October GBM

October 6, 2022

October GBM

General Body Meeting

October 6, 2022 @ 7:00pm

Location: Zoom

Agenda

6:45pm – Zoom Opens

7:00pm – Call to Order

Welcome

Consent Agenda

Treasurer’s Report

  • Including a proposal for an amended budget (see second tab of spreadsheet)

Steering Committee Special Election – Candidate Statements

  • Candidates: Lorenzita S., Malcolm G., Skyler S.
  • Candidates will be given a chance to speak, and then there will be a brief period for members to ask candidates questions

Considering Nevada Ballot Question 3

  • Discussion and a possible vote to provide a recommendation on ballot question 3, which would create open primary elections and ranked-choice general elections

Cultivating Desert Power Campaign Update

Abolition and Community Safety Campaign Update

Socialist Feminist Section Update

Steering Committee Special Election Results

Open Comment Period

9:00pm – Adjourn

 

Resources

Meeting Minutes

Chair: Anthony L.

Notetaker: Sarah L.

 

  1. Meeting called to order 7:05
  2. Guest speaker: Quentin Savwoir, running for President of NAACP
    1. community organizer and power builder, fomerly deputy director Make It Work Nevada. Currently with Run For Something. Lived here 5 years, there are opportunities to mkae measurable change. As part of NAACP I have seen how it needs to change. They have focused on events rather than social justice. We still have housing struggles, neighborhood infrastructure issues. I am not in it to be in charge, I want to change lives. Rent increases are absurd, people sleeping in cars, affordable child care is out of reach, people have to just not work so they can care for kids themselves. I have a 100-day plan, Aisha running for VP, we’re a dynamic duo.
    2. Join NAACP by Oct 17, you will be in good standing to vote.
    3. Vote electronically Nov 19 between 10 AM and 2 PM
    4. NAACPLasVegas.com/membership
    5. question from Charles P.: NAACP has become more liberal as opposed to leftist. They don’t get anything done. They need new blood, new leadership. What can they do at this point?
      1. Quentin:  existing group has put in work, but not making change. I’m a black gay man and proud, people have asked if church people are okay or it will be an obstacle. Jubilee brunch luncheon $250 each, police are there in uniform, they clearly want a certain type of member there. We need to make money not be a barrier and address needs of lower income folks. Our democracy is not permanent, we need to talk to each other and nurture our communities so we can save democracy. Emotionally investing in everybody, we all live together and have an agreement. I am a unifier, I am realizing the power of my care for the community. When we show up in large numbers politicians have to listen. NAACP has increased their power without really changing lives. They are comfortable with my opponent, they want the status quo.
      2. Shaun: Quentin is great, strongly encourage you to join and vote.
      3. Quentin: Meet people where they are, we have an economic system that doesn’t allow people to participate. We have to find where folks are, ride the bus, go to barbershops and laundromats. Show up when there’s a job or health care fair. Show up for people, they will see you care and be loyal. This is a moment for me to bring new energy and return to the org it was founded as.
      4. Membership fee is $32. If that is a barrier talk to Shaun, I have raised funds and can Zelle you the money. People can join NAACP regardless of race.

 

  1. Leonard Peltier: political prisoner, convicted of killing federal agents. Formerly petitioned to Obama but did not get released. Please sign petition and write a separate letter to Biden calling for his release.
    1. American Indian Movement – research them, they support Leonard
    2. Petition to free Leonard Peltier: https://www.change.org/p/joe-biden-free-political-prisoner-leonard-peltier
    3. Alternatively, consider contacting the White House directly: https://www.whitehouse.gov/get-involved/write-or-call/

 

  1. Consent agenda: purpose is to expedite votes that we anticipate will pass.
    1. Anthony: motion to add voter guide to consent agenda. If you believe there should be discussion, do not vote to add to consent agenda. There were no significant changes from primary except more races. There are not descriptions as some races were very difficult.
      1. Jose Silva – why are we doing elections? Anthony: we can talk about it when we get to the item.
      2. Charlie seconds the motion.
    2. Five items on consent agenda:
      1. Agenda for tonight’s meeting, voter guide, minutes from last meeting, resolution to end YNS campaign, updated resolution for
    3. Anthony: does anyone feel there is a need for discussion, if so Stack to propose taking it off the consent agenda.
    4. Erika B. moves to adopt consent agenda. Seconded. No opposition.
    5. Consent agenda is adopted with no opposition.

