Monroe County Green Party Meeting
Tuesday, November 6, 2001, 7:00pm, Monroe County Public Library, Room 1-B
Attendance:
Chris Stafford, Eric White, Peter Drake, Heather Drake, George R. Brooks, Craig Harvey, Nell Weatherwax, George Murphy, Breshaun Joyner, Jeff Melton, Rebecca Riall, Lucille Bertuccio, Steps to Freedom (Sean Bagley), Chris Sapp, Isabel Piedmont, Maha Noureldin, Larry Meehan, Steve Gardner (18 people)
Facilitator: Isabel Piedmont
Scribe: Chris Stafford
The meeting was called to order at 7:06pm.
The minutes from 10-16 were approved.
The agenda was approved.
Announcements:
On Wednesday, November 7, there will be a demonstration in Indianapolis against Bush's Fast-Track Authority. The reason for this demonstration is the Indiana Department of Commerce conference regarding NAFTA. Demonstrators will meet at 11:45am across from the Statehouse on the plaza. They will be marching from that location to the Convention Center where there will be speakers from 12-1pm. Folks who are unable to make the demonstration can express their concern by calling the Indiana representative hotline at 1-800-393-1082, where they'll be connected to their representative.
Peter announced that on Sunday, November 11, there was going to be an event at the Unitarian Universalist Church titled "No More Victims." The event would begin at 5pm. Peter also announced the BPAC (Bloomington Peace Action Coalition) meeting on Sunday, November 11, at 8:30pm. Finally, he announced the upcoming National Issues Forum (N.I.F.), held at Bloomington HS South on Saturday, November 17 from 1-4pm. Their website is www.bloomignton.in.us/~nif, and it's important that we be involved to counter the Bloomington Economic Development Corporation.
Jeff announced that INDOT is holding I-69 meetings all this week at various locations around Southern Indiana, and folks interested in attending should contact him.
Rebecca announced that BPAC would be sponsoring a CIA History lesson/protest on Wednesday, November 14, from 10am-2pm. Contact her for more information.
Heather announced that the League of Women Voters would be holding a "Forest Management for small woodlot ownders" session on Wednesday, November 14. Heather also announced that on Monday, November 19, the Utilities Services Board would be addressing the issue of run-off.
Peter announced that the Indiana Green Party would be meeting this Saturday, November 10, in South Bend. He also included that the IGP was looking for a new Technology Coordinator, so anybody interested should contact him.
Steps announced that tomorrow (November 7) would be the one-month mark of the American bombing campaign in Afghanistan.
Coordinator Reports:
Secretary Report:
Chris reported that the current database holds 550 people, and that this number has been growing much more slowly recently as there has been no active canvassing, so if anybody is interested in starting up our door-to-door campaigns (which were very successful over the summer), they should feel free. Eric asked what happened to people when they're removed from the email list, and if they could be asked to be put on the Newsletter mailing list if they weren't already.
Treasurer report:
Craig reported that the MCGP has $87.25 in petty cash, and about $1330 in the bank, largely thanks to the tax refund checks from Isabel, Peter, and Heather.
Technology report:
Larry reported that the Computer Science students were still working on the Green website and that it was turning out nicely, and will free us from Yahoo. Larry is still in the process of transferring the site to MCGP ownership.
As Larry had just walked in, he announced that Sam's Club was moving to put in an automated gas pump, an action that was causing neighbors of the store some concern. The issue will be discussed in the City Council Chambers on December 3rd, at 5:30pm.Steps asked if it was possible to get our website on some search engines.
Jeff asked how campaign-specific websites would be coordinated.
Larry responded to both questions saying they would work something out via email.
Finally Chris Sapp pointed out that apparently one can read the announce postings on the website, even if one is not a member of the list, while this is not true for the discuss postings.
Campus Liaison:
Chris Sapp reported that at the previous meeting, only two people showed up. Those who've been working with the campus group, therefore decided it was easier to take care of campus business through the MCGP.
