The following
resolutions were passed at the April 2007
California Democratic Party Convention in San
Diego:
Calling
for Full Investigations into Abuses of Power by
President George Bush & Vice President Richard
Cheney
Resolution
Number Now SD07.53 A (formerly
MAN06.25)
WHEREAS,
George W. Bush and Richard B. Cheney have acted
in a manner contrary to their trust as President
and Vice President, subversive of the
Constitution, to the great prejudice of the
cause of law and justice, and to the manifest
injury of the people of California and the
United States of America, by intentionally
disseminating and propagating knowingly false
and fabricated "evidence" regarding the threat
from Iraq in order to wage a tragic, bloody war
with the loss of thousands of brave American
troops and Iraqi civilians,
and
WHEREAS,
it is clear that since September 11, 2001,
President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick
Cheney have abused their powers of office by: 1)
using information they knew to be false as
justification for the U.S. invasion of Iraq; 2)
condoning and authorizing the torture of
prisoners of war; 3) authorizing wiretaps on
U.S. citizens without obtaining a warrant;
4) disclosing the name of an undercover CIA
operative contrary to law in order to harm her
for her husband's opposition to the Iraq War; 5)
having suspended and denied the historic Writ of
Habeus Corpus by ordering the indefinite
detention of so-called enemy combatants without
charge and without access to legal counsel; and
6) overstepping Presidential authority by
signing statements used to ignore or circumvent
portions of over 750 Congressional statutes he
brought into law;
and
THEREFORE
BE IT RESOLVED,
that the California Democratic Party supports
vigorous investigation of these charges by the
Congress of the United States, including the
full use of Congressional subpoena power
authority to completely disclose the actions of
the Administration to the American people and to
take necessary action to call the Administration
to account with appropriate remedies and
punishment, including
impeachment.
Submitted
by Senator Art Torres (Ret.), Chairman of the
California Democratic Party; CDP Resolutions
Co-Chairs; Emily Thurber; Bob Farran; Michael
Barnett; Tim Carpenter; Joye Swan; Patrick Henry
Demo Club; 69th AD Cmte.; The Hull-Richters:
Alexandar, Mark and
Natasha
*
* *
Adopted
by the Democratic State Central Committee of
California AKA
"California
Democratic Party" At Its
AnnualStateConvention San
DiegoConvention
Center April
29, 2007
Support the
Opportunity to Vote the
US Out of
Iraq
Resolution
Number SD07.97 A
WHEREAS,
the Iraq War has now entered its fifth year,
more than 3,300 Americans killed, thousands
wounded, and tens of thousands of families
forever changed by the hardships and financial
strain of repeated and increased tours of duty;
and
WHEREAS,
President Bush continues to ignore military
experts, the recommendations of the bipartisan
Iraq Study Group, and public opinion, instead
calling for an increased surge of money and
troops, and also threatens to veto any
legislation containing a timetable for U.S.
withdrawal; and
WHEREAS,
Californians should be given the opportunity to
vote on this as soon as possible, thereby
increasing California's prominence in selecting
our next President and setting the national
agenda, which includes a unified voice showing
our support for the immediate safe return of our
troops;
THEREFORE
BE IT RESOLVED,
that the California Democratic Party
wholeheartedly supports the following statement:
"The people of California, in support of the men
and women serving in the Armed Forces of the
United States, urge President Bush to end the
U.S. occupation of Iraq and immediately begin
the safe and orderly withdrawal of all United
States combat forces; and further urge President
Bush and the United States Congress to provide
the necessary diplomatic and non-military
assistance to promote peace and stability in
Iraq and the Middle East;"
and
BE
IT FURTHER RESOLVED,
that the California Democratic Party urges other
states to follow suit unifying our country in
its absolute desire to see an immediate end to
the Iraq War and sending the strongest possible
message to President Bush and the Republican
presidential candidates.
