[Sosfbay-news] Fwd: GOALS and STRATEGIES MEETING, Feb 19
Spencer Graves
spencer.graves at structuremonitoring.com
Mon Feb 14 21:51:09 PST 2011
Hello, All:
I believe the current US and international economy provides
massive opportunities for any minor party that can articulate a clear
vision of how to escape from the current situation with "an estimated
7.7 million households in some stage of pre-default delinquency" in the
US.(1) This is a political tinderbox that could change the face of
California and the nation, in roughly the same way that the 1993
election reduced the ruling party in Canada from 169 seats to 2
essentially overnight.(2) Bill Clinton won the 1992 election partly by
repeating, "It's the economy, stupid."(3)
I think we can gain traction with this issue by pushing a mix of
what individuals can do (a) for themselves, e.g., switch to credit
unions or local-only banks, (b) to help neighbors facing difficult time
with job loss and / or forcing the banks to follow the law on
foreclosures, (c) pushing the California Attorney General Kamala Harris
to investigate and prosecute bankers guilty of encouraging people to
submit fraudulent loan applications or not following the law on
foreclosures, (d) helping inform people of the politics involved and how
their elected representatives voted in repealing Glass-Steagall, etc.,
and (e) helping people understand that the commercial media make money
by distorting reality -- and would lose profitability if they honestly
informed the public of how the wealthy often get returns of over $1,000
for each $1 invested in political campaigns. The Black Panther
There are many other issues, but nothing with the immediacy and
power of this. "Twenty-five percent (25%) of working Americans are
worried about losing their jobs, [and the] overwhelming majority of
Americans continue to know someone who is out of work and looking for a
job".(4)
Comments?
Spencer Graves
NOTES:
(1) Barry Ritholz, "Coming Soon: 5 Million More Foreclosures"
(www.ritholtz.com/blog/2010/02/coming-soon-more-foreclosures). Also,
"U.S. Home Foreclosures Hit New Record, but Many Face Challenge", Oct.
14, 2010, Fox News
(http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/10/14/record-number-foreclosures-face-challenge-court/#ixzz1DzuALkhn)
(2) Wikipedia, "List of Canadian federal general elections"
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Canadian_federal_general_elections)
(3) "It's the economy, stupid", Wikipedia
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It's_the_economy,_stupid)
(4) Rasmussen Employment Index, February 01, 2011
(http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/business/indexes/rasmussen_employment_index/rasmussen_employment_index)
On 2/10/2011 3:52 PM, Jim Stauffer wrote:
>
>
>
> GPCA GOALS AND STRATEGIES FOR LONG-TERM PLANNING
> A Participatory Exercise
>
>
> WHEN: Saturday, Feb 19
> 10 am to 1 or 2 pm
>
> WHERE: Fred’s Clubhouse
> Willow Park Condo Clubhouse, located at the intersection of
> Moffett Blvd. and W. Middlefield Road, in Mountain View (500
> W. Middlefield Rd. 94043)
>
> NEEDS: Some drinks and snacks would be nice. Please respond to this
> list if
> you can bring something.
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>
>
> Dear Greens:
>
> The state party would like to engage county Locals in an exercise to help
> establish long-term goals for the party. By agreeing on a set of
> goals, we
> give the party definition and purpose. From those goals we develop
> strategies
> for their implementation. This creates projects for our Working Groups
> and
> Standing Committees, and it helps attract volunteers and donations.
>
> It’s important to be realistic when setting goals. Brainstorming
> exercises
> encourage free-thinking with no critique or analysis of suggested
> issues. Goal
> setting is different; it’s intended to derive projects that are
> achievable,
> not just desirable. We all have a list of favorite issues and a
> wish-list of
> what we’d like the party to be. But we must focus on what we can actually
> accomplish – realistic goals.
>
> Locals are encourage to get together with neighboring counties for this
> exercise. Gathering into a group from a few counties helps the thought
> process. It gets us outside of our normal monthly meeting crowd and
> provides
> the synergy of a larger group.
>
>
>
> PROCESS
>
> Take notes of the goals discussed and rank or categorize them by the
> level of
> agreement or support.
>
> There is wiki that is (ostensibly) for posting comments. It’s not
> designed too
> well, but it can be used for submitting our comments.
> http://wiki.cagreens.org/index.php/GPCA_Strategic_Action_Plan
>
>
>
> DISCUSSION
>
> The state party wants to hear what Locals think our long-term goals
> should be.
> This requires some degree of open discussion, but the exercise must
> remain
> moderated by the theme of realistic goals. For every suggested goal, the
> presenter should have some idea of a strategy to implement that goal.
>
> Basically, the question to answer is, “What should the GPCA accomplish
> in five
> years and in ten years?”
>
> Some organizing may help the discussion:
>
> Political Goals
> Partisan and non-partisan candidates
> Campaigns and ballot proposition
> Election reforms
>
> Internal / Party Goals
> Voter registration
> Developing county Locals
> Fundraising
> Internal structure and process
>
>
>
> REFERENCES
>
> State committee and working group people have been discussing this
> subject and
> have come up with their list of issues. These are being provided here
> just as
> a reference, they should not be used as guidance for your
> discussions. Its
> purpose is to provide input as to what volunteers at the state level
> see as
> our long-term issues.
>
> 1. Given the current recession and its detrimental effect on
> fundraising,
> should GPCA and its locals adopt a “survival plan” until recovery is
> tangible
> (e.g. unemployment below 8%)? How would this affect all goals and
> strategies?
>
> 2. What are realistic voter registration goals? What attracts people
> to a
> small party? What caused the California Green registration decline of
> the past
> six years, can it be reversed?
>
> 3. Given that we have less than 1% of registered voters, what are
> realistic
> electoral strategies for a party of our size? Do we continue attempts in
> partisan races or focus on non-partisan races? Is there a realistic
> strategy
> for winning partisan races?
>
> 4. How do we recruit/develop electable candidates for non-partisan
> offices?
>
> 5. Does Prop 14 provide any potential to us?
>
> 6. Should we make a real, concerted effort to promote ranked-choice
> voting
> (i.e. Instant Runoff Voting and proportional representation)?
>
> 7. The GPCA’s decentralized structure and consensus-seeking decision
> process
> is an experiment that we’ve carried on for 20 years. Is it working well
> enough? Is there a good balance of responsibilities between the state
> party
> and the county parties? Should we examine giving more authority over
> internal
> business to the state party?
>
> 8. Is continuing to rely solely on volunteer labor a viable plan for
> growth?
>
> 9. What factors have created viable, stable Locals? What factors have
> caused
> Locals to deteriorate?
>
> 10. What resources do Locals need from the state party? What resources
> does
> the state party need from Locals?
>
>
> Contact Jim (mailto:jims at greens.org) with any questions or comments.
>
>
>
>
>
>
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--
Spencer Graves, PE, PhD
President and Chief Operating Officer
Structure Inspection and Monitoring, Inc.
751 Emerson Ct.
San José, CA 95126
ph: 408-655-4567
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