04 Minutes

2004 Minutes

RILPAC & Latino Civic Fund Monthly Meeting Tuesday, October 12th, 2004 1268 Eddy Street, Providence, RI 02905 Present were- Members: Ingrid Ardaya, Tomás Avila, Sylvia Bernal, Al Cardona, Melba Depena, Kat Hellwig, Sabina Matos, Carmen Mirabal, and Domingo Morel 1. Call to Order President Tomás Ávila called the meeting to order at 6:15 PM. He thanked RILPAC members for their continued participation and urged them not to lose this great momentum. 2. Approval of the Minutes Tomás Alberto Ávila requested a motion to accept the minutes of the August 10th, 2004 meeting (the September meeting was cancelled). A motion to accept the minutes was made by Domingo Morel and seconded by Carmen Mirabal, and so voted. 3. President’s Report Tomás encouraged RILPAC members to contact Betty Bernal to continue volunteering for our endorsed candidates. He also discussed the upcoming referendums and mentioned that RILPAC could endorse some of these as has been done in the past. A meeting of the Endorsement Committee will be set to further discuss the referendum items. He went on to report that an associate of Tony Mendez is interested in creating a book about the history of Latinos in the Rhode Island political arena, and would like to include RILPAC as part of this project. Tomás went on to say that he and Al (Cardona) have been talking about ways to increase RILPAC membership by recruiting new members and reengaging former/current members that have not been active. Sabina added that many potential members have limited English skills, which has kept them from joining; those present agreed that meetings could be conducted in Spanish as well. 4. Treasurer’s Report Sylvia reported that RILPAC’s account currently shows a balance of $5,199.89, with $2,250 remaining in receivables (to ultimately total $7,449.89). The Bill Richardson Awards were a success; about $5,000 was raised. Sylvia went on to report that the Civic Fund’s account currently shows a balance of $13,885.34. A motion was made by Carmen Mirabal to accept the Treasurer‘s Report of the RILPAC account, was seconded by Domingo Morel, and so voted. Tomás thanked Sylvia for her ongoing vigilance in maintaining the accounts for RILPAC and the Latino Civic Fund. Sylvia noted that for the first time ever, she has forgotten to file a financial report with the state, but will take care of this as soon as possible. 5. Committee Reports a) Endorsement The Endorsement Committee agreed to meet at 6:00 PM on October 20th at Urban Ventures. Questionnaires have been mailed out to Grace Diaz (and her opponent) as well as Juan Pichardo (and his opponent). The committee will discuss the referendum topics as well during this meeting.

b) Latina Leadership Institute Tomás reported that Betty and Doris have been working with him on this project and that it continues to move along well. 6. New Business Those present continued talking about the issue of membership that Tomás had alluded to earlier in the meeting. Some other ideas included sending former/inactive members personalized postcards, securing a permanent meeting place/office, and possibly charging a membership fee for using the list-serve. The next Board meeting will be held November 9th, 2004 at 645 Elmwood Avenue, Providence RI. 7. Adjourn Tomás Alberto Ávila requested a motion to adjourn at 7:30 PM. A motion to adjourn was made by Sylvia Bernal, seconded by Sabina Matos, and so voted. Respectfully submitted, ________________________________ Kat Hellwig Secretary

RILPAC & Latino Civic Fund Monthly Meeting Tuesday, August 10, 2004 645 Elmwood Avenue, Providence, RI 02907 Present were- Members: Tony Affigne, Ingrid Ardaya, Tomás Avila, Betty Bernal, Sylvia Bernal, Doris de los Santos, Melba Depena, Kat Hellwig, Matt Jerzyk, Sabina Matos, Carmen Mirabal, and Ana-Cecilia Rosado. Excused: Domingo Morel 1. Call to Order President Tomás Ávila called the meeting to order at 6:25 PM. He announced that the meeting would be shorter in order to accommodate the two candidates- Jeff Toste and Richardson Ogidan- that RILPAC members would interview this evening beginning at 7:00 PM. 2. Approval of the Minutes In the interest of time, Tomás Alberto Ávila requested that a motion to accept the minutes of the July 13, 2004 meeting be postponed until the subsequent meeting. He encouraged members to review the minutes prior to the next meeting. 3. President’s Report Tomás began his report by discussing his meeting with George Nee (of the RI AFL-CIO) and Carolina Bernal (of the Institute for Labor Studies)- for reasons related to labor and the unions, they are interested in RILPAC joining them on a campaign against certain politicians (Tejada, Laffey, and Carcieri). While those present acknowledged that George, Carolina, and their respective organizations would continue to work against these politicians in the name of the labor unions, many agreed that RILPAC should not lose its independence in endorsing candidates. In addition it was mentioned that there is a significant amount of work to be done in order to support candidates to be endorsed by RILPAC, that perhaps we should not add campaigning against certain politicians to the workload. Melba reminded the group that there is a process in place in order for RILPAC to endorse candidates and that this should continue to be followed. 4. Treasurer’s Report Sylvia reported that RILPAC’s account currently shows a balance of $2,691.15. $650 was added the account this month from dues and donations to the Bill Richardson Awards Dinner. $302.16 was taken out of the account for expenses largely related to the Endorsement Committee. A motion was made by Melba Depena to accept the Treasurer‘s Report of the RILPAC account, was seconded by Carmen Mirabal, and so voted. Sylvia went on to report that the Civic Fund’s account currently shows a balance of $14, 562.58, with expenses for the last month totaling $400.63; this amount includes postage, forms filed with the Secretary of State’s office, professional fees, and the t-shirts. A motion was made by Carmen Mirabal to accept the Treasurer’s Report of the Civic Fund account, was seconded by Melba Depena, and so voted.

5. Committee Reports a) Debate The District 6 debate has been scheduled for Thursday, August 19th from 6-8 PM. Candidates Chris Lopes, Harold Metts, and Pedro Espinal are confirmed to participate. The other candidate, Mickeda Barnes is unsure whether she will be available to participate, as she is scheduled to work that evening. A meeting of the Debate Committee on the 18th of August will be used to finalize the questions to be asked during the debate as well confirm logistics. Information about this event has been sent to the radio and newspapers. b) Fundraising/Bill Richardson Awards Dinner Sylvia and Tomás announced that the title of the event would be “Latinos Embracing the Challenge”. They went on to tell the group that letters have been sent (via certified mail) to elected officials. Thus far there are 12 sponsors, and 40 guests confirmed; Mayor Cicilline has sponsored the event at the Silver level. Sylvia has been working with Pablo Rodriguez-Masjoan to create the invitations, which- at $300- will cost less than the original estimate. 6. New Business Tomás announced that Rosa Quiñones, a Cumberland woman who is running for the school committee has requested the support/endorsement of RILPAC. Although RILPAC has typically not considered endorsement for this type of position, this will be open for discussion among RILPAC members, most likely after this election is over. Tomás went on to talk about the issue of Federal Endorsement. While it is part of RILPAC’s strategic plan to be able to endorse candidates on the Federal level, we have not yet begun the process. We will be talking more about this in upcoming meetings so that we might be able to endorse candidates on the Federal level by the 2008 elections. Tomás announced that he would pick up the voter registration cards from City Hall. Sylvia will be responsible for holding copies of the completed cards. The next Board meeting will be held September 14th, 2004 at 645 Elmwood Avenue, Providence RI. 7. Adjourn In order to begin the interviews of Jeff Toste and Richardson Ogidan on time, Tomás Alberto Ávila requested a motion to adjourn at 7:15 PM. A motion to adjourn was made by Sylvia Bernal and seconded by Melba Depena and so voted. Respectfully submitted, ________________________________ Kat Hellwig Secretary

