Minutes from February 7 meeting of the Oconee County Democratic Committee
Want to know what the best political party is doing in Oconee County, then read the redacted minutes of the Oconee County Democratic Committee. I actually attended this one briefly before other matters dragged me away. Herb West is very busy with his tax work at this time of year. He needs a replacement so if you are a bit of a parliamentarian and enjoy progressive politics in a decidedly underdog role, then write back or comment or attend the next meeting. We also need candidates to run for every office in Oconee County, from Board of Education to Board of Commissioners. PLEASE RUN FOR OFFICE HERE ON THE DEMOCRATIC SLATE!
Vice-Chair Jonathan Veit called the meeting to order at 7:50 pm.
A quorum was declared present.
Minutes: The minutes from the January 3, 2007 meeting were approved unanimously after a motion by Pat Priest and second by Pat Adams.
Treasurer’s Report: Treasurer Violet Dawe shared the thank you note from the Sexual Assault Center for our $600 donation from our October yard sale. Violet reported we currently have a balance of $XXX,XXX.XX
By-Laws: Bill Yarbrough had brought a large map of the county with the new voting precincts outlined. Herb reported he had come up with several different configurations of new districts using the registered voter numbers we had been given by the Board of Elections. Based on the State Party by-laws, a county our size must have a minimum of four districts. The configuration of six districts (five containing 2, 3, or 4 voting precincts each plus one at-large district) was the one most acceptable to the committee. After a motion by Pat Priest and second by Vicky Moody, the committee voted unanimously to ask Herb & Myrna to develop an amendment to our county by-laws based on this new configuration, and to present the proposed amendment at our March meeting. The amendment will be voted on at the April meeting. The committee also felt that, due to the reconfiguration of the committee districts, the election to be held this summer should be for ALL committee members.
Community Service:
o Adopt-a-Road: No date has been established for the next road clean up. Neither has a “captain” been selected. This will need to be on the agenda for the March meeting.
Fundraising Opportunities:
o Bike Ride: Jonathan checked other bike events and found that April 12 and the month of June were available. The committee suggested holding the bike ride in June to focus on a tour of pottery and other artist studios, hopefully coinciding with the Happy Valley tour. Pat Adams will check with the Chappelles and with OCAF.
o Event at Artist Studio: Pat P. has not been successful in getting in contact with Rebecca Wood.
o The committee also discussed further the idea of a “roast” or celebration of Vinnie Williams (or possibly Flagpole editor/publisher Pete McCommons) as a fund raiser. Jonathan and Vicky agree to contact others (such as Peggy Holcomb) to see if this would be a good idea. An alternative would be to “roast” or celebrate Pete McCommons,
Public Awareness—Pat Priest:
o Book Group: The next meeting will be held on Thursday, February 21 at the Five Points Deli on Epps Bridge Parkway starting at 6:15 pm to discuss Palestine by Joe Sacco.
o Movie Night: The next event will be on Monday, February 11, 2008 at Ciné to see and then discuss the movie “Outsourced.”
o Fourth Sunday Series: The gathering and presentation at the new Spay and Neuter Clinic was very successful and drew a large number of participants. The next event will be February 24, and Bill Yarbrough has agreed to talk about the revision of voting precincts and other election issues.
o Other programs: Pat P. is still working on a photography workshop to be held at OCAF and on “Speak Out” events focusing on veterans, health care and medical issues, and education/teachers.
o Possible locations: The Portico in High Shoals and one of the African-American churches, such as Bethel, were suggested as possible locations for some of our events.
Sub-Committees: Chairs are still needed for the Affirmative Action/Candidate Recruitment (Becky will ask Rich Rusk), Community Service, and Elections/GOTV sub-committees.
Candidate Recruitment: The need to recruit Democrats to run for local offices was mentioned several times as a critical task for the committee. Bill said he would bring to the next meeting a list of all the local offices up for election this year (the General Primary is July 15).
Blue Hats: Blue Hats will meet February 15 at Krimson Kafe. No topic was assigned. Everyone planning to attend should contact Rita in advance (706-207-8535 or 706-769-0187 or bonanzagirl@
Next meeting: Thursday, March 6, 2008.
As there was no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 8:58 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Herb West
Secretary
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