A regular meeting of the Democratic Town Committee was held on November 26,2007 at Democratic Headquarters, 161 Main St.  Chairman DaSilva called the meeting to order at 7:30 P.M. 

Present:  DaSilva L, Merante, Morgan, Gallo, Abrantes, Coladarci, Cooke, Saadi, Tomaino, Conciatore, DaSilva J, Braguez, Council, Armstrong, Halfar.

Absent:  Anders, McNamara, Neptune, Kelly, Estefan S, Estefan P, Eriquez, Lewis, Kaback, Lees, Knight.

Kevin Morgan made a motion to accept the call of the meeting.  Bernie Gallo seconded.  The motion carried unanimously.

Bernie Gallo made a motion to accept the minutes of the previous meeting.  Kevin Morgan seconded.  The motion carried unanimously.

A motion was made by Ellen Cooke to take New Business out of the order of the call.  Helena Abrantes seconded the motion.  The motion passed unanimously.

Bernie Gallo made a motion to appoint Gene Eriquez to fill the vacancy in the Fifth Ward.  Tony Tomaino seconded the motion.  The motion passed unanimously.

Guest Speaker:  No speaker this month.

Public Participation:  Ken Gucker thanked everyone for their help and support at election time.  He suggested that we need a better plan for the next election.  One idea he had was to go out and visit each ward so you can identify the issues in each ward.

Al Robinson thanked Helena for running for Mayor.  He is still concerned about traffic congestion, over development and education.

Jack Gillotte thanked the committee for their help during the election.  He also suggested that new candidates needed more guidelines on running a campaign, such as how to be smarter about phoning, what the rule is about putting material in a mailbox and how to handle a Condo complex.

Ivan Pitts said it was a pleasure to work on Helena’s campaign.

Correspondence:  None this meeting

Old Business:  2007 Election

Chairman DaSilva said that money was a BIG issue in the election; we did not have enough of it. It was also clear that registered Democrats were not voting for the Democrats.  We as a party need to get the people more involved.  Chairman DaSilva asked several people to work as a group to try and find a solution to this problem. Among them were Bernie Gallo, Helena Abrantes, Gene Eriquez, Tom Saadi, Sonnie Council, Jim Maloney, Ken Gucker, Joe Taborsak and Glenda Armstrong.  He also suggested that Lynn Taborsak might be able to help with Union out reach.

Helena Abrantes thanked everyone for their help with the election; she feels that more communication is needed, such as e-mail addresses so we can keep in contact with interested people, and a better plan for walking each Ward.  Helena also voices a concern about privacy with the new voting machines.  Some voters remarked that the sides of the voting table could have been higher.

Reports

Chair:  Joe reminded everyone about the Christmas Party on December 10^th.  Remember to bring an unwrapped toy too!

Treasurer:  Linda DaSilva reported that our balance as of 11/25/07 was $ 801.61.  Barbara Braguez made a motion to accept the report.  Bernie Gallo seconded.  The motion passed unanimously. 

State Central:  Jim Maloney said that while everyone worked very hard on the election, it is an uphill battle when fighting against an incumbent. Mark Boughton picked the issues he knew he had the votes for.  He feels we should be proud of the candidates that ran and for all the hard work everyone did do.

State Officials:  Bob Godfrey spoke about the passing of former Governor Bill O’Neil.  He said he was committed to education, keeping good teachers in Connecticut by keeping salaries competitive. Local schools as well as UCONN and WESCONN benefited from his passion for education.  Gov. O’Neil also had gas tax dollars go to the Transportation Fund to keep our roads, bridges and train lines in good repair.

Joe Taborsak congratulated Lori Kaback and Warren Levy on their election win.  He also thanked Helena, Eileen and Chris for the effort they put into their campaigns.  Joe also noted the passing of former Governor Bill O’Neil.

Local Officials:  Tom Saadi said that as a group we need to be highly motivated to go out into the wards and convince people to get involved in the party.  This will help to increase donations for future elections. 

Linda DaSilva commented that we need to take an honest look at ourselves, who is supporting our party by attending the Clambake and the JJB.  Who regularly attends meetings and works at Headquarters.  It starts with a strong team.

Ben Chianese again asked that an effort be made for members of the Town Committee to attend Common Council meetings.  The support will be noticed not only by Republicans but also the general public.

Paul Rotello voiced some concerns with the new voting machines.  He felt that privacy was an issue not only for voting but also when submitting the sheet.

Marge Gallo reported that there was one glitch that was a human error with a vote count in the Second ward.  Warren Levy had concerns about this and how it may have affected his vote count.  Marge assured him and the committee that the problem was properly addressed.  She also answered Jim Maloney’s question as to the legalities of the Registrar breaking a seal on the machines.  In fact what was dine was a re-tally not a re-count of the Ward 2 votes.  Glenda Armstrong asked Marge about better signs at Mill Ridge School for future elections.  She felt the signs were not clear enough.  Marge did say that generally the vote went well and the process would improve with time.

Committees:  No reports this month.

Wards:  No reports this month.

Barbara Braguez made a motion to adjourn the meeting.  Tony Tomaino seconded. The meeting was adjourned at 8:50 P.M.

Respectfully submitted,