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REDDING REPUBLICAN TOWN COMMITTEE MINUTES Attendance: A quorum was present: Gary Miyashiro Guests: Frank Taylor The meeting was called to order at 7:01 p.m. Treasurer's Report Gary Miyashiro presented the Treasurer's Report and noted a balance of $4,959.66 (excluding proceeds from the Pig Roast) as of October 1, 2007. Motion was made to approve the Treasurer's Report, which was seconded. Unanimously passed. Campaign Committee Brief update from Lewis Brey and Tom Derderian requesting that any forthcoming contributions to the RTC should be made "sooner rather than later" in order for the Committee to utilize all available resources during the campaign season. Urs Furrer commended Tom Derderian on the recent campaign mailers and advertisements on behalf of Republican candidates. New Members Ward Mazzucco reminded the group that, at the previous meeting, the Vacancy Committee recommended Rand Guffey to become a new RTC member. Urs Furrer spoke on Rand's behalf and seconded the motion. Unanimously passed. Bank Account Ward Mazzucco noted that the RTC bank account needed new signatories to reflect changes to the RTC board. As such, Ward suggested that he (as Chairman) and Gary Miyashiro (as Treasurer) be approved as new co-signatories on the RTC bank account. Frank DeSalvo made a motion supporting Ward's suggestion, which was seconded by Don Takacs. Unanimously passed. Poll Workers for Election Day Urs Furrer noted that he had three volunteers to assist at the polls on Election Day but needed one more person. Christine Polio volunteered to help. Candidate Cocktail Party Ward Mazzucco announced that Linda Koch and her husband graciously offered to host a cocktail party at their home on Sunday October 7 from 4pm-7pm to showcase the Republican candidates. There will be no charge and RTC members are invited to attend and bring a friend. Brief discussion ensued regarding the best way to promote the event and whether or not to ask for donations at the party. It was agreed that a "soft sell" was better and that donation envelopes would be made available if guests wanted to make a contribution. Lawn Signs It was announced that "Lewis Brey and Company" would put up lawn signs for candidates in contested races on the evening of Thursday October 4th at the homes of all RTC members. Lewis asked anyone who objected to having lawn signs on their yards to please let him know. Pig Roast Ward Mazzucco congratulated Christine Polio and Tom Derderian for their efforts in organizing the successful Pig Roast that occurred on Sunday September 30th and that was held in honor of Jim and Andrea Cotton. Christine reported that there were approximately 77 guests and that the event netted nearly $1,500 for the RTC. Ward read a note from Jim and Andrea thanking everyone for making "the day so special." A brief discussion followed, primarily regarding the best day to hold next year's event. No decision was reached. Election Day Two important issues were addressed regarding Election Day preparations: 1. Tent Duty - Ward reminded everyone that volunteers are needed for one-hour increments from 6am (set up) through 8pm (clean up) and encouraged everyone to volunteer. Ward noted that Judge Emerson had arranged for the tent and that others were providing additional necessities including tables (Ward Mazzucco, Frank DeSalvo) and extension cords and lights (Parker Coates). Ward noted that he would resend the list as Election Day approached in order to ensure all times were covered. 2. "Robo Calls" - Ward began a discussion of whether everyone thought it would be useful to meet the evening before Election Day, like last year, in order to make calls to registered Republicans to remind them to vote. This lead to a wide-ranging discussion of the pros and cons of telephone calling, particularly in an "off year" election. Frank DeSalvo emphasized that it was important to remind people to vote. Gerry Casiello and Richard Emerson noted that several telephone calling efforts had been undertaken in the past, with varying degrees of success. Tom Derderian suggested perhaps arranging for a "brief, polite robo call" to be made and sent to registered Republicans on the night before the election reminding them to vote. He thought someone like Jim Cotton could record the message. Tom noted that the cost of the calls was relatively cheap (something like $150-$200 for 2,500 calls) and might be an effective way of handling the issue. Most comments were favorable with people generally agreeing that because it was an off year, people would not be receiving many robo calls and that the plan suggested would likely be more effective as a result. A motion was made to approve the robo call effort, with the details to be worked out by the Campaign Committee. The motion was seconded and unanimously passed. Vacancy Committee Gerry Casiello reported that there were two nominations for the Parks and Rec. Commission: Greg Fryerson and Kevin Connolly. Greg is a former IBM employee and now a consultant and stay at home Dad with kids in the middle school. Greg is active in the Boys & Girls Club and serves as a youth league coach. Kevin has been in town three years, is an attorney and is a "perfect candidate except he's a Democrat". Gerry then noted that Kevin has promised to switch his affiliation before the next Board of Selectmen meeting on October 22nd. Urs Furrer spoke on Kevin's behalf. Motion was made to approve the nominations of Greg Fryerson and Kevin Connolly to the Parks and Rec. Commission, which was seconded. Unanimously passed. Gerry then noted that because several RTC members had taken senior status there is now an opening for a new RTC member. Gerry asked for people to recommend candidates. He said he would also put an advertisement in the paper regarding the opening. Additional Election-Related Discussion The meeting turned briefly to a discussion of whether coffees or other neighborhood functions were being planned as part of the general campaign. Lewis Brey mentioned that nothing formal had been planned as yet. This lead to a brief discussion regarding the potential "photo-op value" of coffees and public candidate appearances such as greeting commuters at the Branchville and West Redding train stations. Tom Derderian then reminded everyone of the "letter to the editor" initiative. Tom noted that rather than do a general coordinated effort through the RTC, it had been decided that this year each candidate would work to coordinate their own letter writing campaigns. Tom urged everyone to assist in this effort and to be as cooperative as possible with candidates seeking volunteers to write letters on their behalf. Questions for the Candidate Forum Ward Mazzucco reminded everyone of the candidate debate being held on October 15th at Meadow Ridge. As preparation for that event, RTC members had previously been asked to bring possible questions for the candidates to consider. Ward noted that Frank Taylor had to leave the meeting early but that Chris Hocker and Christine Kearney were present and ready to discuss possible debate topics. The meeting then turned to a long and fruitful discussion of questions the candidates might face and possible answers that might be given as well as general themes regarding town issues that should be considered as Election Day nears. Both Chris and Christine spoke about issues that were of importance to them individually. Christine highlighted tax rate stability and long-term planning while Chris spoke generally of many things including the budgeting process and the importance of managing that process with an eye to the future so that Redding does not have to face some of the incredible annual budget issues that Easton currently faces. The discussion concluded with both candidates noting that they had web-sites (or would soon have them). Tom Derderian said he would ensure that the candidates web-sites were linked to the RTC web-site. Report from Natalie Ketcham Natalie Ketcham happily reported that she was able to prevent the planned assessment increases related to the Georgetown redevelopment through her connection with the new state DEP Commissioner, who used to be Woodbridge's First Selectman. Simply put, Natalie was able to hasten the Department's approval of the Georgetown remedial action plan, which meant the increase in the assessment planned for October 1st did not occur. November Meeting Ward Mazzucco finished the meeting by notifying everyone that there likely would not be a November RTC meeting due to the close proximity with Election Day. Ward promised to provide an update on this point in the near term as circumstances warranted. Adjournment Tom Derderian moved to adjourn, which was seconded by Urs Furrer. Unanimously passed. The meeting was adjourned at 9:15 p.m.
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