Hello Democrats and welcome to my first monthly Chair’s Newsletter to you all!

 

 

At our January 15, 2015 meeting, Officer Elections were held. The results are:

 

Jeffrey Adair, Chair

Cecily Harris, So. Vice Chair

Nick Akers, No. Vice Chair

Cliff Robbins, Corresponding Secretary

Mitchell Oster, Recording Secretary

Nancy Yarbrough, Controller

David Burruto, Immediate Past Chair

  

I am honored to have been elected the new Chair in a unanimous vote of confidence. I have very large shoes to fill after 6 years of fine leadership by David Burruto. David will continue to advise and guide with his expertise and knowledge. I know that you all join me in sending him a very big THANK YOU for his service.

 

I’m also very excited to have Nick, Cliff and Mitchell continue in their roles. Cecily is taking on my Vice Chair role with lots of great ideas and energy and Nancy takes on her Controller seat with years of experience running a business and volunteerism for the SMC DEMS!

 

One of my first tasks at the January meeting was to handle the election of our representative to the California Democratic Party Executive Board. Cecily Harris will continue in that role as the female EBoard Rep--alongside me, as the male rep. Our next Eboard meeting will be in Burlingame on August 14th-16th. I will be calling for volunteers for this to make sure we welcome everyone properly to our County!

 

 

 

 

The ADEM Elections were held all over the state on January 10th and 11th.

 

You can see the elected delegates here:

 

2015-16  Delegates for Assembly District 19 (Assemblymember Phil Ting) 

 

Many thanks to the conveners who held the elections: Hene Kelly (AD19), Robert Bernardo (AD22),  and Alyson Abramowitz (AD24)--and to all Democrats who volunteered and voted. This is an important part of our State Party structure and we value our elected delegates and the contribution to keeping the Party strong! Congratulate them if you know them or introduce yourself if you don’t!

DEMOCRATIC CLUB EVENTS AND NEWS:

San Mateo County Democracy for America 

Meeting, Wednesday, Feb. 4, 7:00 pm, at Woodside Road United Methodist Church, 2000 Woodside Rd., Redwood City

 

Program:  Two TED Talks videos, followed by group discussion:  "How Great Leaders Inspire Action" and "How Common Threats Can Make Common (Political) Ground."  Free admission; wheelchair accessible; refreshments.  

Contact:  Ashleigh Evans, at [email protected]

 

San Mateo County Latino Democratic Club 

Meeting, Wednesday, Feb. 25, 7:00 pm, at a location to be determined.

Join us for our February 2015 monthly meeting. We'll be finalizing our bylaws and voting on officers. We are now very close to having enough paid members for chartering with the San Mateo Democrats. So please come and help us define the direction of this exciting new club. Please visit our website for information on the location.

 

Agenda:  
1) Welcome & Introductions
2) Financial Report
3) Bylaws Adoption
4) Election of Officers. 

Contact:  Mitchell Oster, at [email protected]


North Peninsula Democratic Club 

Meeting,February 28, 2015    9:00-10:30a.m.

Peter's Café
10 El Camino Real Millbrae

RSVP to [email protected]

Important Program : "Senior Issues Impacting All of Us"
Guest Speakers:
Christina -Dimas Kahn, Program Manager ,  HICAP  of San Mateo County
   "Medicare : Everything Seniors and Others  Need to Know:"
Diana Reddy, Housing Leadership Council of SMC ,Community Builder 
   "The Current Housing Crisis  and its' Impact upon Seniors"

Contact: Ben Cohn, at [email protected] 

Peninsula Stonewall Democrats

Meeting, February 17, 2015 7pm-8:30pm
Backyard Coffee Company   965 Brewster Ave  Redwood City

join us on FACEBOOK

AGENDA: realignment of meeting schedule and leadership roles...VERY IMPORTANT organizational meeting

 

There are many exciting things coming up and some new ideas we have in store. I want to ensure that we have a vital, active, and engaged group of Democrats here in our County….a place that other California Democrats will look up to!

 

It is my goal to reach out to under-served and under-represented Democrats and make sure they’re involved and have a voice. Mitchell Oster has started that process with the formation of the San Mateo County Latino Democratic Club. I hope to have them be chartered in the next two months. In addition, I’m reaching out and inviting African-American Democrats to start a club. All of us need to work together to reflect the demographics of our County and make sure that every corner of the County is engaged! I invite your input and participation to make these goals a reality.

 

Interaction and building of all our current Democratic Clubs will also be a priority. Regular reports, inviting club membership to our monthly meetings, and encouraging them to join a committee or become an alternate/associate member is important for all of us. The more, the merrier!

 

Another very important goal of mine is to engage and attract Young Democrats. They truly are our future and I want to cultivate that as much as possible. I call on you to help find young people to become alternates, associates, join boards and committees, and get involved.

 

I want to remind everyone that as elected members of the Central Committee, it is our responsibility to be representatives of Democratic values to the people of our County--helping to educate and guide them and finding and promoting Democratic candidates at all levels of service to our community. This year’s board member could become the next city council person, supervisor, assemblymember, or senator.

 

As you may know, I have already reached out to all elected  DCC members, alternates, and associate members. I want everyone to feel engaged and to want to be active. I’d like to create accountability for all of us in the coming year. Paying dues (on time), joining a committee, volunteering for events, or simply showing up are just part of what I would like to see from all of us. 2015 Standing Committee assignments will be announced at the February meeting. We will have a drive to find new alternates to replace those that have turned in their resignations or have become inactive. These individuals need to be able to stand in for you DCC members and represent you well. We will also be starting a campaign to increase our Associates memberships and create yet another level of a succession plan.They all could become the next wave of elected  DCC members in 2016 or perhaps a delegate! 

 
I have tasked the delegates of Supervisor District 3 to hold a caucus to fill the seat vacated by the resignation of Craig Patterson. They will report to us at our February meeting. I’m also reaching out to the offices of our Ex-Officio members to insure we have a representative and/or report from them at every monthly meeting.

 
There are many ways to get involved with the San Mateo County Democratic Party and we invite all local Democrats to support their Party by volunteering. Please take a look at our Web page, Facebook, or Twitter to keep abreast of events or issues that may be of interest. Make sure when you’re participating in a Democratic event that you use social media to get the word out. Make everyone want to be where you are! 

 

Help me in inviting all local Democrats to join us in keeping San Mateo County blue.

 

Democratically Yours,

 

Jeffrey Adair

Chair, SMCDEMS