RILPAC & Latino Civic Fund Monthly Meeting Tuesday, July 13, 2004 645 Elmwood Avenue, Providence, RI 02907 Present were- Members: Ingrid Ardaya, Tomas Avila, Betty Bernal, Sylvia Bernal, Gladys Corvera-Baker, Doris de los Santos, Melba Depena, Kat Hellwig, Sabina Matos, Carmen Mirabal, and Domingo Morel. Excused: Rosendo Fontecha 1. Call to Order President Tomás Ávila called the meeting to order at 6:20 PM. 2. Approval of the Minutes Tomás Alberto Ávila requested a motion to accept the minutes of the June 8, 2004, meeting. The motion was made by Betty Bernal and seconded by Carmen Mirabal- all present agreed and the minutes were passed unanimously. 3. Endorsement Committee Tomás shared that he has nominated Carmen Mirabal as the chair of the Endorsement Committee and Betty Bernal expressed that she felt overlooked in this process, as she has been a long-time member of this committee. It was made clear that it was not Tomás’ (or the Executive Committee’s) intent to exclude Betty, who is a valuable member of the group; they were not aware of her interest in the position. Tomás encouraged all RILPAC members to talk to him or Domingo if they are interested in chairing or joining any committees that are in the process of being formed. Although Kat presented the option of Carmen and Betty co-chairing the committee, Betty declined. A motion was made by Melba Depena and seconded by Doris de los Santos to accept Tomás’ nomination of Carmen as the chair of the Endorsement Committee, and was so voted. This issue sparked a discussion regarding how decisions are made within RILPAC. While the Bylaws do give the President the power to nominate committee chairs, it was mentioned by several members the importance of communication and open dialogue. Melba informed Tomás that the questionnaire had been updated (he should be able to find this version in the binder that she gave him). The questionnaire should be sent out by Monday in order to give candidates sufficient time to reply. Gladys pointed out the importance of involving new members and not solely rely on veteran members as committee chairs (several veteran members had been asked to chair the Endorsement Committee prior to the nomination of Carmen Mirabal). Those present agreed that RILPAC members might vote if they attend RILPAC meetings and have attended at least one interview with a candidate. RILPAC members who are currently working as part of a candidate’s campaign may not vote.

4. Bill Richardson Awards The Bill Richardson Awards event will be held on September 7th from 6-8 PM at the Hi Hat jazz club. Tomás has named Sylvia Bernal as the chair of the committee (anyone wishing to volunteer should contact her) and will forward all information about the event to her as soon as possible. Gladys volunteered to join the committee. Tomás has sent Evites as well as solicitation letters to 27 politicians whom RILPAC has either endorsed or supported in some way. The Committee is currently trying to decide on a name for the event- the only suggestion thus far is “Seizing the Moment”. Please contact Sylvia with any other ideas. Domingo reminded Melba to follow up on the possibility of Bill Richardson attending this event. 5. Treasurer’s Report Sylvia reported that the RILPAC account currently shows a balance of $2,346.31. Aram Garabedian donated $40 for tickets to the Bill Richardson Awards event. $250 has also been received by the Republican Party of Rhode Island towards this event as well (the $250 was received this afternoon and is thus not reflected in today’s account balance). Betty Bernal and Domingo Morel paid their dues at this meeting. The Latino Civic Fund account currently shows a balance of $14,631.21. Sylvia will update this as it was made clear that this amount does not reflect the cost of the t-shirts. She will also be paying $20 to the Secretary of State’s office for our 2004 annual report (corporation papers). We should try to use RILPAC’s PO Box address to keep the address consistent. Tomás Alberto Ávila requested a motion to accept the Treasurer‘s Report. A motion was made by Domingo Morel to accept the Treasurer‘s Report, was seconded by Sabina Matos, and so voted. Ingrid Ardaya was asked to send bylaws to new RILPAC members; she will be provided with stamps in order to do so. Ana Cano-Morales would like to be a RILPAC member; someone should contact her. 6. New Business Domingo and Sabina proposed the idea of holding a community forum (or possibly debate) in conjunction with the Minister’s Alliance and Making Connections, so that voters in the new district 6 can hear from the various candidates running for election. RILPAC members present liked the idea and the date was set for August 19th from 6-8 PM. It was proposed that we hold this community forum at the Juanita Sanchez Complex or at the Casey Foundation building, but as this district runs through several parts of the city, a more centralized location might draw a larger crowd. A committee was formed consisting of Domingo Morel, Betty Bernal, Sabina Matos, Carmen Mirabal, Doris de los Santos, Kat Hellwig, and Melba Depena. They will be meeting on July 21st at 5:30 at Betty’s office on 222 Richmond Street in Providence.

It was mentioned that people could be planted to ask questions to the candidates and that translation should be provided. Also, no candidates should be interviewed/endorsed by RILPAC prior to this event. Melba suggested that candidates be invited via certified mail to ensure that they did indeed receive it (to avoid any potential problems). Domingo went on to say that (pending the group’s approval) his brother (a college student) has agreed to research the candidates and their voting record (especially in the areas of education, immigration, health, and housing). He can use Billtracker to research the history of those who have had a political career in the house or senate. The questionnaire will be key in obtaining information on the non-incumbents. Those present agreed to give Domingo’s brother the responsibility of researching the candidates. Betty and Tomás also have some useful information on the candidates and will forward it to Domingo. Melba invited RILPAC members to attend constituency meetings at the Democratic National Convention. They will be held on July 26 and 27. Anyone interested should contact her; if there is enough interest she will rent a van. Melba suggested that a RILPAC member be assigned to keep the meetings on topic and the agenda items discussed in a timely manner. This would help us to use our time most efficiently during the meetings. Sabina has been in contact with radio station Poder 1110 on their “Verano Caliente” initiative. They will be at various businesses to promote voter registration. Although the starting date is yet to be announced, we do know that volunteers will be needed to register voters on Fridays from 36 and Saturdays from 1-3. Tomás has been talking with Pablo Rodriguez on collaborating in some way with 88.1 FM and has plans to meet with the owner of 990 AM. Sabina has a contact at 1220 AM. Tatiana Pina of the Providence Journal recently interviewed Tomás; the article will be in the newspaper in the next week or so. Tomás announced that he is looking for new leadership for the Latina Institute. Betty Bernal and Doris de los Santos agreed to co-chair this effort. Doris suggested that we have a voter registration table at the “back to school” celebrations on August 21st. Anyone wishing to help out with voter registration efforts at this or any other event should contact Betty. The next Board meeting will be held August 10th, 2004 at 645 Elmwood Avenue, Providence RI. 7. Adjourn Not having any other items to discuss, Tomás Alberto Ávila requested a motion to adjourn at 8:05 PM. A motion to adjourn was made by Melba Depena and seconded by Carmen Mirabal and so voted.

