Congrats to new LD17 Chair Doug Mings, Vice-Chairs Ed Hermes, Angie Crouse, Arthur Brodsky, and Lauren Kuby, Treasurer David Schwarz, and Secretary Letricia Mings on their elections. They're all hard-working and experienced activists who will bring the district to new heights (though, it must be said that with the election of 3 state legislators, 1 U.S. Congressman, a JP and a Constable, we did pretty well this fall. :)) )
I'd list the 21 state committeepersons, but I don't take notes that quickly. Not even close.
The bulk of the meeting time was consumed with the election of officers, though newly-elected State Representatives David Schapira and Ed Ableser gave a brief update on their activities since the election.
Though they have not yet been sworn in (January 8th!), they are preparing legislation so that they can hit the ground running.
Ed is working on measures to increase education access for lower-income students (modeled after Indiana's 21st Century Scholars program), water management issues, and increasing parity for mental health coverage by health insurers.
David is working on a bill that will raise the starting salary of new teachers and another measure that would require health insurers to cover doctor-recommended cancer screenings.
The next meeting is the holiday party on December 7th; if you want details, leave a comment and I'll get the info to you.
The place and time of the January meeting will be firmed up by time of the holiday party.
...In CD5 news, it seems that Harry Mitchell is doing the same thing that Ed and David are - getting ready to start his term at full speed.
From the Washington Post:
House leaders plan a major rollout of an ethics reform bill early next year...Democrats will put together an ethics package on the House floor piece by piece, allowing incoming freshmen to take charge of high-profile issues...Amendments aimed at reducing the influence of lobbyists would go to swing-district Democrats who campaigned on ethics themes. One is Mitchell, who unseated Rep. J.D. Hayworth (R-Ariz.) in large part by stressing Hayworth's links to Abramoff...Ethics reform? For the guy who beat JD Hayworth, that's a VERY appropriate way to start.
...Oh, and it's official, Harry Mitchell defeated JD Hayworth by over 7,000 votes. YES!!!!
When Harry Mitchell's official website goes up, I'll post a link here.
...Tomorrow, Tuesday, November 21, the Scottsdale City Council will be holding a meeting at 3 p.m. to interview and appoint people to various boards and commissions; at their regularly scheduled meeting at 5 p.m. mostly has a bunch of liquor license transfers and approval of the City's proposed 2007 Legislative Program.
I'll be attending tomorrow night, if only to move my focus to the local level now that the midterm elections are over.
Tentative topics for future meetings (all VERY subject to change):
In December: On the 12th, One Scottsdale hits the agenda again, as well as a proposal to consider a route other than Scottsdale Rd. for light rail.
In January: On the 16th, the report on the Loop 101 speeding ticket cameras is due; on the 30th, they're going after the strip clubs again.
Later!
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