Sonoma County Democratic Party

Sonoma County Democrats Support Barich Recall
Central Committee Endorses Susan Harvey to Fill Seat

The Sonoma County Democratic Party voted to support the recall of Cotati City Councilmember George Barich at its October 27 meeting. The SCDP also voted to endorse Susan Harvey to fill the city council seat that would become vacant upon Barich’s recall.

Support of the recall effort stems from what the SCDP believes are clear ethical breaches and actions that are inappropriate to an elected official. These include:
· Forging city letterhead and writing to President Obama stating Cotati doesn't need federal money, in opposition to city council policy
· Defacing the city logo by altering it with a blackface photo
· Posting the defaced logo on his blog attacking the president's policies
· Posting a music video on his blog mocking President Obama
· Hotlinking that blog to the official City of Cotati website, creating an unauthorized and unwanted connection between his positions and the city, thereby casting Cotati into the spotlight of racism
· Abuse of city staff and attorney resources causing thousands of dollars of public money to be wasted
· Unauthorized use of the logo of the Sonoma County Young Democrats and misrepresentation of their position on the recall effort (they support it)
· Refusing to observe Cotati's laws governing political campaign signs
· Obstructionist actions on the council
· Misrepresenting to the public his council salary and benefits
“Elected officials are expected to work in the best interest of their community,” said Stephen Gale, Chair of the Sonoma County Democratic Party. “George Barich has violated the public trust repeatedly and his conduct is inexcusable. The voters have the power to put people in office, and they also have the power to remove them. We strongly encourage Cotati voters to recall George Barich and elect Susan Harvey to fill his seat. Susan Harvey has the integrity, experience and professionalism that voters expect and deserve.”

Susan Harvey is a 31-year resident of Cotati and has a 30-year business management background. She is a current Planning Commissioner and has long been active in community issues. In 1992 she helped craft Cotati’s first Urban Growth Boundary – the first Urban Growth Boundary in Sonoma County. Her top priorities include public safety, responsible city planning, protecting natural resources, maintaining city services while balancing the budget, and supporting business-friendly policies. Susan highly values volunteerism, which she promotes through her personal actions in the community. Among her strongest supporters are Cotati Police Officers.

Statement from California Democratic Party Chairman John Burton on Budget Developments

Thursday, July 2, 2009

This week has underscored the intransigence of the governor and Legislative Republicans, who have refused Democrats’ common-sense compromise budget and resisted measures that would have shaved at least $3 billion from the deficit immediately. Their inaction has forced California to issue IOUs for the first time in 17 years.

Senator President Pro Tem Steinberg, Speaker Bass and legislative Democrats are to be commended for standing strong to preserve California’s safety net. To close the massive deficit, they proposed a mixture of program cuts and new revenue from oil companies and tobacco products.

The poor, the elderly, the disabled, school kids and college students did not cause California’s multi-billion dollar deficit. In fact, the governor’s reckless decision to slash the vehicle license fee has cost California at least $16 billion over the last four years. Additionally, the economic downturn has significantly decreased the state’s revenues.

If the thought of offending their campaign donors prevents them from considering modest new taxes on oil companies and tobacco products, then Republicans and the governor must at least tap the rainy day fund to protect the safety net. It is clear that an economic downpour is soaking California even on this sunny day.

I urge the governor and Republicans stop making my-way-or-the-highway demands, to start negotiating in good faith and to stop fiddling while California burns.
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Chairman John Burton on the Budget Crisis

Monday, June 29, 2009
Please join me in thanking Assembly and Senate Democrats for passing a common-sense budget before the fiscal year ends tomorrow.

Late last night, Assembly Democrats passed a spending plan that minimizes the cruel cuts advocated by the governor by raising $2 billion in new revenue. Just a few minutes ago, Senate Democrats followed suit, passing a plan that requires Big Tobacco and Big Oil to share in the state budget sacrifice.

Speaker Karen Bass, President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg and their caucuses should be commended for standing firm against the governor’s Draconian cuts.

In order to pass the plan, legislative leaders structured it to require a majority vote. That’s because Republicans have repeatedly refused to provide the handful of votes necessary to pass the plan with two-thirds support.

Disappointingly, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has vowed to veto the Democrats’ budget plan, preferring to play a game of chicken with the budget. He and Legislative Republicans would rather strip health care from nearly one million children and close 220 state parks than ask corporate special interests to pay their fair share.

Now, the onus is on the governor and Republican lawmakers to explain to Californians why they would rather drive the state over a cliff than agree to a budget with a mix of cuts and new revenue.

Please, call Governor Schwarzenegger’s office today at (916) 445-2841 or (213) 897-0322. Ask the governor to sign this budget plan, which minimizes the cuts by sharing the sacrifice.

Peace and friendship,

John

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Thursday, June 11, 2009

Severe doesn't even begin to describe the cuts in the governor’s latest proposed state budget.