Respectfully submitted, ________________________________ Kat Hellwig Secretary

RILPAC & Latino Civic Fund Monthly Meeting Tuesday, July 13, 2004 645 Elmwood Avenue, Providence, RI 02907 Present were- Members: Ingrid Ardaya, Tomas Avila, Betty Bernal, Sylvia Bernal, Gladys Corvera-Baker, Doris de los Santos, Melba Depena, Kat Hellwig, Sabina Matos, Carmen Mirabal, and Domingo Morel. Excused: Rosendo Fontecha 1. Call to Order President Tomás Ávila called the meeting to order at 6:20 PM. 2. Approval of the Minutes Tomás Alberto Ávila requested a motion to accept the minutes of the June 8, 2004, meeting. The motion was made by Betty Bernal and seconded by Carmen Mirabal- all present agreed and the minutes were passed unanimously. 3. Endorsement Committee Tomás shared that he has nominated Carmen Mirabal as the chair of the Endorsement Committee and Betty Bernal expressed that she felt overlooked in this process, as she has been a long-time member of this committee. It was made clear that it was not Tomás’ (or the Executive Committee’s) intent to exclude Betty, who is a valuable member of the group; they were not aware of her interest in the position. Tomás encouraged all RILPAC members to talk to him or Domingo if they are interested in chairing or joining any committees that are in the process of being formed. Although Kat presented the option of Carmen and Betty co-chairing the committee, Betty declined. A motion was made by Melba Depena and seconded by Doris de los Santos to accept Tomás’ nomination of Carmen as the chair of the Endorsement Committee, and was so voted. This issue sparked a discussion regarding how decisions are made within RILPAC. While the Bylaws do give the President the power to nominate committee chairs, it was mentioned by several members the importance of communication and open dialogue. Melba informed Tomás that the questionnaire had been updated (he should be able to find this version in the binder that she gave him). The questionnaire should be sent out by Monday in order to give candidates sufficient time to reply. Gladys pointed out the importance of involving new members and not solely rely on veteran members as committee chairs (several veteran members had been asked to chair the Endorsement Committee prior to the nomination of Carmen Mirabal). Those present agreed that RILPAC members might vote if they attend RILPAC meetings and have attended at least one interview with a candidate. RILPAC members who are currently working as part of a candidate’s campaign may not vote.

4. Bill Richardson Awards The Bill Richardson Awards event will be held on September 7th from 6-8 PM at the Hi Hat jazz club. Tomás has named Sylvia Bernal as the chair of the committee (anyone wishing to volunteer should contact her) and will forward all information about the event to her as soon as possible. Gladys volunteered to join the committee. Tomás has sent Evites as well as solicitation letters to 27 politicians whom RILPAC has either endorsed or supported in some way. The Committee is currently trying to decide on a name for the event- the only suggestion thus far is “Seizing the Moment”. Please contact Sylvia with any other ideas. Domingo reminded Melba to follow up on the possibility of Bill Richardson attending this event. 5. Treasurer’s Report Sylvia reported that the RILPAC account currently shows a balance of $2,346.31. Aram Garabedian donated $40 for tickets to the Bill Richardson Awards event. $250 has also been received by the Republican Party of Rhode Island towards this event as well (the $250 was received this afternoon and is thus not reflected in today’s account balance). Betty Bernal and Domingo Morel paid their dues at this meeting. The Latino Civic Fund account currently shows a balance of $14,631.21. Sylvia will update this as it was made clear that this amount does not reflect the cost of the t-shirts. She will also be paying $20 to the Secretary of State’s office for our 2004 annual report (corporation papers). We should try to use RILPAC’s PO Box address to keep the address consistent. Tomás Alberto Ávila requested a motion to accept the Treasurer‘s Report. A motion was made by Domingo Morel to accept the Treasurer‘s Report, was seconded by Sabina Matos, and so voted. Ingrid Ardaya was asked to send bylaws to new RILPAC members; she will be provided with stamps in order to do so. Ana Cano-Morales would like to be a RILPAC member; someone should contact her. 6. New Business Domingo and Sabina proposed the idea of holding a community forum (or possibly debate) in conjunction with the Minister’s Alliance and Making Connections, so that voters in the new district 6 can hear from the various candidates running for election. RILPAC members present liked the idea and the date was set for August 19th from 6-8 PM. It was proposed that we hold this community forum at the Juanita Sanchez Complex or at the Casey Foundation building, but as this district runs through several parts of the city, a more centralized location might draw a larger crowd. A committee was formed consisting of Domingo Morel, Betty Bernal, Sabina Matos, Carmen Mirabal, Doris de los Santos, Kat Hellwig, and Melba Depena. They will be meeting on July 21st at 5:30 at Betty’s office on 222 Richmond Street in Providence.

It was mentioned that people could be planted to ask questions to the candidates and that translation should be provided. Also, no candidates should be interviewed/endorsed by RILPAC prior to this event. Melba suggested that candidates be invited via certified mail to ensure that they did indeed receive it (to avoid any potential problems). Domingo went on to say that (pending the group’s approval) his brother (a college student) has agreed to research the candidates and their voting record (especially in the areas of education, immigration, health, and housing). He can use Billtracker to research the history of those who have had a political career in the house or senate. The questionnaire will be key in obtaining information on the non-incumbents. Those present agreed to give Domingo’s brother the responsibility of researching the candidates. Betty and Tomás also have some useful information on the candidates and will forward it to Domingo. Melba invited RILPAC members to attend constituency meetings at the Democratic National Convention. They will be held on July 26 and 27. Anyone interested should contact her; if there is enough interest she will rent a van. Melba suggested that a RILPAC member be assigned to keep the meetings on topic and the agenda items discussed in a timely manner. This would help us to use our time most efficiently during the meetings. Sabina has been in contact with radio station Poder 1110 on their “Verano Caliente” initiative. They will be at various businesses to promote voter registration. Although the starting date is yet to be announced, we do know that volunteers will be needed to register voters on Fridays from 36 and Saturdays from 1-3. Tomás has been talking with Pablo Rodriguez on collaborating in some way with 88.1 FM and has plans to meet with the owner of 990 AM. Sabina has a contact at 1220 AM. Tatiana Pina of the Providence Journal recently interviewed Tomás; the article will be in the newspaper in the next week or so. Tomás announced that he is looking for new leadership for the Latina Institute. Betty Bernal and Doris de los Santos agreed to co-chair this effort. Doris suggested that we have a voter registration table at the “back to school” celebrations on August 21st. Anyone wishing to help out with voter registration efforts at this or any other event should contact Betty. The next Board meeting will be held August 10th, 2004 at 645 Elmwood Avenue, Providence RI. 7. Adjourn Not having any other items to discuss, Tomás Alberto Ávila requested a motion to adjourn at 8:05 PM. A motion to adjourn was made by Melba Depena and seconded by Carmen Mirabal and so voted.