Submitted
by Senator Art Torres (Ret.), Chairman of the
California
Democratic Party And Senator Don Perata,
President pro Tempore, California State
Senate
*
* *
Global
Warming as a Presidential and a Local
Priority
Resolution
Number SD07.40
WHEREAS,
global climate change, due in large part to
human-generated emissions of greenhouse gases,
is increasingly harmful to the environment, the
economy, and the future well-being of the people
of the
United
States
and the world; and
WHEREAS,
the scientific community has reached the
consensus that we must take significant action
within the next decade in order to prevent the
worst effects of global climate change, making
it critical that the next President of the
United States provide strong, decisive
leadership and a workable plan to curb global
warming; and
WHEREAS,
California's leadership in passing laws such as
the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006,
authored by former Assemblymember Fran Pavley
and Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez, is highly
significant, vital, and commendable, but
represents only one step by one state to solve a
problem that requires concerted worldwide
action;
THEREFORE
BE IT RESOLVED,
that the California Democratic Party urges all
Democratic presidential candidates to pledge to
establish a national program requiring
reductions of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions; to
create a major national research initiative to
foster rapid development of sustainable energy
technologies, thereby stimulating new jobs and
investment; and to provide leadership in
multi-national efforts to reduce atmospheric
levels of greenhouse gases, including programs
requiring reductions of greenhouse gas emissions
from China and other countries which contribute
greatly to worldwide greenhouse gas emissions;
and
BE
IT FURTHER RESOLVED,
that the California Democratic Party encourages
all Californians to work within their
communities to recommend and implement local
steps to save energy and to reduce greenhouse
gas emissions.
Adopted
by the 16th AD Democrats at their regular
meeting in Oakland,
CA March
13, 2007
WHEREAS,
a woman's right to choose hangs by a thread in
the Supreme Court, and President Bush has
appointed two anti-choice justices to the
highest court in the land;
and,
WHEREAS,
in the closely divided decisions in Gonzales v.
Carhart and Gonzales v. Planned Parenthood
Federation of America, the newly reconfigured
court, with Bush's appointees Roberts and Alito
casting decisive votes, upheld the first-ever
federal ban on abortion with criminal penalties
for doctors, and even more troubling,
effectively reversed Supreme Court precedent and
rolled back key protections for women's health
guaranteed by Roe v. Wade;
and
WHEREAS,
since Roe v. Wade, a woman's right to choose has
been systematically eroded by anti-choice
legislators in many states with more than 500
anti-choice measures enacted since 1995, rolling
back this fundamental right for many women, and,
with the court's decisions in Federal Abortion
Ban cases, the situation has become even more
dangerous as women's health is no longer
constitutionally protected nor considered
paramount, and the Federal Abortion Ban trumps
California's greater protections for a woman's
health and the right to
choose;
THEREFORE
BE IT RESOLVED,
that the California Democratic Party reaffirm
its longstanding position that the right to
choose is a right of personal privacy by calling
on Congress to secure freedom of choice by
establishing a federal law that will codify Roe
v. Wade and guarantee reproductive freedom for
future generations of American women;
and
BE
IT FURTHER RESOLVED,
that the California Democratic Party send this
resolution to Governor Howard Dean, the
Democratic National Committee, the Democratic
members of the
California
Congressional and Senate delegations; and the
Democratic candidates for
President.
Submitted
by Lyn Shaw Hilfenhaus, Chair of the CDP Women's
Caucus Lyn Shaw Hilfenhaus 38th AD Jim
Hilfenhaus 38th AD Lois Williams 38th
AD Sharon Molander 43rd AD Norman Chramoff
42nd AD Elena Ong 42nd AD Adam Seiden 40th
AD Susan Shannon 42nd AD Pamela Cooke 42nd
AD Marilyn Grunwald 40th AD David Grunwald
40th AD Shirin Buckman 45th AD Eric Bauman
43rd AD Chris Boutelle 43rd AD John Cleary
45th AD Garry S. Shay 42nd AD Ralph
Erickson 41t AD Wayne Williams 4s1st
AD Leah K. Herzberg 41st AD Lyn Klein 41st
AD Lysa Simon 38th AD Sillissa Uriarte
Smith 54th AD Karen Weinstein 14th
AD Roberta Lewis 40th AD Carole Lutness
38th AD Bruce McFarland 38th AD Stonewall
Democratic Club
WHEREAS,
every night, a quarter of a million men, women
and children, some elderly, many people with
disabilities, including physically or mentally
ill, numerous working people, tens of thousands
of veterans of our armed forces, emancipated
foster youth, runaway and throwaway teens,
countless victims of domestic abuse, some drug
dependent, socially isolated, and
disproportionately minority people in California
are homeless and sleep on our streets, under
bridges, in abandoned buildings and other places
unfit for human habitation;
and
WHEREAS,
the cities and counties of the state of
California, blocked by both the proliferation of
"NIMBY" (Not in My Backyard) ordinances,
insufficient public and private investment in
