FROM THE PRESIDENT’S CORNER                                                                                   Once again we have changed leadership roles in our club. Some of us are just changing jobs assignments and others are new to the Executive Board. For me I think change is good. I am noticing a lot of new faces at our meetings and attendance stays very good. All this is very important as we move forward. Democrats did very well in Ventura County in 2012. I think we can do better; we should have had the 44th assembly seat. Also County Democrats recognized the importance of Oxnard area voters. Some have said we are ground zero. So the pressure is on and we are ready for the challenge. Well, almost ready, we need to do two things, raise money and register more Democrats. Regarding the 1^st thing June 8^th we will be returning to the Rosenmund Ranch for our very own Strawberry FEASTival. We hope to have several more fundraising events to raise money for our field operations. We are looking for partners; other clubs, the VCDCC, and some of our long time loyal Democrat friends. The same thing goes for voter registration the Greater Oxnard area still has lots of opportunities for voter registration and we need to increase our edge. So thanks for your continuing support. See you at our next meeting and bring a friend. (Bill Gallaher)

NEXT GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING, May 8, 7 p.m.  RL MILLER will speak on “FRACKING IN VENTURA COUNTY.”
RL Miller is a lawyer, climate blogger and chair of California Democratic Party’s Environmental Caucus. She blogs at DailyKos, Climate Progress, Grist, Calitics, and Takepart.com on climate, environment, and clean energy policy. Last year Miller spoke at Netroots Nation on coal exports; in 2010 she led an environmental panel at Netroots California and has spoken locally on issues such as Proposition 23, nuclear power, fracking, and the like, and has appeared on radio shows including Lila Garrett’s KPFK. Miller’s 2010 work on tracking climate zombies – Republicans who deny the reality of climate science – was written up in the New York Times, Washington Post, Time, and Guardian (UK). Miller is active within the California Democratic Party at state, county, and local levels as the chairperson of the state Environmental Caucus, secretary of the Ventura County Central Committee’s Executive Board, and co-president of the Democratic Club of the Conejo Valley. Current interests include the specter of fracking California for dirty oil, practicing law, keeping chickens, and – on rare occasions – sleeping.

At this same meeting, on MAY 8, our membership will be asked to approve the following GUN CONTROL RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, there are an estimated 310 million guns in civilian hands in the United States.

WHEREAS, 40 percent of gun sales occur without a background check (mainly at gun shows) that would prevent dangerous people from acquiring firearms;

WHEREAS, 46 states now allow the sale of assault clips holding more than 10 bullets to ordinary civilians;

WHEREAS, the Federal ban on military-style assault weapons was allowed to lapse almost 10 years ago;

WHEREAS, the recent tragic mass killings of innocent people by mentally ill individuals in Tucson; Aurora, Colorado; and Newtown, Connecticut, were facilitated by assault weapons and high-capacity magazines;

THEREFORE, be it resolved that the Greater Oxnard Organization of Democrats (GOOD Club) supports Federal legislation that would do the following:

(a) Require background checks on all gun sales.

(b) Restore the ban on military-style assault weapons.

(c) Make the sale of high-capacity ammunition magazines illegal.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the GOOD Club send a copy of this resolution to the President of the United States, U.S. Senators representing California, and Congresswoman Julia Brownley, asking them to take action. (Carol Marsh, Parliamentarian)

SUMMARY OF THE APRIL 10TH GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING:        OXNARD CITY COUNCIL DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATES                                             All eight Democratic candidates responded to the GOOD Club invitation to present their motivation for running for the one vacant seat and their goals if elected in the June special election. They spoke in random order as determined by drawing lots. Several candidates grew up in Oxnard: Vince Behrens (whose family has been here for over 100 years) Jo Ann Olivares (whose family also has been here since the early 1900’s), Bert Perello, Mario Quintana, Manuel Vazquez, and AJ Valenzuela (whose family includes a Chumash ancestor). Martin Jones is also long-time resident. Orlando Dozier moved here seven years ago. Several candidates presently hold or previously have held elective offices: Dozier – City Relations Committee, his HOA, Neighborhood Council; Jones – neighborhood council; Valenzuela – student organizations and trustee member of the Ventura College District Board.                                                                                                                         Quintana and Jones led in the fight for the adoption of the Spanish simulcast of the city council meetings.                                                                                                           Several candidates spoke about their specific managerial qualifications: Dozier – 14 years as a budget analyst/Port Hueneme Naval Base; skilled at strategic planning, has worked, managed, and prioritized $200 million projects. Vazquez – Director for Huntington Learning Center Program that helps students excel in school; Behrens – Oxnard business owner/downtown; raised $600,000 to beautify downtown; Olivares – over 30 years in business/organizational management, volunteerism and non-profit organizations: Food Share and Rescue Mission.                                                                                                 The candidates dealt with a wide range of concerns, several of them making very specific points that indicated their familiarity with major current issues that the city has to deal with. The following is a list of such issues with the names of those candidates that addressed them:

