Carroll County Democratic Central Committee Meeting Minutes

June 20th, 2013


Committee members in attendance Don West, Jason Officer,
Anita Riley Corynne Courpas, Jim Gregory, Neil Ridgely,
Dorothy Scanlon, Jackie Jones and Jackie Schrenker-Case.

Other attendees Maria Warburton, John Witiak, and Lowell
Jones

Meeting was held in the Large Meeting Room of the North
Carroll Branch of the CCPL and was called to order by Jackie
Jones, Chair, at 7:06 pm and opened with the Pledge of
Allegiance.

Chair's Report 
CC Commissioners critique, Michelle Jefferson
and Core Curriculum, the Rain Tax.

Secretary's Report 
May's minutes were sent to CCDCC members
via e-mail.  A motion to approve minutes was made by Jason
O., 2nd by  Corynne C., vote unanimous.

Treasurer's Report 
Treasurer's report was sent out via
e-mail to the members and showed a current balance of
$9,988.44.  Motion to approve report by Don W., 2nd by
Dorothy S., vote unanimous.

Club Reports

Committee Reports 
Neil R. gave his Local Politics report,
including the missing drone legislation, Shoemaker's and
Howard's future elected plans, another County 'slush fund',
announced candidates for Sheriff, a County militia (?), and
States attorney Jerry Barnes.

Corynne C. reported the Election Committee met with a viable
candidate for Sheriff.

There were no Events, Fundraising, Grassroots/Outreach, or
Communications reports.

Old Business 
Anita R. gave a final report on the JJ Dinner,
and she estimates that we made about $4500.00.  The silent
auction made $1794.00.  Several people thought the Jazz
music was too loud.  The 50/50 raffle made about $150, and
Jason O. said the Democratic Club will donate the money at
the election.


New Business 
Congressman Van Hollen will be holding a 'meet
and greet' at Carroll Community College on Monday, June 24th,
 from 5 -7 pm.  We the People has threatened to give the
new Congressman a 'We the People welcome', whatever that is!
Corynne C. discussed the 2014 Plan she compiled, and it is
attached to these minutes.  Corynne will submit the report
to the proper State officials. Don W. introduced Maria
Warburton to the CCDCC, a friend and local activist. Neil R.
made a motion to close the meeting in order to discuss
personnel issues, Don W. 2nd, vote unanimous.  There was a
motion to table any action discussed during the session by
Neil R., Anita R. 2nd, vote unanimous. Don W. offered to ask
his wife Cindy M. to create a unique 'office warming'
present for Congressman Chris Van Hollen's Mt. Airy office
opening on July 15th, 2013.  Corynne C. motioned to
authorize spending up to $100, Neil R. 2nd, vote unanimous.

Announcements 
The next regular meeting for the CCDCC will be
Thursday, July 18th, 2013, starting at 7 pm, in the Large
Meeting Room of the Finksburg Branch of the CCPL.



Meeting adjourned at 8:52 pm.

Respectfully submitted, Don West, Recording Secretary CCDCC





















CARROLL COUNTY DEMOCRATIC CENTRAL COMMITTEE 2014 PLAN

Our Committee consists of the following : The Committee
shall consist of fourteen (14) members elected by the
Democratic voters of Carroll County in the party's
gubernatorial primary.  Ten (10) shall be elected from five
(5) districts commensurate with the current commissioner
districts Ð one (1) man and one (1) woman from each
district.  The selected county-wide members shall consist of
four (4) members Ð two (2) men and two (2) women. Our Chair 
Jackie Jones  was elected in September 2010 when this
Committee was first seated. Our Vice Chair Anita Riley has
many years of service to the Party and was appointed V-Chair
when former  member George Maloney passed away. Secretary
Don West was elected in 2010 and has served as Secretary
since that time. Corresponding secretary Dorothy Scanlon was
appointed in June of 2012. Treasurer Corynne Courpas
accepted the position in September 2010. Neil Ridgely was
elected in September 2010. Jim Gregory- Nov Ô10 Jackie
Schrenker- Case- Nov Ô10 Mary Ellis- approx Dec 2010 Jason
officer- May Ô11


          *Our Committee does not have a permanent office.
          We  have run successful Headquarters in  election
          seasons. Voter profile of County/City: number of
          total registered voters, how many Dems, how many
          Republicans. 33996  Democrats        59064
          Republicans    20807 Independents Make up of your
          county/city elected officials: Total number of
          Democrats holding county and state elected
          offices. We have no elected Dems in our County
          Offices or State Legislative delegation. Your plan
          is a collaboration of whom?  Committee Chair, CC
          Members, Activists, Dem Clubs, Elected officials,
          etc. (be specific; did your write it yourself or
          was it a team effort? Who was included?) Our plan 
          is a collaboration of  sub Committee Chairs and
          our Leadership in Carroll County. We do work
          actively with our two existing Democratic Clubs
          and   their current Presidents are also CCDCC
          members.

