Agenda for Thursday's Northside DFA Meeting

by Sandra Verthein [courtesy of Blog for America]

Northside DFA November Meeting with Guest Speaker Michele Smith,
Candidate for 43rd Ward Democratic Committeeman
Thursday, November 1, Wing Hoe Restaurant, 5356 N. Sheridan
6pm dinner (optional), 7pm meeting
RSVP at: http://www.dfalink.com/event.php?id=23434

We have a big agenda for this Thursday:

1. Of course, our top priority is our two adopted campaigns: Mark Pera who is running for Congress in the 3rd CD, and Daniel Biss who is running for State Rep in the 17th District. We have a campaign update, and will be encouraging everyone to get involved in their campaigns. And both Mark and Daniel will be at our first-ever Northside DFA fundraiser a week from Wednesday. Have you RSVP'd for the fundraiser yet????

2. Our Special Guest Speaker will be Michele Smith, candidate for 43rd Ward Democratic Committeemen. The current 43rd Ward committeman, Peg Roth, will not be running for re-election, so it is an open seat. From Michele's campaign:

"If Michele is elected Committeeman, the community can have real representation in the County Democratic Party. 43rd Ward Democrats can have their voices heard and be a part of shaping a progressive and independent Democratic Party. Slating of candidates can be at the will of the people and based upon qualifications rather than on power brokering and back room deals. Ward meetings and endorsement sessions can be an opportunity for a free exchange of ideas and a real quest for the best qualified."

3. We will also have an update on the big news -- State Sen. Carol Ronen's announcement that she will retire Jan. 7, 2008. Her announcement came after weeks of rumors that she was trying to get the other committeemen to agree to appoint Edgewater resident Heather Steans to her seat. The timing of Carol's announcement means that it will NOT be decided by a vote of the committeemen, and that there WILL be an election, but it only gave potential candidates two weeks to gather signatures to get on the ballot. We have had two candidates contact us seeking help collecting signatures. If anyone knows of anyone else who is running, tell them to send me their contact information immediately. This is a big job, and the deadline for signatures is Monday, so please contact one of these two candidates and offer to help:

4. Thursday night we will have Northside DFA steering committee elections, which, per our bylaws, happen the fall of every odd-numbered year. We have ten candidates for the steering committee, and if we wish, we can vote all ten of these folks onto the committee. Among those ten we will also be voting on a chair and a treasurer. Positions other than chair and treasurer (such as membership chair) will be chosen from among the steering committee members by the steering committee at their next meeting. Steering committee candidates are:

  • Barry Aldridge (currently serving) - running for Treasurer
  • Owen Brugh (new)
  • Shannon Fisk (currently serving)
  • Cynthia Fox (currently serving)
  • Jim Ginsburg (currently serving)
  • Lisa Ginsburg (new)
  • Melissa Lindberg (currently serving)
  • Frank Palmer (currently serving)
  • Jim Schmidt (new)
  • Sandra Verthein (currently serving) - running for Chair

Only voting members can vote on elections (though as always, anyone can participate in the pre-vote discussion). To be a voting member you must have attended three meetings and have done three of our candidate volunteer events in the last year. All voting members and near-voting members were recently contacted by Michi so they would know their status. If you weren't contacted and think you should be, or have a question about this, please email Michi at mschulenberg@gmail.com.

If you are a voting member and CAN'T attend on Thursday, you can vote by proxy by contacting any current steering committee member with your vote prior to the meeting.

5. Also, our two candidate speakers from last month, Dan Seals, who is running for Congress in the 10th Congressional District, and Carol Javens, who is running for State Representative in the 53rd District (Arlington Heights area), are eligible for endorsement or adoption votes. Again, if you are a voting member and can't be there on Thursday, you can vote by proxy by contacting any current steering committee member with your vote prior to the meeting.

6. And of course, we will be announcing our full list of November Northside DFA events. For a sneak preview, scroll down to the list below and sign up for many as you can attend.

Peace,
Sandra Verthein
Northside DFA

Posted October 30th, 2007 by Syndicated