In

May 2017 Monthly Meeting Minutes

  1. The meeting was called to order by Stark at 9:10 am at the WDM Public Library.
  2. Attendees: Duane and Mary Ann Ahrens, Dianna Baker Hoye, David Ball, Claire Celsi, Angela Connolly, Victor Dutchuk, Joe Fulford, Rebecca Kmett, Mike Lipsman, Rosemary Stark, Ivan Webber, Phylis Womble,Al Womble, Matthew Monroe and Teresa Greenfield.  Dan Fessler (Treasurer) was out of town and excused.  Each attendee had an opportunity to provide a brief introduction.
  3. Motion by Ivan WEbber, seconded by Claire Celsi, to approve the April 22, 2017, Minutes.  Motion passed.
  4. Treasurer’s Report was given by Rosemary Stark in Dan Fessler’s absence: Balance on Hand as of 4/23/17 — $813.55. Income from Memberships — $20.00.  July Fundraising Donation — $300.00. Ending Balance — $1,133.55. Motion by Ivan Weber, seconded by Angela Connolly, to approve the report and pit it on file for further audit. Motion passed.
  5. Information from May Polk County Central Committee:
    1. Term Limits for County Chair presented and approved to state no more than four consecutive 2-year terms.
    2. Mandatory Annual Audit presented and approved to include Itemized Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable information in monthly reports.
    3. Amendment to facilitate removal of Central Committee members. Missing three consecutive meetings with out notice will result in loss of precinct committee seat. 1st reading, 2nd reading and vote will be at the June 19, 2017 meeting.
    4. Kim Boggus and Lyndsey Paulson were appointed Events Co-chairs.
    5. Max Knauer, Membership Chair, will be attending neighborhood group meetings to get acquainted with members.
    6. Thirty members were elected to serve on the Third District Central Committee.  The next meeting is June 3, 2017 in Anita, Iowa, from 9 am – Noon.
    7. Monthly meetings will continue the first Saturday of the month for neighborhood groupleaders to give and receive information.  They currently meet at the Home Plate Diner in East DM.
    8. Polk County Central Committee meets the third Monday each month.  In June only the meeting will be help at the Machinists Hall at 2020 Walker in East Des Moines at 6:30 p.m.
  6. Old Business
    1. Committees
      1. Events: Claire Celsi, Chair. July 3rd is the WDM Neighborhood Democrats Picnic Fundraiser at Legion Park at 4th and Vine in WDM from 3-6 p.m. Donations accepted to help defray costs. Our thanks to Ivan WEber for his $300 donation. The cost is $10 per person. It will be a family-friendly event with lots for kids to do. Bring a lawn chair to watch the evening parade. It begins at 6:30 p.m. from Valley High School to Valley Junction. WDM Democrats will be in the parade proundly waving our banner. Anyone intersted contact Claire Celsi, especially if you plan to drive a vehicle. She needs to know those numbers. A post card/email invitation will be sent to ALL WDM Democrats. Gubernatorial and Congressional candidates are invited to attend with a 5-minute brief remarks time frame. WDM Democrats will have a table (5th and Maple) at the Valley Junction Farmers’ Market each week (May 1 – Oct. 1) to register voters and share information. We need volunteers to work the table from 4-7:30 p.m. Contact Claire Celsi. The Administrative Rules for Voter Registration have not been written as of this date. The law goes into effect in 2019.
      2. Membership and Communications: Rebecca Kmett, Membership Chair. Sara Jensen, Communications Chair. Both committees are working together and have laid out a plan for our website/communicating. Dave Ball has outline of website set up to launch in a week.  Please email Ball at dball@wdmdems.com with any ideas on content. There is a resource page with will also link to maps for precinct purposes. The current communications schedule includes one weekly email to share information. Dave BAll is using WordPress and MailChimp to set up accounts; Officers and two committees have accounts set to date. The Membership Committee is thinking of ways to build membership. League of Women Voters, Women’s Night, and a Progressive Dinner were a few of the ideas shared. Anyone with ideas please contact the Membership Committee. There are 99 members/guests that have joined/come to our meetings the last few months. 25 precincts are represented within those 99 people. Most representation is coming from 114, 214, 212, 315 and 317.
      3. Candidate Recruitment: Rosemary Stark spoke in Stauch’s absense. A subcommittee has met to find candidates for City Council, School Board, etc. There is a need to recruit more candidates. Another meeting will be scheduled to share information and find, meet possible condidates. Contact Stauch for more information.
  7. New Business
    1. Please note that in the summer, the WDM Public Library opens at 10 a.m. So our summer meetings on June 24, July 22 and August 26 will begin at 10:05 a.m. – Noon in the Community Room.
    2. Speakers: Rosemary Stark indicated that the following speakers had been invited to our next three meetings: June — Mike Lipsman on Tax Issues; July — Matt McCoy on Iowa Health Care and Jennifer Konfrst, a candidate for the Iowa House; August — WDM School System representative.
    3. Precinct Leader Training by Phyllis Womble: Topics covered:
      1. Visit with neighborhood people and wear n official identification tag
      2. Register Voters
      3. Turnout Voters