Respectfully submitted, ________________________________ Kat Hellwig Secretary

RILPAC & Latino Civic Fund Monthly Meeting Tuesday, June 8, 2004 645 Elmwood Avenue Providence, RI 02907 Present were- Members: Ingrid Ardaya, Tomas Avila, Betty Bernal, Doris de los Santos, Melba Depena, Maria-Fernanda Escudero, Kat Hellwig, Catherine Horsey, Sabina Matos, Carmen Mirabal, Domingo Morel, Hector Solis. Guests: January Cole, Pedro Espinal, and Leo Medina Excused: Sylvia Bernal, Anthony Affigne, Jose Brito, Vinnie Velasquez Absent: 1. The meeting was called to order by President Tomas Avila at 6:20 PM. 2. Moment of Silence Tomas called for a moment of silence to honor all affected by the recent tragedy in Haiti and the Dominican Republic as well as Ronald Reagan (40th President of the United States) and Adora Crager (RILPAC member Kat Hellwig’s Grandmother) who both recently passed away. 3. President’s Message Tomas acknowledged to the group that he had returned as President after a brief hiatus and thanked RILPAC members for their ongoing support and commitment. 4. Board Restructuring Due to decreased participation on the part of certain Executive Committee members and the resignation of Melba Depena (as the Executive Vice President), Tomas proposed a restructured Executive Committee as follows: Tomas Avila Domingo Morel Sabina Matos Sylvia Bernal Ingrid Ardaya Kat Hellwig Claudia Cardona Chris Petrarca

President Executive Vice President Vice President Treasurer Assistant Treasurer Secretary Assistant Secretary (until further notice) Legal Advisor

A motion was made by Betty Bernal and seconded by Catherine Horsey to approve this newly restructured Executive Committee and was unanimously approved by those present. 5. New Senate District 6 Pedro Espinal and Leo Medina (accompanied by his campaign manager, January Cole) are planning on running for City Council and State Senate, respectively in District 6 (largely made

up of former District 9). The new district was created as a result of the settling of the senate lawsuit. Charles Walton has also announced his plans to run for office. Tomas will keep members advised to strategy and action regarding Districts 2 and 6. 6. Treasurer’s Report In Sylvia’s absence, Tomas reported that the Latino Civic Fund’s account showed a balance of $14,963.21. He went on to tell members that they should expect to see this amount diminish somewhat, as these funds will be used to support the Latino Voter Registration Project, which will run from June 12th until August 14th. No report was given regarding RILPAC funds or membership dues. Tomás Alberto Ávila requested a motion to accept the Treasurer‘s Report. A motions was made by Kathy Hellwig to accept the Treasurer‘s Report, was seconded by Betty Bernal, and so voted. Tomas shared his fundraising plan of soliciting elected officials that have been previously endorsed by RILPAC. He will be sending 25 letters to such officials asking them to donate to the Bill Richardson Awards event ($1,000 is the legal maximum donation allowed to a political action committee from a politician); the goal is to raise $15,000. 7. Review Latino Civic Fund’s Programs Regarding the Latina Leadership Institute, Tomas plans to meet with members of Ocean State Action (a main funder of the Institute) do discuss restructuring. He will discuss the results of this meeting with committee members. Those present discussed Latinos on the Hill 2004 and why it was not the success that we had hoped. Everyone agreed that there were a variety of factors that contributed to this outcome. Tomas asked committee members to take more responsibility for their committees, while some present encouraged Tomas to delegate in such a way as to empower RILPAC members and lighten his workload (i.e. committee heads reporting during the meetings). It was also decided that the goal of the event must be further discussed (lobbying, networking, etc.) and the term lobbying should be clarified for legal purposes. Some members mentioned that the childcare workers that were present felt excluded, as they were not given an opportunity to speak, as they had originally planned and urged RILPAC to take a more aggressive stance on this issue. Next year’s Latinos on the Hill Day will be held on May 18, 2005. 8. RILPAC’s Scheduled Activities for 2004 Primary Elections are scheduled for September 14th and General Elections for November 5th. Anyone interested in joining the Candidate Endorsement Committee should contact committee member, Betty Bernal. The Bill Richardson Awards event will be held at the Hi Hat jazz club on September 7th. Once again, Pablo Rodriguez has kindly agreed to be a sponsor of the event. Aram

Garabedian has guaranteed his support as well. It is possible that Governor Bill Richardson will make an appearance at this event. Please forward the names of anyone who should be nominated for an award to Tomas. 9. Committees Tomas encouraged members to sign up for committees if they have not yet done so and reminded committee chairs to make an effort to include RILPAC members that have been unable to attend the regular monthly meetings (due to conflicts such as evening classes). Doris added her name to the Voter Registration Committee and the Political Candidate Endorsing Committee. Domingo will be in charge of the Judicial Nominating Committee and share responsibility with Melba for the Voter Registration Committee. He reminded the group that the Judicial Committee should be pro-active and possibly schedule a meeting with the Governor (who is responsible for appointing judges) to address issues important to RILPAC. Earlier this year, the Judicial Nominating Committee endorsed Rafael Ovalles for the appointment of District Court Judge. He added that he would be personally interested to follow up with RILPAC endorsed candidates and told the group that he has some students interested in assisting with this effort. Maria-Fernanda encouraged RILPAC members to log onto www.state.ri.us and look at the list of boards and commissions seeking members. This would be a great way to increase RILPAC’s presence and ensure that Latinos (and RILPAC) are represented on a variety of boards. 10. Other Issues Tomas has been meeting with Edwin Cancel (Progreso Latino), William Sanchez, and Councilman Patino to strategize how Latinos could gain political power (i.e. city council seats) in Central Falls. This strategy is confidential and has only been viewed by the Executive Committee. Members felt that it should not be on RILPAC stationary if it had not been voted on (or seen) by the membership. Betty mentioned that she would like to have access to minutes from prior meetings (most specifically the last 3 meetings and retreat minutes) and suggested that perhaps this should be a function of the Secretary’s job. Sabina shared her belief that guests’ time at our meetings should be limited (such as for the first 15 minutes of the meeting) and that RILPAC business should not be discussed in their presence. Hector discussed the need to recruit new membership. Tomas agreed, adding that he is considering creating an incentive for existing members to increase their recruitment efforts. New members should be referred to Sylvia or Tomas.

