July President’s Report

By Kathy Bradford —

Forbes recently reported that Senator Feinstein made extremely concerning comments that she does not think our democracy is in jeopardy and that she “can’t think of” any modifications needed to the filibuster.  As a result, activists in California have begun to organize a multi-pronged effort to lobby Senator Feinstein regarding Senate Bill 1 (S.1), For the People Act of 2021, and the filibuster.  A time-sensitive aspect to this effort is a sign on letter from CA-based groups that will be sent to her and released to the media Monday, July 21, in advance of next week’s first vote on S.1. The letter asks that she, in advance of this vote, make a public statement that she will help pass the For the People Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act through all means possible, including, if necessary, through abolishing, reforming, or providing an exception to the Senate filibuster.  This week, the PV Dems board signed on to this letter as well.

During our PV Dems monthly June meeting, we had a wonderful presentation of concerns and local actions in support of nursing and care home residents’ rights.  It included current efforts in the courts to force care homes to keep residents they are trying to evict through sneaky means (called patient dumping).  A wonderful write-up by newsletter editor Fraser Perkins follows this column.

It came to my attention this week that all our recorded meetings are also available to us on YouTube, something our web master Reggie Jue has been maintaining for us.  If you missed any of our past meetings, you could go to https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCoJOwk4v2vAelcfzfESKNA/videos to view them.  I’m going to revisit the PV Democrats August 2020 meeting to review what Judge Tom Long said about the next year’s Supreme Court, in prep for the Supreme Court Year in Review meeting we will hold on August 15.

This last month, our First Vice President Connie Sullivan was elected to the California Democratic Party (CDP) Executive Board.  The Executive Board (the E-Board) meets three times each year to conduct business that arises during and between conventions, including standing committee and caucus meetings.  In even-numbered presidential election years, the members of the E-Board elect the members to represent California at the Democratic National Committee in Washington, D.C.  In addition to those two roles, Connie also is a member of the Los Angeles County Democratic Party (LACDP) Central Committee, the official governing body of the Democratic Party in the County of Los Angeles; and is the LACDP Assembly District 66 delegate chair.  And this year she is organizing and chairing our July Installation Picnic as well.  In between all of these, she still finds time to actively campaign against the Governor Newsom recall.

We have been notified that the PV Library is again open for meetings, so starting in August we will resume in-person meetings at the Peninsula Center Library.  We plan to stream the meetings live on Zoom for those of you unable to attend.  And of course, we will record them and post them on our web site and on YouTube.

Our first in-person meeting is our July Installation Picnic on July 18^th at St Luke’s Presbyterian Church on Rolling Hills Road.  The picnic will be start at 5:00 p.m., giving you time to get your picnic dinner and/or drinks and get comfortable before speakers’ presentations begin at 5:30 p.m..   The picnic will conclude with the installation of the PV Democrats Board of Directors before 7:00 p.m.  Picnic dinners and drinks are available for a small donation.  See the menu and options on our web page and in the article in this newsletter.

July is the first month of our fiscal year, so membership fees are due now. You can renew your membership on the web page under Membership, and pay with a credit card through ActBlue, the Democrats’ fund-raising platform.  Or, you can print the form from the membership web page and mail it with a check.  Individual memberships are $25, families are $40, and students are $10.