Media:
Isabel asked whether the Media Coordinator or the meeting facilitator was responsible for announcing our regular meetings to local media. Jeff replied that he had been doing it all along; this duty belongs to the Media Coordinator. Peter reminded people that because the newspaper only allows one Letter-to-the-Editor per month from an individual, it was important that many different people submit letters to maximize coverage.
Working Group reports:
Newsletter:
Heather said that she had received many articles, but was still searching for authors for three topics:
- Green Jargon: An explanation of the Acronyms
- GPUSA mess
- and the Election Committee's actions.
All articles are due by Monday, November 12, and she is hoping to begin distribution by Monday, November 19.
Shadow Government:
Isabel reported that the City Council had approved the Greenways plan.
Steve described the Environmental Commission's meeting as being fairly interesting. The major topic was the work being done along the College Mall, where planners were dealing with issues such as silt fences along the drainage and their effect on drainage, and cutting down trees. The EC accused the city of breaking their own rules, rules that would call for fines if private contractors had been the perpetrators.
Craig reported that the Board of Zoning Appeals had discussed the situation with the Ramada owner who was forced to change his front sign, refused, and is now being given a break by the Board. Craig also said that the Planning Commission was redefining its rules to match current practice, rather than the other way around.
Lucille asked if there were ways to stop P.U.D.s from allowing people to hold onto land for a long period of time, allowing it to grow in value, before developing it, saying that this made planning issues much more difficult, guessing what land would truly be developed.
Election Committee:
Craig reported that the Nonviolence platform should include shifting the funding from the Detention facility to preventative programs. The next Election Committee meeting will be Monday, November 12, 7pm at Craig's House. Email him for directions. Steve asked how one could find one's district. The County Districts have not yet been determined, and the information about City Districts can be found by calling the City Clerk's Office.
Ecological Wisdom:
Nothing to report.
Larry asked if there were ways for the working groups to maintain activity throughout the year, even if they had just finished their forum. Some in the group thought this was a good idea, but others felt that it might be too much of a time commitment.
Nonviolence:
Eric reported that the Nonviolence workshops will be in Bloomington sometime in the first week of January. He is also working for Martin Luther King, Jr. Grants to put on some programs. The Workshop will be a 2-day interactive session. The group is also seeking ways to provide police officers with nonviolence training.
Grassroots Democracy:
Nothing to report.
Social Justice:
Nothing to report.
Old Business:
Breshaun Joyner's firing:
Breshaun said that she had been working at Girls Inc. for 6 years and had received several pay raises and much indication that she had been succeeding at her job. In late August, however, she was fired for "poor work performance." She claims that she had spoken against a manager's position on homosexuality, and this was the true reason for her firing. She said that had the support of the Workers' Rights Boards through United Way, which provides much of the funding for Girls, Inc.
"Legalize Nature":
Lucille outlined the city's current "Weed Ordinance" and also described environmentalists' efforts to remove the ordinance, which prohibits wild yards. Heather and Craig expressed concern that simply repealing the ordinance would get lazy landlords off the hook from having to take care of their tenants' yards. Lucille conceded that this was still a problem that the group was discussing.
New Business:
Nobody volunteered for the position of Canvassing Coordinator; it remains vacant.
Eric asked if it were possible to add "staffing the Peace camp" as a regular agenda item. Craig voiced concern that this should not be addressed at a Monroe County Green Party meeting, and other individuals agreed with this assessment. The group voted on whether someone from BPAC could pass around a clipboard schedule to sign up volunteers, and this vote passed with three abstentions.
Part of our duty as a political party is to nominate candidates for elections. This will be done on Monday, December 17 at the Drakes' House. Further details on this meeting (open to all MCGP members, voting open to all Full Members) will be arranged.
The Bloomington Coalition for a Living Wage will meet on Thursday, November 15.
The first January meeting will be January 8th, as the first Tuesday of the month is New Years' Day.
Peter volunteered to facilitate the next meeting.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:54pm.