The group ended the meeting by saying goodbye to RILPAC member Catherine Horsey and thanking her for her commitment and hard work. The next Board meeting will be held July 13th, 2004 at 645 Elmwood Avenue, Providence RI. 11. Adjourn: Not having any other items to discuss, Tomás Alberto Ávila requested a motion to adjourn at 8:40 PM. A motion to adjourn was made by Betty Bernal and seconded by Catherine Horsey and so voted. Respectfully submitted,

________________________________ Kat Hellwig Secretary

March 12, 2004 Dear RILPAC Board Members: The Board of Directors take this opportunity to invite you to attend our 2004 retreat schedule to take place Saturday April 17, 2004 900 AM – 2:00 PM at the Hispanic American Chamber of Commerce of Rhode Island located at 45 Royal Little Drive, Providence, RI 02904 Phone: 401-331-2615. We hope you are planning to attend the important annual retreat. Our plans are to come together on Saturday April 17, 2004. It is clear that we all have very busy schedules however we hope this letter as well as earlier notifications remind everyone of how important this session is to RILPAC/RILCF and our involvement as board members. We need your participation! We have to become much more interactive and take much more responsibility for helping our board map out the future direction of RILPAC/RILCF. To do this work clearly and successfully and to solidify the connection of board member activity to the future of RILPAC/RILCF, we have planned this important retreat. Our goal is to plan and strategize around our organization activities and to also take time for fellowship and an opportunity to get to know each other a bit better. RILPAC is an important organization and our planned gathering and future direction and support of RILPAC is also important. You may be a regular board meeting attendee; you may be a member who has a definite commitment to work with RILPAC but you can’t get to monthly meetings or you may be a board member whom we have lost touch with. For this gathering, we need everyone to participate. The issues that we plan to engage in are about getting better and becoming more effective in our roles as RILPAC board members. To that end, enclosed you will find some basic RILPAC background information but most importantly, a Board Assessment Survey that we ask you to complete and return to RILPAC by April 1st, 2004. The survey will help to identify board member views, concerns, ideas and suggestions. Everyone’s input and open dialogue about our roles and about RILPAC is very important so please complete and return the survey, and plan to participate on April 17, 2004. Lastly, it is important that you notify us of your attendance plans (401-274-5204) as soon as possible but no later than April 12th. I cannot stress enough how important your participation and your survey response. Please RSVP regarding attendance no later than April 10th and return the Survey no later than April 12th. If you have any questions or concerns, please call me at 401-274-5204. We are looking forward to a productive, interesting and fun gathering! Sincerely, Tomás Alberto Avila President

Annual Retreat Hispanic Chamber of Commerce 45 Royal Little Drive, Providence April 17, 2004 9:00 AM – 2:00 PM 1. Welcome 2. Introductions and familiarization exercise 3. Review of 2003 “Where We are and Where We Want to be” • Analysis and strategic planning 4. Board of Director Restructuring • Melba Depeña’s, Executive VP Resignation • Chronic Board of Directors Absenteeism 5. Judicial Nominating Committee • Attorney Rafael Ovalles • Attorney Daniel Carillo 6. African American Redistricting Lawsuit • Affects in this year’s election • Possible Redrawing of districts 7. Treasurer’s Report & Fundraising Plan • RI Latino Political Action Committee • RI Latino Civic Fund 8. Review Latino Civic Fund’s Programs for 2004 • See 2004-2006 Work Plan 9. RILPAC’s Proposed Activities for 2004 • See 2004-2006 Work Plan 10. Other Issues Redistricting Update Reorganization of Standing Committees 11. Adjourn

Bi-Annual Work Plan 2004 - 2006 Strategic Planning Meeting January 17, 2004 12. Latino Civic Fund’s Programs for 2004

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Soy Mujer: Latinas Past, Present & Future, March Latinos On the Hill, May Latino Voter Registration Project, April-Aug Latina Leadership Institute

13. RILPAC’s Proposed Activities for 2004

• • • • • • • • •

Endorsement Committee Meeting July 2 Endorsement Interviews July 12-16 Endorsement Announcement July 30 Legislative Elections Primaries, September 14 Legislative Elections General, November, 9 Bill Richardson Award, September 7 Democratic Convention, Boston, July 26-29 Republican Convention, New York, August 30, September 4 Districts Analysis

14. Other Issues

Providence 2002 Charter Review Commission Recommendations Appointed & Employed Latinos Support Network Review of Board & Commissions Latino participation Latinos Resume Bank Legislative Advisory Council Candidate Training School Issue Policy Briefing • Civil Rights • Economic Development • Education • Health • Housing • Immigration 2005 Blackstone Elections • Mayor • City Council • School Board 2006 Mid Term Elections • U. S. Senate • Governor • Lt. Governor • Secretary of State • Treasurer

• Attorney General • Legislative • Providence Mayor • Cranston Mayor • City Council 2008 Presidential Elections RILPAC 10th Anniversary, August 20 2008 2010 Redistricting

2004-2005 Board of Directors Tomás Alberto Ávila President Melba Depeña Executive Vice President Domingo Morel Vice President Johanna Petrarca Secretary Claudia Cardona Assistant Secretary Sylvia Bernal Treasurer Ingrid Ardaya Assistant Treasurer Christopher Petrarca Legal Advisor Members at Large Tony Affigne Alberto Cardona Nellie Gorbea Senator Juan Pichardo

RILPAC Chapter Council RILPAC Chapter Council work to promote greater participation of Latinos in the political process by encouraging non-partisan voter registration, voter education and voter mobilization. RILPAC also works in coalition with other Latino organizations to maximize support for economic and social policies and legislation that are essential to advance the interests of Latinos. The Rhode Island Latino Political Action Committee is a nonpartisan organization formed to influence the political process in the state of Rhode Island in order to improve the quality of life of Latino and urban communities. The responsibilities and timeline for Chapter council will be as follows: Identify and grow membership Develop internal leadership Identify critical issues and key priorities within subdivisions Identify key races for support Identify key candidates for endorsement Voters Database Here's where we manage all of our council's activities. With a quick glance we'll know how we're doing with our voters, how many voters we've contacted and how much time we have left before the election. We'll create sophisticated lists of our voters based on criteria that we select. The system allows us to create lists based on dozens of criteria such as prior voting history, age, party affiliation, address, and more. Voters can be tagged with unlimited criteria that we select, such as whether they're a member of a union household or whether they'll post a lawn sign: • Create lists of voters in specific neighborhoods • Find voters based on party affiliation, age, prior voting history, and more • Export lists into Excel for future mailings or print labels right from our computer • Use our lists to create canvassing efforts and telephone surveys • Print walking sheets with barcodes corresponding to support levels and issues • Collect information on voters as we canvass the neighborhood • Create sophisticated voter lists using demographic and geographic information Voter registration concentrated in • Silver Lake (Doris De Los Santos), • Olneyville (Ingrid Ardaya, English for Action), • Mount Pleasant (Ernesto Figueroa, Delia Rodriguez-Masjoan, Angel Tavarez, Jose Brito, Ema Villa, Gloria Lopez) • Central Falls (Carmen Mirabal, Ricardo Patiño, Mildred Vega, Hector Solis, Edwin Cancel) • Pawtucket

ACTION COMMITTEES Fundraising Committee The Fundraising Committee's job is not simply to raise money. Instead, the Fundraising Committee is responsible for overseeing the organization's overall fundraising and, in particular, the fundraising done by the board. To accomplish this, its responsibilities are: •

To work with staff to establish a fundraising plan that incorporates a series of appropriate vehicles, such as special events, direct mail, product sales, etc. To work with fundraising staff in their efforts to raise money.

