February 15, 2022
President’s Message
Dear Club Members and Friends,
This Message updates the information I provided last week about our special Endorsements meeting this next Thursday, February 17th, beginning at 6pm. You can view a copy of my February 10th Message below, following this Message.
One Candidate Added to the 38th Senate District Endorsement Ballot
There has been a change in one of the races under consideration for endorsement at the February 17th Special Meeting. In the 38th Senate District race, a second Democratic candidate has been registered as qualified for endorsement by the San Diego County Democratic Party. Joe Kerr, a retired Orange County Fire District Captain, has entered the race to run against Catherine Blakespear, and one other candidate not a Democrat.
Joe Kerr has been invited to appear at our Club endorsement proceeding and is eligible to be considered for Club endorsement. His name will appear, along with that of Catherine Blakespear, on the email ballot all voting members of the Club will receive immediately following the Special Meeting.
There are no other changes at this time.
Results of CADEM Pre-Endorsement Conference
Dwight Worden and Jim Smith of our Club were approved by our Executive Board to represent our Club at the California Democratic Party Pre-Endorsement Conference, held this past Saturday, via Zoom. For an as yet unexplained reason, Jim was not notified of his qualification for voting at the Conference and did not receive voting instructions from CADEM. Dwight was so notified and participated in the Conference as our Club representative.
The CADEM Pre-Endorsement conference allows for participation by Chartered Democratic Clubs such as ours to participate in the endorsement procedures of the California Democratic Party. CDP makes official Democratic endorsements for all State office races, from Governor to Board of Equalization, and on Congressional and State Legislative races, including State Senate and Assembly District races. The results of the Conference are submitted to the Central Committee of the CDP as recommendations. The CDP is the only body qualified to make official Party endorsements for the offices mentioned above.
A copy of Dwight’s report can be viewed here, providing the results of voting on recommendations for endorsement in the 71st, 72nd, and 74th Assembly Districts, and in the 38th, 40th and 48th State Senate Districts.
I hope to see all regular members at our Club Endorsement Special Meeting on February 17th.
Only regular members will be eligible to vote on our Club endorsements. Regular members are those registered Democrats who joined the Club and who are not in arears on their annual membership fees. If you are not a regular member and you wish to join, you may sign up here: www.torreypinesdems.org/membership.
In Solidarity,
Wayne Dernetz
Wayne Dernetz,
President
Please Join Us Thursday, February 17th at 6:00pm (via Zoom) for a Special Meeting to Consider Endorsements
Link to Join Zoom Meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87106677935?pwd=Qlo1MkVaaysvVTJrR3YrdjBPZzdYdz09
Meeting ID: 871 0667 7935
Passcode: 190259
AGENDA
February 10, 2022
President’s Message
Dear Club Members and Friends,
The Executive Board has called a special Club meeting for Thursday, February 17, 2022, beginning at 6 PM. The special meeting is for the purpose of considering Club endorsements for Democratic candidates in the June 7th California Primary Election. There are seven races, described below, for which the Board is recommending endorsements at this meeting.
Club endorsements are a great benefit to Democratic candidates. Endorsements help candidates raise campaign money and help voters decide which candidates to support. The Democratic candidates are facing new challenges and opportunities in this election. We can help our candidates win their races by joining with other Clubs, and the with San Diego County Democratic Party, with endorsements in the upcoming Primary Election.
Under our bylaws, a quorum of regular voting members is required for considering any endorsement and each endorsement requires a 60% supermajority approval by the regular voting members present. I urge every voting member of our Club to make the effort to attend and participate in this important special meeting. The regular scheduled meeting on February 24th has been canceled by the Board to encourage your participation at the special meeting on the 17th.
THE RACES AND CANDIDATES RECOMMENDED FOR ENDORSEMENT
The seven races, and the candidates eligible for endorsement in each race, recommended for consideration by the Board are:
1. Mike Levin – CA 49th Congressional District.
Mike is seeking his third two-year term in 2022, running in a district substantially changed by redistricting. The redrawn district has a greater proportion of Republican voters than previously. Mike has no Democratic challengers, so he is the only candidate in the election eligible for endorsement consideration. There are two other challengers – one a self-funding Republican; the other, a retired Orange County Fire Captain, who ran unsuccessfully as a non-party preference candidate for a County Supervisor seat in 2018. I’m sure most Democrats would agree, Mike Levin is a superb representative for us in Congress. We want to keep him there. Endorsing Mike for the upcoming primary will help ensure he will be on the ballot in the November General election.
