Point Loma & OB Dems - April 25 Meeting Recap and Minutes - Strong Mayor & Council President
The progressive voice of Point Loma, OB and Loma Portal since 1954.
Meeting Recap, Updates and Links
Launching a New Community Grant Competition
History of the Strong Mayor in San Diego
The Point Loma & OB Democratic Club Micro Grant Competition — drive.google.com
Kip Eischen, Secretary, proposed that the club launch a competition that would award small-dollar grants for new projects that demonstrate the spirit of Democratic values in the Point Loma and Ocean Beach community. John Loughlin, President, appointed Kip Eischen and Susan Peinado as Co-Chairs of the Point Loma/OB Democratic Club Micro-Grant Competition Committee. Members Gail Hill and Leslie Bruce also agreed to support the committee. Please reach out to info@pointlomadem.org to join the committee or learn more!
History of the Strong Mayor in San Diego
Norma Damashek @ndamashek is a long-time San Diego activist. She recounted a history of mayoral power in San Diego.
San Diego had operated under a city-manager form of government since 1931; between 1969 and 2004, however, San Diego mayors attempted to transition the city to our current strong-mayor form of government that awards the mayor greater power in building the budget and hiring/firing staff including city managers and commission members. In 1969 San Diego Mayor Curran first attempted the switch to a strong-mayor form of government but was rejected by voters. During the 1970s San Diego Mayor Pete Wilson tried again to transition San Diego to a strong-mayor city structure and also failed—he did, however, establish the San Diego City Council's current committee system. It wasn't until 2004 when Mayor Dick Murphy coupled together with powerful real estate developers and the Padres that enough support was garnered among voters to cement the strong-mayor system that still governs San Diego today.
Under San Diego's strong-mayor structure the Mayor appoints City Managers with some oversight from City Council. Norma advocated for new changes to San Diego's City Charter that would require stricter qualifications for City Manager appointments by the mayor.
Norma's master's thesis, ANATOMY OF FAILURE is on the "Reading List for the San Diego Newcomer" compiled by the Voice of San Diego. You can read it HERE
The Western Service Workers Association
The Western Service Workers Association (WSWA) is working to help those hit hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic who had the least to begin with.
WSWA distributes over 4,000 lbs. of fresh food each week. Right now the organization is seeking volunteers to participate in Advocacy Sessions every Tuesday from 1 pm to 4 pm that will help families navigate rent and utilities bills that have racked up during the pandemic.
To learn more about WSWA or to volunteer call (619) 238-9763, visit 3014 Imperial Avenue San Diego, CA 7-days a week between 9 am and 9 pm or e-mail treasurer@pointlomadem.org
More about More Choice San Diego
Amy Tobia spoke on behalf of Represent San Diego, a national nonpartisan organization that has partnered with local groups to pass over 124 anticorruption reforms nationwide. Represent Us has joined with More Choice San Diego to usher in a system of ranked choice voting.
More Choice San Diego is launching a second attempt to pass Ranked Choice Voting in San Diego after falling one vote short at San Diego's City Council last year.
The Impact of Ranked Choice Voting in Minnesota. — www.youtube.com
Check out a recap of the impacts of Ranked Choice Voting on black leadership after it was enacted in Minnesota.
More Choice | Ranked Choice Voting for San Diego — morechoicesd.org
Learn more about Ranked Choice Voting and the efforts to reform voting in San Diego. Look out for community surveys, volunteering opportunities and discussion opportunities through the link.
Policy Panel on H.R. 1: The For the People Act — representsandiego.org
Represent Us San Diego is co-hosting a policy panel about elections and H.R. 1, the For the People Act on Friday April 30th at 6 pm.
Today's Meeting Minutes
April 25 General Meeting Minutes — drive.google.com
Please review today's meeting minutes here and reach out with any edits or omissions. We will approve the minutes at our May meeting.
Updates and Calls to Action
San Diego Asian Film Festival — sdaff.org
Running through May 2, the San Diego Asian Film Festival is entirely virtual and will present a variety of films devoted to stories about indigenous Hawaiian communities, elderly asian communities among others.