affordable housing, and a failure to campaign
sufficiently for bond fund measures, have
neither provided adequate affordable housing for
vulnerable and at-risk populations (including
families with children, the elderly, and people
with special needs), nor adequately regulated
the private development of residential
structures to include affordable units of
permanent housing, including housing supported
by appropriate social services, and access to
the resources that assure the personal
fulfillment of each individual;
and
WHEREAS,
the protection of the poor, the vulnerable, the
disenfranchised and those discriminated against
is a core commitment of the Democratic Party and
essential to the maintenance of a democratic
society; and we are committed to the
progressive realization of the human right to
adequate housing, including but not limited to
the overriding of NIMBY ordinances, siting of
such housing on land and in any zone unless
compelling cause be shown to defer such
development for vital ecological or social
purposes, we support local city and county
measurers that encourage private, non-profit
organizations to construct such housing, and
local action which provides private developers
with incentives, density bonuses, and, wherever
possible, subsidies or tax deferrals for the
integration of affordable housing units in
market-rate and non-profit residential
developments;
THEREFORE
BE IT RESOLVED,
that the California Democratic Party supports
the recognition of permanent, adequate housing
as a basic human right of all Californians, that
it supports legislation that compels each city
and county to include in the housing element of
its master plan a survey of the homeless and
those at risk of homelessness in its
jurisdiction, and plans to meet the temporary
and permanent housing needs of these
populations, and private sector commitments;
and
BE
IT FURTHER RESOLVED,
that the California Democratic Party will send a
copy of this resolution to all state, county,
and local legislators throughout the state of
California
and to our representatives in the Congress of
the United
States;
to all members of the California State
Democratic Party Convention; and that it shall
also be distributed broadly to the
media.
Submitted
by:
Ralph
Fertig, 42nd AD North East Democratic
Club Progressive Democrats of the Santa
Monica Mountains Progressive Democrats of Los
Angeles Dan Licht, 42nd AD
Delegate Michael
Jay Miltenberg, 42nd AD
Delegate Susie
Shannon, 42nd AD Delegate Joye
Swan, 42nd
AD Wendy Block , 42nd
AD
Delegate Bruce
McFarland, 42nd AD
Delegate Susan
Lerner, 42nd AD
Delegate Ricco
Ross, 42nd AD
Delegate Jo
Olson, 42nd AD
Delegate Dante
Atkins, 42nd AD
Delegate Brad
Parker, 42nd AD
Delegate Norman
Chramoff, 42nd AD
Delegate Amanda
Rafti, 43rd AD Delegate Carly Miller, 45th Ad
Delegate Gail Burns, 44th AD
Delegate Linda Doran, 44th AD
Delegate Rosemary Jenkins, 38th AD
Delegate Michael Lee, 44th AD
Delegate Bill Rumble, 45th AD
Delegate Charles Lutness, 38th Ad
Delegate Abby Reeve, 40th AD
Delegate David Lutness, 38th AD
Delegate Mary Jacobs, 45th AD
Delegate Christopher Boutelle, 43rd AD
Delegate Rosemary Reedy, 49th AD
Delegate Roz Teller, 43rd AD Delegate John
Heaner, 13th Regional Director Lyn Klein,
41st AD Delegate Ahjamu Makalani, 61st AD
Delegate Jacqueline Alikhaani, 39th AD
Delegate Charles Coleman Jr., 39th AD
Delegate Ann Hiller, 41st AD Delegate Carl
Manaster, 75th AD Delegate Lynne Sandoval,
76th AD Delegate Matthew Gerbasi, 45th AD
Delegate Charles Carnow, 40th AD
Delegate
WHEREAS,
having a job and working hard no longer
guarantee that we will have the health care we
need when we need it; and our health care is too
focused on treating sickness rather than
promoting our health and wellness;
and
WHEREAS,
too many insurance and drug companies are
boosting their profits while Californians are
paying more for their healthcare and getting
less benefits, and six million Californians have
no healthcare coverage at all;
and
WHEREAS,
it is our healthcare and it is up to us to take
charge of it, we remain committed to a Universal
Single Payer Health Insurance System in
California
and passing the reforms immediately that move us
closer to that goal;
THEREFORE
BE IT RESOLVED,
that now is the time to make our healthcare work
for us; and
THEREFORE
BE IT RESOLVED,
that the California Democratic Party will
support and prioritize comprehensive healthcare
reforms this year that
will:
Allow
all of us to get the healthcare, including oral
healthcare, we need when we need
it;
Ensure
that employers and government share
responsibility as well as the risk with
consumers;
Establish
meaningful standards for coverage so that we can
all get the care we need when we need it, not
just when there is a catastrophic
illness;
Limit
the risk and burdens placed on individual
consumers and families to protect us from being
forced to buy coverage we can't afford that
doesn't cover the healthcare we
need;
Control
costs, while protecting
benefits;
Provide
stable funding so that all of us can get the
healthcare we need now and into the
future;
Support
insurance reforms to control costs and allow
everyone access to quality healthcare and
coverage; and
Preserve
and strengthen our public hospitals, emergency
services and trauma centers that we all rely
upon.