•

To take the lead in certain types of outreach efforts, such as chairing a dinner/dance committee or hosting fundraising parties, etc.

•

To be responsible for involvement of all board members in fundraising, such as having board members make telephone calls to ask for support, and;

•

To monitor fundraising efforts to be sure that ethical practices are in place, that donors are acknowledged appropriately, and that fundraising efforts are cost-effective. 1. Tomás Alberto Ávila 2. Sylvia Bernal 3. Ingrid Ardaya 4. Alberto Cardona 5. Sabina Matos 6. Carmen Mirabal 7. Rosendo Fontecha 8. Pablo Rodriguez 9. Johana Petrarca

The Judicial Nominating Committee Thee committee is directed draft goals and objectives or other material needed for recommendation and endorsement of qualified Latino Lawyers as candidates for judgeships in Rhode Island in outline or conceptual form for presentation to the Board of Directors and followup by the Executive Committee. The recommendation must be submitted to the Board as early as possible and preferably prior to next Judicial Nominating Commission call for candidates. The Judicial Committee will review Judicial Nominating process of the state of Rhode Island and Urban municipalities and review pool of qualify Latino candidates for judgeships in Rhode Island and make recommendations to the Board. 1. Al Cardona 2. Chris Petrarca 3. Jorge Elorza 4. Angel Taveras 5. Ana Cecilia Rosado

6. Sabina Matos 7. Domingo Morel 8. Joseph Fernandez 9. Daniel Carillo 10. Roberto Gonzalez

Political Education/Voter Registration The Civic Education Committee is charge to promote the participation of Latinos in the state's civic life. The Civic Education Committee carries out this mission by developing and implementing programs that promote the integration of Latino immigrants into American political process. The Civic Education Committee also gets involve in naturalization drives in coalition with other organizations, in order to increase the number of Latinos who become citizens and thus entitle to vote. The Civic Education Committee also conduct community forums and study circles used to address policy issues in an organized way; that will involve hearing multiple perspectives on a particular issue, such as whether members of the school Board should be appointed or elected.

Members 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

Melba Depeña Ingrid Ardaya Roxana Parra Laura Perez Vinnie Velasquez Jacinta Peña Jose Brito Dolores Rodriguez Janet Bonilla

Political Candidate Selection Committee The Candidate Endorsement Committee shall propose such voting procedures, as they deem most likely to achieve the greatest possible consensus vote of the Membership. The Candidate Endorsement Committee's proposed rules of procedure shall be subject to amendment by majority vote of members present prior to the commencement of any Endorsement proceedings, but shall not be amended further without an affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members present once the Endorsement proceedings commence. Membership Planning and Research

United States Court of Appeals For the First Circuit No. 02-2204

HAROLD METTS, ET AL., Plaintiffs, Appellants, v.

WILLIAM J. MURPHY, ETC., ET AL., Defendants, Appellees.

APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF RHODE ISLAND [Hon. Ernest C. Torres, U.S. District Judge]

Before Boudin, Chief Judge, Torruella and Selya, Circuit Judges,

Stahl, Senior Circuit Judge,

Lynch, Lipez and Howard, Circuit Judges.

Anita Earls, UNC-Center for Civil Rights, with whom Sunil R. Kulkarni, Morrison & Foerster LLP, Cara Fineman, Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, Dennis Hayes, NAACP Legal Department, and Bruce G. Pollock were on supplemental opening brief for appellants. Nadine Cohen, Lawyers' Committee For Civil Rights Under Law of the Boston Bar Association, Rudolph F. Pierce, Barbara Van Gorder, Heather Butterfield and Goulston & Storrs, P.C. on brief for Angel Meza, Gabriel Valerio, Juan Vega, Chelsea's Commission on Hispanic Affairs, Inc., and ¿Oiste?: The Massachusetts Statewide Latino Organization, Amicus Curiae. Katherine A. Fallow, Sam Hirsch and Jenner & Block LLP on supplementary brief for the Puerto Rican Political Action Committee and Direct Action for Rights and Equality, Amicus Curiae.

Neil Bradley, ACLU Foundation Inc., and Laughlin McDonald, ACLU Foundation Inc., on supplemental brief for American Civil Liberties Union and Rhode Island Affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union, Amicus Curiae. John A. Tarantino with whom Patricia K. Rocha, Victoria M. Almeida, Adler Pollock & Sheehan P.C., Normand G. Benoit, Eugene G. Bernardo, II, Partridge, Snow & Hahn LLP, Richard B. Woolley, Department of Attorney General, Thomas A. Palombo, Department of Attorney General, and Raymond A. Marcaccio were on brief for appellees Joseph A. Montalbano, Senate President, William J. Murphy, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Matthew A. Brown, Secretary of State, and Roger Begin, State Board of Elections Chairman. _______________ OPINION EN BANC

March 30, 2004

Per Curiam. In February 2002, the Rhode Island legislature adopted a redistricting plan in response to the 2000 census and a state constitutional amendment reducing the number of seats in both houses. Based on the allegations in the complaint, it appears that African-Americans are about 4 percent of Rhode Island's population, but more than half live in Providence. Prior to redistricting, State Senate District 9 in Providence was 25.69 percent African-American and 41.08 percent Hispanic. Until redistricting, an African-American, Charles Walton, had represented District 9 for many years.