This Plan was assembled by Corynne Courpas.


CARROLL COUNTY DEMOCRATIC CENTRAL COMMITTEE 2014 PLAN


I.  FUND RAISING /BUDGET

Anita Riley  &  Jackie Jones


Raising money for a candidate's campaign is important,
although not particularly something that anyone running for
office really enjoys.

It is equally important for a Central Committee to raise
money in order to be able to help and contribute to the
campaigns of those running for State or Local offices.

CCDCC fund raising for many years was limited to the
Jefferson Jackson Dinner held each year Ð it being our only
major fund raiser each year.

Several years ago, it was suggested we add a ÔSilent
Auction' to the dinner in order to raise additional funds. 
This has proven to be very successful.  The South Carroll
Democratic Club has been very gracious in Ôsponsoring' the
auction and very graciously donates all proceeds to the
CCDCC

The Carroll County Democratic Club holds a 50/50 Cash raffle
at the JJ as well, and they generously donate all proceeds
generated to the CCDCC.

In 2011, the CCDCC decided to take on adding a CC Democratic
Central Committee  Ôbreakfast' as a fund raiser, as well. 
Therefore, in March of 2012, the CCDCC held its Ôfirst'
breakfast and it was an immediate success.  Therefore, we
continued with a breakfast in March of 2013 and are looking
to have a breakfast in October, 2013.

These breakfasts not only help to raise money, but more
importantly,  it brings county Democrats together to talk to
one other, see who we are, bring ideas forward,  hear
encouraging words from a Democratic speaker,  and  É  also
gives them a sense that the Democratic  Central Committee IS
here and willing to help and serve all Democrats in Carroll
County, MD.

Our Chair, Jackie Jones, has set a goal of $ 20,000 for our
2014 effort.  We are half way there.   She plans to do a
mailing to Dems in Carroll to ask for smaller individual
contributions. She is also developing a plan to approach
more Dems in our Professional Community to ask for those
larger amounts. This is in addition to events above.



II.  COMMUNICATIONS Jim Gregory There are two CCDCC FaceBook
pages; one for general public access, one restricted to
CCDCC members. We have updated the web site: 
http://www.ccdems.com/ and converted it to Salsa.  The site
includes calendar of events, contact information for CCDCC
members, links to other sites considered to be of interest,
and pages for contact, contributing, and volunteering.  At
this point, the site traffic is also being monitored to see
how extensively it's used.  This will drive decisions about
opening credit card usage, etc. Information was provided via
the web site about non-partisan municipal elections in the
County.  No attempt was made to endorse candidates, but all
candidates, election dates, and polling places were
identified. Improved coordination of communications between
the CCDCC and the County Democratic clubs is a current
objective.  Coordinating with campaigns in the next election
cycle (2014) also needs to be reviewed.  Candidates for 1st
and 8th congressional districts, local legislative
districts, and statewide offices will be covered.

III.  OUTREACH Mary Ellis Voter Activation Network: A
Committee member and a community leader received VAN
training in Annapolis in 2012. The database was used to
develop call lists for the 2012 campaign to acquaint
Democrats with the location and amenities of the Democratic
Headquarters in Westminster, recruit volunteers for local
and out-of-state actions, explain ballot questions, apprise
voters of polling locations and transportation options for
shut-ins, and educate targeted populations in the write-in
and early voting process, as well as upgrades in
registration access, especially on-line registration. In
2013, VAN helped the Committee to identify the most
dedicated Democratic voters in each of six townships to call
to get out the vote for municipal elections. Bulletin: For
the past three years, committee members have contributed
links to articles, events, programs, and groups for an
on-line bulletin published twice monthly to Carroll County
Democrats, circulation 455 and growing, keeping Democrats
active and informed between election cycles. This Bulletin
includes Central Committee events and news, but is not an
official publication on the CCDCC. Community events: Over
the past three years, Committee members along with community
activists contributed to events like the following: --booths
at Hampstead Day, the Westminster Fall Fest, Eldersburg
Night Out, and the Reese Fireman's Carnival to answer
questions, disseminate literature and register voters, --the
Fall Fest Parade with the help of the Young Democrats of
McDaniel College with banners and handouts,