 

  1. Treasurer’s Report
    1. See linked Treasurer’s Report for amounts in each account
    2. No large expenses except Sunday Solidarity. Have not transferred out of PayPal. A large donation has been held up and needs to be canceled and re-donated.
    3. Budget: amended budget, we need to get approval from membership
      1. Increased event rentals from $750 to $1000. We may not use it all but as we move into in-person meetings which people have requested, we want to have funds for the spaces we want to use. We always try to find a good deal and work with partners, we do want to pay them when we use their space.
      2. New Misc line item for whatever comes up. Ad in Life Is Shit festival, Bad Moon Booking, it was $125 to place a full page ad.
      3. Increased speaker fees. For example Jenny Brown at convention. We want to pay the people we want to hear from. These discussions engage our members and we all learn.
      4. New line item SocFem, sent a proposal for $600, approved and has been included on the budget.
      5. We are doing well on budget. I always try to be conservative about estimating income and expenses.
    4. Anthony Moves to adopt amended budget as Aimee described. Second. No opposition. Amended budget is adopted with unanimous consent.

 

  1. Steering Committee Elections:
    1. Two vacancies on SC right now. On August 26 Minnie resigned. Voted unanimously to remove Nathaniel from SC. We announced elections last time. We had more than 20 people nominated, but only 3 people accepted. We have 3 candidates for 2 positions. Questionnaire responses from Skyler S. and Lorenzita S. were emailed out. Third candidate is Malcolm G.
    2. Lorenzita S.: was on SC last year. If you ever want to talk to me about anything please do and I can make sure your voice gets heard with SC.
    3. Skyler S.: cannot speak currently due to work. Can speak after 8:00 if there is time.
    4. Malcolm G.: accepted nomination but did not fill out questionnaire and is not present at this meeting.
    5. Question for Lorenzita from Nathaniel: we have lost a number of SC members, including Paul John Cook, Victoria, Jackie S. As another BIPOC person who works for the AAPI community, how will you make sure BIPOC members feel included? How will you make sure everyone has agency and voice in the chapter.
      1. Lorenzita: Aware of this issue. My main message is please talk to me. If you have concerns I want to hear them. I want everyone to know what SC is, what capacity members have and their role in the chapter. If I can help clear up anything around past resignations. As a person who is AAPI, lesbian, non-binary, I can relate to folks.
    6. Single Transferable Vote. Ranked choice – round-by-round elimination, if your first choice is eliminated your vote moves to your second choice and so on. Sean Young, Tamara Taylor, Aaron Bautista are the tellers committee who will calculate the results during the meeting.
    7. Ballot placed in chat at 7:54. Ballot will be open for 20 minutes until at least 8:15.
    8. Questionnaire answers shared in chat.

 