2. Catherine Blakespear – State Senate District 38.
Blakespear is familiar to many North County voters. She is serving in her third term as a member of the Encinitas City Council, including three years as Mayor. The redrawn 38th Senate District boundaries are completely changed. Formerly, a rural mountain and desert district covering eastern San Diego and portions of Imperial counties, the 38th now is a coastal district stretching southward from Orange County to Coronado, replacing portions of the former 36th and 39th Senate Districts. Blakespear has one candidate registered with the San Diego County Democratic Party as a Democrat. Our Club’s geographic area is in the heart of Senate District 38. We want to ensure that a Democratic candidate, one who is familiar with the issues and concerns of the residents of the North Coastal area, will represent us in Sacramento.
3. Tasha Boerner-Horvath – State Assembly District 77.
Tasha Boerner-Horvath currently represents Assembly District 76, which includes portions of Orange and San Diego counties, from the Orange County line on the north, through Encinitas on the south, and east to include Vista and Fallbrook. The new 77th Assembly District now includes the area along the Coast from Carlsbad through Coronado. Although Tasha has two years remaining in her term representing AD 76 that district will soon cover the inland area from Bonsall to Valley Center to Fairbanks Ranch. Tasha has notified the County Democratic Party of her intent to run for election in the new AD 77. Our current Assembly representative, Chris Ward will run for Tasha’s former seat in the new 76th. There are no other candidates eligible for endorsement consideration running in the race for the new 77th.
4. Nathan Fletcher – SD County Board of Supervisors, District 4.
Fletcher was first elected to the Board of Supervisors for District 4 in 2018. He was the first Democrat elected to the Board in more than a decade. He is now serving in his second term as Board Chair. There are no challengers in this election eligible for consideration of endorsement. In September 2021, a group of citizens, angered by the Board’s refusal to consider their demands to end the County’s face mask mandate during the Covid Omicron surge, threatened to recall Supervisor Fletcher. The good news is that the paperwork to begin collecting signatures has not been returned yet. But the angry anti-maskers have formed a PAC and are running a candidate to oppose Fletcher’s reelection. Although District 4 does not include our Club’s geographic area, we have a stake in Fletcher’s reelection to maintain our hard-won majority of Democrats on the Board. We need to keep Nathan Fletcher in office. Our Club’s endorsement will help do just that.
5. Tiffany Boyd-Hodgson – Board of Supervisors, District 5.
Supervisorial District 5 has been re-drawn to include Oceanside and Camp Pendleton, and now stretches across the entire northern tier of the County. Traditionally, it has been a “safe seat” for Republicans. We all remember Bill Horn. The current incumbent, Republican Jim Desmond, is now facing a more balanced constituency between Democrats and Republicans. Boyd-Hodgson got off to an early and well-organized start. She has a decent chance to win this election against Desmond. Although our geographic area is not included in District 5, we have a stake in helping to maintain Democratic majorities on the Board. There are several major issues within District 5 that also affect our area, the critical threat of nuclear waste storage at San Onofre among them. Helping to elect a Democrat in District 5 to work with federal and state agencies in addressing that problem is in our best interests. Boyd-Hodgson is the only Democrat running in this race.
6. Rick Shea – County Board of Education, District 5.
Under the State Constitution and legislative mandates, the County Board of Education oversees and assists local school districts all over San Diego in various matters. Among these, the Board provides information and assistance to local school districts in adhering to State and federal mandates and provides resource assistance in times of need. The Board is comprised of five members, elected by district. Our area is within District 5. Rick Shea is the elected Board member and currently serves as Board Chair. Rick is the only Democrat in this race. Our Club endorsed Rick in 2018, and he has served us with distinction. It is in our interests to assist Rick in this reelection campaign.
7. Cipriano Vargas – Mayor, City of Vista
Cipriano Vargas was born and raised in Vista. His parents had migrated there from Mexico. Cipriano attended Vista public schools and graduated from CSU, San Marcos. From an early age, Cipriano was engaged in community service projects. Later, he became active in community organizations and in political campaigning.
