Minutes of the Carroll County Democratic Central Committee
July 14, 2016

In attendance:  Don West, Corynne Courpas, Mitch Edelman,
Frank Rammes, Dorothy Scanlan, Tom Scanlan, Zach Hands, Anne
Stoner, Sadie Allgeier Interns: Ryan Koch, Henry Snurr
Guest:  Jonathan Sperber

The meeting was called to order at 7:00pm by Don West.

Pledge of Allegiance

Chair’s Report

The Jamie Raskin event was very successful.   On June 30th 
an executive committee meeting of the State Party was held. 
The new executive, Chuck Conner, was introduced.  There was
a presentation by Keith Presley, manager of the coordinated
campaign.

Guest Speaker, Jonathan Sperber

Jonathan Sperber is the regional field director for the
coordinated campaign.  In eleven days, 11,000 doors were
knocked on and 13,000 phone calls were made in Montgomery
County.  For this election, the emphasis is going to be on
Maryland as a stepping stone to 2018.  We will not be
calling or heading to Virginia or Pennsylvania to knock on
doors.  Sperber can provide gear and can be a “presence”.

Secretary’s Report

The June minutes were tabled until August’s meeting.

Treasurer’s Report

There is a balance of $5,011.81 in our checking account. 
Treasurer’s report was approved.  Rent in the amount of
$2,000 has been paid.

Club Reports

CC Dems: A reminder about the July 17th picnic at the Silver
Run/Union Mills Park from 1-4pm, rain or shine.  The meeting
on September 12 will feature speaker Angela Gustus,
Executive Director of the Carroll County HSP.  October’s
meeting will feature the Board of Education candidates.  So
far two of the four are confirmed:  Marsha Herbert and Julie
Kingsley.

South Carroll Club:  The South Carroll Club will participate
in the National Night Out.

Committee Reports

Local Politics:  The state board upheld the local Board of
Education’s decision to close three schools.  A committee is
being formed to examine future needs/funding.

Annapolis:  tabled until next session (January)

Communications:  Please send website updates to Don.    LTEs
are needed.  Keep commenting on the CCTimes editorials. 
Send out another eblast for the picnic.  We will also send
out an eblast for the grand opening of our headquarters.  We
continue to gain followers on Facebook.  We have 19
followers on Twitter; our Twitter address is:  @dems_cc.

VAN:  some of us are not getting emails regarding VAN
updates/trainings.

Events:  The Democratic Victory dinner will be on May 4,
2017.  Anita has been in contact with Steny Hoyer.

ASDC training:  Training is completed, and Mitch is
certified.

Fundraising:  tabled

Western MD PAC:  tabled

LGBTQ:  Anne attended three vigils including one in
Sykesville.  There will be a spoken word event on October
13.  We can march with PFLAG in the Fallfest parade.  There
will be a WOW festival on October 7 & 8.  Anne and Sadie are
on the Title 9 committee—in fact, Anne vetted everyone on
the committee.  Andy Harris suggested to all the school
superintendents in his district that they do not need to
follow the law.

Interns:  Ryan is working on a possible Raskin/Cox debate. 
Jamie is interested.  The Media Center is in a state of flux
because of the retirement of Marion Ware.  Intern Kathy
O’Donnell’s position papers are being posted on Facebook.

Old Business

Charter:  the commissioners have actually discussed this
issue.  Any committee will hopefully include a
representative from each of the central committees.

New Business

Headquarters:  We now have access to our space.  We will
need a coordinator.  Right now we have four tables and a
good number of chairs.  Perhaps a comfy chair/couch would be
nice.  Some other possibilities include;  bulletin or dry
erase board, big calendar, voter registration forms,
important dates.  Other ideas floated were inviting high
school debate teams and offering free food (always a draw). 
Should we have policy or frequently asked questions?  Friday
afternoon meet-and-greets (which could include students)? We
should have copies of the platform for both parties.  It
would be good to keep a strong relationship with
Jeanniebird.  HQ grand opening will be the Saturday after
Labor Day—September 10th.  We will post set hours after the
grand opening.

Fall breakfast:  The fall breakfast is October 8th.  A
number of names as a possibility for keynote speaker were
offered up:  Bruce Poole, Tom Schaller, Joe Werner, Anthony
Brown, Brian Frosh, Peter Franchot, Chris VanHollen, and
Jamie Raskin.  It was noted that there are no female names
on this list.  If not candidates, we should at least ask
them to send representatives with materals.  The cost of the
breakfast is $40.

Officer elections: Sadie Allgeier, Joan McGrath, Anne
Stoner, and Tom Scanlan requested to be on the nominating
committee.  It cannot be a secret ballot.  We will need to
change our by-laws at some point.

Fallfest:  We are registered for Fallfest, so everyone can
sign up for a shift.  A reminder that the brochure will need
to be updated.

The meeting adjourned at 9:13pm. Our next meeting will be
August 11, 2016.

Respectfully submitted,

Dorothy Scanlan Recording Secretary, CCDCC