesses, nor did they ask us to promote these events; we’re simply spreading the good word.)

Membership Vote: Join the Solano Together Coalition?

We will also be voting on whether or not to support Solano Together and oppose the East Solano Plan (formerly California Forever).  We will have minimal debate on this since we already did a program on it.

If you missed the Progressive Democrats of Benicia’s meeting with California Forever and Solano Together, or want to watch it again, we are pleased to share that the recording is still available via our website.  You can click the link here or image below to be redirected to the page on our website with instructions for viewing.

The meeting was great with an interchange of ideas between both sides.  Our speakers were Gabriel Metcalf, Head of Planning for California Forever; Chris Rico, Solano County Economic Development President/CEO; Sadie Wilson, Solano Together/Director of Planning and Research for Greenbelt Alliance; and Bob Berman, Solano Together/Chair of Solano County Orderly Growth Committee.

The participants presented the problems that California Together may address and may create.  Christopher Cabaldon, who is running for State Senate in this district and was an audience member that night, also provided information about the problems of having an initiative also be a development agreement and how in his opinion that is not possible.

Terry Mollica will also provide a brief update about the status of the Benicia Industrial Safety Ordinance.

Renew Your Membership, Vote in Upcoming Endorsements

I want to remind everyone that it is not too late to renew your membership.  This is an election year and we hope to have a robust program around the election.  Only people who have been members for 60 days prior to the endorsement in question are allowed to vote.  We could do our first endorsements in August.  The mayor, city council and school board will all have open seats so it is important you join up in time to vote for your preferred candidates.  Visit our membership page on our website for more information.

Zoom Details

The link and sign-in information for most PDB membership meetings in 2024 is below. For the most part you can use this link, meeting ID, and passcode through 2024.  

Topic: PDB General Meeting
Time: June 11, 2024 07:00 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86273821941?pwd=WktDazJLaTJHVTBPNWd3dzlXaGd2Zz09

Meeting ID: 862 7382 1941
Passcode: 528756

One tap mobile
+16699006833,,86273821941#,,,,*528756# US (San Jose)
+16694449171,,86273821941#,,,,*528756# US

We look forward to seeing you Tuesday, April 9 at 7:00 pm via Zoom!

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!