Resolutions

Resolution in Support of an Increase in the Minimum Wage

Whereas the California Democratic Party platform maintains that, “California’s prosperity depends on jobs that provide a minimum standard of living and improve every Californian’s quality of life”, but many working Californians, including essential workers, parents and seniors, have full-time jobs yet struggle to make ends meet because the minimum wage has not kept pace with the cost of living, is worth less today than it was 50 years ago, and would be approximately $24 per hour today; and

Whereas the most recent available data, which does not include the effects of COVID-19, shows that more than 6.3 million Californians lack enough resources to meet their basic needs and more than a third of Californians are living in or near poverty and that Californians cannot support a family on the current minimum wage of $15 per hour; and

Whereas, despite being employed full-time, Californians who are paid the current minimum wage often must rely on the State's social safety net to meet their basic needs and Californians’ wages are not keeping up with inflation or our state's rising cost of living.

Now, Therefore, Be It Resolved:

Therefore, be it resolved, that the Marin Democratic Party supports an increase to the California minimum wage to $18 per hour by 2025, and that in each year thereafter the minimum wage be adjusted to keep pace with the cost of living in California; and Be it further resolved, that we call on the California Democratic Party to adopt this resolution and the DCCM will share this with elected officials and endorsed candidates.

Passed: May 5, 2022

Resolution to reform law enforcement and reallocate funds to reimagine public safety in California Adopted by the Democratic Central Committee of Marin July 2, 2020

Whereas, in June, 2020, the Democratic Central Committee of Marin (DCCM) passed a resolution calling for, “meaningful systemic change against institutionalized racism, economic suppression and opportunity inequalities”; and California Attorney General Becerra called for, “broad police reforms and proactive efforts to protect lives”, and hundreds of thousands of people, in protests and in council chambers throughout California and across the nation, have called for an end to excessive and militarized policing; and

Whereas, police reform and use of force guidelines are only a first step toward ending the violence against marginalized communities which are still traumatized and brutalized by existing policing practices, and reform and oversight alone have proven ineffective in ending the violence; and

Whereas, dismantling systemic racism, and the policies that support it, will take a full reimagining of public safety to include investing in our communities for schools, jobs, housing, health and welfare, reallocating resources to those programs, and employing mental health, medical and other professionals to replace much of conventional policing.

Therefore, be it resolved that the DCCM calls on state and local elected officials, and law enforcement agencies, to immediately adopt AG Becerra’s use of force recommendations, and, in addition, begin reallocating money away from law enforcement budgets and into alternatives for public safety that invest in communities, and broader oversight and accountability, and do so with all deliberate speed, to enact meaningful change within this fiscal year; and

Be it further resolved that this resolution be sent to state and local elected officials, and law enforcement agencies, and that a DCCM Reimagine Public Safety ad hoc Committee be formed to monitor progress and report regularly to DCCM.

Letter in Support of the Fairfax San Anselmo Children's Center Approved by the Democratic Central Committee of Marin on September 7m 2023

 

The Marin Democratic Party (DCCM) strongly urges the Ross Valley School Board to work with MCOE, the County, and other stakeholders, to reach a positive outcome for the Fairfax San Anselmo Children’s Center. We implore you not to seek eviction as a remedy until you have further explored all options

The platform of the California State Democratic Party speaks to our support of quality affordable education for all children at every stage of their development. The platform says, in part:

“We believe in a universally well-educated population. To achieve this, California students must have access to world class pre-K - 12 public education that will prepare them to live, work, and thrive in a multicultural, multilingual, and highly connected world.

To help educate California's young leaders and to prepare them to compete for challenging jobs, California Democrats will:

Advocate for supplemental services for children such as high-quality affordable childcare, preschool and early development centers, and community-based afterschool programs;” 

FSACC is a gem. It is the gold standard of childcare programs. It is a program that should be honored and uplifted, expanded and replicated, as a model of what childcare and family support should look like. Our elected leaders in education should be looking at having more centers like this, not discarding the very successful one serving our community.

 

While we believe all players have acted in good faith to this point, we are dismayed that a more tangible solution was not presented at the Board meeting on August 30 rather than the, “We have not asked our attorney to start eviction proceedings” which was offered. There are 85 families living in fear and extreme distress. This is a problem of deferred maintenance fifty years in the making. Surely the solution should not fall on the backs of the vulnerable population FSACC serves.

Given that the latest report from MCOE was just received, the Marin Democratic Party (DCCM) strongly urges a reasonable extension of the FSACC lease that will allow further examination of all options. We urge all parties back to the table to be creative and find an equitable resolution.

Resolution to Support SB 525 to set $25/hr Minimum Wage for CA Healthcare Workers

WHEREAS,  Before the pandemic, the state was facing a shortage of 500,000 healthcare workers to care for our aging population, and now, after facing the trauma and dangerous working conditions of the pandemic and struggling with low pay and poor working conditions, huge numbers of healthcare workers are leaving the field and many others are strongly considering leaving, and

WHEREAS,  The impacts of the staffing crisis are being felt by healthcare workers and those they care for as evidenced by respondents of a recent survey of over 30,000 healthcare workers, 83% of whom said their department is understaffed. Staffing shortages have a direct negative impact on patient care, and too many healthcare workers in our State are paid unsustainably low wages — sometimes as low as $15.50/hour, and

WHEREAS,  There is a growing movement to increase healthcare worker pay in cities across California. Since the start of 2022, several cities in California have voted to set a $25 minimum wage for local healthcare workers. Los Angeles, Long Beach, Downey, and most recently Lynwood have all passed healthcare worker minimum wage ordinances. And in November of 2022, voters in the city of Inglewood passed Measure HC, setting a Citywide $25 minimum wage for healthcare workers, THEREFORE,

 

THEREFORE Be it RESOLVED that the Marin County Democratic Party strongly urges the State Legislature to pass SB 525 which will set a $25/hour minimum wage for California healthcare workers in order to address the urgent patient care crisis caused by a shortage of workers needed to provide the care our residents need, and

Therefore, Be It Resolved

Be it further RESOLVED that the Marin County Democratic Party Central Committee authorizes the Chair to write, sign and send a letter to the appropriate State Legislators which declares our County Party’s position on SB 525.

