The meeting was called to order by Mike Laster at 10:15 a.m. The group said the Pledge of Allegiance and the Texas Pledge together. Approximately 20 persons were in attendance.
The minutes of July were read and approved; the treasurer's report was read and approved; we have $1,619.60 in the bank.
Joyce Atkins' voter education program flyer was distributed. Phone Tree volunteers were Margaret, Guylene, and Mary.
Ruby and Aster brought refreshments.
Mike talked about the grand opening of the Bellaire Triangle joint campaign office on Sunday, August 24, 4-6 p.m and that early voting starts October 20th.
It was noted that Chris Bell's position is a special election and you cannot just vote straight ticket to vote for him.
Candidates introduced included Bob Schaffer, Sam Pearson and reps for Chris Bell and Dexter Handy.
Mike announced that 6 people signed up individually for the JRR Dinner; a motion was approved for the club to pick up the balance for a table of ten; winners of tickets were Dee Powers, Gail Carter, and Marty Kerner. General Wesley Clark will be the speaker and the dinner date has changed to October 4.
Guests included candidates Kathy Stone, Debra Kerner, and a representative of Dexter Handy. Herman Litt, Chairman of the JRR Dinner was also present.
Our guest speaker was C.O. "Brad" Bradford. He served as police chief for seven years and supports the death penalty; he wants to be involved in community activities as DA. He would like to see changes in the justice system as the jail is so overcrowded that prisoners have been sent to a private jail in Louisiana. More attention needs to be paid to youth with special after school and summer programs. We need alternate methods other than locking up people, especially those with mental health problems, the homeless, and the poor who cannot make bond. He believes that the crime lab should be independent from HPD. Regarding immigration, Bradford believes that our borders should be sealed and raised the issue of who should be responsible for finding the illegal immigrants--local, state, or federal agents. New laws are needed to make the jurisdiction lines clear. Bradford intends to have an open door policy and run the office with transparency and openness so the public will again trust the judicial system.
The group was encouraged to attend the JRR Dinner. The Club hopes to have a table of 10.
Minutes of the June meeting were read and approved. Our Treasury balance is $1,464.60.
The phone tree will be activated by Margaret Buckhorn, Aster Eyob and Guylene Ebersole. Aster also volunteered to bring the refreshments for August. Mike mentioned our proposed election activity on October 25, more details to follow.
The meeting was called to order at 10:15 a.m. Approximately 15 persons attended.
Candidates introduced included Peter Rene, Dexter Handy, Scott Hochberg and Larry Weiman.
Mike introduced our speaker, Scott Hochberg. Scott was excited about the upcoming election, saying that we have an opportunity all around the state to put a majority in the State house. Some discussion followed. Scott mentioned that in 2012 Texas will redistrict from the 2010 census.
Mike talked about Sharpstown Mall and its problems with many different owners and that the credit crunch is affecting deals.
Jane Vidales made a verbal report about her experiences at the Denver convention.
Margaret, Mary and Mike volunteered to do the phone tree. Rod will do the envelopes. Mike will bring refreshments next time.
The next meeting will be October 25 and the group will early vote together.
Joyce Atkins talked about her voter education program down the hall and several of us attended it after our meeting.
The October monthly general meeting will be at Bayland Park Community Center from 10AM to Noon on Saturday, October 25. Our special invited speaker will be Chris Bell, Democratic Candidate for Texas State Senate District 17 . Chris will share his perspectives and plans for Senate District 17. This is a great opportunity to meet and visit with Chris and to provide your grass roots feedback. Come early at 9:30AM to visit with club members, share the latest political gossip and enjoy our usual snacks.
We will also be holding an Early Vote Rally to encourage members, their families and friends to join us for our meeting and then to walk over en masse to cast our votes after the meeting at the Bayland Park Community Center early vote polling site. So invite your family members and friends to join us and remember to tell everyone to be sure that they bring with them their valid Harris County voter registration card or an acceptable photo ID such as their Texas Driver's License.
The September monthly general meeting will be at Bayland Park Community Center from 10AM to Noon on Saturday, September 27. Our special invited speaker will be Scott Hochberg, Texas State Representative District 137. Scott will share his perspectives and plans for District 137. This is a great opportunity to visit with our State Representative and to provide your grass roots feedback. Come early at 9:30AM to visit with club members, share the latest political gossip and enjoy our usual snacks.