  1. Ballot Question 3 discussion
    1. Anthony: first two ballot questions we have recommended yes. Second increases minimum wage faster than it would otherwise. Q3 is more complicated. Chris Roberts will explain and we will have a period of discussion.
    2. Chris Roberts, chair of Clark County Dems but I am not speaking in that capacity, just as an individual.
    3. Changes our primaries to ranked choice instead of choose one. It’s not for general elections, it just opens the primary and changes to ranked voting. We would not have partisan primaries, all ballots would include candidates of all parties.
    4. Top 5 vote getters would advance to the general.
    5. Ballot access is limited to four parties and nonpartisan. There’s a sense this could make things better for candidates running against establishment. Potentially bullies candidates who share our values. With an open primary we face possibly having a split between Republicans and Democrats. When we go to a general election this potentially limits our choices and makes it difficult for less mainstream candidates.
    6. It would get people engaged in primaries, so that is positive. But I believe it makes it more difficult for candidates not backed by a major party.
    7. Anthony: current primary closed, you can only vote in a primary for the party you are registered. This changes it to have all candidates regardless of party, then the general election is ranked choice. Use stack. Ground rules: if you have questions cool. If you are speaking for or against, please only speak once.
    8. Benjamin P.: I worked on this and gathered signatures, I am in favor. I believe in data. We have data from Alaska, and Nevada has a similar demographic. We saw a pro-choice indigenous candidate win over Sarah Palin and we have a seat we haven’t held since 1972 because of ranked choice. I want to give Republicans the “Topsy treatment” (reference to Topsy the elephant electrocuted by Thomas Edison). Please support this measure.
    9. Daniel P.: we see examples where this was beneficial. In the grand scale, is that setup going to create an additional divide between mainstream Dems and what they would label fringe voters. If we are trying to pass more progressive policies, and make them aware they are ignoring issues of the working class. I fear doing voting in this way will give them leverage to marginalize leftist candidates, instead of forcing them to change.
    10. Tyler C.: do we vote ideals or strategic? We may vote left and end up with a Republican, event worse. This allows us to vote our ideals without risking that. As we see with Alaska people will get more representative leaders.
    11. Anthony: this looks good on the surface but is centrist. Catherine (??) used to be called The Centrist Project. Has been trying to make it easier for centrists to win. All about bipartisanship. Wants to eliminate far right and far left. As Dem Soc we support ranked choice. But we live in a capitalist system where elections are run by money, if they weren’t. If we had a socialist candidate win the primary but even four other democrats. Establishment can throw their money behind the mainstream Dem to beat the progressive even if we 
    12. Charles P.: Pulling Repubs apart between establishment and crazies. In PA or MI, the far right is a no-go. I think there is validity in hiding your power level and running as Dem. We are a blue state but not as blue as some. But blue enough you can get candidates through. Tactically and long term it’s good to oppose fascism and tear the Republicans apart. Giving people more choices is a poison pill for fascism.
    13. Tiffany: was in favor until I looked at implementation. I believei nRanked chocie but this is bad. Ranked choiuce does not have ranked in ballot measure. We would not have ranked choice in primary. The chance of progressive making it to the general is very slim so we would not even get the choice to vote for them. Alaska also had to disclose if money is coming from out of state, but we would not have that so dark money could be pouring in from anywhere.
    14. Does this change first in the nation status? No.
    15. Is the RCV on the ballot the same as Alaska? Mostly the same but not exactly.
    16. Will there be a caucus in 2024? No, caucuses are gone.
    17. Colin S.: new to NV, want to check how ballot initiatives work. The open primary and ranked choice in the general are coupled in this initiative and cannot be separated? I personally do not know where I stand. An info packet came out with pro/con of the ballot initiatives. Who approves those, would it be possible for leftists to have rebuttals to those statements from a socialsit perspective?
      1. Anthony: there is a committee to write those. Members, if anyuone would like to write for our blog you can do that, will be reviewed and if approved by SC it will go on blog. We would love to have more people write.
    18. Wrap up by Chris Roberts: agree with Tiffany. Ranked choice voting is great and if it were just that I would be all the way behind it. Doing top 5 out of the primaries stacks the deck against non-major-party candidates. We’ve been doing electoral work in NV. It’s very likely a socialist candidate would need to run as non-partisan to skip to the geeral, in our current system. But a socialist would have to go up against several Dems, Republicans, non-partisans, in the primary – it would be very difficult to get into the top 5 and make it out of the primary.
    19. Anthony: we do not have a recommendation on ballot question 3. If someone wants to move to provide a recommendation we will do so, if not we will just move on.
      1. Tyler C.: propose we recommend in favor. Second from Benjamin P.
      2. We have already had debate for and against – go straight to a vote.
        1. 5 in favor to recommend Q3.
      3. Nathaniel point of info: what are we voting on? Anthony: current motion is to make a recommendation, and that recommendation would be yes.
        1. 34 against recommending Q3 in the guide.
        2. 5 abstentions.
      4. Tiffany S.: move to make a recommendation in the guide, and the recommendation will be no. Seconded by Erika B.
        1. 20 in favor
      5. Nathaniel point of info: there was a coalition of Dem groups like Silver State Voices, Battle Born Progress, that also recommended no. Others who align themselves as socialists like Dr. Cosgrove are for it. Can Chris speak to it.
        1. 6 opposed.
        2. 5 abstained.
      6. Vote will pass, we will provide a recommendation of No on Question 3 on our voter guide.

