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REDDING REPUBLICAN TOWN COMMITTEE MINUTES Attendance A quorum was present: Richard Emerson Guests: David Bachs(?), Zach Eastright, Bill Cortez Chairman Ward Mazzucco ("WM") called the meeting to order at 8:02 pm Minutes of August and September Meetings Tom Derderian moved to approve the Minutes of the August 4, 2008 meeting, Julie Gorman seconded. Urs Furrer moved to approve the Minutes of September 8, 2008 meeting, Joan DeSalvo seconded. Both motions passed unanimously. Treasurer's Report Gary Miyashiro presented the Treasurer's Report and noted a balance of $4,026.05, as of October 1, 2008. Gary noted that the RTC received 41 contributions as a result of the fundraising letter totaling $ 3,145. Eleven of those came from RTC members. Gary also noted that 27 RTC members had made an annual contribution. Gary finished by saying that he would have a report on the receipts from the Pig Roast at the next meeting. A motion was made to approve the Treasurer's Report, which was seconded. Motion passed unanimously. General Matters Vacancy Committee Vacancy Committee Co-Chair Julie Gorman recommended Todd Bennett for an opening on the Parks and Recreation Commission. Julie said that Todd has been in Redding five years, has young children and helps manage his family business, Bruce Bennett Nissan. Several members spoke on Todd's behalf. A motion was made to recommend Todd Bennett to the Board of Selectman for the Republican opening on the Parks and Recreation Commission, which was seconded. The motion passed unanimously. Julie then introduced David Bachs who was interviewed before the meeting by the Vacancy Committee for a spot on the RTC. Julie then notified members that there are two spots that need to be filled - Zoning Commission alternate and Board of Assessment Appeals alternate. WM encouraged any member interested in either position to let Julie or Laura Hoeing know, or to look for people in the community who might want to serve. Shays Campaign Zach Eastright of the Shays Campaign spoke next. He thanked everyone for their donations, including those from the September fundraiser at the Koch's house. He also thanked everyone for the invitation to the Pig Roast and sent Congressman Shays' regrets. He was unable to attend because of his hearing schedule in Washington. Zach then provided an update on the campaign. He said that the race was very tight and would likely come down to the wire. While they have had good events recently, particularly at the Westport Fair where Chris was received much more favorably than in years past, his opponent has raised a lot of money and the Democratic National Committee has again targeted Chris. Zach noted that Jim Himes and the DNC had begun to run negative ads and that Chris would respond to them, without going negative. He asked for everyone's support and encouraged volunteer efforts by all. A discussion ensued regarding Congressman Shays' continued refusal to run negative campaign ads with RTC members offering thoughts on what types of factual responses might be made to combat the DNC's efforts Melanie O'Brien - WM next spoke in support of Melanie O'Brien, candidate for the 2nd District seat. WM said Melanie couldn't attend tonight but that Pat Rist of the Bethel RTC was here earlier helping Julie Gorman, Melanie's town coordinator, with various campaign efforts. WM noted that Melanie would be debating Jason Bartlett on October 16th at 7:30pm at the Redding Community Center and sought volunteers to come with questions for Melanie. Natalie Ketcham also encouraged RTC members to attend and said that she had fought hard with the League of Women Voters to hold the debate. It was also noted that Melanie needed volunteers to have signs in their yards or to host coffees or other get togethers. WM said that anyone interested in helping Melanie should contact Julie Gorman directly. Toni Boucher Toni Boucher updated members on her campaign for the 26th District Senate seat. She noted that Connecticut is ranked 50 out of 50 for business friendly legislatures, which she said mandates changes be made. Toni noted that Republicans last year were able to hold back Democrats who wanted to increase the individual and estate tax rates and that, if elected, she would continue to fight for lower taxes. She said that Connecticut has become unaffordable for many, including families with young children, and this must change. Toni said she has been campaigning hard across all seven towns in the District and that by October 30th she will have debated her opponent nine times. She finished by encouraging anyone who could to attend her next debate tomorrow night (October 9th) at the Ridgefield Playhouse at 7pm. WM thanked Toni for her time, wished her luck and encouraged all RTC members to help in any way possible. Victory Program Next, Bill Cortez of the "Victory Program" spoke. "Victory" is a program run by the RNC and funded by the state party to help in tight races, like the 4th Congressional race this year. Bill noted that the Democrats see Chris Shays as a "roadblock" and want to push him out of office. Bill explained that Victory has offices in Fairfield, Stamford, New Britain and Waterbury. Essentially, the offices consist of phone banks. Volunteers make phone calls to identify possible Shays voters. The information obtained is transferred to data bases. Get out the vote efforts will be targeted towards individuals identified in the data base. The Victory offices are open 10am-9pm weekdays, 10am-5pm on Saturdays and 12pm-5pm on Sundays. Bill encouraged everyone who can to volunteer time. He suggested a "Redding Night" if the RTC preferred. Bill noted that food is provided and that help is needed because the race against Jim Himes is going to be close. Bill promised to give WM his contact information for distribution to RTC members. WM asked and Bill agreed to provide email reminders to RTC members as the campaign progresses. Pig Roast WM congratulated Scott Palmer and all those who helped with the annual Pig Roast held in honor of Sen. Judith Freeman. WM reported that Sen. Freedman "really enjoyed herself" and thanked the RTC for their support and encouragement over the years. Everyone agreed it was a successful event. WM noted that for the first time an award was given to the Redding "Republican of the Year" and that Tom Derderian was the recipient. Tom was congratulated by all. Campaign Campaign Committee Chair Lewis Brey discussed plans to assist various campaigns. He anticipated that around $5,000 would be needed to conduct all planned activities. Christina Kearney moved to authorize the Campaign Committee to spend up to $5,000, which was seconded by Urs Furrer. The Motion passed unanimously. Election Day WM and RTC members discussed planning for Election Day activities, including the Republican tent. WM passed out a sign-up sheet for volunteers on Election Day to "man the tent". WM promised to re-circulate the list prior to November 4th to remind those volunteering when they should come to help. Natalie Ketcham noted that because so many voters are expected, voting will likely take place in the Community Center gym. Barlow Election WM announced that Joel Barlow students and faculty recently held mock presidential elections. The results in the student election: 125 McCain, 248 Obama and 4 Ron Paul. Faculty results: 17 McCain, 39 Obama. Natalie Ketcham Natalie Ketcham then discussed town budget issues including recent efforts to "budget revenues conservatively" and to "be conservative with expenditures". A brief discussion also occurred regarding Region 9 teacher union contracts and town union contracts. Natalie concluded by noting that we cannot count on growth in the town's grand list and that she and town department heads were planning accordingly. Next Meeting The next meeting will be held on November 10th rather than November 3rd because of the elections. Adjournment A motion to adjourn was made and seconded. The motion unanimously passed. The meeting was adjourned at 9:24pm.
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