Sonoma County Dems Elect Officers for 2013-16

Newly elected members of the Sonoma County Democratic Party’s Central Committee were sworn into office on Tuesday, Jan. 8, at the committee’s first meeting of the 2013-2016 term.

Judge Jamie Thistlethwaite administered the Oath of Office during a public ceremony.

Also, the Sonoma County Democratic Party announced it will host its 25th annual Crab Feed on Friday, Feb. 22 at the Santa Rosa Veterans Memorial Building.

Retiring Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey will be this year’s guest of honor in recognition of her 20 years of service to the people of Sonoma County and her strong leadership in the Democratic Party.

More than 600 people are expected to attend. Early ticket purchase is recommended. Tickets are $50 per person and will be available for purchase via the SCDP website: www.sonomademocrats.org. To purchase tickets by mail, send a check to: SCDP, P.O. Box 3727, Santa Rosa, CA 95402.

Officers for the 2013-2016 term are:

Stephen Gale, Chair – Gale is a resident of Oakmont in Santa Rosa, a local business owner and Vice Chair of the Santa Rosa Board of Public Utilities.

Dorothy Battenfeld, 1st Vice Chair (Internal Affairs) – Battenfeld is a resident of Santa Rosa, and a teacher at Montgomery High where she coordinates the International Baccalaureate program. 

Margaret Fishman, 2nd Vice Chair (External Affairs) – Fishman is a resident of Penngrove, a retired teacher from Montgomery High and a member of the board for Mentor Me, Petaluma.

Don Frank, Treasurer –  Frank is a resident of Occidental, the former president of the Dry Creek Valley Association in Healdsburg and current board member of Forests Unlimited, among others.

Cherie Maria Alvarez, Recording Secretary – Alvarez is a resident of Santa Rosa, a local business owner and was the campaign manager for Susan Gorin’s successful supervisor race.

Maria Peluso, Corresponding Secretary – Peluso is a resident of Santa Rosa, and a labor representative with the Service Employees International Union, Local 1021.

The two members elected as representatives to the California Democratic Party’s Executive Board are Stephen Gale and Laura Declercq, a resident of Sonoma and an editor and writer.

Gale has previously served on the E-Board and currently serves as a member of the CDP’s Voter Services Committee.  This will be Declercq’s first term on the E-Board.

The Sonoma County Democratic Party’s Central Committee consists of 23 members who have been elected by supervisorial district during the June Primary election of each presidential election year, along with seven ex-officio members who serve at the pleasure of Democratic elected officials who represent a portion of Sonoma County (state Senate and Assembly members, and U.S. Congress members).

In addition to the 30 voting members, each elected member may appoint an alternate. Alternates can only vote when the member who appointed them is not present.

After being sworn in, committee members reorganized for a four-year term, electing officers, 18 delegates to the California Democratic Party (CDP) Central Committee, and two representatives (elected from the 18 Delegates) to the CDP Executive Board. Delegates attend the annual CDP conventions as representatives of the county Central Committee.

 Five members of the Central Committee are current or former elected officials in the county: Santa Rosa Councilwoman Erin Carlstrom, Sonoma Councilwoman Laurie Gallian, Healdsburg Councilman Jim Wood, former county supervisor Eric Koenigshofer and former Petaluma mayor Pam Torliatt.

The Central Committee is the governing body of the Sonoma County Democratic Party (SCDP), a local political party organized under the bylaws of the California Democratic Party (CDP). The SCDP is the official organization for Democrats in Sonoma County. For more information on the Sonoma County Democratic Party, visit www.sonomademocrats.org.