District A Monthly Meeting

District A will be meeting to discuss upcoming events, progress within the district, and more!
We will gather in City Hall’s First Floor Lounge.

MINUTES FROM MARCH MEETING:
Norwalk District A Democrats
Monday, March 6, 2017 – 7:00 PM
1st Floor Lounge, City Hall, Norwalk, CT 06851

Call to Order 7:06 PM

Roll Call
Voting District A Democrats, having attended 3 or more meetings in the past 12 months (from March 2016), in accord with DTC rules. Names in bold were present at the 3/6/17 meeting.

 Ayers, Nicol
 Bryant, Marija
 Bryant, Tod
 Camacho, Ed (transferred from Dist.B)
 Corbett, Julie
 Fuller, Carolyn
 Gbenro, Khadijat
 Hamilton, Taber (transferred from Dist.C)
 Melendez, Eloisa
 Murray, Rosa
 Obuchowski, Daniel V.
 Obuchowski, Elsa Peterson
 Olguin, Juanita
 Perella, Joe
 Perone, Chris
 Sawyer, Broderick
 Sead, Jalin
 Serasis, Steve
 Yerinides, Chris

Non-voting District A Democrats who have attended 1 or 2 meetings in the past 12 months:

➢ Alvarado, Carlos (6/11/16)
➢ Callan, David (6/11/16)
➢ Crevecoeur, Yvel (6/11/16)
➢ Massucco, Tricia (4/4/16, 9/12/16)
➢ Osorio, Fanny (10/31/16, 2/6/17)
➢ Robert, John (10/3/16)
➢ Shaw, Michael (3/6/17)
➢ Tiffen, Ross (6/11/16)
➢ Williams, Darius (3/6/17)
➢ Zullo, Frank (3/6/17)

Others:
McGuire, Michael (9/12/16)* *Not found on voter rolls for District A registered Democrats (active)
Please notify the Secretary of any errors or omissions.

Chair: Broderick Sawyer being absent, we nominated and voted Eloisa Melendez as Chair Pro Tem.

Minutes of previous District A meeting: February 6, 2017
Correct the District from which Ed Camacho transferred: s/b District B. Motion carried.

REPORTS

Campaign Recap
Elsa Obuchowski reviewed the Special elections Feburary 28 in three CT districts.
[See https://ballotpedia.org/Connecticut_state_legislative_special_elections,_2017 and http://ctmirror.org/2017/02/28/trump-malloy-and-pacs-are-factors-in-special-elections-today/ ]
Two of the three are fairly “safe” Democratic seats: Doug McCrory (2nd State Senate), Dorinda Keenan Borer (115th State House). Greg Cava (32nd State Senate) had an uphill battle against independent Dan Lynch and GOP Eric Berthel. Example of why money matters: “Wolf PAC, a liberal group based in Los Angeles, has reported spending $53,506 in support of Democrat Greg Cava of Roxbury over Rep. Eric C. Berthel, R-Watertown. Grow Connecticut, funded by the national Republican State Leadership Committee, has spent $15,000 helping Berthel with digital ads and get-out-the-vote phone calls. The National Rifle Association’s Victory Fund has spent $1,429 on direct mail in support of Berthel.”
Next, there are likely to be Special Elections to fill the House seats of Eric Berthel (Watertown) and Doug McCrory (Hartford). Special elections are announced by the Governor so we are awaiting any word from the Governor’s office.

2017 Norwalk Municipal Elections and candidate selection
Eloisa Melendez summarized the following.
• Review of how the districts choose candidates to endorse. Election Day is Tuesday, November 7, 2017. Key dates (from Secretary of the State website):
o Party endorsements: July 18-25, 2017
o Certification of endorsements: July 26, 2017 (4:00 p.m.)
o Nominating petitions filed by: August 9, 2017 (4:00 p.m.)
o Primary petitions filed by: August 9, 2017 (4:00 p.m.)
o Primary (6:00 a.m. — 8:00 p.m.): September 12, 2017
• Candidate vetting checklist (developed by District D in 2013).
• Information Session: Wednesday, April 5 at 6:30 PM in the Community Room of City Hall there will be an information session for all Democrats, especially women, to learn more about the process of running for office and/or helping with campaigns. Featured speaker will be Patricia Russo, President of the Women’s Campaign School at Yale. If you want to help, contact Nora King.

