Capital Area Progressive Democrats, 2019. Theme Material for Coders
Please join us for our July Club meeting. We will have important updates from the Bylaws committee & the Nominations committee, in addition to regular club business and a speaker.
Tuesday, July 5th, 5:30pm
Texas AFL-CIO
1106 Lavaca St.
Austin, TX 78701
Speaker:
We are fortunate to have Jan Soifer as our speaker for Tuesday’s meeting. She is our next 345th District Court Judge and Hillary Clinton Delegate to the Democratic National Convention. Jan’s involvement in the Whole Women’s Health case will allow us to gain expert insight about the recent Supreme Court ruling in that vital abortion rights case, and where we are currently in the struggle. Members and non-members alike are encouraged to attend and bring a friend to learn from Jan’s valuable insight. And if that weren’t enough she has also agreed to share her views as a national delegate on the convention season.
Nomination of New Officers:
The Capital Area Progressive Democrats’ Nominations Committee, chaired by Ken Craig, is recommending the following individuals for the following CAPD offices for the upcoming year:
Rick Cofer, Chair
Catherine O’Neill, Vice Chair for Membership
James Nortey, Vice Chair for Endorsements
Edward Garris, Secretary
Deena Estrada-Salinas, Treasurer
Eva Gonzales, Editor, CAPD Editorial/Opinion Webpage and on CAPD Facebook page(Newsletter)
Ken Craig, Programs Chair
Barbara Rush, Fundraising Chair
Sean O’Neill, Counselor
Lorena Watson, Youth Coordinator
Vacant, Communications Chair
Proposed Changes to the Bylaws:
The Capital Area Progressive Democrats’ Bylaws Committee, chaired by Rick Cofer, is recommending the following changes to the bylaws:
Proposed Amendment to the Capital Area Progressive Democrats Bylaws
Join us for our monthly meeting. JD Gins, Executive Director for the Travis County Democratic Party, will be our featured speaker. He will be speaking to us regarding a potential rail initiative.
Tuesday, June 7th, 5:30pm
Texas AFL-CIO
1106 Lavaca St.
Austin, TX 78701
Membership Happy Hour
Tuesday, May 3rd
5:30 – 7:00pm
Donn’s Depot
1600 W. 5th Street
Memberships for 2016 are due in May. Join us for a happy hour, bring your $10 membership dues, and bring a friend! Instead of our normal club meeting, we are holding a membership happy hour. Are you a member? Or want to see what CAPD is all about? Are you a Democrat? A believer in progressive causes? We look forward to seeing you on May 3rd.
RSVP on Facebook
We will be returning to our old home, the AFL-CIO, for our April meeting. We look forward to seeing you there!
Jacqueline Conn of the Second Chance Democrats will speak to us about Fair Chance Hiring, both the practice and the ordinance recently passed by the Austin City Council. We are finally beginning to address a serious civil rights issue, ending employment discrimination against our neighbors who have been previously incarcerated.
Tuesday, April 5
5:30pm
Texas AFL-CIO
1106 Lavaca St
We will not be holding a March club meeting. Our normal first Tuesday meeting falls on voting day. Please remember to vote, and remind your friends, family, and neighbors. See you in April!
Please join us for our February Club Meeting.
Tuesday, February 2nd, 5:30pm
Twin Oaks Branch Library
1800 S. Fifth St., 78704
Our speaker for this meeting will be TCDP Director of Operations, Cindy Flint. She will be speaking to us about county convention procedures and any other questions about the upcoming primary. We look forward to seeing you there!
CAPD is proud to have endorsed in the following races:
State Representative, District 49 – Gina Hinojosa
345th District Court Judge – Jan Soifer
427th District Court Judge – Jim Coronado
450th District Court Judge – Brad Urrutia
Travis County District Attorney – Gary Cobb
Constable Precinct 3 – Anthony “AJ” Johnson
Constable Precinct 4 – George Morales
Thanks to all the candidates for coming out to speak at the forum. And thanks to our membership for showing up and making your voice heard.
Click here to download the candidates’ questionnaires. New questionnaires will be added as they are received from candidates.
Our candidate forum and endorsement vote will be held on Monday, January 25 at the Texas AFL-CIO, 1106 Lavaca Street, starting at 5:30 PM and scheduled to end at approximately 8:30 PM.
If your dues are current, you may vote in the endorsement meeting. New members must have joined CAPD by the end of the 30th day prior to the endorsement meeting to vote. Former members whose memberships have lapsed within the previous 24 months will be allowed to pay the yearly dues at the endorsement meeting to renew their membership and will then be eligible to vote in the endorsement election. If you have any questions about your membership status, please contact Sean O’Neill at seanoneillut@gmail.com.
Renew your dues right now online: https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/page/capd
You can read our by-laws and rules here: http://www.capdaustintx.org/bylaws.html
The entire eligible membership present at the endorsement meeting may participate. A candidate in a race must receive at least 55% of the vote of the members present and voting in order to receive CAPD’s endorsement. There will no runoffs. In any race in which no candidate wins at least 55% of the vote of the members present and voting, there will be no endorsement in that race.
Members may cast their ballot at anytime beginning at 5:30 pm and ending at 8:30 pm or 5 minutes after the last candidate finishes speaking, whichever is later.
Per the vote of the executive committee, vote totals in each race will not be announced, only the endorsement or non-endorsement. Also, per CAPD vote, the CAPD membership list shall not be distributed to any candidate or campaign.
Candidates shall complete a questionnaire which will be provided to members electronically and posted publicly on the CAPD website.
We will not be holding our regular CAPD monthly meeting in January. Instead, we are currently working on scheduling an Endorsements Forum. Below is additional information about that from our Vice Chair for Endorsements, Rick Cofer. Please contact him if you are interested in serving on the Endorsements Committee.
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Our bylaws provide for an Endorsements Committee to work with the Vice Chair for Endorsements in setting up the endorsement process. Membership on the Endorsements Committee is open to any member of CAPD. Duties of the Endorsements Committee include drafting a questionnaire, scheduling the candidate’s forum and publicizing the forum and endorsement.
Our bylaws further provide that to be eligible to vote following the Candidates Forum, a member must be current in their dues and must have joined CAPD by the end of the 30th day prior to the endorsement meeting.
To win the endorsement of the CAPD, a candidate must receive at least 55% vote of the members present and voting.
We have already begun discussions with some other groups about holding a combined endorsement forum, just as we have in years past.
Here is a link to the Bylaws: http://www.capdaustintx.org/bylaws.html
If you are interested in joining the Endorsements Committee, please contact our Vice Chair for Endorsements, Rick Cofer, at capd@capdaustintx.org
Capital Area Progressive Democrats, 2019. Theme Material for Coders