Ask Rep. Peters to take the Patients Over Profits pledge and cosponsor H.R. 1976 | National Nurses United — act.medicare4all.org While tens of millions of people in our country struggle to get the health care they need, corporations in the for-profit hospital, pharmaceutical, and insurance industries continue to make billions of dollars in profits. At the same time, these same corporations are spending millions of dollars to stop any attempts at reforming our broken healthcare system. Rep. Peters is one of the top recipients of corporate health care donations in Congress. We, constituents of California's 52nd district, call on Rep. Peters to take the Patients Over Profits pledge to stop taking donations from these executives, lobbyists, and PACs. Furthermore, we also call on Rep. Peters to cosponsor H.R. 1976, the Medicare for All Act of 2021, a bill that would address the scale of the crisis in our healthcare system.
Blue Dream Democrats — www.facebook.com
San Diego's Blue Dream Democratic Club promotes safe and equitable cannabis access. The club will consider the legalization of psychedelics at its next meeting on May 17th at 5:30. Visit the link to register and learn more.
Labor Democratic Club May Meeting
Register here for the May 16th Meeting Labor Democratic Club meeting about Labor and the Democratic Party: The Way Forward Post Bessemer With Harold Meyerson: https://cccconfer.zoom.us/j/96336732631
California State Senate Budget Proposal
News and Updates
San Diego Democratic Party Calls on City to End SeaWorld Fireworks — obrag.org On Tuesday, April 20, the San Diego County Democratic Party unanimously passed a resolution that calls on the City to end SeaWorld Fireworks. The resolution calls on the San Diego City Council to take action against the nightly fireworks that
Submit Your Nominations for the 2021 Roosevelt Honors Awards | San Diego County Democratic Party — sdcdp.ngpvanhost.com
The San Diego County Democratic Party will be recognizing local volunteers and leaders with the awards below at our 41st Annual Roosevelt Honors on Saturday, July 31, during our virtual fundraiser and awards presentation. Please visit sddemocrats.org/nominate to submit your award nominations. All responses must be received by Monday, June 7, 2021.
Submit your nominations now at sddems.link/nominate
Interested in Running for Office? Join Us for 'Campaigning 101' | San Diego County Democratic Party — sdcdp.ngpvanhost.com
Interested in running for local office or working on a campaign in 2022?
Campaigning 101: Overview and Fundamentals, a virtual info session, will be held May 1st, 2021 from 10am-12pm, remotely over Zoom.
Register now at sddemocrats.org/training. Please contact Maral at maral@sddemocrats.org, or 858-218-6998, if you have any questions.
The Invention of the Police | The New Yorker — www.newyorker.com Why did American policing get so big, so fast? The answer, mainly, is slavery.
How Churches Are Influencing Vaccine Decisions | KPBS — www.kpbs.org Many religious leaders across the county are actively encouraging followers to get vaccinated. Meanwhile, at least one megachurch is advocating against vaccines, while others are trying to avoid the subject.
What We Learned This Week — www.voiceofsandiego.org MTS pulled off something pretty remarkable this week. It revealed that two of its officers, one an MTS employee and one a contractor, killed an unarmed man by kneeling on his neck for more than six minutes. In doing so, it tacitly acknowledged that the agency had managed to keep the circumstances of Angel Hernandez’s […]
Point Loma & OB Dems
Patron
Angela Hawkins
Diane Mosely
Sponsors
Judith Collier
Dave Furlano
Gale Hill
Carol Holt
Mike Klinkert
Susan Peinado
Gary Werchak
Sustaining
Marsha Alexander
Toni Atkins
Leslie Bruce
Barbara Bry
Michen Denny
Marilyn Gibbs
Mandy Havlik
Dianne Lane
Joe LeCava
Yvonne Lu
Katherine Merten
Ulrich Merten
Pam Page
Gregg Robinson
Wedad Schlotte
Katherine Sheehan
Louise Titlow
Howard Walker
Chris Ward
Les Williamson
Carl Yaeckel
Dev Zaveri
Point Loma Democratic Club
PO Box 7802, San Diego, CA 92167
(619) 800 5098
info@pointlomadem.org
Chartered by the San Diego County Democratic Party
John Loughlin, President
Diane Mosely, Vice President
Kip Eischen, Secretary
Angela Hawkins, Treasurer
Central Committee Liaison, Ruth Rollins
Endorsement Committee Chair, Deval Zaveri-Tabb
Membership Committee Chair, Susan Peinado