• The need for a new city manager and with competence and necessary skills, such as accounting (Behrens, Perello, Quintana).
• The importance of leadership development and the responsibility of the city council to assume more effective leadership (Quintana & Vazquez)
• Concerns for ethical and transparent city governance (Behrens, Dozier, Jones, Olivares, Perello, Valenzuela, Vazquez)
• Emphasis on accountability of city staff (Olivares, Perello)
• Reassessment of budget allocations, more effective and transparent control of resource distribution (Olivares, Perello, Vazquez)
• Specific kinds of job opportunities that the city does or might in the future provide: career paths—technical, welding, nursing and auto mechanics (Valenzuela); partnering with industry to create better jobs for our workforce (Vazquez); the city should provide incentives for the creation of well-paid, clean and sustainable local jobs to benefit all of Oxnard’s citizens (Perello)
• Redevelopment Debt – need for a “Blue Ribbon” Citizens Oversight Committee (Jones & Perello)
• The urgent need for expansion of youth programs and more effective outreach to our youth; the availability soccer fields is of special concern (Quintana & Vazquez) “42% Oxnard population are 24 years old and younger.” (Vazquez)
• Specific fiscal information mentioned in terms of debt and mismanagement (Dozier, Jones & Perello)
• Improve quality of life (Behrens, Jones, Olivares)

Only Quintana mentioned the South Shore development project and emphatically voiced his opposition. He also expressed his opposition to the gang injunction. None of the other candidates addressed those two topics. Less specifically, Vazquez voiced his intention to protect our open space and advocate control of city expansion. Similarly Valenzuela stressed that SOAR should be reaffirmed in 2020; while Dozier felt that construction of new homes will bring in more job opportunities than agriculture, mentioning in particular the development of River Park area as one of his concerns. Behrens is the only candidate who mentioned Ormond Beach “Oxnard’s Hidden Jewel”, certainly an urgent concern for the future of Oxnard. No other candidate acknowledged our vast beach area as a major asset of the city. Behrens is the also the only candidate who mentioned that Oxnard has six museums and was the only one who addressed the problem of the needs of our growing elderly population; he suggested that the city should encourage the development of volunteer groups. Perello was the only candidate who mentioned the need for rehabilitating our levees, certainly a crucial and growing security issue.

To address all of the problems that were mentioned will be a huge challenge for the city council. The presentations of the candidates gave the GOOD Club audience a clear sense of the range of tasks that lie ahead.

Note: Please remember that the by-laws of the GOOD Club prevent endorsement of any candidate if more than one Democrat is running for the same office. (Graciela Soliz and Ruth Maria Capelle)

MARK YOUR CALENDAR

NEXT GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING, May 8, 7 p.m.  RL MILLER will speak on “FRACKING IN VENTURA COUNTY.”

Sunday, May 19th.  REBOZO Festival, Brunch will be served from 11a.m. – 3:00 p.m.  For info or tickets go to www.rebozofestival.com or call (805) 650-3636. 201 Camarillo Ranch Rd., Camarillo, CA  93012

Tuesday, May 21, 7 p.m. GOOD Club E-Board meeting;the board meetings are open to all members.

Saturday, June 8, GOOD Club Strawberry Feastival (a fundraiser) at the Rosenmund Ranch in Oxnard. Further details will be forthcoming.

Wednesday, June 12, 7 p.m. GOOD Club General Meeting. Program to be announced.