Under the 2002 redistricting plan, much of the same African-American population now lies within the new District 2, which allegedly is 21.42 percent African-American and 46.74 percent Hispanic. In the 2002 primary after redistricting, a Latino challenger defeated Walton and went on to win the election. Well before the primary, in May 2002, a number of individual AfricanAmerican voters and related organizations brought the present suit under section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1973 (2000), to challenge the redistricting plan. In September 2002, the district court granted a motion under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6) to dismiss the complaint, Metts v. Almond, 217 F. Supp. 2d 252 (D.R.I. 2002), holding that the claim failed two of the three threshold tests for a section 2 case under Thornburg v. Gingles, 478 U.S. 30 (1986). On appeal, a divided panel of this court reversed, remanding for further proceedings. Metts v. Murphy, 347 F.3d 346 (1st Cir. 2003). We granted the defendants' petition for rehearing en banc and vacated the panel opinion. Metts v. Murphy, No. 02-2204, 2003 U.S. App. LEXIS 24313 (1st Cir. Dec. 3, 2003). We now review and vacate the district court's judgment of dismissal and remand for further proceedings. The reason for our remand is to allow a fuller development of the evidence, and further legal analysis based on that evidence, before any final determination is made. Section 2, adopted as part of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, forbids voting-related measures that deny or abridge the right to vote "on account of race or color." 42 U.S.C. § 1973. Under a 1982 amendment, a violation is established "if, based on the totality of circumstances, it is shown that . . . members of a class of citizens . . . have less opportunity than other members of the electorate to participate in the political process and to elect representatives of their choice." § 1973(b). The Delphic language of the amendment can be understood only against the background of its legislative history and subsequent Supreme Court interpretation. The former tells us that discriminatory intent is not a necessary element in a violation and that Congress intended a broad range of factors to be taken into account. These points, and the relevant citations, are developed in Gingles, the first post-amendment decision on section 2 by the Court and still the leading authority. 478 U.S. at 43-46. However, Gingles was primarily concerned with the use of multi-member districts, which have an obvious potential to submerge the electoral power of even a substantial and cohesive minority bloc. 478 U.S. at 46-48 & nn.11-13. If such a group represents a majority of votes in a single member district but a numerical minority when combined with an adjoining district or districts, the combining of those districts into one multi-member district can easily eliminate the minority's ability to elect one of their own to any of the seats. In Gingles, the Supreme Court set up a three-part test, ruling that section 2 would ordinarily not be violated by multi-member districts unless three conditions were met: that the minority challenging such a district would be "a majority" in a compact single member district; that the minority was politically cohesive (so it would bloc vote in such a district); and that the multidistrict majority voted as a bloc (so it would usually defeat the minority's candidate in a multimember district). Gingles, 478 U.S. at 50-51. If satisfied, these preconditions would not end the case but would raise a presumption of a violation. Vecinos De Barrio Uno v. City of Holyoke, 72

F.3d 973, 980 (1st Cir. 1995); see also Johnson v. DeGrandy, 512 U.S. 997, 1011 (1994) (Gingles preconditions necessary but not sufficient to establish claim). Gingles was directed to a particular practice--multi-member districts--which the Court suggested was particularly problematic, 478 U.S. at 47-48; Growe v. Emison, 507 U.S. 25, 40 (1993), and the decision did not purport to offer a general or exclusive gloss on section 2 for all situations, Gingles, 478 U.S. at 46 n.12. But the concreteness of the Gingles test, set against the vagueness of the statute and plethora of criteria, has made it a focus in subsequent cases dealing with quite different problems. Indeed, the Supreme Court has said several times that Gingles applies to vote dilution claims directed against single member districts, see, e.g., Voinovich v. Quilter, 507 U.S. 146, 158 (1993); Growe, 507 U.S. at 40-41, but it has effectively qualified this statement in two different ways. First, several Supreme Court opinions after Gingles have offered the prospect, or at least clearly reserved the possibility, that Gingles' first precondition--that a racial minority must be able to constitute a "majority" in a single-member district--could extend to a group that was a numerical minority but had predictable cross-over support from other groups. DeGrandy, 512 U.S. at 100809; Voinovich, 507 U.S. at 158 ("[T]he first Gingles precondition, the requirement that the group be sufficiently large to constitute a majority in a single district, would have to be modified or eliminated when analyzing the influence-dilution claim we assume, arguendo, to be actionable today."). Further, the Court has so far reserved judgment on a second-cousin question: whether dilution of a minority racial group's influence, as opposed to the power to elect, could violate section 2--a position that would require substantial modification of Gingles' first-prong "majority" precondition. Growe, 507 U.S. at 41 n.5; Vecinos de Barrio Uno, 72 F.3d at 990-91. Second, where single member districts are at issue--as in our case--opinions have increasingly emphasized the open-ended, multi-factor inquiry that Congress intended for section 2 claims. Voinovich, 507 U.S. at 158 ("Of course, the Gingles factors cannot be applied mechanically and without regard to the nature of the claim."); DeGrandy, 512 U.S. at 1007 (same). To say that Gingles applies as a precondition to section 2 liability may not tell one very much if Gingles itself is no longer to be "mechanically" applied. Gingles was in its original incarnation a mechanical first-step evaluation for a particular problem, so its rationale is not easily adapted by lower courts to a different set of problems. The present case concerns not multi-member districts but a redrawing of single-member district boundaries. In one key district this has produced a modest re-adjustment in the proportionate sizes of the two large minority groups--but a readjustment that certainly can affect who wins the election. So far the parties' argument has been about whether and how to squeeze this case into the Gingles preconditions--raising difficult questions about whether the "majority" requirement in Gingles is a numerical majority or an effective majority that could be constructed out of crossover votes; how rigidly the Gingles preconditions apply when moving away from multi-member districts; and how to apply Gingles when no racial group makes up more than 50 percent of the district. It is no accident that most cases under section 2 have been decided on summary judgment or after a verdict, and not on a motion to dismiss. This caution is especially apt where, as here, we

are dealing with a major variant not addressed in Gingles itself--the single member district--and one with a relatively unusual history. As courts get more experience dealing with these cases and the rules firm up, it may be more feasible to dismiss weaker cases on the pleadings, but in the case before us we think that the plaintiffs are entitled to an opportunity to develop evidence before the merits are resolved. We are thus unwilling at the complaint stage to foreclose the possibility that a section 2 claim can ever be made out where the African-American population of a single member district is reduced in redistricting legislation from 26 to 21 percent. Yes, one would ordinarily expect the consequences to be small, but not always, and arguably not here (based on past history). At this point we know practically nothing about the motive for the change in district or the selection of the present configuration, the contours of the district chosen or the feasible alternatives, the impact of alternative districts on other minorities, or anything else that would help gauge how mechanically or flexibly the Gingles factors should be applied. On the other hand, the plaintiffs cannot prevail merely by showing that an alternative plan gives them a greater opportunity to win the election, DeGrandy, 512 U.S. at 1017 ("Failure to maximize cannot be the measure of § 2."), or that an otherwise justified boundary change happened to cost African-Americans a seat. This would convert section 2's all-circumstances test into the far more stringent "anti-retrogression" test of section 5, which imposes rigorous preclearance requirements on covered states to prevent redistricting plans with retrogressive consequences for African-American voters. Compare 42 U.S.C. § 1973(a)-(b) (2000), with 42 U.S.C. § 1973c (2000). See generally Beer v. United States, 425 U.S. 130, 141 (1976) (antiretrogression test); Reno v. Bossier Parish Sch. Bd., 520 U.S. 471, 476-80 (1997) (discussing differences between sections 2 and 5). Rhode Island is not a covered state. As the district court correctly pointed out, there is tension in this case for plaintiffs in any effort to satisfy both the first and third prong of Gingles. To the extent that African-American voters have to rely on cross-over voting to prove they have the "ability to elect" a candidate of their choosing, their argument that the majority votes as a bloc against their preferred candidate is undercut. But it is not clear on the pleadings alone how many cross-over votes are needed to win an election--unlike in Gingles, Rhode Island law allows a candidate to win with less than an absolute majority, see R.I. Const. art. IV, § 2 (general elections); R.I. Gen. Laws § 17-15-29 (2002) (primary elections)--nor do we have any evidence at this stage about how vigorously the majority votes as a bloc over time, nor the impact of the fact that the "majority" here is made up of both Hispanics and whites. Gingles itself warned that "there is no simple doctrinal test for the existence of legally significant racial bloc voting," 478 U.S. at 58, a further warning against deciding such issues in the abstract. The burden of inquiry is on the plaintiffs--they are the ones challenging the redistricting plan-but in this case they are entitled (within ordinary limits) to develop the evidence that they think might help them. Whether a full-scale trial is needed is an entirely different matter; perhaps summary judgment will suffice depending on how the evidence develops and the ultimate theory or theories offered by both sides--theories that hopefully will go beyond dueling claims as to what Gingles means. In all events, it is premature to close the door now.

