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REDDING REPUBLICAN TOWN COMMITTEE MINUTES A quorum was present: Richard Emerson Guests: Chris Hocker, Sen. Toni Boucher, Dan Heller, Hank Karl Ward Mazzucco ("WM") called the meeting to order at 8 p.m. Minutes of December Meeting WM noted that a review of the minutes from the December meeting would be passed until March's meeting. Treasurer's Report Gary Miyashiro presented the Treasurer's Report and noted a balance of $1770.49 as of January 31, 2009. A motion was made to approve the Treasurer's Report, which was seconded. Motion passed unanimously. General Matters Senator Freedman WM said that Senator Judith Freedman had sent a letter to the RTC in "thanks for the Pig Roast." She wrote that she was "deeply appreciative" and "forever grateful" for the support of the RTC over the years but was certain Sen. Boucher would do a "wonderful job" going forward. Republican State Central With regret, Urs Furrer notified the RTC that he would be stepping down as a representative to the State Central Committee due to work commitments. Tim Beeble from Bethel is interested in the position. Tim worked as Senator Boucher's town coordinator and she recommends him. WM said that the RTC will be selecting 5 delegates at the March meeting to attend the state convention on May 12th and encouraged anyone interested to let him know. 4th Congressional District Quarterly Meeting WM informed members that during Chris Shays' tenure, a quarterly meeting was held among various people from across the 4th District to deal with planning and strategy issues at both the municipal and District levels. The group is continuing forward and Tom Derderian attended the formative meeting recently. 20 to 25 people from across the District attended. Rob Russo, a former State Senator from Bridgeport organized the meeting. The group will be picking officers and formulating a plan to win back the Congressional seat. First, however, the group will focus on the upcoming fall municipal elections…stay tuned. Vacancy Committee Committee Co-Chairs Julie Gorman and Laura Hoeing spoke. Julie reminded members that Kevin Kinyon and Tom Doremus had been recommended for membership. A motion was made to approve Kevin's and Tom's admission to the RTC, which was seconded. The motion passed unanimously. WM welcomed both to the RTC. Julie next introduced Dan Heller, a long-time town resident who had been active in the RTC previously and would like to get involved again. Dan has also been involved with the Redding Historical Society, Joel Barlow and various conservation efforts in town. Julie said that the Vacancy Committee recommended Dan for membership. A vote on his membership will take place at the March meeting. Laura then spoke about Shannon Craley, who currently serves on the Park and Rec Board. Shannon has two kids at St Mary's and serves on the Board of Redding Neighbors and Newcomers. Shannon wants to join the RTC as an associate member. Laura noted that the Vacancy Committee recommended Shannon for membership as an associate. A vote on her membership will take place at the March meeting. Julie noted that there are a number of openings on boards including: an alternate on assessment board of appeals; alternate on Zoning; two openings on Board of Ethics - one full and one alternate member; two openings on Parks and Recreation; and alternate on the Planning Commission. Julie asked all members to help identify possible candidates and to let her or Laura know. Elections WM next lead a general discussion about upcoming elections. Of note, he announced that Art Poltrack will not seek re-election to the Region 9 Board. It was also announced that Natalie Ketcham and Don Takacs will be seeking re-election . WM noted that we will have to work hard to assist Natalie and Don in their re-election efforts. Chris Hocker then described his first year on the Region 9 Board and provided his thoughts on what type of person would be a good candidate to replace Art. Chris emphasized that any candidate will need to be passionate about education, commit to being a working member of the Board, and suggested that someone with good ties to the "younger with kids community" might be a good fit. Natalie spoke briefly about needing to find was to get younger voters involved in town and to look for avenues to improve communication and begin a dialogue with younger voters. WM ran through a list of current candidates and openings on town boards and commissions and reminded members that their help is needed to identify and recruit possible candidates. WM asked members to let him, Julie Gorman or Laura Hoeing know of potential candidates willing to run for office or serve on town boards. Senator Boucher WM introduced Senator Toni Boucher. Sen. Boucher provided an update on various issues facing the legislature noting that the estimated state budget deficit was growing daily and that Governor Rell had several plans to address this problem and encouraged RTC members to watch Governor Rell's budget address on Wednesday of this week. Senator Boucher also spoke on uses of the Internet and how we could coordinate efforts to improve communications with voters in her Senatorial District and beyond. Senator Boucher then introduced Hank Karl who has provided her office with Internet consulting services. Hank Karl Hank Karl introduced himself and described his efforts to assist Sen. Boucher in her use of the Internet to update constituents, fund raise and get her message out to various constituencies, particularly the 18-30 year old demographic. Mr. Karl offered to work with the RTC to improve its website and help coordinate better communications with various state and local officials and other RTCs. WM thanked Hank and Senator Boucher for attending the meeting. Platform 2009 WM circulated the RTC 2007 to members and asked that a committee be formed to review the 2007 platform, make suggestions and draft a new platform for the 2009 elections. Dave Lewson, Don Takacs and Frank Taylor volunteered to serve on the committee. WM thanked them for volunteering. Judge Downey WM noted that Judge John Downey, a Redding resident and former member of the RTC had announced that he would be resigning as a state court judge when his term expired. WM noted that Governor Rell had supported Judge Downey's re-nomination but that he faced a difficult reappointment hearing in front of the Judiciary Committee and decided to retire. WM wished Judge Downey well. RTC Internet Issues Jerry Sarnelli, Tom Derderian and Frank Taylor led a discussion of possible uses by the RTC of the Internet. The three agreed to put together a proposal and present it to the RTC Frank Taylor WM then congratulated Frank Taylor for his 30 years of serving to the Town of Redding on the Zoning Commission. Frank received a warm round of applause from the RTC Money/Raffle A general discussion then took place regarding possible fundraising efforts in addition to annual member contributions. Several ideas were discussed including a raffle, golf tournament, sweepstakes and email solicitation. It was agreed to continue the discussion at future meetings. Next Meeting WM announced that the next meeting will be held on March 2, 2009. Adjournment A motion to adjourn was made Jerry Sarnelli and seconded by Don Takacs. The motion unanimously passed. The meeting was adjourned at 9:39 p.m.
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