The San Diego County Democratic Party has determined that this year’s mayor’s race in Vista is one of strategic significance, deserving of support and attention. For that reason, it is appropriate that our Club consider an early endorsement in this race, in which Cipriano is a candidate.
Cipriano spoke at one of our Club meetings this past fall about Latino power and influence in San Diego political affairs. His comments were well received. It is fitting that our Club endorse Cipriano for the office of Mayor, as it serves our interests and realizes our Club Mission to promote the Democratic ideals of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice for all.
VOTING REQUIREMENTS FOR ENDORSEMENTS AND RATINGS
As it happens, each of the recommended races for endorsement consideration on the agenda for February 17th has only one candidate eligible for endorsement consideration. The issue then isn’t who would be the better candidate among two or more choices; rather it is, does the candidate have sufficient capacity to serve in office, and the right values and policy objectives to adequately represent the Democratic Party or the Club? As mentioned above, a Club endorsement requires approval of a supermajority of 60% of the voting members present. But there must also be a quorum of regular (voting) Club members present. A quorum requires the presence at the meeting of at least 20% of all eligible Club members. The ballot choices for voting on an endorsement question are the following: “Yes,” “No,” or “No Endorsement.”
If no candidate under consideration for the voting members receives the required supermajority affirmative vote, the members may be asked to vote on a “rating” of one or more of the candidates in the race. The ballot choices for a rating of a candidate are: “Qualified” or “Unacceptable.” Approval of a rating for a candidate requires an affirmative vote of 50% or more. If no candidate receives the necessary vote of approval for a rating, the members may be asked to vote upon a motion to “Take No Position in the Race.” Approval of a motion for “No Position” requires an affirmative vote of 50% plus one vote.
All motions must be duly seconded. Motions will be taken in the order made and seconded, except as Roberts’ Rule of Order require otherwise.
ORDER OF PROCEDURE FOR ENDORSEMENTS AND RATINGS
As the Endorsement meeting is conducted on Zoom, under the CDP waiver of in-person voting rules, the following special rules apply, in accordance with Club bylaws and procedures to the order of procedure for conducting online endorsements.
1. Quorum Present for the Meeting: A quorum of at least 20% of the regular (voting) members must be present to conduct endorsement proceedings.
2. Presentation of the Candidate’s Statement: Each candidate, or the candidate’s representative, will be offered the opportunity to present their remarks to the members, subject to a 3-minute time limit. Each candidate will be asked to present their remarks in the order they appear on the agenda.
3. Question and Answer Period: Following the presentation of each candidate, there will be an opportunity for voting members to ask questions of that candidate. Questions must be limited to asking for clarifications or elaborations on points made by the candidate, or on other issues not mentioned that are pertinent to the office the candidate is seeking. Each question should be stated in 30 seconds or less; must be made in the form of a question; and no statements will be permitted. The question-and-answer period is not an opportunity for debate or argument.
The candidate will be allowed up to one minute for response to each question. Candidates are expected to respond in a direct manner, and not use the question time for raising additional issues not mentioned by the candidate or the questioner. A total time of 15 minutes for question-and-answer will be allowed for each race.
4. Candidate’s Closing Statement: At the conclusion of the question-and-answer period, the candidate will have up to 2 minutes for a closing statement.
5. Discussions By Voting Members: Following the closing statements for all candidates, the non-voting members, guests, candidates and their representatives, will be assigned to a separate chat room to wait for the conclusion of the voting members’ considerations, or may leave the meeting. The chat room will not have video or audio access to the deliberations and voting of the voting members until the voting has been completed.
During the Discussion Period of voting members, members may address questions, comments, or make statements to the assembled voting members. This portion of the meeting will not be recorded. The Club Secretary will not record the discussions during this period in the official
minutes. Voting members may request to be recognized by use of the “Raise Hand” feature on Zoom.
Members will be recognized in the order in which their “raise hand” button is actuated. When recognized, the member may address one or more issues or candidates and will be allowed 30 seconds in which to do so. Other voting members are not permitted to respond to a member’s comments, except as part of their own comments when recognized by the Chair. The Discussion period will continue until every member present has had at least one opportunity to speak and, at the discretion of Chair, no more than fifteen minutes additional time may be allowed.
