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THE VOORHIS VOICE Progressive Voice of the Pomona Valley
Nov., 2015
www.claremontdems.org [email protected]
MEETINGS AND SPECIAL EVENTS
Friday, Nov.6, 12-2pm Rabi’s Café, 930 Central Avenue, Upland
Issues Committee Luncheon No speaker: Bring your issue
Friday, Nov.13, 12-2 pm
Noah Snyder (Clean Money rep.) on California Disclose Act Monthly Luncheon: Darvish Restaurant 946 W. Foothill Claremont. Lunch at noon,
speaker from 1 to 2. Lunch is $17 including tax & tip. No charge to hear speaker.
Friday, Nov. 20, 12-2pm Rabi’s Café, 930 Central Avenue, Upland
Issues Committee Luncheon No speaker: Bring your issue
Friday, Nov. 27, 12-2pm
Rabi’s Café, 930 Central Avenue, Upland Issues Committee Luncheon
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No speaker: Bring your issue
Monday, Nov. 30, 7 – 9pm Monthly Membership Meeting at Porter Hall
Speaker: Prof. Paul Nelson (Univ. of LaVerne) on Progressive Education
601 Mayflower Rd., Pilgrim Place Campus, Claremont
DCC October Programs
By Merrill Ring
The October luncheon featured Mel Boynton speaking on the Sustainable Development Goals adopted recently by the United Nations. Mel is a club member and President of the Pomona Valley Chapter of the United Nations Association, Vice-President of the SoCal chapter and representative to the national organization. In 2000 the UN adopted the Millennium Development Goals to be met by 2015: the aim was to attack poverty and injustice throughout the world. In his presentation Mel described how successful and unsuccessful the world had been at meeting those goals by this year. A second set of goals, the SDG’s, were adopted in September of 2015 by the UN with the aim of meeting them by 2030. He reviewed the 17 SDGs. For a full evaluation of how well the world has met the MDG in the past 15 years see http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/2015_MDG_Report/pdf/MDG%202015%20rev%20(July%201).pdf. For the new SDG’s see: https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/?menu=1300 Mel Boynton also reported that while the rich countries of the world, including the U.S., had agreed to contribute .7% of its Gross National Product to the MDG project, we are not doing well at all in meeting our agreed upon target, contributing only somewhere between .1 and .2% of our GNP. To rectify that should be the aim of the country especially if we continue to have a Democratic President. The October members’ meeting was devoted to a local issue: Measure PS for the construction of a new police station in Claremont. Speaking for the measure was City Councilman Sam Pedroza (a club member) and speaking against the measure was Ludd Trozpek. As usual an excellent discussion followed. Note: none of the usual sponsoring organizations held a public forum on this issue so the DCC meeting was the only public opportunity to hear both sides of the issue. Please attend the November meetings: the luncheon is the 2nd Friday of the month and is held at the Darvish Restaurant on Foothill and the members’ meeting is the final Monday of the month held at Porter Hall at Pilgrim Place.
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Holiday Party Plans
By Carolee Monroe
The Democratic Club of Claremont will hold its annual holiday party on Saturday, December 5, 2015 from 4 until 6 PM. The party will be held at the Napier Center, 660 Avery Road, Claremont, on the Pilgrim Place campus. The program for the event includes a buffet dinner with non-alcoholic beverages. Bring your own beer and wine, if desired, and a dessert to share.
Not only will the club celebrate its many accomplishments of 2015, it will also honor outstanding Democrats in the Claremont community. Marilee Scaff, David Levering and Eve Mefferd will be recognized for their many contributions over many years. Participating in the event will be Supervisor Hilda Solis, Congresswoman Judy Chu and Assemblyman Chris Holden. Many other elected officials including those of adjoining districts, along with members of our city council and school board have been invited. Come to the party and let ‘em hear from you.
Marilee Scaff has held positions on the Claremont Unified School District Board of Education, the League of Women Voters, the United Nations Association-USA and Sustainable Claremont. Her focus has been on child and adolescent welfare.
David Levering has been a progressive activist for five decades. He served on many DCC committees, influentially including the writing of “The Claremont Manifesto” and the establishment of The American Institute for Progressive Democracy. Levering ran for Congress to expose David Dreier’s link with the Gingrich faction. He is Professor History Emeritus, Cal Poly Pomona and past-Chairman of the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing.
Eve Mefferd has been an officer of the Young Democrats Club at Claremont High School for three years. She currently is the club president. Mefferd was given the Claremont Outstanding Academic Achievement Award by the Claremont City Council in her sophomore and junior years. She is a member of the National Honor Society. Mefferd has contributed to the DCC as a volunteer staffing our booths and designing and creating materials for our booths and parade entries.
The Parcel Tax By Bob Gerecke
One of the main objections to the parcel tax (Measure PS) on the Claremont ballot has been that its financing will cost more than a general obligation bond. That would be true if both borrowings were made at the same time in the same interest-rate environment. However, rejecting the parcel tax now and trying for a general obligation bond later will entail a delay in the borrowing. The Federal Reserve is about to raise short-term interest rates, which will probably push up long-term (i.e., bond) interest rates. In addition, developing countries’ exports are down, so they are now selling rather than buying U.S. Treasury bonds. This depresses the demand for the bonds, thereby increasing the interest rate which they must pay. The rate paid on these bonds is the basis for all other long-term borrowing, such as that on a city’s general obligation bond. Therefore, by the time we pass a later ballot measure to issue a general obligation bond, the interest rate we will have to pay on such a bond will be higher than it would be today.