In a time when more and more people are struggling, these severe budget cuts would hurt millions of Californians by:

Stripping health insurance from two million Californians;
Ending the welfare-to-work program that helps one million women and children;
Closing more than 200 state parks; and
Axing billions of dollars from public school classrooms.
The grim list goes on.

As Democrats, we stand for protecting California’s safety net. We must do everything possible to minimize the cuts and the harm they will inflict on the most vulnerable among us.

Where is the shared sacrifice in a budget that is nearly two-thirds cuts? Where is the justice in a budget that hurts the poor, the young and the elderly but asks nothing of big corporations and the wealthy? Where is the logic in a budget that will stunt California’s economic recovery?

We must Protect All Californians, Stop the Severe Cuts and Support a Balanced Solution that includes revenue increases.

That’s why I’m asking you to take a few minutes and write a short letter to the editor of your local paper. Tell the editor that California’s budget must reflect our values of protecting the vulnerable and minimizing the harm they will suffer. And the budget must be a balanced solution that asks the wealthy and corporate interests to pay their fair share.

The California Democratic Party has set up a web page that makes it easy to write a letter to the editor about the budget. Just go to www.cadem.org/budget. We have sample letters, talking points, and some pointers to help you get started.

The California Democratic Party is committed to addressing the underlying structural problems in our budgeting process. But right now, we also need to make our voices heard about the state services we all depend upon and the need for a balanced budget solution that includes new revenue.

Make no mistake: We may win this fight, we may lose this fight, but we will make this fight.

If you agree, please take a few minutes to speak up about these unconscionable cuts. We have made it easy for you to do so. Just go to: www.cadem.org/ltl-budget

Peace and friendship,

John

P.S. In last month’s special election, California voters sent the message that they want lawmakers and the governor to work together toward a budget that realistically looks at the services we all need and how to pay for them. We didn’t vote for cuts that hurt all Californians.

Please take a minute to write a short letter to the editor.

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Not authorized by any candidate or candidate committee.

Featured Story SCDP Newsletter

SONOMA COUNTY DELEGATES PUSH SINGLE PAYER AT
STATE CONVENTION
By Mike Smith
Sunday, May 31, 2009

Sonoma County Central Committee Convention Delegates played a leading role in a broad coalition of single payer supporters and organizations at the convention, including CNA, CaPa, HCA, PDA, CTA, CSEA and the Berkeley Wellstone Democratic Club, in passing out leaflets, circulating petitions, marching and lobbying for the successful passage of a health care reform resolution endorsing a national single payer system modeled after Congressman Conyers AB 647.

Over 137 resolutions were submitted to the resolution committee whose difficult task was to whittle the number down to ten to present to the convention. Three single payer resolutions including Sonoma Central Committee’s resolution endorsing and supporting the 2009 – 2010 California OneCare Now campaign were submitted to the committee. Single payer advocates supported the resolution committee’s decision to unite behind the National Single Payer System resolution submitted by the San Diego Progressive Democrats of America and the Los Angeles County Democratic Club.

Mike Smith, California OneCare Campaign Convention Coordinator who addressed the labor, women’s, progressive, veterans and seniors caucuses’ asking delegates to sign petitions requesting President Obama to allow for a state’s option for a single payer system, commended Sonoma delegates for the key role they played in single payer successes at the Convention. “The hard work of Ray Gallian, Donna Norton, Lyn Hamilton, Susan Baritell, Anna Givens, Don Frank, Gina Cuclis, Stan Gold and Terry Elverum was key to the success of the petition campaign and the passage of the resolution. More then nine hundred delegates – over one third of the convention signed the petition and more than three thousand leaflets supporting a Single Payer Resolution were passed out. It was a great grassroots organizing success.”

The National Single Payer Resolution was unanimously passed by the convention after the resolutions committee accepted a friendly amendment from the floor, clarifying the resolution provided for Universal Single Payer health care for all residents of the United States.

VOTE SAFE UNSAFE FOR DEMOCRACY
By Samuel Thrope
Saturday May 23, 2009

Despite its reassuring title, the Vote SAFE initiative--which stands for Secure and Fair Elections--is unfair to voters and unsafe for our democracy. The initiative, for which signatures are now being collected in preparation for the June 2010 primaries, will severely limit the number of eligible voters and make it much easier to disqualify those already registered. By adding a mass of confusing regulations to the existing law, citizens who merely want to fulfill their civic duty will be unjustly turned away at the polls.

One of the main changes the measure proposes is that all those voting in person will have to show an official, government issued photo identification in order to receive their ballot. The name on the ID would have to correspond exactly with the name listed in the voting record. While proponents of the initiative will no doubt claim that it will prevent those attempting to vote in someone else's name, the main consequence will, in fact, be disenfranchisement. Under this proposal, anyone whose name appears differently on their ID and their voter registration card--as small a difference as the absence of a middle initial or "Ed" for "Edward--will be kept from the polls.

