Events

Our August meeting will take place on Wednesday, August 2 at 7:00 pm at the State Building Auditorium, 6150 Van Nuys Blvd.

Los Angeles City Councilmember (and our next state senator) Alex Padilla will be our speaker. Congressional candidate David Roth, who will be facing Mary Bono in November to represent the Palm Springs area, will also speak about how we can help his candidacy.

Endorsements for the General Election
Candidates endorsed at our March meeting for the primary election become our endorsed candidates for the general election. A list of those endorsements is at http://valleygrassrootsfordemocracy.com/endorsements. In some cases we either didn't make an endorsement or our endorsed candidate did not win the primary. For those races we will have a consent calendar to endorse the Democratic nominees. Individual candidates can be pulled from the consent calendar by10% of those eligible to vote. Those endorsements will then be considered separately. A 2/3 vote is required for endorsement.

At our last meeting a motion was made to rescind the endorsement of Congressman Howard Berman in the 28th CD. That issue will be considered after the endorsements. According to Robert's Rules, it requires a majority vote to rescind the endorsement. Congressman Berman has been invited to the meeting but we have not received an official confirmation that he will attend.

To be an eligible voter you must be a club member in good standing for at least 90 days. Close of credentials will take place at 7:30 pm. If you are not signed in by 7:30 pm you will not be able to vote.

Dues are Due!
Annual $10 dues are due in August and you can pay at the August meeting. You can pay at the meeting with cash (exact change please!) or check made out to VGFD, or mail your check to VGFD, PO Box 573383, Tarzana, CA 91357. You can also pay online with a credit card at http://www.actblue.com/page/vgfddues.

If all that wasn't enough, the Political Action Committee and Speakers Bureau will be meeting before and after the regular VGFD meeting. Below are the details:

Political Action Committee
The Political Action Committee will have our meeting on August 2. We will meet from 6-7 PM before the VGFD monthly meeting, and for about ½ hour following the meeting. At the meeting we will review items discussed at the initial meeting and specific actions we will take to advance the goals and missions of VGFD. Agenda items include: Legislative Network and Rapid Response. The Political Action Committee (PAC) monitors the actions and issue positions of elected officials, from local to national, recommends lobbying actions on behalf of the club with respect to those elected officials, presents resolutions for consideration by the club, recommends endorsements for consideration by the club and recommends political action for consideration by the club. If you are a member in good standing of VGFD please join us in making a difference. Contact Ilene Haber at ihaber@adelphia.net 818 981-3987.

Speakers Bureau
The Speakers Bureau will have our first training session on August 2. We will have a session from 6-7 PM before the meeting, and another from 9-10 PM following the meeting. Prior to these trainings, you will be e-mailed talking points on the presentation, so please prepare beforehand, and you will be asked to present this material at the training. We will prepare visual aids and Powerpoint prompts for you to use. You will need to go to at least two trainings before speaking to a live group.
We will continue to have ongoing training sessions as needed. We will tentatively schedule another training for Saturday, August 5 and Wednesday, August 9. Details to follow. If you are interested in participating in the Speakers Bureau, please contact Burt Stillar at burtstillar@aol.com or (818) 203-5739.

Join us for our August VGFD Book Club Meeting. Our book is A Heckuva Job by Calvin Trillin, "Deadline Poet" for The Nation magazine. You can order the book by clicking the link below and VGFD will make a commission for each book purchased through the link.

The September book selection will be Hostile Takeover: How Big Money and Corruption Conquered Our Government--and How We Take It Back by David Sirota. By ordering both books together you can get a head start on September.

We will be meeting at Paty's in Toluca Lake. Remember that we are given the space for the meeting at no charge. Please show your appreciation by buying dinner or dessert and a beverage. This will ensure that we can keep using the space. Thanks!

Discuss the books further in our discussion forum under VGFD Book Club.