Friday, April 17 at 7:00pm

Westminster Hills Church
27287 Patrick Avenue, Hayward, CA
(Map and Directions)

Candidates Forum for Endorsement for the June 3 Primary Election

Superior Court Judge Seat No. 9: Dennis Hayashi, Victoria Kolakowski, Phil Daly and Dennis Reid have been invited.

18th A.D. Assemblymember Mary Hayashi, Jason Teramoto, 20th A.D. incumbent Alberto Torrico,and Congressmember Pete Stark, the latter two running unopposed, will state their case.

We will have a speaker on the two ballot measures, Measure 98 and Measure 99 and consider Measure I, a $205 million bond measure for the Hayward Schools.

Hayward Candidates Forum Update

Demos members endorsed four candidates for the Hayward City Council at our March meeting. They are:

• Barbara Halliday (four year seat)
• Bill Quirk (four year seat)
• Olden Henson (four year seat)
• Steve Bristow (two year seat)

Contact information for the candidates:

• Halliday: hallidahl@sbcglobal.net
• Quirk: BillQuirkforHayward@comcast.net
• Henson: ohenson@earthlink.net
• Bristow:HMSBristow@comcast.net

Call Ginny, 781-0944, if you're able to phone for Steve Bristow and/or Bill Quirk.

Friday, March 14 at 6:30pm

Westminster Hills Church
27287 Patrick Avenue, Hayward, CA
(Map and Directions)

Hayward Candidates Forum

Hayward City Council election will constitute the meeting. All candidates have been invited. Members of the Club will vote for endorsements and candidates who receive a majority vote will share $1500.

Only paid up members may vote, and ‘07 members may pay for ‘08 at the meeting and be eligible to vote. The Club by its by-laws may only endorse registered Democrats.

There will be a separate ballot for the two-year seat being vacated by Councilmember Doris Rodriquez, and the four 4-year seats, with one open seat now held by Councilmember Bill Ward.

Healthcare NOT Warfare – Sign the Petition

February 29, 2008

As Progressive Democrats of America (PDA) board member Norman Solomon pointed out in this article, “nearly one in six Americans has no health insurance, and tens of millions of others are woefully under-insured–while the war in Iraq continues to further skew the U.S. government's budget priorities.”

We say “Healthcare NOT Warfare” and ask you to join the campaign.

The time has come to redirect unnecessary and wasteful military spending to meeting human needs.

Among those needs is the healthcare crisis and we're focusing our attention on the Democratic Party by gathering signatures on a petition to prioritize “Healthcare NOT Warfare.” The signed petition will be distributed to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Democratic Committee Chairman Howard Dean, and your member of Congress.

In addition, we hope to pass resolutions to support “Healthcare NOT Warfare” at the upcoming local, state, and national Democratic conventions, and in cities, counties, and states across the country.

Please, sign the petition, and join us in this effort by taking action on one or more of the following items:

• Host a House Party–get your “Healthcare NOT Warfare” materials and house party kits, here.
• Download the flyer to distribute at meetings and events. Use it to bird-dog congressional candidates!
• Download the sample resolution, change it to meet your needs, and pass it at your local and state Democratic Parties, cities, and counties.
• Click here for additional resources and action items.

Friday, February 22nd at 7:00pm

Westminster Hills Church
27287 Patrick Avenue, Hayward, CA
(Map and Directions)

Mary Jo Foote from ACLU of Northern California presents

Police Accountability and Citizen Review

Mary Jo Foote will be discussing the issues of “Police Accountability and Citizen Review.” This includes the importance and impact of the decision by the California Supreme Court in Copley Press v Superior Court and SB 1019. In addition, she will touch on the current issues that ACLU of Northern California is working on, as well as issues at the national level.

Mary Jo Foote is on the ACLU of Northern California Affiliate’s Speaker Team and is a Board Member of the ACLU Paul Robeson Chapter for Alameda County. She lives in Berkeley, was raised in Hayward, and is retired from the Federal Government. Mary Jo has also serves on the Board of the Greater Hayward Democratic Club.

John Edwards Wins Demos 2008 Democratic Presidential Straw Poll

At the Hayward Demos Presidential Straw Poll, representatives of five Democratic Candidates gave presentations and answered questions from over 60 attendees.

