President’s Message by Lee Sanders, May 2014

At our meeting of April 9th, newly re- elected Culver City Council member Jim Clarke presented a challenge to the club: We need to get more Democratic voters to become permanent absentee voters. More permanent absentee voters means higher turnout. Culver City and other local elections rarely get more than 20% turnout of registered voters. If we, and our friends, now request permanent absentee status (AKA vote-by-mail), we can impact the June and November elections! For Culver City residents, the most important item on the June ballot is the school bond, Measure CC, which this club overwhelmingly endorsed. The CCUSD has found a clever, useful and fair way to help us understand where some of the bond money would be used, if Measure CC is approved. They are offering free tours of school facilities on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday afternoons, until the end of May. Mike Reynolds, CCUSD's Assistant Superintendent, Business Services, has been overseeing CCUSD facilities improvement projects, and assessing future needs. To RSVP for a tour, contact him at (310) 842-4220, ext. 4226. For further study, go to ccusd.org and link to the Facilities Master Plan (revised 01.10.14), the Bond Discussion and Capital Needs, and FAQ's. To volunteer for the Measure CC campaign, contact Kathy Paspalis, Laura Chardiet, or Nancy Goldberg. The CC Democratic Club will have several discussions this year about the many dangers faced by the traditional American (i.e. democratic) voting system. On May 14, we will hear from Bob Stern, who Sacramento Bee columnist Peter Schrag called "the godfather of modern political reform in California." His legislative think tank, the Center for Governmental Studies, which closed in 2011, listed 72 studies on its website, 40 of which were about campaign finance reform. He worked on the proposition that created the current system of redistricting by an independent commission, which seemed to result in districts which are fair and even favorable to the Democratic Party. He also worked on the so-called "Top Two" primary election proposition, which has caused us some worry. Remember, it was forced on the Legislature by Abel Maldonado in return for his vote to approve a state budget. Maldonado was then "primaried" out of the legislature by those who control the Republican Party. Also, remember that no voting system can be perfect, although they seem to be fair to all when there are only one or two candidates. There is mathematical proof of this in the book "Gaming The Vote: Why Elections Aren't Fair, and What We Can Do About It" by William Poundstone (2008, Hill and Wang). An excellent test will be the current race for Congressional District 33, which is now held by the legendary Henry Waxman. Of seventeen candidates, only three have significant government experience: State Senator Ted Lieu, former L.A. City Controller Wendy Gruel, and former host of Left, Right, and Center on KPCC, and former Clinton administration bureaucrat Matt Miller. If two of them make the runoff, that result will seem normal. But a nightmare scenario is more than possible: what if the many Democrats and little party independents take out the above three and the November vote is between religious independent Marianne Williamson and the one lonely Republican? That would remind me of the failure of the Democratic Party to find a winning candidate to replace Senator Ted Kennedy in Massachussetts. And Democrats would have to devise a better way to have primary elections; there are various forms of ranked voting, I like the idea of instant runoff, so only one election is needed. Another strange but predictably common outcome to "top two" primaries: If a Democrat gets 90% of the vote and a Republican or MugWump gets 5% there will still be a runoff between them. Finally, we must discuss the proposals to overturn "Citizens United," McCutcheon, and several other Supreme Court blunders of the past, through properly worded Constitutional Amendment(s). Passage of Ted Lieu's SB 1272 will be a good start to this process. The Supreme Court mistakes, combined with the TPP (Trans Pacific Partnership), threaten to make the American electorate irrelevant in serious politics.

June 3rd Primary Endorsements

State Constitutional Offices

• Governor: Edmund G. “Jerry” Brown
• Lt. Governor: Gavin Newsom
• Secretary of State: Derek Cressman
• Controller: Betty T. Yee
• Treasurer: John Chiang
• Attorney General: Kamala D. Harris
• Insurance Commissioner: Dave Jones
• State Bd of Equalization: Jerome Horton

• 37th District: Karen Bass

• 30th District: Holly Mitchell

• District 54: Sebastian Ridley-Thomas

• Office No. 22: Pamela F. Matsumoto
• Office No. 54: Debra Losnick
• Office No. 61: Jacqueline H. Lewis
• Office No. 76: Helen Kim
• Office No. 87: Andrew M. Stein
• Office No. 107: Emma Castro
• Office No. 113: Steven Klaif
• No Endorsements for Offices 48, 72, 82, 90, 97, 117, 138, 157