Steve Serasis spoke about the opportunity to run for At-Large Common Council because he thinks a District A resident may be able to win. Of the 5 At-Large CC seats, Democrats currently hold 3.
Frank Zullo said there were 17 Common Council members when he was Mayor, but they changed the City Charter to 5 At-Large and 10 In-District so that people could work together more effectively.

Eloisa reviewed the District D candidate recruitment document. We may want to adapt it for our own use. Sometimes people who run for office don’t have a good understanding of what is entailed. Steve said there are 2 set CC meetings per month, plus committee meetings (2 or 3), plus public hearings, meetings of other Boards and Commissions that have a bearing on what they are concerned with (especially Board of Ed), community events, and CC caucus meetings.

DTC
Chris Yerinides reported that he is on the Platform Committee formed at the 2/27 meeting. An Issues Committee will likely also be formed. Platform Committee first meeting will be Thursday, March 9, 2017 at 6:30 PM at Penny’s Diner III, 212 East Ave., Norwalk, CT 06855. If you want to help, contact Chris Yerinides or Pam Parkington.

District D Spring Fundraiser Celebration, Sunday, March 19, from 3-5 PM, at the home of Bill Collins & Tish Gibbs: 32 Allen Rd., Norwalk, CT 06851. Darius Williams said it is $25 suggested donation.
State Central Committee plans one-day candidate training boot camp events around the state.
Next DTC meeting is the fourth Monday in March (3/27) at 7:30 PM at South Norwalk Community Ctr.

Common Council

Steve Serasis said the biggest thing CC voted on was the budget cap. They had workshops ahead of time. City Budge Director Bob Barron said it was the most they’d ever asked for. After all the flat-line spending, add BOE costs, only 8 – 9% is left to spend on everything else. The current plan is assuming we get to tax Norwalk Hospital as the State of CT has proposed. If we gave “everything” to the BOE we’d lose our AAA bond rating. Once you give BOE a certain amount, you cannot reduce it in future years. Steve said Jefferson School needs to be fixed and the kids in South Norwalk deserve to have a community school. He says some of the Dems have split with our party and are siding with the GOP. Only ~350 people want what the BOE is recommending, yet there are 19,000 voters in Norwalk. If we don’t make money on our Grand List next year, we’ll be in the hole. Many didn’t come to the public workshop with Bob Barron. There will be more to report about the Capital Budget after next meeting.

Nicol asked, if you are displeased with what some of the CC members are doing, how are you working with the residents of this District to serve their needs? Steve said he has made a point of attending BOE meetings and talking to our BOE members, including the Republicans. Strategically, how are you working to attain your goal? For example, if you favor the “Fix It First” plan? (aka the Bob Duff plan) Nicol asked if the District A residents who sit on the BOE are voting for the “FIF” plan. Steve said yes, they are. Jalin Sead said that people who support FIF are getting attacked and shut down. Jalin said he has been to many of the community meetings, but BOE tells you what they’re going to do, they don’t receive community input. Supposedly the BOE is majority Democrats, but it’s being run by Republicans. This year we have 4 At-Large BOE seats opening up, so he questions whether we should work to elect Democrats if those Democrats are just going to support what the Republicans want.

Nicol said she went to one of the community meetings, and there were some CC members. The community was represented, but not necessarily the people who would be directly affected by a school in the Ely area or Columbus area (mainly District B). Nicol said you can’t educate anyone on their own child. She said people in District B are trampled on and not listened to. There’s nothing more precious than someone’s child. Eloisa said it is hard to get real community input because not everyone has participated. Nicol said some people may not be as eloquent as others, but their voices should still be heard. The people who can write a letter are getting more attention.