Adopted by Acclamation April 13, 2023

Resolution to Stop the Privatization of Traditional Medicare via the proposed ACO-REACH Program

Adopted: November 10, 2022

Whereas, a new program started under the Trump administration introduces a way in which those on Traditional Medicare can be moved to a for-profit insurance model without their consent using the program known as ACO-REACH, which at the present time is under no Congressional oversight, and allows its insurers to keep up to 40% of their revenue as profit and overhead, thereby giving them a dangerous financial incentive to restrict care for Traditional Medicare beneficiaries; and

Whereas, Medicare will pay these programs more money for patients with more complex diagnoses, thereby providing a strong incentive to engage in a fraudulent practice known as “up coding,” meaning that they exaggerate the coding of beneficiaries’ diagnoses which is already happening in the Medicare Advantage programs, resulting in higher costs to Medicare than if the beneficiaries were in the Traditional Medicare program, thereby making it likely to produce insolvency of the Medicare Trust in 2026 which has been projected by the Congressional Budget Office; and

Whereas, the fundamental difference between for-profit health insurance models and Traditional Medicare is that for-profit insurance limits care in order to provide maximum profit for its shareholders through narrow networks, requiring pre-approvals, and denials of care;

Therefore be it resolved that the Marin County Democratic Party recognizes the danger that the ACO-REACH privatization plan poses to Traditional Medicare; and 

Be it further resolved that the Marin County Democratic Party will send a letter to Xavier Becerra, Secretary of Health and Human Services, with copies to President Joseph R. Biden, Senators Dianne Feinstein and Alex Padilla, and our Congressional Representative Jared Huffman, alerting him to the danger to Traditional Medicare and the need for termination of the ACO-REACH program before it is scheduled to start in January 2023.

Resolution on Immigration Democratic Central Committee of Marin County Adopted July 5, 2018

Whereas, the Trump Administration and the Republican Congress have not taken any productive action on Immigration Reform, and instead have taken several destructive actions, including:

  • Cancelled the DACA program

  • Implemented a zero-tolerance policy at our Southern border, making all entry into the U.S. a federal crime

  • Separated children from their parents, without background checks, adequate tracking or oversight for children

  • Disregarded United Nations Human Rights Office standards for the treatment of refugees

  • Criminalized individuals and whole families even though many are lawfully seeking asylum from deadly and dangerous circumstances in other countries, and now putting them in prison in contravention of U.S. law

  • Denigrated people of color and falsely characterized them in sub-human terms; and

Whereas, the Trump administration has fueled an atmosphere of hatred and discrimination against all immigrants seeking refuge in the United States, which has led to intolerance and an increase in discrimination and poor treatment of immigrant communities;

Therefore, now be it resolved, that the California Democratic Party affirms its commitment to undertake affirmative immigration reform, and take action against the abusive, immoral, inhumane, and illegal treatment of migrant children at our Southern border, and calls upon the Democratic Delegation of Congress to take immediate steps to ensure that migrant children are tracked for rapid family unification and, if necessary, placed with organizations designed to care for the emotional, physical, medical, and educational needs of minors, with proper oversight and monitoring by independent institutions; and

Be it further resolved, that a copy of this resolution be sent to Democratic members of Congress, media outlets, and the Democratic delegation of our CA State Legislature.
Jimmy Carter Jamboree 2017 – adopted September 7, 2017

Resolution: Protect San Anselmo Mayor Brian Colbert, San Anselmo Residents, Staff and Elected Officials

Whereas it is evident that ill-intentioned people with access to firearms and other weapons can inflict extreme harm upon citizens, public servants, public institutions and governmental processes if allowed to; and Whereas, threats of physical violence that were racial in nature have been made that broadly targeted the Mayor, those in Town Hall, and possibly other members of the public and the Town Council, according to Central Marin Police Authority (CMPA); and

Whereas, possession of weapons may give these threats added weight; and Whereas, the duties of the CMPA and the Marin County District Attorney Lori Frugoli are to protect and defend public servants and the public in general from threats, including racially charged threats of violence; and Whereas, we wish, by these actions, to assure aspiring minority politicians of our unswerving commitment to their safety as well, and

Whereas, the person allegedly making the threats was not charged, and his jail release included no conditions,

Therefore, be it resolved that the DCCM calls on CMPA to continue to monitor threats against Mayor Colbert and other public officials, to vigorously enforce laws against threatening behavior, and to continue to press the District Attorney, as we do with this resolution, to prosecute those making such threats to the fullest extent of the law, including hate crimes if appropriate; and Be it further resolved that the DCCM calls upon District Attorney Frugoli to take every measure possible to protect Mayor Colbert, his family and all San Anselmo residents, employees and citizens, including charging those making threats with the serious crimes allegedly committed.

Adopted on June 3, 2021