• 56 persons cast votes for their top three Democratic candidates
• Candidate were given 3 points for 1st, 2 points for 2nd, and 1 point for 3rd

The results:

1. John Edwards
2. Dennis Kucinich
3. Barack Obama
4. Hillary Clinton
5. Bill Richardson
6. Mike Gavel

Notes: Dennis Kucinich received the most first place votes.
At the time of the Demos straw poll, Joe Biden and Chris Dodd had withdrawn from the race.

Thursday, January 31st at 7:00pm

All Saints Catholic Church
Senior Center (adjacent to the church)
2nd and D Streets, Hayward, CA
(Map and Directions)

Chris Brown: Humanitarian Crisis Continues for Palestinians in Strife-torn Lebanon

Presented by the South Alameda County Peace and Justice Coalition, All Saints Justice and Peace Committee, and Tri-City Peace and Justice.

Chris Brown, independent journalist in the San Francisco Bay Area, will focus on his recent trip to Lebanon where he observed the plight of the 31,000 Palestinian Refugees living in the Nahr el-Bared Refugee Camp. The camp was bombarded into ruins by the Lebanese Army from May-September 2007 when they defeated the Fatah al-Islam militant group who had retreated into the camp.

Palestinians, who fled the camp, are returning to try to restore their destroyed and looted homes and shattered lives. Chris will also discuss the problems and dangers Palestinian refugees and other residents of south Lebanon still face from the Israeli bombing and invasion of 2006. People daily face death and injury from cluster bombs dropped by the Israelis. This is complicated by the continuing Lebanese government crisis.

Chris served for three years as a member of the Christian Peacemaker Team in Hebron, Palestine, where he was seriously injured by settlers. On September 29, 2004, he and a colleague were attacked by five settler youths as they were escorting Palestinian children to school near Hebron.

Chris grew up in South Africa, where his father was a freedom fighter during the apartheid period. Chris produces and hosts a podcast entitled Crossing the Line: Life in Occupied Palestine.

Friday, January 4th at 6:00pm

Westminster Hills Church
27287 Patrick Avenue, Hayward, CA
(Map and Directions)

Demos Annual Potluck Dinner

A friendly evening of fun and food. Please bring your favorite dish:

A-L: Main Dish
M-Z: Salad or Dessert

2008 Democratic Presidential Candidates: Straw Poll

All candidates or their representatives have been invited. Vote for your choice in the Straw Poll.

Elections for 2008 Demos Officers

There will also be the election of 2008 Demos Officers. The Nominations committee has recommended a slate of:

Nominations will be accepted from attendees.

Friday, December 7th at 7:00pm

Westminster Hills Church
27287 Patrick Avenue, Hayward, CA
(Map and Directions)

Featuring:

  1. Frank Russo: Author of the California Progress Report

  2. Discussion and Vote on California Ballot Propositions

1. Frank Russo

Frank Russo, a knowledgeable progressive “insider” of the political scene in Sacramento, will be our speaker. According to Frank, we have no idea how bad the Republicans are. Major newspapers are cutting their coverage of the legislature. The Chronicle has gone from seven reporters down to two. Frank will share with us the inside scoop on California politics.

The California Progress Report was created and is published by Frank D. Russo, an Oakland attorney who has been active in California politics for 40 years and has served as Chair of the Alameda County Democratic Party. In the 1970’s and 80’s, he worked in the Capitol for Democratic legislators in prominent positions including serving as Legal Counsel to the Speaker of the Assembly.

Frank led a statewide advocacy organization of over 1,000 attorneys in the 1990’s, and has testified on hundreds of bills, proposed regulations, and gubernatorial appointments. Over these years, many of the proposals he has drafted have become California law. He has extensive relationships with statewide officeholders, candidates, organizations, and activists, as well as the media.

Mr. Russo graduated cum laude from Yale University with a degree in Political Science and from the University of California, Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law.

2. California Ballot Propositions

We will also discuss and vote on the four propositions on the February 5 ballot. They are:

• Prop 91: Rules on state spending. This has become irrelevant because of passing proposition 1a. NO.

• Prop 92: It provides funds so that Community Colleges can lower fees which have been climbing steeply. Labor says YES.

• Prop 93: Amends term limits to allow legislators to serve longer terms in either house, but overall shortens stays in office. Labor says YES.

• Prop 94-97: Indian Gaming compacts. They do not include provisions allowing workers to organize, without which joining a union becomes very difficult. Labor urges a NO vote.