6. Voting Procedures for Members: The endorsement elections will be conducted in two sections, as follows:
Section A will be conducted online during the Zoom meeting using the Zoom polling utility. The Section will be used for only two races: the County Board of Education, District 5, and the Board of Supervisor District 5 races.
The selection of these two races for immediate online voting will accommodate the San Diego County Democratic Party’s endorsement procedures and timeline. Under the Party’s new rules and procedures, the Club’s Primary Associate to the North Coastal Area Caucus of the Party may participate in the process of recommending endorsements to be made by the County Party, but only for a candidate who has been previously endorsed by the Club the Associate represents. The two races selected for this endorsement “hand vote” by the Club are the two races to be considered by the North Coastal Area Caucus on Saturday, February 19th.
At the time for the Club’s vote, the Chair will ask for a motion and second on the question of endorsement for each candidate. If moved and seconded, the ballot options for the candidate will include the choices of Yes on endorsement, No on endorsement, or No Endorsement. Voting members will be presented with a screen on which these options will appear. The member will be able to cast a single vote for one of the options. The individual ballots will be anonymously submitted.
When all ballots have been cast using the polling utility, the results will be announced within a few minutes. The results of the polling will be final. Motions for reconsideration will not entertained because the votes are anonymous, and it cannot be determined who is eligible to make such a motion under Roberts’ Rules of Order.
Section B endorsement considerations will include the races for: 49th Congressional District; 38th State Senate District; 77th Assembly District; SD County Supervisor 4th District; and Mayor, City of Vista. The balloting will be initiated by an email sent to each voting member of the Club, using the OpaVote program previously used by the Club.
The email will include an online link to the ballot. Each member who accesses the link provided in the email will be considered as being “present” for the vote. Each voting member will be able to cast only one ballot. The votes will be anonymous.
To be approved for endorsement, the candidate must receive at least 60% affirmative votes of the total members “present and voting” at a meeting at which a quorum of eligible members is present. Under this election process, a quorum is achieved if 20% or more of the eligible members access the online link. A supermajority vote is achieved if at least 60% of the completed ballots returned are cast for one of the three options on the ballot. For the ballot to be completed, the voting member must “send” or return a filled-in ballot to the online service that tallies the votes. Ballots returned that are not filled in will be considered not complete and will not be counted as voting.
Voting members will have a fixed period (about three days) in which to open and review the email and return the completed ballot by clicking on the “send” button. Results of the email polling on these endorsements will be announced as soon as the results are verified.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
On paper, this procedure may seem complicated and confusing to some. But our Club has successfully used the procedure in past elections, and it works just fine. When we are in the process of going through the steps in real time, it will seem much easier.
The “complications” in the form of rules are needed to provide a clear understanding for all concerned of what the rules are, and what the consequences for any breach of those rules may be. This is a once every two-year opportunity for our Club members to participate in and have a say in who the County Party selects as its endorsed candidates.
Keep in mind that only the County Party may decide the official endorsements of the Party. Our Club, however, may consider endorsement of candidates of our choosing. The two processes, though intertwined, are distinct and different. But to participate in the selecting Party’s endorsements, we must follow the Party’s rules.
FUTURE ENDORSEMENTS
The County Party will be making additional endorsements for the June Primary in the coming months. The North Coast Area Caucus is scheduled to hold a second endorsements meeting on March 19th. We do not yet know which races will be included. It is likely that some of the endorsements we are scheduling for our February 17th meeting will be on Area Caucus agenda for March 19th.
Our Board has recommended additional races for endorsement consideration for the June Primary. The additional races include the: 50th Congressional District; SD County Assessor-Recorder-Clerk; and County Sheriff. At least two of these three races will have three or more eligible candidates. Additional races may be recommended by the Board in the coming months, as circumstances develop ahead of the Primary Election date, and as time constraints and other circumstances allow.
In conclusion, I hope to see all our voting members attend and participate. Please try to attend. Your voice and your vote are important to the Club, and to the candidates.
