Monroe County Green Party

Tuesday, December 18, 2001

Bloomington Environmental Center, 116 ½ S. College Ave.

Facilitator: Heather Drake

Scribe: Chris Stafford

Attendance: (18 people) Chris Stafford, Marge Steiner, Rebecca Riall, Jeff Melton, Heather Drake, Peter Drake, George R. Brooks, Nate Johnson, Dave Ploskonka, Julie Roberts, Craig Harvey, Isabel Piedmont, Larry Meehan, Ben Loudermilk, Lucy Battersby, Julian Battersby, Maha Noureldin, Mike Englert

The Meeting was called to order at 7:08pm.

With one addition to “New Business”, the agenda was approved.

The minutes were approved pending a reorganization of the content. Chris asked whether it was better to maintain high chronological accuracy in the minutes or if it was preferable to reorganize the events of the meeting into a coherent order. The group agreed that clarity was the more important.

Announcements:

Craig announced that the trust fund for affordable housing is up, and the City Council is entertaining the possibility of turning the money into a revolving fund. The matter would be explored more fully, and voted on, at tomorrow’s City Council meeting.

Marge announced that the Bloomington Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty would be having a meeting in the Monroe County Public Library, room 1-A, at 7pm on Wednesday, Dec. 19, to discuss the moratorium campaign.

Isabel announced that on Sunday, December 23, Amnesty International was holding a letter-writing campaign, in the MCPL, rm. 1-A, from 2-4pm.

Jeff updated the group on the latest news regarding Mumia. According to Jeff, a Federal Judge had ordered a review of his case.

Old Business:

Heather said that Eric White is still interested in forwarding the names of all Green Party members who are interested in serving on county boards. Heather passed around a sign-up sheet for this purpose.

Craig said that according to his prepared Bicycle Path, which would be submitted on behalf of the MCGP, a single path was described as a concession, but that creating no path was our first choice. Many in the group argued that in fact a single path was the better choice, to which Craig said that arguing for no path would be a good negotiating tactic. Nevertheless, the group asked Craig to revise and resubmit the statement with this change.

Isabel said that she had received a response to her Letter-to-the-editor regarding the Officer who had been reprimanded for falsifying a police report on a friend’s behalf.

New Business:

Dave said that the Landlord-Tenant Ordinance had been revised by John Irving, and it tightens up the landlord’s responsibilities and empowers the tenant. Dave was wondering if the MCGP would be willing to endorse the revision. He passed around the paper document, which was quite thick, so he was asked to submit an electronic copy so that members could peruse it on their own time. The group could then decide at the next meeting whether to endorse the ordinance.

Isabel said that the IGP had finished their charter and was now accepting dues, normally $25, hardship rate of $10, or a complete waiver. She passed around sign-up forms, and said that the website was located at www.indianagreenparty.org.

Chris followed up on collecting votes in the nomination of Julie Roberts as the MCGP candidate for County Council. As there were still not enough to close the vote, he would continue the process by calling and emailing full members who had missed both the Nominating Convention and tonight’s meeting.

Mike asked the group what it thought about him running in the Sheriff’s race. Several were concerned that the position requires certain skills, and it wasn’t clear whether Mike had had any training in law enforcement. Julie also said, and others agreed, that Sheriff Sharp was doing a good job and perhaps we should focus on other races. Craig suggested that Mike run for County Clerk which is, although not as glamorous as Sheriff, quite important.

Peter detailed the signature-gathering process. Starting on New Years’ day at precisely 12:01am, Green Party members would begin signing the petitions to get Julie, Jeff, and Tom on their respective ballots. Peter also passed around petitions and instructions for those who would be unable to attend the party.

Working Group Reports:

Nonviolence:

Jeff announced that the Nonviolence Group was going to have to postpone their forum because their speaker has to work on the originally-planned date. Details for the new date will be given later.

Social Justice:

George presented a table he had prepared, tracking minimum wage and avg. apartment and house prices

Shadow Government Reports:

Julie attended the County Council meeting and was frustrated with how much time they wasted. Among other topics, they discussed the crowding at the jail, and how they were examining the possibility of a work-release program.

Craig said that the Ellettsville Comprehensive Plan is fabulous, with lots of great things. Nate Johnson said that he would shadow the Stinesville town government.

Coordinator Reports:

Technology: Nothing to report

Secretary: Nothing to report

Treasurer: Craig said that he was accepting dues for next year’s membership.

Craig agreed to facilitate the next meeting, which would be the 2^nd Tuesday in January, because the 1^st Tuesday was New Years’ Day.

After a review of commitments, the group adjourned at 8:44pm.