--a demonstration at Century High School in how the arts and
humanities are used effectively in election campaigns, --an
election-day food drive at all polling places, which far
outstripped the two previous drives in food and monetary
contributions. The Committee also encouraged the community
to speak in favor of the MD Department of Planning's Smart
Growth initiative and against the passage of a local
ordinance making English the official language of Carroll
County. 2012 Election: Last fall, the Committee opened
Carroll County Democratic Headquarters 2012, which hosted a
Board of Education candidates' forum, club meetings, and a
viewing and discussion of the Presidential debates. To
develop esprit de corps, parties were held celebrating the
President's birthday, the two parties' conventions, and the
election outcome. Word was spread about Headquarters
activities through various popular media, e.g. a tour of
Headquarters on U-tube, photos of the Birthday Bash on
Facebook, interviews of Democrats and Republicans on women's
issues for the McDaniel newspaper, and two video
presentations of interviews and atmosphere. HQ volunteers
also educated Democrats in the use of the OFA Dashboard so
they could sign up for election events, share stories, join
groups like Veterans/Seniors/Women for Obama, and/or
phone-bank for OFA at home. Additionally, HQ volunteers
helped Maryland deliver the state of Virginia to President
Obama via a canvassing and phone-banking blitz on weekends
in October, organized by OFA.  They also supported the
President, congressional candidates, Board of Education
candidates, and Questions 4 and 6 with hand-outs at polling
places on Election Day. Neighborhood leader programs: Among
other groups, CCDCC members support by advertisement and
participation the progressive efforts of Parents, Families
and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG), the Rape-Crisis
Center, 1000 Friends of Maryland, Casa de Maryland, the
Maryland Budget and Tax Policy Institute, Young Democrats of
McDaniel College and South Carroll High School, Healthcare
Now!,  Women for Obama, the ecological initiatives of
WasteNot! and Planet Carroll, and the training and outreach
programs of Organizing for Carroll, a local offshoot of OFA,
pledged to carry on the work of supporting the President and
electing qualified Democrats to local offices. Clubs: The
Carroll County Democratic Club and the South Carroll
Democratic Club report their activities regularly to the
Committee.  Two other clubs are in the process of formation.
 The Northwest Democratic Club held a most successful first
meeting in April with Dr. John LaFerla speaking on
strategies for defeating Andy Harris in the 2014 election. 
The Manchester Democratic Club, which folded some years ago
is trying to re-form.  They have been given lists of their
most likely supporters using VAN.

Our goal is to strengthen and continue these efforts,
culminating in a strong visibility for the 2014 effort.



IV.  CANDIDATE RECRUITMENT for 2014 LOCAL ELECTIONS Corynne
Courpas It is difficult to recruit candidates for local
offices in Carroll.  Carroll Government is functioning
poorly and our success rate as Dems has been poor. We have
assembled a group of interested members. Our goal is to
shake out some viable candidates to carry our message and to
make a good showing. We hope to win a couple seats this
election, which will encourage others to step forward.  We
began meeting a few months ago with the following Agenda in
mind. Identify open seats and prioritize filling them with
Candidates. Is it necessary to have a candidate for each
slot?  Which do require full slate; i.e. House of Delegates
5, Orphan's Court, in order to have a chance?

What qualifications and traits are we looking for?

Develop a plan to identify, validate and then recruit
Candidates. Proposal: Start with Brainstorming names
internally and identifying Community leaders that can help
us identify more. Identify CCDCC members who should invite
these individuals to ÒcoffeeÓ and get their thoughts. Any
interested folks would then be invited to attend a full
CCDCC meeting.  (As of June '13 , we have  interviewed one
likely candidate in a race that will be highly contested in
the Republican Primary. It is also an Òopen seatÓ.) These
efforts are ongoing until the filing deadline.

Using data collected from recent and further past
Candidates, define how we can best lend our time, money and
expertise to Candidates.

Party Platform- Is it advisable/necessary to have a general
Platform to tell the County what DEMS stand for.  We need 3
(or less) themes like Education, Environment, PlanningÉ..
Then we need a plan to promote the platform.


V. GOTV Jackie Jones In order to maximize Democratic turnout
in the upcoming Gubernatorial cycle, we plan to do the
following: Plan a meeting with organization such as PFLAG,
NAACP, Unions, Education groups, NEA, environmental
organizations, McDaniel College and Carroll Community
College,  Western MD Democrats, Rep. Chris Vanhollen's
office staff, candidates for MD Congressional District 1,
Carroll County Democratic Club, South CC Club and any new
clubs formed, and other organizations who support the MDP
platform. Continue to inform Carroll County Democrats making
them aware of all Democratic candidates running for public
offices in Carroll County as well as State offices. Contact
as many Democratic voters in Carroll County as possible.
Encourage them to get out and vote. Try and convince many
voters to become Democratic voters. Register Carroll County
residents who are not registered.  Explain how important it
is to vote. Train volunteers to make contact with voters
either via phone or door to door.  GOTV is political
socialization. Work with Democrat candidates, train, support
and assist in the opposition research for each candidate.
Work to get at least one candidate for each office. Train
candidates to make a "good effort" campaign.  Know the
duties of the office. Know why they are a candidate, know
the territory of office. Help with fund raising for each
candidate. Continue to write letters to the local newspapers
to support our candidates. Have a Headquarters for three or
four months prior to election.  Run phone banks and Assist
in ÒRobo callsÓ if apparatus provided by the State Party or
Statewide Candidates Prepare to have rides to the polls for
older/handicapped voters.  Notify of all election changes.
Work to get Democrats to vote early and educate them about
absentee ballots, and election day voting Direct Mail Ð as
budget allows.