At the moment, there are two versions of the initiative that have been submitted to Attorney General Edmund G. Brown, Jr.. One of the versions, in addition to the photo ID requirement, includes a provision which would disenfranchise anyone on probation for a felony. Current law denies voting rights to approximately 280,000 Californians convicted of a felony or on parole. Expanding the restriction to include those on probation, according to statistics collected by the Bureau of Justice Statistics in 2007, would disenfranchise a further 350,000 individuals. More than simply reducing the number of eligible voters overall, this provision would have a substantial effect on minority communities whose members are overrepresented in the prison population.

The initiative also includes a provision of severability. This states that even if one of the provisions of the initiative is declared unconstitutional, that would not effect the standing of the others. In other words, if enacted into law, a separate legal challenge would have to be brought against each of the provisions in this initiative, a costly and time consuming process. Furthermore, the initiative states that it can only be amended by a three-quarters vote in the Legislature, more than the two-thirds majority required for Congress to overturn a Presidential veto. Through these provisions, the proponents of this initiative tacitly recognize the measure's basic unconstitutionality.

The widespread concern over voter fraud which this measure would address is itself overblown. According to a study published in 2006 by the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University Law School, actual instances of voter fraud are extremely rare. In the most widely reported cases of purported fraud, such as in Baltimore in 1995 and Missouri in 2000, clerical error, not criminal activity, was ultimately to blame. Proposals such as this, as much as they might speak in the name of the public good, disrespect the overwhelming majority of citizens who take seriously their civic responsibilities.

Sonoma Dirty Trick
By: Jose Martinez with SEIU Local 1021
Saturday, April 18, 2009

In this historic moment of staggering financial collapse, Sonoma County is intensifying its own fiscal crisis—and the impact on its most vulnerable residents—in order to cheat former employees out of the health care the County promised them in return for years of loyal public service. It’s a complicated story that County taxpayers have a right to understand.

The County is cutting public services across the board. County Administrator Bob Deis has ordered department heads to budget for cuts in public services as deep as 15%. Programs slated for elimination include veterans’ services, the Orenda Center’s drug and alcohol diversion program, domestic violence services, and the helicopter-borne paramedic and rescue program to which many County residents owe their lives. Other County programs are slated for significant reductions.

The County’s proposed health care scheme will increase costs by $20 million a year. Contrary to the natural assumption of most County residents that cuts are required by the nationwide recession, the County’s cuts to services are due Mr. Deis’s recommendation to voluntarily restructure health care for employees and retirees. Currently, the County pays a significant percentage of employee health care premiums, but the new scheme converts over half of the County’s health care dollars to direct employee stipends. The County would cap its health care contribution at less-than-full coverage but pay active employees a cash bonus to supplement their insurance payments. This blows a huge hole in the County’s budget because the combination ($500 in premiums + $600 cash bonus) costs about 50% more than the County’s current health care system. Unlike health benefit dollars, cash bonuses would be subject to federal payroll taxes and retirement payments. Also, about 300 County employees who had formerly waived County coverage now will receive cash bonuses equaling $7200 a year. Astonishingly, this increase amounts to more than $20 million annually—just about the amount of the shortfall the County announced for 2009-2010.

Residents lose and retirees lose. Why would the County Administrator recommend that the County pay for health care benefits with cash? The answer lies in Mr. Deis’s dogged determination to make reneging on the County’s promise of health care coverage to County retirees his legacy. Under the County’s current plan, retirees receive the same health benefits as active employees. A state administrative law judge upheld retirees’ right to equal benefits, acknowledging that they had given up pay raises and other benefits for the promise of affordable quality health care in retirement. Deis’s plan is an end-run around this entitlement and a dirty trick on the former public servants of the County who would receive the limited premium payments, without a cash bonus. Unfortunately, retirees are not the only victims. Since the new scheme costs more than the previous system, County residents—especially its most vulnerable—would also suffer.

The County’s well-worn rationale for this move is the financial liability in unfunded future health benefits. Even acknowledging the prudence of pre-paying future liability, this justification rings hollow. The Press Democrat has reported that pre-funding the County’s future obligation to pay retiree benefits would cost $15.7 million a year in addition to what the County was paying current retirees. It is hard to believe, but it’s true: at over $20 million annually, the cost of the proposed scheme is greater than the cost of fully funding future retiree benefits and continuing to provide affordable quality health benefits to active and retired employees.

What can you do? Over the next month and a half, there will be four public town hall meetings at which Sonoma County citizens will have the opportunity to tell their Supervisors which public services should be cut, and which maintained, as part of the County’s strained 2009-2010 budget. In this case, the Board of Supervisors cannot rely on County Administrator Deis for sound advice. It’s up to taxpayers to inform the Board that a “cash bonus” health care scheme that enriches employees who need less health coverage at a cost to working families is not in line with responsible financial and employment practices and that by rejecting that costly scheme the County can preserve critical public services in this time of extreme financial hardship.