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. 

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. 

Candidates attending included Judges--Fred Cook, Bob Schaffer, Ruben Guerrero; District Clerk--Loren Jackson; City Council--Zafta Tahir, Bert Moser.

 Guest Speaker--Sue Lovell, City Council Member.  Sue spoke of new development in the Montrose area--mid rise and high rises.  Studies are being done re traffic impact.  She spoke in a positive way about the developers except the one on Bissonnet.  A 23 story high rise has been proposed.  Mayor White issued an emergency ordinance restricting the height of this high rise.  She referred to it as a "bold move", which will have a ripple effect.  The neighborhood organized a street protest against this project due to its height and the additional traffic problems it would create.

On the subject of crime, violent crime is down, but petty crime is up.  More police overtime has been approved.  Coordination is needed among police--city, HISD, Metro and the constables.  We need a coordinated plan to keep kids off the streets.  Sue suggested that calling your Council Member regarding crime will have more effect than calling the police.

 The Treasurer reported a balance of $1,664.84.

 Linda Smith volunteered to provide refreshments for the January meeting which will be held on January 26, 2008.  There will be no November or December meetings.

The proposed amendment to have club elections in February was passed.

Margaret Buckhorn agreed to remain on the phone tree.

Scott Hochberg spoke briefly; he did not take a public position on the HISD bond issue for capital improvements.

Bert Anson reported that four high schools were represented at the Johnson-Rayburn-Richards Dinner, with 800 people attending.

Minutes taken by Sylvie Adams. 

The meeting was called to order by Mike Laster.  He welcomed our candidate guests, Jolanda Jones, Neeta Sane and Robert Hinojosa.  Each spoke briefly.

The Minutes from August 25 were read and approved.  The Treasurer's report was given, our balance being $1,895.27.  There were 24 persons present.

Bert Anson was introduced.  He mentioned the need for more precinct chairs in our area.  He encouraged club members to attend the Johnson-Rayburn-Richards Dinner on October 20.  He said they needed volunteers to help with the preparations and to contact him if interested.

Our guest speaker, Congressman Al Green, drew names for two tickets to the J-R-R Dinner.  The winners were Joe Rodriguez and Linda Smith.

Al Green gave a review of much of the legislation he has worked on this session.  It included, just to name a few:

• Minimum wage increase.
• Living American Wage Act, which would keep the minimum wage above poverty level.
• Stem Cell Research Bill.
• S-Chip for Children Insurance.
• Home for Heroes Act to help homeless vets.

The Congressman stressed the need for more Democrats in Congress and the urgency in getting more Democrats in the Judiciary and the State House.  "Diversity is our strength".

Joyce Atkins reported success in getting a Democrats Club started at Sharpstown High School, with a teacher sponsor.  An extra benefit for the students would be to gain more volunteer hours.

Mike presented the proposed amendment to the by-laws to change the election of officers from January to February.  This will be voted on in October by members present and voting.

Our refreshments were furnished by Joe Mumbach.  The meeting adjourned at 11:35 a.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Sylvie Adams for Mary Haper (absent)

The September monthly general meeting will be at Bayland Park Community Center from 10AM to Noon on Saturday, September 22.  Our special invited speaker will be the Honorable Al Green ,  US Congressman, Texas 9th CD.  Congressman Green is a terrific speaker and I'm sure he will fill us in on the behind the scenes action from the last congressional session.  This will be a great opportunity to meet your Congressman, hear his views and provide your feedback.  Due to Congressman Green's schedule, the meeting will start promplty at 10AM so don't be late for what is certain to be an interesting and stimulating discussion.  Come early at 9:30AM to visit with club members, share the latest political gossip and enjoy our usual snacks.