Steve said Norwalk Parents for Education said they got an email from the CC about Pathways Academy, but he never got that email. (Reply: we only sent it to Shannon O’Toole Giandurco and Michael DePalma.) The general public that reads social media thinks CC has all this information but they don’t.

Nicol brought up a Recreation & Parks issue: Mathews Mansion playground is a mess. Steve Serasis agreed. Mike Mocciae denies it is a hazard. The play equipment is broken, there’s broken glass, garbage. The splash pad only works some of the time. It has been like that for more than 3 years. Steve sent pictures and they still have not fixed it. Jalin suggested we do it as a neighborhood cleanup. Nicol saw a child in a wheelchair who was going to use the wheelchair-accessible swing, and the swing broke. Frank Zullo said we should be able to ask Mike Moccaie to fix it, but Steve said he has told him multiple times and Moccaie denies there’s anything wrong. Frank Zullo said present it to the Mayor because he will have to take the heat if it doesn’t get done. Steve gave another example: he asked Recreation & Parks or DPW or State of CT to put a small fence to protect people from falling at Freese Park. Recreation & Parks employee got the email and put up the fence himself without being told by dept. head.

Eloisa reported that the Norwalk Arts Commission has now been established by ordinance, instead of just serving at the pleasure of whoever is Mayor.

Board of Education

Carolyn Fuller said we elect these people, then they’re talking about the money but they never come and visit the schools. Get a visitor’s badge and walk around. The first BOE member who came, because he was pushing the “company plan,” was Mike Barbis. There was a raccoon infestation, and the septic from the portables runs out to the playground. Jefferson is the highest minority student body in Norwalk.

Mike Shaw asked if there is a way to arrange for the BOE to visit schools. If the school invites the BOE publicly, is there a way to schedule it? Carolyn said they have been invited many times.

Eloisa said there used to be 15 maintenance workers for the schools, now there are 5.

Rosa said there is a level of disrespect at BOE meetings when someone comes to the microphone. People have been ignored, including by Democrats.

Frank Zullo, a graduate of Jefferson School, spoke about the acreage requirement and noted that Jefferson is under the acreage for the number of students.

Jalin said we as Dems should take a stand about standard of conduct as listed in the District D candidate vetting sheet. We currently have people attacking other Dems on social media. Ed Camacho said we each have to hold ourselves accountable, because we are not very good at observing ourselves in public. Eloisa said in politics you may have common goals, but not necessarily personal friendships with everyone. We can work together even if we are not friends or even if we don’t personally like each other. We can build new bridges, none of us are perfect, but we are here to further Democratic values. Jalin said the image of the Democratic party is tarnished because people feel they are not being respected. Jalin said people told him they voted for Donald Trump because they are not happy with what Democrats have done (or not done) for them. Ed said we tend to divide ourselves. When he became DTC Chair, many members of the DTC told him they would not work with him, which is counterproductive for the party. He said we won’t always agree and we won’t each get what we want, but we need to find the things we agree on and make efforts to work together on common ground. Jalin said we need to acknowledge a divide. Ed said there’s no divide except what we perceive in our heads. Steve said he has been following this stuff for decades, and this year it’s different, people within one party (Dems) are split. Elsa asked who are you talking about and what are they voting on? Steve said there are Dems who believe in Democratic principles and others who do not. He declined to name names or say what they voted for. Elsa said you can’t say what someone believes because you can’t get inside their head.

Nicol said there are people in the DTC whose base is the common ground, but the things they say to each other and the way they talk to each other cause the divide. People were so angry about Donald Trump that they went out and protested. But when something happens in one district, people think it is not their problem. For example, when the SoNo train station was being renovated there was a lot of argument about spending the money etc., and people not living in District B said it wasn’t their concern because they don’t live there.

