Harvey Milk Club

General Membership Meeting Minutes

August 19, 2014

7pm-9pm

• Alex – PAC Update
  • Last week’s co meeting with SF Beautiful went successful
  • Covered upcoming local ballots
  • Heard from Supervisor Jane Kim’s office
  • PAC endorsements Saturday all day went great – 78% turnout
  • Thank you for coming! We’ve got awesome members
  • Past 3 years of endorsement bylaw changes have resulted in a member driven endorsement process
  • Alex reads PAC endorsement results
• Dan Segal – Candidate Oakland Mayor
  • East Bay Express endorsed me as the most progressive candidate
  • Experience as a civil rights lawyer
  • At Berkeley I helped the LGBT club gain recognition by the school administration
  • I support $15 minimum wage
• Kimberley Alvarenga – Tom Ammiano
  • Celebration for all his work Sept 20, details coming
  • Creating a video for Tom Ammiano to thank him all his work
  • Club gathers together in camera view and thanks Tom

• Devin – David Campos Campaign
  • Harvey Milk Executive Board are precinct captains
  • Thank you members for all your help during the primary, please come out for the November Election
  • Sign up to be a precinct captain, get ingrained in your neighborhood and meet your neighbors
• Tom – Annual Dinner and Gayla
  • Thank you Stephen Torres and Katy Birnbaum
  • Thank you CCSF
  • Cece accepting her award made the cover of the Bay Guardian
  • Thank you members and volunteers
• Quinton, Lee and Brian Basinger – Prop G, Harvey Milk Anti-Speculation Ballot Initiative
  • This ballot speaks to exactly what’s happening in SF – real estate speculation is driving things insane
  • People are making profit out of kicking people out of their homes
  • Let’s stop speculation and save San Francisco
• Open Forum – Member Discussion
  • Denise, against Prop A – contract has loose language, no obligations, “maybes”
  • Tom, infuriated by insinuations that Prop E No Endorsement by PAC was bought and compromised by stacking. A regressive tax is not the answer, we need progressive taxes.
  • Stephanie Ashley, No on Prop E, for a long time I was ambivalent, but after a lot of thought, I’ve come to the conclusion that this tax is tone deaf. Taxes which increase the grocery bills of low-income families feels bad, especially at this time of economic desperacy.  
  • Bridget, Thank you for my endorsement. I’ve spent 20 years at CCSF serving the students, and that’s why I am seeking a position on the school board.
  • Lee, I don’t think we should endorse Carmen Chu, she doesn’t support us and she doesn’t support Prop G
  • William Walker, please endorse me for school board. I’m running against a republican and a professor at a for profit school. I have so much CCSF experience, and I work at Foothill currently helping students stay on track for graduation
  • Kevin Bard, Prop E is a regressive and condescending ballot measure. Yes on Prop H, healthy grass, healthy kids and healthy Golden Gate Park. No on I.
  • Kim, thank you for endorsing Rebecca Kaplan. She will be the first lesbian Oakland mayor and has voted on Lift Oakland
  • Cynthia Cruise, Gavin Newsom for Lt Gov is a big mistake. Carmen Chu, Marc Ferral and Katy Tang should not get our endorsement. Send Scott Wiener a big fuck you
  • Adam, No on E, we shouldn’t be taxing poor people
  • Alex, Prop E no endorsement is best – lets not go either way. We don’t want to help the soda companies. Prop 46 – I think random drug testing of doctors is a slipping slope, please vote no
  • Corey, No on Prop E, it will hurt teamster members and working families
  • Howard Wong, No on prop A if you’re a MUNI rider and transit supporter. This bond has no clear definition of where the money will go
  • Joshua, please support Stephen Cook and Mark Murphy – I’ve always known him to be competent, graceful and fabulous and former LGBT Human Rights Commission
  • Kim Shree, Thank you Harvey Milk Club for supporting me all these years. I do not support Prop E, - not truly about the children’s initiative – Please support Prop C instead
  • Support Cook for School Board
  • Sal Reselly, Please support Rebecca Kaplan but Oakland is ranked voted so please also support Dan Segal
  • Tony Kelly, Thank you for endorsing in the past, please support me this year. I am fighting in the only competitive BOS race in SF this year for D-10. D-10 is the most unequal district in the city. The current supervisor is not fighting for the change we need. Let’s get the work done.
  • Wendy, Thanks for your endorsement. I am one of the only candidates that enrolled and took classes during the crises. I am committed to CCSF and have progressive support from widespread elected officials
  • David Campos, (applause goes on and on) Critical races for college board – more great candidates than positions; I believe how the Milk Club votes will impact this election especially. I support Prop 46. I want to focus on the Milk Club program – Milk Board of Directors is as strong as it has ever been. This club is going to have the most robust and most effective and most wide reaching program of any political club in San Francisco. (standing ovation)
  • Jamie Wolfe, Board of Education, Thank you for your endorsement. Prop E is a divisive, but I support it. As an educator, I see how obesity and diabetes are impacting the children I steward. This tax will decrease the amount of soda children drink
  • Thea Selby, Thank you for your endorsement I loved the streamlined endorsement process this year at the LGBT center with other clubs. It allowed candidates to spend more time with the Harvey Milk Club
  • Laura Thomas, Prop 46 is the wrong way to lift the malpractice reserves and it mandates suspiciousless drug testing. I support Prop 47, it would help reduce the burden the prison complex has on individuals
  • Peter Gallota, I oppose Prop E, the Harvey Milk Club has not been bought and will not be bought. I resent the accusation that we can be stacked. Our voice on this issue is coming from our members
• New Business
  • Sue Englander, Thank you for supporting the Vicki Marlane renaming of part of Turk St
  • Compton Cafeteria Riot Anniversy this Saturday on the corner of Turk and Vicki Marlene, 4-5pm party at Aunt Charlie’s
  • Howard Greyson planning committee meeting for June 6, 2015 meeting. We need new planning committee members
  • David Wagner, Vice councilwoman Jovanka Beckles in Richmond has been subject to aweful hate speech. Please support her by writing her a letter. In light of Ferguson, we need transparency in what weapons our police force absorbing
  • Brian Basinger, please come campaign for Prop G – boots on the ground. AIDS Housing Alliance is opening a HIV/AIDS co-op – we’re offering housing, leadership training, scholarships and more. Right now we’re fundraising for maintenance on the house. Please donate. 
  • Tom Temprano, Please come to Virgil’s tomorrow evening. My 10 year anniversary in SF. Virigi’s will be serving one of only four Harvey Milk Speakeasy stouts.
• Adjourn