{news} Proposed agenda for the 5-12-10 6pm EC meeting at 48 Village Drive, #204, Wethersfield, CT 06109-1072

[B Barry]

agenda for the 5-12-10 EC meeting at 48 Village Drive, #204, Wethersfield,
CT.  06109-1072

Develop the agenda for the 7PM 5-25-10 SCC CTGP meeting at Portland Senior
Center

Location: Portland Senior Center, 7 Waverly Avenue, Portland, CT  06480

Facilitator:  To Be Determined 

A.      Preliminaries:

1.      (1 minute): Introductions of voting/non-voting attendees; chapters;
if quorum was met; timekeeper; ground rules.

2.       (2-4 minutes): Approval of tonight's proposed agenda, any deletions
or additions.

3.       (2-4 minutes): Review and approval of minutes of 3-2-10 SCC
meetings.

4.     (2 minutes): Review and acceptance of the minutes of the 3-23-10 EC
meeting.

5.     (2-4 minutes): Treasurer's report from treasurer: Christopher Reilly.


B.     Any proposals/referendums by chapters, committee: 

C. Reports:

1.  (10-15minutes): GPUS reports from: a) CTGP representatives: Tim McKee
and Charlie Pillsbury; b) National Committee Members. 

2.  (20-30 minutes): Review of the announced Green Party Candidates who will
ran in the 11-10 election: G. Scott Deshefy, Green Party candidate for 2nd
Congressional District; State-wide Green Party candidates: Stephen Fournier
for Attorney General of CT; S.Michael DeRosa for Secretary of State; David
Bue for Treasurer of CT; Colin Bennett for Comptroller; Rae Johnson for
State Senate #9 (Middletown); Nicholas Payne, State Representative for
District 67(New Milford); Magen Cassano, Stamford Board of Education; Ben
Wojan for State Representative for District 84 (Meriden).

3. (30 minutes): Items to consider for state platform: Grassroots democracy:
* Mandatory living wage, subsidized for small business/  State-sponsored
public health insurance and universal health care / Free tuition at state
and community colleges/  Expanded, state-financed health career education/
Public transportation fare subsidies/  Postwar planning/  Recall National
Guard/  Crack down on privatization/  Liberalize ballot access/  Public
financing of elections/ State aid to urban education/  End war on drugs/
Fair taxation/  Energetic, fine-producing regulatory enforcement/
Responsible government use of resources and careful stewardship

* Public financing of elections (without favoring some parties over others)
has been implemented successfully in Maine and Arizona. In CT, we just need
to amend the flawed 2005 Citizens' Election Program.
* Election Day registration is permitted in Maine, New Hampshire, and 7
other states. CT has same-day registration for presidential voting, but it
should be extended to other elections.
* Allow citizens still in the criminal justice system (in prison or on
parole) to vote, as in Vermont and Maine. Felony disenfranchisement removes
large numbers of the poor and racial minorities from the electoral process.
Restoring voting rights is part of the civic engagement that should be part
of criminal rehabilitation.
* Instant Runoff Voting will probably have to be tested at the municipal
level first--successful models exist in Minneapolis, San Francisco,
Burlington, VT, and elsewhere. Willimantic might be a good place to start.
(The Vermont legislature passed a bill to apply IRV statewide, for
Congressional elections, but it was vetoed by the governor.)
Social and economic justice:
* Single-payer universal health care has not been passed by any state yet,
but it exists in nearby Canada, and I believe it started on a provincial
level there, in Saskatchewan and Alberta ca. 1950. Canada provides a working
model.
* Fund smoking-cessation programs.  CT is one of just 5 states that don't
cover smoking cessation programs for Medicaid patients.  We should follow
Rhode Island's lead, which requires insurance companies to cover all forms
of smoking cessation treatment. We should use tobacco tax revenues to help
people who want to quit smoking.
* End war on drugs.  The first steps should be to 1) legalize medical
marijuana, as in Maine, Rhode Island, New Jersey, and 11 other states; and
2) decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana, as in Maine,
Massachusetts, New York, and several other states (it would still be a civil
offense involving a fine, but no prison sentence). And if the California
ballot initiative to legalize recreational marijuana passes this November,
we'll have a model for our next goal.
* State aid to urban education: Equalize education funding through state
spending. CT schools are among the most segregated in the nation because,
more than other states, they rely on local property taxes for funding. This
creates huge disparities between urban and suburban schools.
Environment:
* CT has already adopted California CAFE standards for vehicles, and I
believe California has a number of other environmental initiatives we should
look to as models. Or we could endorse the Connecticut Fund for the
Environment's legislative agenda: http://www.ctenviro
<http://www.ctenvironment.org/index.php?option=com_content&id=296&Itemid=120
> nment.org/index.php?option=com_content&id=296&Itemid=120
* Fund bicycle education. The League of American Bicyclists ranks CT 44th
out of 50 in its ranking of bicycle-friendly states, and 50th out of 50 in
terms of bike education.
* Pass enabling legislation so more towns can enact a Land Value Tax. CT
approved a pilot project in New London, and LVT is widely used in
Pennsylvania. This allows towns to tax land and buildings at different rates
and encourages clustered, downtown development instead of sprawl.
Nonviolence:
* Abolish the death penalty--like our neighbors Rhode Island, Massachusetts,
and New York, and 12 other states. Replace with life in prison without
parole.

4. (20 minutes): Review of the CTGP 4-24-10 Annual Meeting at Portland
Senior Center. 

5. (5 minutes): Discussion in support of single payer healthcare:  a website
with links to CTGP has been developed. 

6. (2 minutes): GPUS Green Pages/website. 

7.  (2 minutes): CT Green Times News via website/internet: ctgp-news at ml.
<mailto:ctgp-news at ml.greens.org> greens.org is not functional. 

8. (10-15 minutes): The GP of CT appeal hearing at the U.S. 2nd Circuit
Court of Appeals on Wednesday, 1-13-10 in Manhattan, NY. The State of CT
appealed our successful lawsuit against the State of Connecticut regarding
the 2005 Campaign Finance Reform laws. Their appeal was heard at that this
U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals.  The initial decision was handed down by
U.S. Judge Underhill on 8-28-0.   He found that the 2005 CT Campaign Finance
laws were unconstitutional.  He found the laws violated third party's (and
other groups) constitutional rights under the 1st Amendment (free speech)
and 14th Amendment (equal protection under the law). 

9. (5 minutes, each):  Chapter reports:  

10.  Any additions. 

11. Next SCC meeting=Tuesday, June 29, 2010 at the Portland Senior Center.
Date, place and time of next EC meeting: to be determined. 

Green Party Key Values: non-violence, respect for diversity, grassroots
democracy, social justice and equal opportunity, ecological wisdom,
decentralization, community-based economics and economic justice, future
focus and sustainability, personal and global responsibility, feminism and
gender

 

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