Elsa asked, are you saying that if you serve on a Board or Commission and you vote for something that Republicans vote for, are you saying that means you don’t uphold Democratic principles? Steve and others said no. Eloisa said there has been a pattern of 5-4 BOE votes repeatedly, and that is the concern. Rosa also said there is no enforcement of civility on the BOE and no penalty.

Mike Shaw said fragmentation seems to be a problem with the Democratic party. There is ideological purity and people are breaking into factions whether you are a Bernie Sanders supporter, Keith Ellison, etc. and people are unwilling to compromise. Jalin said that he feels he can’t with a clear conscience automatically tell someone to vote for a Democrat. Chris Yerinides said we’ve assumed that our job is to elect Democrats, but a huge % of our country is independent. The goal should be to do things for the greater good, not for the party. If we want to bring people in, the goal needs to be doing the right things for the city. We need to present it to people as being for principles and for the greater good. Elsa said that is how she likes to canvass, not just telling people to vote for a Democrat. Ed said he would want people to vote for the best possible candidate, and it’s up to us to put up the best possible candidates. Ed said he would not tell people to vote for someone just because he/she is a Democrat. On the BOE, there are Dems who voted for Mike Lyons for Chair because they thought he was the best person to be Chair. Rosa said “the best candidate” is defined differently around this table. She said she values all voices, communicating openly without back-door dealing, but some people are fine with back-door dealing. Ed said for the At-Large BOE, Dems should come up with 4 candidates we can all agree can speak for all of us. That is what we should be doing as Dems.

Steve said what dumbfounds him is that we have Yvel, probably the most qualified person in the history of Norwalk, and our people (BOE Dems) voted him down. Nicol said Yvel did not become Chair because he was new and did not have the community connections. The unknown is scary to people. Frank Zullo said that is not even politics, it is common sense. Eloisa said there are cliques on the BOE and she feels that Yvel was not brought into the fold. Nicol said if someone has qualities you don’t have, it may be intimidating. We need to strategize the 4 seats opening up and get a diverse section of the city represented. We should be looking 4 to 6 years ahead and groom people. Ed said we do plan ahead and put effort and thought into it. Jalin said if that’s the case, it’s not being done transparently. After the 2/6/17 DTC meeting a DTC member wrote on social media that everything they talked about wasn’t true.

Ed said it might be wise for the DTC to form a Nominating Committee to get a better cross-section.

Board of Estimate & Taxation

Ed Camacho said BET is doing workshops with the department heads presenting their budget needs. They are going with what City Budget Director Bob Barron recommends but keeping things flexible.

1st Taxing District

Frank Zullo reported that the drought condition is improved and our 1st District Water Dept. reservoirs are full – unlike surrounding water depts. that are only ~60% full. We were producing about half our water from the well field when the reservoirs were down. Now we’re letting the well field water table replenish. Regarding the Library property, Mayor has appointed Alex Knopp to work on negotiating a solution about the apartment building and the parking. The negotiations have been very difficult; Jason Milligan is very astute, but can’t report any results yet.

Old Business
Tuesday, March 7 from 9 AM – 3 PM the Red Cross will be holding a smoke alarm installation event for Norwalk. You can have up to 3 free alarms installed. To make an appointment visit: www.redcross.org/ct/schedule-a-visitor call 1-877-287-3327, menu option 1.

Cleanup Day or other neighborhood event. See above re: Lockwood Mathews Park. Take before/after photos & post them.

New Business

Thursday, March 9, doors open 4 PM at the Carver Center for the Giving Day Telethon. Musicians will be giving their time & talent to raise money for the Carver Center.

Scheduling District A July and September meetings to avoid holiday weekends. Jalin said we should try for July 10.

Next District A meeting is Monday, April 3, 2017, at 7:00 PM in the 1st Floor Lounge.

Adjournment 8:53 PM.