It's Open to the Public
The monthly meeting of the Democratic Central Committee of Marin (DCCM) will be held THURSDAY, MAY 5, 7-9 PM. 101 Lucas Valley Rd. 3rd floor, Terra Linda. Directions: From Highway 101, take the Lucas Valley exit and go west about 1/3 mile. The building is on your left, after Los Gamos Rd. and before the Las Gallinas Ave. For more info on this meeting + upcoming events, visit: www.marindemocrats.org

What's the Alliance for a Better California?
The Alliance represents nearly 2 millions California firefighters, nurses, teachers, peace officers and other workers who serve Californians. They are fighting Governor Schwarzenegger on many fronts including prescription drug costs, privatizing worker pensions, cut backs on workers' rights to lunch breaks and weakening the minimum wage. Visit their website to find out more. www.allianceforabettercalifornia.org

Impressions from the Democratic State Convention of 2005
Barbara Matas of Novato, a delegate to the Convention, gives us her impressions: "The convention did not have the fire power of previous conventions that was electric with the oratory of presidential candidates, but, there were moments of excitement and satisfaction. One of the first events was the gathering of the proposed Progressive Caucus. The room was filled to overflowing with delegates from Northern and Southern California. The universal objective of the group is to bring a clear vision of progressive goals to the Party Platform. The initial organizational work has been completed and, now, the difficult job of having this caucus recognized by the party has begun. We are all hoping for a smooth certification process.
Many of the 2006 candidates for Governor, Lt. Governor, Attorney General, and so on were present and made themselves available to the delegates. Barbara Boxer, Nancy Pelosi, Maxine Waters, and Barbara Lee were in attendance and made appearances on the floor and at the parties in the evenings.
The theme of the convention was “Democrats Protect Real People.” Town hall meetings were held to discuss the issues affecting “Real People” with the themes of education, health care, social security, etc. The meetings were informative, but logistics and time constraints made audience participation difficult if not impossible.
Like all massive gatherings of people, there were moments of excitement and moments of boredom, however, I did come away from this convention with the conviction that we must stay true to our core values. We cannot simply wait for the Republicans to implode, but, we must remain focused on implementing our principles. The Democrats have a stellar record of bringing positive social and economic change to all the citizens of this country and we must not back down from that charge."

Rally at the State Capitol
Join teachers, school administrators, nurses, firefighters, and state workers for a rally at the capitol on Wednesday, May 25 from 4:30 to 6:15 PM. Help them send a message to Arnold Schwarzenegger that the people of California don't want out schools to fail from lack of funding. To find out more about the struggle, visit http://www.cta.org/CTA.htm

Emerge!
The first annual Emerge Reception will feature Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm and Emerge woman of the year Judi Kanter. The event which raises money for women leaders will be held on May 9th from 5:30 to 7pm at the Merchants Exchange Building, Julia Morgan Ballroom, 15th Floor, 465 California Street, San Francisco. Tickets levels are $10,000; $5,000; $2,500; $1,000 and $100. For information contact Kathleen Russell at kcr@kathleenrussell.com

Novato Democrats
Attend the monthly meeting, Novato Democratic Club, SATURDAY, MAY 7, 10-11:30 AM.  Location TBA. Link up with other Novato Democrats and find out how you can make a difference locally and nationally. The Club provides a great opportunity to learn more about your city and how you can get involved with Democratic politics and causes. The Club interfaces with other groups, including the Democratic Party of Marin. For location call Suzanne, 309-6170.

Meet the Candidate Night
Sponsored by the National Women’s Political Caucus, this forum will be held on MONDAY, MAY 9, 6-9 PM at the Mt. Tam Racquet Club, Larkspur. The following potential candidates who’ve expressed an interest in running for Joe Nation’s 6th District Assembly seat (Marin and southern Sonoma) in 2006 will be participating in a panel presentation: John Alden, Greg Brockbank, Damon Connelly, Mike Healy, Frank Egger, Jared Huffman, Wandean Trainer, Pam Torliatt and Cynthia Murray.  $25 includes dinner. This is a great opportunity to learn more about the prospective candidates for this important race. For more information, or to make a reservation, please call Eleanor Kellogg-Smith at 454-8710.

Continue the Fight!
Visit the Democratic Party's website for ideas on how to keep up the pressure on this administration. Don't let them foist their agenda on us without a struggle. Stand up for Social Security, demand a response to questions about the price of gas, and let them know you want a free judiciary. For ways to do all this and more, visit http://www.democrats.org

Candidates' Forum
On Sunday, May 22, a Candidates Forum will be held at Olney Hall on the Campus of the College of Marin. All candidates who have expressed an interest in running for the 6th Assembly District seat will be invited to a question and answer town-meeting style event. The Forum will be co-sponsored by more than 15 Marin County organizations including the DCCM, The Marin Democratic Club, The Marin City Democratic Club, DFA-Marin, Dean Democratic Club, NWPC, 6th AD, The Ruth Group, Students for Social Responsibility College of Marin, Marin Green Party,Marin Peace and Justice Coalition, Gray Panthers, Sustainable Marin and Sustainable Novato, California Teachers' Association. For more information, contact Mayme Hubert at maymehubert@att.net
An exciting new website is being planned by the group putting this coalition Candidates Forum together. The working title for the group is Voters for Representative Government. Watch for further announcements of progess from the group.

Calling for Materials!
Richard Foldenauer still needs contributions of material for the Campaign 2004 archive. Anyone who worked on the campaign has anything in print or on electronic media from the campaign to include should email him at marinforkerry@yahoo.com

Make Choices to Change the World
Find out how your purchasing choices can have a big impact on the environment."Consumers have vast power to make change, but often lack information on the best environmental option for the many decisions we make each day. This program offers suggestions for consumer action ... you'll leave this program with practical, cost-effective solutions that will inform your choices." May 5, 2005, from 6:00 - 9:00 pm at Marin Art & Garden Center, 30 Sir Francis Drake Blvd., Ross, CA, Admission is free with a suggested donation of $10.00. For more informatiion visit, www.MarinEFM.org
Can our everyday purchasing choices impact the global environment?
Can we envision and build a system in which all of our packaging is returned and reused?
How do our food decisions impact air and water quality?
How does our choice of family car impact the environment?
Lacking strong national leadership, how do we lead the way locally?

The Committee to Elect Charles McGlashan joins the Environmental Forum of Marin in inviting you to attend:
MAKING CHOICES THAT MAKE CHANGE, a free event to highlight the power we have to make change through our purchasing and life style decisions.
Speakers
Charles McGlashan - Marin Supervisor: Energy Alternatives, Sustainability, Advocacy
Dan Imhoff - Author: Paper or Plastic? Stemming the Tide of Disposables
Amy Luers - Union of Concerned Scientists: Consumer Choices and Global Warming
Betsy Rosenberg - KCBS and EcoTalk radio, Don't Be Fueled: Moderator