Adopted
by: Santa
ClaraCounty
Central Committee;
San
Francisco
Democratic Party
*
* *
Supporting
a Balanced Global Economy, From Free Trade to
Fair Trade
Resolution
Number SD07.77
WHEREAS,
a Nixon Administration relic known as Fast
Track, a.k.a. Trade Promotion Authority (TPA),
has enabled the crafting of such destructive
"free trade" agreements as the North American
Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the Central
America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), and the
World Trade Organization (WTO), which have lead
to massive job loss in the U.S., destabilized
family farms, increased migration pressures in
foreign nations, been used to challenge
reasonable, non-discriminatory environmental,
public health and labor laws, and is largely
responsible for the ballooning U.S. trade
deficit; and
WHEREAS,
Fast Track, the blueprint for building U.S.
trade policies, has enabled corporate-dominated
globalization to flourish by literally locking
labor unions, environmental interests,
immigrants' rights advocates, family farmers,
and even Congress out of the negotiating room,
creating a virtual "back room" where the White
House and corporate trade advisors chart the
course of U.S. trade policies, and the
trajectory of globalization in general;
and
WHEREAS,
trade agreements and global economic policies
dictated by a narrow set of interests has
created an unbalanced global economy that
threatens core Democratic Party values such as
preserving a secure middle class, ensuring
affordable health care and quality public
education, promoting conservation, a secure
homeland, and supporting respect for
internationally recognized worker and human
rights;
THEREFORE
BE IT RESOLVED,
the California Democratic Party, while deeply
committed to expanding trade and deepening our
engagement in the global economy, calls on our
Democratic Representatives and Senators to
reject the Bush Administration's request for
Fast Track reauthorization, and to take
advantage of the opportunity to correct the
course of globalization and implement deep
reforms to U.S. trade policy,
including:
1.a
transparent process that includes direct,
meaningful participation from our base
constituencies and opportunities for public
comment;
2.ensuring
reasonable power-sharing between Congressional
Representatives and the Executive Branch as
outlined in the U.S.
Constitution;
3.protecting
local and state rules or regulations from
challenge under any provision of U.S. trade
agreements (i.e., zoning regulations, prevailing
wage laws, public health and environmental
protections and procurement
policies);
4.International
Labor Organization (ILO) and Multilateral
Environmental Agreement (MEA) standards that are
enforced equally with commercial provisions;
and
5.allowing
Congress to certify by vote that an agreement
has met all mandatory objectives before
negotiations can be officially
closed.
Submitted
by the Santa
ClaraCounty
Democratic Party Executive Board
March
26, 2007
*
* *
Adopted
by the Democratic State Central Committee of
California AKA
"California
Democratic Party" At Its
AnnualStateConvention San
DiegoConvention
Center April
29, 2007
SupportPark
Integrity
Resolution
Number SD07.37 A
WHEREAS,
the Orange County Transportation Authority
supports the Foothill Transportation Corridor
South Toll Road Extension (241), hereinafter
referred to as Foothill-South, as an important
regional facility that would help reduce future
congestion on the San Diego Freeway (I-5) in
South Orange County; and
WHEREAS,
the current proposed Foothill South extension is
planned to connect to the I-5 just across the
San
Diego
county line. The proposed alignment would split
the 2,100 acre San Onofre State Park,
eliminating 320 acres of the park and having
potentially significant impact on local flora
and fauna. It would also cut through the Donna
O'Neill Conservancy, a sensitive environmental
area and building the proposed alignment would
set a troubling precedent for paving over state
parkland; and
WHEREAS,
a legitimate disagreement has occurred between
two important sections of the California
Democratic Party on this issue. On one hand, the
state and local Building Trades Councils
strongly advocate the construction of the
Foothill-South extension as a way to reduce
existing and future traffic congestion and
create good, prevailing wage jobs for local
workers. On the other hand, many California
environmentalists and organizations oppose the
Foothill-South extension because of the
significant negative environmental consequences
that a six-lane freeway would present, as well
as the precedent it would set that could put
other parks at risk;
THEREFORE
BE IT RESOLVED,
that the California Democratic Party opposes the
current proposed alignment of the Foothill-South
extension through San Onofre State Park; that
the California Democratic Party opposes any
roadway through San Onofre State park unless
there is significant enough mitigation that a
consensus of support for the project would exist
with local elected officials, the State Coastal
Commission and local environmental groups;
and that we urge the Democratic members of our
State Legislature and Congress to protect our
state and national parks from unnecessary
development; and
BE
IT FURTHER RESOLVED,
that the California Democratic Party urges the
Orange County Transportation Authority, the
Transportation Corridor Agency and the Southern
California Association of Governments to work
with California's
congressional delegation and the Department of
Defense and the Department of the Navy to seek
additional land to provide an alternate route
for the 241 Foothill South
extension.
