Saturday, March 11, 2023
Wheatland Township Hall
Remus, MI 10:00 AM
Meeting called to order by Chair Mary Minnick at 10:05 AM. Chair led the group in the Pledge of Allegiance. The
Land Acknowledgement was read by Mark Everhart.
Guest Speaker: Congressional candidate Michael Lynch addressed the meeting. He talked about a lack of trust in the institutions of government and media and spoke of how he hopes to help create unity. He is especially interested in our treatment of veterans and active military personnel. He will work on developing plans to ease their transition back into civilian life.
Roll call of officers: Mary Minnick, Chair – Present; John Helge, Vice Chair – Present; Dallas Dean, Treasurer –
Present; Peggy Raddatz, Secretary – Absent.
Roll call of the District Committee: Present – Mary Minnick, Robin Aslakson, Karen Turnbull, Amanda Siggins, Christie Freestone, Christina Bush, Julie Alexander, Cathy Willermet, Dallas Dean, K>P> Mahoney, Ken Mahoney, Michael Lynch, John Pakledinaz (zoom), John Helge, Edward Miller, Michael Fields Mark Everhart.
Roll of Counties: Barry(2), Clare(0), Eaton(0), Gladwin(3), Gratiot(3), Ionia(0), Isabella(1), Kent(0), Lake(3), Manistee(1), Mason(2), Mecosta(3), Midland(0), Montcalm(0), Muskegon(2), Newaygo(6), Oceana(1), Ottawa(0), Wexford(2).
Approval of minutes: A motion to accept the minutes from the previous meeting was made by K.P. Mahoney and seconded by Ed Miller to approve the previous minutes with two small typo corrections. The motion carried.
Officer's reports: Chair Mary Minnick , in an effort to save time, offered no report. Vice Chair John Helge introduced his plan to "Defund Moolenaar" to the group. He also warned us not to open any emails from him as Moolenaar uses those openings as a way to amplify his internet presence. John is planning to write a monthly op-ed for our Facebook page and encourages everyone to read them. His current one is about gun safety. Dallas Dean followed with the treasurer report. We have a balance of $226.86 in our state account, $457.02 in the administration account, $441.42 in the federal account and $8773.04 in our Texas Hold 'Em account of $8773.04. A complete breakdown of income and expenses was provided. Dallas reminded us that the Admin account can only be used for contributions from corporations or trade unions. A motion to accept the treasurer's report was made by Ed Miller and seconded by KP Mahoney. The motion carried. Due to Peggy Raddatz"s absence there was no secretary's report.
Committee reports:
Rules and Bylaws: Chair Dallas Dean reviewed the proposed new bylaws. Several versions had been circulated and the committee had received lots of input from the members. After just a few final changes, mostly grammar or typographic errors, Dallas moved that we accept the bylaws with just a few final corrections. The motion was seconded by Ed Miller. Motion carried. Mary Minnick promised to get it out in the mail in time to meet the MDP deadline. Congratulations and thank you to all those who worked on this important project.
Finance committee: KP Mahoney reported that work is proceeding on both our ice social (April 8) and our fall gala (September). The gala will be held at the Wheatland Hall. The committee wanted permission to spend money on deposits and other costs that will begin to be incurred. A motion granting that permission was made by Michael Fields and supported by Ken Mahoney. The motion carried.
The chair read the list of remaining committees that she is hoping to staff. They include candidate recruitment and support, political organizing, communications, policy and resolutions, and an audit committee. Mary has begun talking to our membership and hopes to have found Chairs for each committee soon.
New Business: As part of our new status with the MDP, we were asked to pass a resolution accepting the rules of the state party. A motion to accept the rule was made by KP Mahoney, seconded by Ed Miller. The motion was passed.
County reports: All county reports need to be submitted online. They will be posted on our website. The chair reminded everyone on the importance of getting them submitted so she can highlight them in the website.
Good and Welfare: KP Mahoney reminded everyone about the Muskegon Gala coming up on May 13. SOS Jocelyn Benson will be the keynote speaker along with Congresswoman Hillary Scholten. Amanda Siggins reported that the Wexford County Republican party has disbanded. Ed Miller described how the Mason County Republicans have been totally taken over by deniers. They are already beginning to look for candidates for their local offices and are expecting a real fight. Dallas Dean made several important points. He reminded everybody that the new "right to work laws" that were just passed by the Democratic legislature are really just a return to the way things used to be. He has also been receiving emails from the local Republicans, probably by mistake. He fears that they are really working hard to take control of the county offices. Finally, he reminded everyone that the deadline for a person to apply for poverty property tax relief was only a week away. He said he can help with the process. It may be critical for a poor person being able to remain in their home.
Adjournment: 12:25 PM
Our next meeting will be on Zoom, April 8, 2023 at 10:00AM.
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MINUTES OF FEBRUARY 11, 2023 SECOND DISTRICT CAUCUS
Caucus call to order by Jerry Hilliard at 1:00 PM
Dallas Dean was elected as chair of the caucus by acclamation.
Chair appointed Peggy Raddatz as caucus secretary.
Credential Committee reported that 287 proportional votes were represented at the convention. Report was adopted by voice vote.
Rules of the Caucus were distributed and adopted by voice vote.
Election was held for Second District Chairperson. As only Mary Minnick of Lake County was registered with the State Party under rule 2.15, she was elected by acclamation.
Election was held for Second District Vice Chairperson. As only John Helge of Manistee County was registered with the State Party under rule 2.15, he was elected by acclamation.
Election was held for Secretary of the Second Congressional District. As only Peggy Raddatz of Manistee County was nominated, she was elected by acclamation.
Election was held for Treasurer of the Second Congressional District. As only Dallas Dean of Newaygo County was nominated, he was elected by acclamation.
Call for election, by slate, of the District Committee. As only one state was presented it was elected by acclamation. See Attached.
Call for election, by slate, of State Central Delegates and Alternates. As only one slate of five female delegates and five alternates and five male delegates and five alternates was presented, it was elected by acclamation. See Attached.
During the meeting we heard from Michael Lynch, announced and registered candidate for nomination for Second District Congressional nominee.
During the meeting we heard from Lt. Governor Garland Gilchrist about the achievements in Lansing during the first month of Democratic Control in Michigan State Government.
First meeting of the Second Congressional District Committee will be at 10:00 AM March 11, 2023 at the Wheatland Township Hall, Remus, Michigan and on zoom.
Caucus was adjourned at 2:30 PM.
Short meeting of the Second Congressional District Committee was called to order at 2:31 PM for the purpose of determining the order by which Alternates will replace absent delegates at State Central Meetings. Motion by Ed Miller with support by Ken Mahoney that the order of the slate be used to determine the order by which an alternate replaces a delegate with females replacing females and males replacing males. Motion carried.
Meeting adjourned at 2:40 PM
Submitted by Dallas Dean, Treasurer due to the illness of Secretary Peggy Raddatz