      4. Build Volunteer Base
      5. Have a Strong Message
      6. Listen to them to identify their needs
      7. Invite neighbors to our volunteer meetings and WDM activities
      8. Find a common thread in your conversation to encourage dialogue
      9. Recruit volunteers
    4. Al Womble, Phyllis’ son, shared his perspectives on union members’ profiles, their priorities, and how best to reach them because of his work with and for them. Al mentioned how important it was to find out what motivates individuals so they could be placed in the right volunteer position. He would also like to host a very informal meeting at his home to help get acquainted, etc..
    5. The group had a lengthy discussion about issues surrounding union support during the last election that began with Al’s perspectives. While Womble thought union members were neglcted, others provided information on the issues that union people supported which were identified and pushed by the national/state candidates. Comments included a dislike of Hillary, thus union members voted for Trump. Because of union member work and travel schedules, the best way to contact them is by door knocking. Part of the discussion focused on the importance of messaging. Womble emphasized the need for a central message — straight forward and simple for union/street guys.
    6. Al Womble volunteered to be our unofficial photographer for WDM Democrats and took several photos during the meeting.  Thanks, Al!
    7. Sean Bagniewski, new Polk County Chair, spoke to the group:
      1. He mentioned the purpose and activity of the Central Committee and Executive Board.
      2. He explained the types of committees established and their current focus.
      3. He explained what a neighborhood group was, why they were being organized, how many there are and what they are doing or have done in the past and near future.
      4. He explained how one could be come involved.
      5. He also mentioned:
        1. April Spring Fundraiser/Volunteer Award event with Amy Klobechar was a success. Income was $20,000 less $6,000 cost. 300 people attended. Feedback mixed.
        2. A new logo has been established.
        3. PCD’s website is being updated.
        4. Discussion continues on apppriate/effective messaging.
        5. PCD as ramped up social media: we have Twitter, Facebook and Snapchat. A number of people are responsible for administrative duties to manage each of those.
        6. The following are Polk county Democrats fundraising event dates:
          1. August 10 (Thursday) — Annual PCD Women’s Event — U.S. Representative Grace Meng — New York will Keynote. Location and tick cost forthcoming. This has been one of our biggest fundraisers. Don’t forget that men are also invited to be there.
          2. September 30 (Saturday) — PCD Harkin Steak Fry Annual Event (with Harkin’s approval) will be held in Th Big Field, DM Water Works Park. Cost/Investment: $30 — children 12 and under eat free. It will be a family-friendly event. Need for sponsorship walls (instead of tables). Tables will be available for groups wishing to provide information, promote, etc. Pre-Steak Fry events (pay more) will be scheduled to meet with the speakers and be in a different location. Harkin will recruit the speakers. The PCD will handle the rest with the need for 100 volunteers. If you are interested contact Kim Boggus or Lyndsey Paulson. Speaker priorities include: Barack and Michelle Obama, Joe Biden, Cory Booker, Elizabeth Warren, and Paul Harris. Several other ideas were also shared with Sean from our group.
          3. Sean indicated there would be quite a few candidate pop-up events with short organizational time frames.
    8. Information shared from others present today:
      1. Ivan Weber, who is a member of the International Municipal Lawyers Association, said the organization has become exceptionally partisan — Republican. He drew our attention to the destruction of the Home Rule and the 36 bills that have been passed affecting hom rule. People need to be concerned about this and ask their non-partisan local candidates to comment on it and advocate protecting Home Rule.
      2. Therese Greenfield of Des Moines, a Third District Congressional Candidate, very briefly spoke to the group and distributed her Heard in the Third cards. She had concern about the rural counties within our district. She emphasized the value of listening to rural people to identify their concerns … and then make room for their concerns in our overall priorities and discussions within the district.  She stressed the need to invite them to our urban events/meetings to get acquainted and to make sure they don’t feel alone out there. In 2008 and 2012 our district was blue. In 2016 it went red. In this last election Hillary won WDM by 2,000 votes. We need to be aware of and share those facts in a variety of ways. We also need to keep in mind that negative ads work sometimes as long as they are factual.
  8. Adjournment. Rosemary Stark thanked everyone for coming, reminded us of the significance of the Memorial Day weekend, and was very proud of the fact that our committees are meeting, planning and doing an excellent job to help build our neighborhood group.  Motion to adjourn (11:05 a.m.) by Angela Connolly, seconded by Claire Celsi.  Motion passed.

Respectfully submitted,

Mary Ann Ahrens, Secretary

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