In Solidarity,
Wayne Dernetz
Wayne Dernetz,
President
February 3, 2022
SPECIAL CLUB MEETING NOTICE
President’s Message
Dear Club Members and Friends,
The Executive Board has called a special meeting of the Club for Thursday, February 17, 2022, 6:00 PM (Zoom) for the purpose conducting Candidate Endorsement proceedings for selected county and local races in the upcoming June 7th Primary Election. All Club members are urged to attend. A quorum of Club members present is required to conduct these proceedings.
As regular members of our Club, you have the rare opportunity to participate directly in the selection of candidate endorsements for the California Democratic Party and the San Diego County Democratic Party for the upcoming June 7th Primary Election. Your directed votes will be conveyed to our Club representatives at the State and County Party pre-endorsement caucuses. Our participation in the State Party Pre-endorsement Conference, and in the San Diego North Coastal Area Caucus, require actions approved by the Club prior to February 19, 2022.
The State and County Party Endorsements are extremely valuable for the endorsed candidates. Party endorsements are relied on by many Democratic voters in casting their ballots for the Primary and General Elections. Endorsements also help candidates raise additional campaign funds.
At the Special Meeting called for February 17th, the Club will consider endorsements of local candidates in the newly redrawn 49th Congressional District, 77th State Senate District, County Supervisorial Districts 4 and 5, and other races that represent or are important to our members. A preliminary agenda for the meeting accompanies this Message.
The Board has worked hard to prepare for this opportunity. At the special meeting, you will hear from each of the candidates seeking your endorsement, or their representative, followed by an opportunity for you to discuss the candidates’ merits for an endorsement, and an online election or polling to determine if the Club supports the endorsement by a super majority of 60% or more. If the candidate fails to obtain the necessary supermajority for endorsement, consideration will be given rate the candidate as qualified. We hope to provide results at the meeting, but we are still working on the technical details for doing so.
To conduct this endorsement meeting requires a quorum of our regular members to be present. Regular members are those members who are registered to vote as Democrats, and who are either paid up members or not in arears. If you haven’t yet paid your annual dues of $25, please do so before the meeting. Go to www.torreypinesdems.org/membership.
We expect the meeting will concluded within two hours. And your vote is important. Let’s all turn out to help our local Democratic candidates in the upcoming primary election to move on to the November general election. You will have opportunity in March to participate in additional local races.
In Solidarity,
Wayne Dernetz
Wayne Dernetz, President
Please join us Thursday, February 17th at 6:00pm for a special Club meeting (via Zoom) to consider endorsements.
We have moved to a new zoom link for our Club Meetings. You no longer need to pre-register. Please make note of this new link below.
Link to Join Zoom Meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87106677935?pwd=Qlo1MkVaaysvVTJrR3YrdjBPZzdYdz09
Meeting ID: 871 0667 7935
Passcode: 190259
SPECIAL MEETING (VIA ZOOM)
FEBRUARY 17, 2022
PRELIMINARY AGENDA
6:00pm Meeting Room opens – Credentialling begins
6:15pm Meeting Called to order by Wayne Dernetz, President
1. Quorum Check – Janette Shelton, VP – Memberships
2. President’s Welcome
3. Additions or Deletions to the Agenda
4. Explanation of Procedures for Tonight’s Endorsement Considerations
5. June, 2022 Primary Election – List of Races Recommended for Consideration
6. Consideration of Races:
A. 49th Congressional District
Candidate: Mike Levin (incumbent) – Friendly Endorsement
B. State Senate District 38
Candidate: Catherine Blakespear – Strategically Significant Endorsement
C. State Assembly District 77
Candidate: Tash Boerner-Horvath (incumbent) – Friendly Endorsement
D. County Board of Education, District 5
Candidate: Rick Shea (incumbent) – Friendly Endorsement
E. County Board of Supervisors, District 4
Candidate: Nathan Fletcher, (incumbent) – Friendly Endorsement
F. County Board of Supervisors, District 5
Candidate: Tiffany Boyd-Hodgson, (Potential) — Strategically Significant
G. City of Vista Mayor
Candidate: Cipriano Vargas — Strategically Significant
8:30 pm ADJOURNMENT
The next Regular Club Meeting will be on February 24, 2022, 6:00pm.
Check our website for further information – www.torreypinesdems.org