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We don't have the option to choose a general obligation bond on the November ballot. The soonest we could approve a general obligation bond will be in the June 2016 primary election. That’s seven months later. Every step in the financing will be seven months later. A lot can change in seven months. We may achieve no savings in interest costs if we reject the parcel tax now and instead approve a general obligation bond seven months later. The interest expense may even be higher. Delay would be a gamble, and the odds would be poor because the trend would be against us. The fiscally conservative and prudent course of action is to approve the parcel tax now, while interest rates are still at historic lows and before they rise.
Measure PS sets a ceiling, not a floor, on the borrowing. It doesn't mandate the size, cost or location of the police station. These can be adjusted later, if the city's residents push the Council to do it. If the cost of the station is reduced, we will borrow less, and our annual assessment will be less, too. We shouldn't pass up historically cheap financing because we don't like other features of the plan which are not locked in by approval of the financing alone in Measure PS.
Vietnam Vets against the War! A voice from yesterday in recently rediscovered photo archive.
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Village Venture Results By Carolee Monroe
The DCC held a presidential straw poll at our Village Venture booth. The poll was a follow-up to the one run on the Fourth of July. The October results showed Hillary Clinton winning over Bernie Sanders by 4 votes, when Hillary’s total was 122 while Bernie received 118 votes. Martin O’Malley received 7 votes. On Independence Day, Bernie Sanders’ total was 124 while Hillary Clinton’s was 107. The three other Democrats then in the race shared 5 votes. Besides the straw poll, the booth featured a Donald Trump piñata, donated by Jim and Marguerite Royse. “Thump Trump” attracted lots of attention and a few donations. A bigger source of donations were the Hillary and Bernie buttons and bumper stickers. Perhaps because of our “Register to Vote” banner, ten voter forms were completed while several more were taken to be completed later. Many thanks to those DCC members who staffed the booth: Carol Whitson, Merrill Ring, Marguerite Gee Royse, Kathy Mason, Gar Byrum, John Forney and Jack Monroe. Four members of the Claremont High School Young Democrats Club also volunteered: Sydney Fortson, Ruby Elliott Zuckerman, Shea Seery and Eve Mefferd. Gabe, Murray and Marlena Monroe did the set-up and break-down.
Sustain Sustainable Claremont
By Devon Hartman, Freeman Allen and Mark von Wodtke
Claremont is one of 22 California cities competing in this year’s CoolCalifornia Challenge to save energy. If you are a Claremont resident please help us win by joining in the competition, and ask friends to help! Thanks to those who participated in last year's CoolCalifornia Challenge, Claremont won second place and $22,800 in prize money. We came very close to beating Riverside which earned slightly more points (and money) and the title “Coolest California City” This year, by encouraging more people to reduce their carbon footprint and report their progress, Sustainable Claremont is organizing an effort to make Claremont the Coolest California City and earn the largest share of $100,000 in prize money. At the same time, this effort will help Claremont compete for the Georgetown University Energy Prize of $5,000,000 which will go to one of 50 US Cities competing for best energy use reduction programs through 2016. Claremont has been invited to participate in this national energy challenge. Please log onto cachallenge.org. Click on “SIGN-UP NOW” to register. The sooner you start reporting, the more points Claremont can earn. This statewide competition started October 1 and runs through March. Just report your gas and electricity use and vehicle odometer reading each month for the next 6 months. By tracking your energy use in this manner, you will find out how energy efficient your household is compared to others in California. The website also provides a lot of suggestions for improving the comfort of your home while reducing your carbon footprint. And please also help Claremont win the Georgetown University Energy Prize (our Claremont Energy Challenge). Go to http://www.ClaremontEnergyChallenge.net. Click on “START HERE” to register. For this competition you don’t even have to report your energy use. It’s the overall city-wide reduction that counts and the utilities report for us. Register to get detailed updates on your energy use and have CHERP help you reduce your carbon footprint.
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Mad as hell and not going to take it anymore?
Let ‘Em Hear from You!
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Renew Your Membership Now, Here! Renew Your DCC Membership Today!
We have no corporate sponsors. Your membership dues pay all DCC’s expenses that include our meeting expenses, p.o. box, club charter, storage space for our booths, publicity, political donations and events such as Claremont’s July 4th celebration and Village Venture. Take this opportunity to renew if you haven’t already done so. Just complete and clip this form and mail it to DCC. ___Individual $25 ___Family $35 ___Contributing $50-99 ___Patron $100-249 ___Student/Limited Income $5 Date_____________ Name_________________________________________________________________ Street Address or P.O. Box________________________________________________ City, State and Zip_______________________________________________________ Telephone(s)_____________________________Email__________________________ Occupation_____________________________Employer________________________ Mail this form with your check to: Democratic Club of Claremont, P.O. Box 1201, Claremont, CA
The Voorhis Voice is published by the Democratic Club of
Claremont, PO Box 1201, Claremont CA 91711. The newsletter’s
name commemorates the late Jerry Voorhis, a talented and courageous
Congress member from Claremont.
Newsletter Editor: Ivan Light
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