The meeting was called to order at 10:15 a.m. by Mike Laster; approximately 15 persons attended the meeting.

Former candidate Fred Cook thanked the club for their support in the past election.  He reminded us that "D means go forward" and "R means reverse"!!

Two present candidates, Dexter Handy and Sam Pearson, attended and gave brief speeches about their candidacy.  Mr. Handy is running for County Commissioner, Precinct 3 and Mr. Pearson is running for Constable, Precinct 5.  Both agreed that the county needs coordinated efforts among the 80 different law enforcement groups in the area to protect citizens properly.  A Q&A followed.

It was noted that HCDP is working on a coordinated office for the top 5 county positions with a possible location in the Bellaire Triangle.  This would be good for the candidates in sharing expenses, etc.

The Meeting Minutes of February 23 were read and approved.  The Treasurer's report was read by Mike in Rod Haper's absence; the report was approved as read.

Phone Tree- volunteers were Linda Smith, Mary Haper, and Margaret Buckhorn (in absencia!).

There will be a voter registration drive at Sharpstown Mall on Saturday, May 3, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.  Volunteers were asked to email Mike Laster.  This event will be led by Barbara Quattro, president of the Alief club.

 Precinct 284 is having voter registration training on Tuesday, May 6, 6:30 p.m. at Bayland.

Some discussion was held about March voter turnout which was very very large.

Bert Anson announced the following:

     1.  State pre-convention training to be held Sunday, May 4, from 3-5 p.m. at the Ramada Inn on Highway 59 near Hillcroft and Bellaire.

     2.  Thursday, May 1,  at 6 p.m. precinct chairs are invited to a free BBQ dinner at Sharpstown High School; guests must pay $15 for the dinner.

Mike mentioned some Sharpstown news--two constable deputies are being added to assist businesses in the area to supplement other security.  Also, the Greater Sharpstown Management District has hired a firm to "brand" the area and design architectural redevelopment.    This project will be similar to the Westchase District of which we are already familiar.  Public meetings will be held and Mike will send out an email that we can forward to club members.  Mike urged us to attend the hearings.  Sharpstown has over 6,800 residences and approximately 3,000 are Civic Association members.

There will be no club meeting in May as Bayland will be closed the day we meet.  The next meeting is the fourth Saturday in June--June 28 at Bayland.  Adrian Garcia, candidate for Harris County sheriff, will be our guest.  Mike Laster will bring refreshments.  An EC meeting will be held in May--Mary will provide Mike with some alternate dates.

 Linda Smith, of Be-In-Buttons, shared a portion ($5.00) of her sales  with the club.

The meeting adjourned at 11:40 a.m. 

Welcome back SDC members and guests from the March Madness of the Senate District Conventions.  The April monthly general meeting will be at Bayland Park Community Center from 10AM to Noon on Saturday, April 26.  This months meeting will focus on some of our local Sharpstown candidates.  Our speakers are: 

 Dexter Handy

Candidate for County Commissioner, Pct 3 

Sam Pearson

Candidate for Constable, Pct 5

Peter Rene

Candidate for Justice of the Peace, Pct 5, Place 1 

 [Invited but unconfirmed]

Come meet these fine Democratic candidates for local office, learn their views of the issues and problems we face at the local level and what their plans are to improve government at the local level.  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 10:15a.m. by Mike Laster; approximately 20 persons were present.

Our Guest Speaker was David Mincberg, candidate for Harris County Judge.  This position presides over the county commissioners' court ($1.3B budget), 3.8 million people, 1800 square miles, 34 cities, manages toll roads, the "Dome", Harris County Hospital District ($1B budget), clean air, etc.  Mr. Mincberg will institute new policies regarding doing business with the county; he wants more publicity as to what county is doing at commissioners' court.  Q&A included questions about green space, rail, seniors' bus, and county services.

Other candidate guests were Peter Rene, Jim Wrotenberry, Diane Trautman, Dexter Handy, and Robert Schaffer.  Larry Veselka spoke on behalf of Hilary Clinton; others spoke on behalf of Barack Obama. 

Club Business:

Three people, including Margaret Buckhorn and Wanda Jenkins,  were selected for the Phone Tree calls.  The Hapers volunteered to bring April refreshments.

Joyce Akins and Mike discussed the Sharpstown High School Dems Club and will plan a school visit.  A possible joint voter registration program with the Alief club may be proposed for the first weekend in May. 

A club donation of $150 was approved for the March 29 Senate District convention.

The minutes of January were read and approved; the Treasurer's report was read and approved.

 Club elections were held with the following results: President--Mike Laster, VP--Jane Vidales, Secretary--Mary Haper, Treasurer--Rod Haper; At Large 1--Sylvie Adams, At Large 2--Joe Mumbach, At Large 3--Joyce Akins.

There will be no meeting in March as Bayland is not available.  Thank you to Peter Rene for refreshments and Sylvie Adams for the coffee. 

Our next meeting will be April 26, 2008 at Bayland.  The meeting adjourned at approximately 11:30a.m. 

2008 Membership List

The February monthly general meeting will be at Bayland Park Community Center from 10AM to Noon on Saturday, February 23.  Our special invited speaker will be David Mincberg, candidate for County Judge.  David will discuss his campaign and his ideas for the County Commissioner Court.

February is also the month for electing the 2008 Sharpstown Democrats Club Officers and Executive Committee members.  If you have not already done so, please remember to pay your 2008 dues prior to the meeting if you want to vote in the elections.  Remember: dues are on a calendar year basis - i.e., January through December - and do not carry over into the next calendar year.

The meeting was called to order at 10:15 a.m. by Rod Haper in Mike Laster's absence.  The minutes of October were read and approved.  The Treasurer's report was read and approved.

Candidates present included Fred Cook, M. Murray, Steven Kirkland, Michael Skelly, and several others.

Guest Speaker Bert Anson spoke in detail about the election process, in particular the precinct, state, and national conventions.  He spoke about training and workshops available and how the Texas Democratic Party is looking for new involvement/new people.  SD17 is looking for 30% new people and high school students also--in particular Bellaire and Sharpstown highs.  He recommended that precinct chairs give a flyer to every voter about the 7:15 precinct convention, that this has been very effective in getting people back for the meeting.  He also noted that voting in the Primary gets you in the "system".

The calendar is as follows:  March 4 Primary; March 29, Senate District Conventions; June 9 State convention in Austin; and the National Convention in Denver August 25-27.  If you want to go to the National, make a formal application to the State party between April 21 and May 21.

The Senate districts need help on various committees--a great way to get into the system.  Bert passed around a sign up sheet for volunteers for SD17.

A special guest at the meeting was Pat Powers, a founding member of the Sharpstown Democrats Club.

Volunteers for the call list were Joe Rodriguez, Aster Eyob, and Linda Smith.  Peter Rene offered to bring snacks. 

The meeting adjourned at 11:55 a.m. 

Respectfully submitted by Mary Haper.