 

  1. Steering Committee election is closed. Tellers committee will tabulate results while we hear from priority campaigns.

 

  1. Cultivating Desert Power update
    1. Created a petition durig our meeting to LVVWD Board, in support of an excessive use rate increase. Submitted 83 signatures. It passed! Sarah L, Anthony L, Lisa O, made public comment in favor.
    2. NDOT board meeting to discuss heat islands and pollution. Sierra Club, Medical society consortium. Governor runs that meeting, he said yes, let’s put it on our agenda. Will be on November’s agenda. They did not add our comments to the minutes but still trying to get them added.
    3. Planting for Chapparral High School, other landscapes around town. Landscape architect will be presenting in November and we will be there.
    4. Next meeting Thursday 7:00 PM virtually.
    5. Urban heat island remediation place park oct 29 form 8:30 – noon planting 240 trees in residential. We need tree planters! With Tick and Olivia Diaz.
    6. Thanks stewards Lisa and Skyler!

 

  1. Abolition & Community Safety
    1. Ephraim: first of four brake light clinics on Sat Oct 1. Thanks to those who came. We had a lot of comrades there and changed a few motorists bulbs to hopefully avoid contact with police. Another BLC before the end of the year, it will be bigger!
    2. Tentatively meeting next wednesday or the one after. Meeting with local chapter of National Lawyers Guild. We will talk about book club.
    3. All our work is leading up to organizing a big fight against the state depleting social services to add to next year’s state budget.
    4. Thanks Erika B. for helping with Know Your Rights training.

 

  1. Socialist Feminist Section
    1. Tiffany: last session of Abolition Feminism Now coming up Tuesday, come even if you haven’t done the reading. https://lvdsa.org/events/abolition-feminism-now-reading-group/
    2. Abortion access campaign: collecting abortion after-care supplies, collecting submissions for zine, collecting stories about abortion or crisis pregnancy centers.
    3. You can use our link to donate to Wild West Access Fund

 

  1. Steering Committee Elections
    1. Sean Y.: elected Lorenzita S. and Skyler S. Confirmed by Aaron and Tamara.
    2. Anthony: we will send out by email results and how they were calculated, for transparency.

 

  1. Mutual aid
    1. Rahman: First meeting weds Oct 12, at 7 PM first meeting to plan Holiday Solidarity, talk locations and dates. We have a promising location

 

  1. Open Comment
    1. Jose S.: I have some of the same concerns as Nathaniel, and others have the concerns too. We need to ask ourselves if we are addressing any racism or anti-blackness. If we want to bring in people of color, when people see that we’ve lost a chair that was a black man, we recently lost another SC member who is a black man. Should something different have been done to avoid this result? We need to challenge ourselves with how we interact with race and each other. I might be willing to host a meeting, there are books and resources we could use. I would be happy to speak to anyone about this.
    2. Sean Y.: political education!
      1. Night School: Imperialism, Wednesday the 19th.
      2. Oct 25, National DSA is doing an event around organizing. We will have a breakout session that is local.
      3. Second socialist paper-reading social. Will post dates when location is set.
    3. Soren S.: in December will be Colorado River Water Users Association which is meeting of all water districts and federal agencies. Huge opportunity to table it or try to include socialist points of view. We should have people there, even if not an organized presence.
    4. Lorenzita S.: I’m working on Naruto Run to the Polls. I’m giving everyone a Naruto headband and we’re gonna run to a polling location, I’m gonna give out snacks. https://www.mobilize.us/oneapianevada/event/501649/

 

  1. Agenda exhausted. Meeting adjourned 8:59 PM.
Back to All Meeting Minutes