DRAFT Agenda, GPLAC County Council meeting, May 7, 2017

Green Party of Los Angeles County - County Council Meeting Draft Agenda
Sunday, May 7, 2017
4pm to 7pm Teleconference 

Co-Facilitators: Annie Goeke, Ajay Rai
Minutes: Mike Feinstein
Time Keeper: Linda Piera Avila
Vibes Watcher: Cordula Ohman

1. Welcome and Introductions - All attendees (ten minutes)

2. Opportunity to amend agenda and/or add emergency items (five minutes)
Presenter: Facilitators
• Relevant By-Law 9-5.5 Once distributed, the Agenda may not be changed until the meeting. The time and order of already agendized items may be amended by a 3/5 vote.  New agenda items may be added by a 2/3 vote.

Items #5 through #13 all submitted late and all require 2/3 to be added to agenda.

3. Decision: Consideration of Appointment of County Councilmembers to fill vacant seats in State Senate District 21: Aria Pakatchi, Mathew Wheeler (twenty minutes)

Background: Article VIII of GPLAC Bylaws http://losangeles.cagreens.org/bylaws/2016-07-02#ARTICLE8 provides for the County Council to make appointments to fill vacancies on the County Council.  The County Council amended its bylaws at its March 12 meeting to specificy that for the County Council meetings in March, April and June 2017, a person may be appointed to the County Council by an 80% vote with signatures from at least five registered Greens in that State Senate District.  On March 11, a .pdf of nomination petitions for Aria Pakathchi and Mathew Wheeler in State Senate District 21 were submitted to GPLAC Secretary Mike Feinstein, and a hard copy was provided of the signatures by Pakatchi to Feinstein at the March 12 County Council.  Subsequently five of the eight signatures submitted were confirmed as registered Greens at that time with the LA County Registrar.

There are two vacant County Council seats in District 21 (out of two possible) http://losangeles.cagreens.org/county-council/members,. GPLAC bylaws mandate that if a sufficient number of nomination signatures are submitted, the consideration of appointment to the County Council shall be the first order of business.

4. Report: Treasurer’s report (five minutes)
Sponsor/Presenter: Doug Barnett, GPLAC Treasurer

Barnett reported on the current balance and that a PO Box payment is due in a week

5. Decision: Approval of Minutes of January 29, 2017 County Council meeting  (five minutes)
Sponsor/Presenter: Feinstein

http://losangeles.cagreens.org/county-council/minutes/2017-03-12

6. Discussion: Update on GPLAC opposition to Final EIR for warehouse project at 4051 S. Alameda in Los Angeles on the former South Central Farm land and discussion of next steps (five minutes)
Sponsor/Presenter: Piera-Avila

Background:  The City of Los Angeles recently approved the final Environmental Impact Report for the warehouse project on the former South Central Farm land.  This item is to update the County Council on efforts to convince the property owners to sell the land to those would would restore the Farm and convert it to a food hub.  The GPLAC took this a position agains the EIR in July 2016  losangeles.cagreens.org/documents/2016-07-14/GPLAC-EIR-comments-4051-Alameda after previously supporting preservation of the South Central Farm back in 2006.

7. Report: Report onApril 29 Peoples Climate March in Wilmington (ten minutes)
Sponsor/Presenter: Bruhnke

Background: At its March 12 meeting, the GPLAC endorsed the March and appointed Rachel Bruhnke as GPLAC representative to the organizing, and endorsed South Bay Clean Power community choice aggregation as local stategy to address climate change right in South Bay.

https://www.risestronger.org/events/people-s-climate-march-los-angeles
https://www.facebook.com/events/202856203521435

8. Decision: Appointment of three members to end of 2016-2017 Standing General Assembly (ten minutes)
Sponsor/Presenter: Feinstein

Background: The GPLAC is entitled to 25 delegates to the GPCA Standindg General Assembly. http://sga.cagreens.org/vote/index Currently 22 of the 25 seats are filled.  The last SGA session of the year will take place in May and June 2017.  (Terms run from July 1 to June 30). This agenda item will allow the County Council to fill the remaining three seats in time to participate in that vote.

9. Discussion: Review of Kenneth Mejia for Congress campaign (thirty minutes)
Sponsor: Feinstein
Presenter: Mejia

10. Proposal: Authorize Data Base outreach for AD 51 special election (ten minutes)
Sponsor/Presenter: Feinstein

Current State Assembly member Jimmy Gomez (AD51) finished 1st/23 candidates in the just concluded CD34 primary election that Kenneth Mejia ran his campaign in. Gomez is considered likely to win the June 6th run-off, in which case his District 51 seat will go to special election itself. District 51 (https://a51.asmdc.org/district-map) contains the following communities, from which many of the Greens working for Kenneth Mejia's campaign were drawn, who might be potential candidates themselves (Mejiahimself does not live in AD51):

Los Angeles:  Chinatown,  Cypress Park, Eagle Rock, Echo Park, Edendale, Glassell Park, Highland Park, Montecito Heights, Silver Lake; City Terrace (unincorporated), East Los Angeles  (unincorporated)

Proposal: That the County Council authorize an email outreach to Greens in AD51 to identify potential Green candidates in the district in the case that there is a special election for that seat, and invite them to the June 4 County Council meeting.

11. Proposal: That June 4 County Council meeting be made into a strategic retreat (twenty minutes)
Sponsor/Presenter: Feinstein

Background:  Since the June 7, 2017 County Council election, the County Council has grown from the seven members directly elected that day to 18 as of the March 12 County Council meeting, and perhaps 20 as of the April 23 meeting (if the two members seeking appointment are appointed).  At the same time, five Greens ran in spring elections in Los Angeles County, and new/revived Green locals have been springing up around the County.

Proposal: That the June 4 County Council meeting be made into a strategic retreat from noon to 6pm,, and that the agenda include planning for future elections in 2017/2018 and recruiting Green candidates, hearing from Greens currently serviging on LA Neighborhood Council; building and recognizing Greens locals across Los Angeles County (and how that relates to building within State Senate Districts from which County Councilmembers are appointed); recruiting additional members to the County Council; use of GPLAC social media; use of GPLAC voter registration data base; creating new county Green Party literature for outreach; discussion of party rule change about voter participation in Green Party presidential primaries and other items submitted by County Councilmembers; and that a logistical support team be appointed to support Julia Russell in hosting the retreat at her house, which is already the scheduled location

12. Discussion: Voter participation in Green Party presidential primaries (fifteen minutes)
Sponsor/Presenter: Morrison

Background: Some ballot qualified political parties in California allow No Party Preference voters to participate in their presidential preference primaries and some do not.  The Green Party of California does not.  This item is an initial discussion item advocating to change that practice. In addition to Morrison advocating this position, some research needs to be done with the Secretary of State's office on how this practice has been communicated to the Secretary of State, whether it needs to be in a party's bylaws, its section of the California Elections Code, or otherwise.