• Superintendent of Public Instruction: Tom Torlakson

• Assessor: Jeffrey Prang
• Sheriff: No Endorsement

• Veterans Housing #41: Yes
• Open Government #42: Yes

• Bond Measure CC: Yes

April 2014 Minutes, General Meeting

Culver City Democratic Club – 62 Years

General Membership Meeting – Veterans Auditorium Rotunda

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

1. Call to Order at 7:20 pm by President Lee Sanders
2. Pledge of Allegiance – led by Roger Maxwell.
3. Approval of March 12, 2014 Minutes - by acclamation.
4. Officer Reports

1. Treasurer’s Report (Eric) Total funds as of March 31, 2014 are: $ 2,071.01.
2. Membership (Diane) – 130 paid for 2014. New member rejoining Sherman Neusom. You can now pay your dues online: ActBlue.org/CCDCmembership
3. Fundraising (David) – Bill Maher night still has 6 tickets available for Friday, April 11, 2014. Join us! Raffle items include 2 Beanie Babies (as one) and two Easter baskets.
4. Correspondence (Stephen) – Working on two pieces of legislation for anti-fracking (Mitchell) and GMO (Evans). Please note the information is in the newsletter for the legislation pending: SB 1053 Health Care Coverage (Mitchell), AB 2273 (Ridley-Thomas) election reimbursement and AB 2275 (Ridley-Thomas) ability to apply online for marriage and other licenses. The “yea” vote from the Club would authorize Stephen Murray to write supporting letters to the authors of those bills. Motion withdrawn. As many newsletters haven’t been received, a Club member suggested that we receive more information before the Club considers endorsement. Therefore, Stephen will put more information on the website.

5. Program

1. Endorsement by LACDP on 4-8-14. Endorsements by LACDP include: Karen Bass (CD 37), Holly Mitchell (SD26), Sebastian Ridley-Thomas (AD54), Jerry Brown (Gov.), Gavin Newsom (Lt. Gov.), Kamala Harris (Atty Gen.), John Chiang (Treas.), Dave Jones (Ins. Comm.), Tom Torlakson (Supt. Of Pub. Instruct.), Jerome Horton (Bd of Equalization), Jeffrey Prang (Assessor) and Sheila Kuehl (Bd. Of Sup). Candidates for LA Superior Court Judge:

6. Announcements:

1. Executive Board Meeting will be held on Saturday, April 26, 2014 at the Jayne-Camarella home at 9 a.m.
2. Thank you, Greg Valtierra, for creating the paper ballots.

Deadlines for Commission applications

Be appointed to one of Culver City's Commissions, Committees, or Boards and make a difference in your community!

The application deadline for Culver City Commission, Committee, and Board appointments is 5:00PM next Tuesday, April 29, 2014. (Late applications may not be accepted.)

 Openings are available on the Civil Service Commission(1), Cultural Affairs Commission(2), Parks,Recreation and Community Services Commission(1), Planning Commission(1),Committee on Homelessness (5), Disability Advisory Committee (3), Fiesta la Ballona Committee (3), Landlord-Tenant Mediation Board (1 Landlord, 2 Tenant, 2 Member at Large), Los Angeles Airport Area Advisory Committee (3), West Los Angeles Vector Control Board (1), and Finance Advisory Committee (2).

Appointments for these openings are tentatively scheduled to be considered by the City Council on Monday, May 12, 2014.

New appointees will be required to attend a Brown Act /AB1234 (Ethics) training, at a date and time to be determined.

Additional information and applications are available in person during business hours from the City Clerk’s Office, located on the first floor at City Hall (9770 Culver Boulevard) or may be requested by phoning (310) 253-5851. Applications can also be obtained on the City’s website by clicking here.  Business hours are 7:30 A.M. - 5:30 P.M. City Hall is closed on alternate Fridays.

Applications will be accepted in person, by mail, by fax to 310.253.6010, or electronically via email to city.clerk@culvercity.org.