WHEREAS,
Governor Schwarzenegger has included fee
increases of 7% at University of California
campuses and 10% at California State
Universities, plus the elimination of all
academic preparation funding, totaling $19.3
million in cuts in his 2007-2008 budget;
and
WHEREAS,
under the governor's plan, undergraduate UC
student fees for state residents would rise
approximately $495 to nearly $7,350 next year,
including some individual campus costs, but not
including housing, books and other expenses; and
Cal State students would see such basic fees
increase $252 to $3,451;
and
WHEREAS,
budget cuts in academic preparation funding hurt
the state's most disadvantaged and
low-performing schools, while fee increases
decrease affordability and accessibility for all
students;
THEREFORE,
BE IT RESOLVED,
that the California Democratic Party opposes
actions which would decrease affordable higher
education and academic preparation;
and
BE
IT FURTHER RESOLVED,
that the California Democratic Party strongly
urges the Governor and Legislature, by open
letters and official communications, to take
necessary action to stop these proposed fee
hikes and academic preparation
cuts.
Submitted
by Alan Wong (AD 75), second-year
University
of California, San
Diego
student and member of the
San
Diego
and California Democratic Central
Committees. Approved by the
San
DiegoCounty
Democratic Central Committee on March
13, 2007
*
* *
Oppose
Schwarzenegger's Cuts to CalWorks Programs in
2007-2008 California State
Budget
Resolution
Number SD07.32
WHEREAS,
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposed State
Budget for 2007-2008 includes cuts of $496
million in the state's welfare budget to the
CalWorks program, eliminating approximately
50,000 families from the program, detrimentally
affecting approximately 480,000 Cal Works
families through cuts in general assistance to
the state's most impoverished children and, in
many cases, the adults who care for them; and
suspending the 2007-2008 CalWorks Cost of Living
Increase; and
WHEREAS,
the 2006 California Democratic Party Platform
supports a "guaranteed cost of living increase
for CalWorks" and pledges to "fight for public
assistance programs which allow individuals to
support themselves and their
families;"
WHEREAS,
the California Democratic Party has historically
supported programs which provide for the basic
human needs of all Californians and recognizes
cuts to the state's CalWorks program as a cruel
attempt to balance the state budget on the backs
of the poor;
THEREFORE
BE IT RESOLVED,
that the California Democratic Party expresses
very strong opposition to the Governor's
proposed cuts to the CalWorks program in the
2007-2008 state budget;
and
THEREFORE
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED,
that the Chair of the California Democratic
Party be instructed to send copies of this
resolution to elected democrats in the
California State
Legislature.
Submitted
by: Susie Shannon, 42nd AD Executive
Board, (323) 939-5475, susieanneshannon@yahoo.com; Ralph
Fertig, 42nd AD Delegate; Jo Olson, 42nd AD
Delegate; Brad Parker, 42nd AD Delegate; Michael
Jay Miltenberg, 42nd AD Delegate; Ricco Ross,
42nd AD Delegate; Joye Swan, 42nd AD Delegate;
Susan Lerner, 42nd AD Delegate; Dante Atkins,
42nd AD Delegate; Dan Licht, 42nd AD Delegate;
Judith Hess, 40th AD Delegate; Matthew Gerbasi,
45th AD Delegate; Charles Coleman, 39th AD
Delegate; Charles Carnow, 40