The August monthly general meeting will be at Bayland Park Community Center from 10AM to Noon on Saturday, August 23rd. This month's meeting will focus on the Harris County Democratic Party's Coordinated Campaign . Our guest speaker this month will be Bill Kelly, Coordinated Campaign Director. Come hear Bill discuss the plans and organization that has been put together to support the county-wide candidates and how you can join in and help take back Harris County elected offices for the Democratic Party.
We will also be holding drawings for free tickets to the Johnson-Rayburn-Richards Dinner. You must be present to win so don't miss this meeting! If you haven't already heard, retired Army General Wesley Clark, former Supreme Allied Commander Europe and former Democratic presidential contender, will be the featured guest and keynote speaker at the dinner. The date for the dinner has been moved to October 4th. Remember, we are trying to get ten SDC members to join together and purchase our own table at the dinner so if you are thinking of attending, please join with your fellow SDC members and help us reach that goal of ten.
Come early at 9:30AM to visit with club members, share the latest political gossip and enjoy our usual snacks.
The July monthly general meeting will be at Bayland Park Community Center from 10AM to Noon on Saturday, July 26th. This month's meeting will focus on another of our county-wide candidates. Our guest speaker will be C.O. Bradford, Democratic candidate for Harris County District Attorney. Come meet with former Houston Police Chief Bradford and learn about his views and plans for fixing the problems and lack of responsible leadership in the District Attorney's office today.
We will also be discussing planning for our October 25th early voter rally at Bayland Park. We have the Pavilion reserved from 9AM until 2PM where we plan to serve a hot dog lunch and have candidates speak and meet with local voters. This should be a big event for SDC so don't miss out on participating and helping to make it a big success.
Come early at 9:30AM to visit with club members, share the latest political gossip and enjoy our usual snacks.
The meeting was called to order at 10 a.m. at Bayland Community Center. We had approximately 23 attendees.
Several candidates were present and introduced themselves--Robert Hinojosa, Martin Siegel, and a rep for Nick Lampson.
The Minutes of April 26, 2008 were read and approved. Rod Haper read the Treasurer's report and it was approved as read.
Our guest speaker was Adrian Garcia, candidate for Harris County Sheriff. Mr. Garcia has had 23 years with the HPD, worked in the HPD anti-gang unit and is currently on the Houston city council. He believes the sheriff's office needs some leadership in solving some specific problems, which include, but are not limited to: the lack of an anti-gang unit in the county organization, low class graduation rate, homeland security, county jail deaths in custody and jail over-crowding. Adrian gave us his cell phone number--832-814-2421 and his email:
Adrian's presentation was followed by several questions from the attendees.
The phone tree was assigned to Margaret Buckhorn, Rod Haper, and Mike Laster.
Joyce Akins volunteered to bring refreshments for the next meeting.
We discussed a potential Early Vote Rally at Bayland on Saturday, October 25. This may be coordinated with other clubs. More details later.
It was announced that John Edwards will be the keynote speaker for the Johnson Rayburn Richards dinner on September 20, 2008.
Our next meeting is Saturday, July 26; the meeting was adjourned at 11:40 a.m.
The April monthly general meeting will be at Bayland Park Community Center from 10AM to Noon on Saturday, June 28th. This month's meeting will focus on one of our county-wide candidates. Our guest speaker will be Adrian Garcia , Democratic candidate for Harris County Sheriff. Come meet with our candidate for Sheriff and learn about his views and plans for fixing the problems and lack of responsible leadership in the sheriff's department today.
We will also be discussing planning for our October 25th early voter rally at Bayland Park. We have the Pavilion reserved from 9AM until 2PM where we plan to serve a hot dog lunch and have candidates speak and meet with local voters. This should be a big event for SDC so don't miss out on participating and helping to make it a big success.
Come early at 9:30AM to visit with club members, share the latest political gossip and enjoy our usual snacks.
The October monthly general meeting will be at 
The August monthly general meeting will be at 
The July monthly general meeting will be at 
The April monthly general meeting will be at