The judgment of the district court is vacated and the matter remanded for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. Each side shall bear its own costs on this appeal. It is so ordered.

Dissent follows. SELYA, Circuit Judge, with whom TORRUELLA, Circuit Judge, joins, dissenting. I appreciate the measured tone of the majority opinion, and I agree with much of what the court writes: section 2 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA), 42 U.S.C. § 1973, verges on the opaque and the Supreme Court precedent interpreting it leaves many questions unanswered. Moreover, I acknowledge that, in the ordinary course, district courts should allow vote dilution claims to proceed beyond the Rule 12(b)(6) stage. Thus, were this an arguable case, factual development would be preferable to outright dismissal. Here, however, the case is not arguable. (1) The plaintiffs' claim depends upon a radical premise: that a minority group whose members cannot conceivably comprise anything close to a numerical majority, even in what is from their point of view an ideally configured singlemember district, can mount a vote dilution claim. Given the small size of the identified minority group in this case and the magnitude of the crossover voting on which it must rely, the claim necessarily fails. See Valdespino v. Alamo Heights Indep. Sch. Dist., 168 F.3d 848, 852-53 (5th Cir. 1999); Cousin v. Sundquist, 145 F.3d 818, 828-29 (6th Cir. 1998); McNeil v. Springfield Park Dist., 851 F.2d 937, 943-45 (7th Cir. 1988); Parker v. Ohio, 263 F. Supp. 2d 1100, 1104-05 (S.D. Ohio) (three-judge court), aff'd mem., 124 S. Ct. 574 (2003). Further factual development, therefore, will only raise false hopes in the African-American community while at the same time squandering scarce judicial resources. I will be brief. The plaintiffs allege that African-Americans represented approximately 26% of the relevant population in former Senate District 9 yet represent only 21% of the population in the new district (Senate District 2). They characterize this 5% differential as a political kiss of death and ask that the district lines be redrawn so that, in their ideal district, African-Americans again will number 26% of the population. Stripped of rhetorical flourishes, the postulate underlying the plaintiffs' claim proceeds along the following lines. Whenever a candidate preferred by African-Americans runs for the state senate in the new district, he or she will receive all the African-American votes plus no less than 32% but no more than 37% of the combined white and Hispanic votes (these being the percentages of all white and Hispanic voters necessary to form a majority in conjunction with a monolithic African-American vote when African-Americans constitute 26% and 21% of the population, respectively). Whether viewed as a matter of logic, political science, or human behavior, this postulate, which assumes that the electorate's polarization is so deeply entrenched that candidatespecific variations will operate only within a 5% margin, strikes me as fanciful. Moreover, the

impetus behind it is the plaintiffs' conviction that they can forge some sort of functional majority, i.e., that African-Americans, though not numerous enough to comprise anything close to a majority in their ideal district, nonetheless will have the ability to elect a particular candidate with the aid of a large and predictable non-African-American crossover vote. Whatever may be said for functional majority claims in general -- a matter on which I take no view -- the plaintiffs' functional majority claim lies well beyond the prophylaxis of section 2. The minority group described in the amended complaint comprises too small a fraction of the district's total population and, therefore, must rely too heavily on crossover votes. The plaintiffs seek to blink this reality by treating crossover voters as if they constitute part of a protected minority within the purview of section 2. Fidelity to core democratic values demands that we reject this taxonomy. Although the Gingles preconditions contemplate a certain degree of crossover voting, see Thornburg v. Gingles, 478 U.S. 30, 56 (1986); Jenkins v. Red Clay Consol. Sch. Dist. Bd. of Educ., 4 F.3d 1103, 1123 (3d Cir. 1993), there is a point at which crossover voting becomes so large a part of the picture as to crowd out the possibility of a legally cognizable vote dilution claim. That is the case here; after all, the bricolage comprises a roughly equal mix of African-American and crossover voters. Under these circumstances, allowing a vote dilution claim to go forward would make sense only if the end game were to ensure the success of candidates favored by minority groups. That is plainly not the proper object of section 2 of the VRA, which is a law aimed at ensuring equality of opportunity rather than at guaranteeing the electoral success of particular candidates. See Johnson v. De Grandy, 512 U.S. 997, 1014 n.11 (1994). The plaintiffs' claim also trips over the third Gingles precondition. See Gingles, 478 U.S. at 56 (explaining that plaintiffs must show the existence of majoritarian bloc voting sufficient to defeat minority-preferred candidates most of the time). A showing of majoritarian bloc voting is structurally inconsistent with the plaintiffs' exposition of their case. Their reliance on a high level of crossover voting, ranging upward from a minimum of 32% and nearly equaling the whole of the African-American vote, belies any majoritarian bloc voting and thus defenestrates their claim of illegal vote dilution. See Abrams v. Johnson, 521 U.S. 74, 92-93 (1997) (affirming lower court decision that average majority crossover voting of 22% to 38% is sufficient to demonstrate the "general willingness of [majority] voters to vote for [minority] candidates" (internal quotation marks omitted)); cf. Voinovich v. Quilter, 507 U.S. 146, 151-52, 158 (1993) (approving lower court's finding of no majority bloc voting where "black candidates have been repeatedly elected from [single-member] districts with only a 35% black population"). The plaintiffs showcase Senator Walton's past electoral successes as proof of the cogency of their ability to elect claim -- but that datum is a two-edged sword. Consistent electoral success on the part of a racial or ethnic minority group that comprises considerably less than a numerical majority of the electorate is a telling indicium of the absence of majoritarian bloc voting and, thus, is presumptively inconsistent with an actionable vote dilution claim. See Gingles, 478 U.S. at 102 (O'Connor, J., concurring); Overton v. City of Austin, 871 F.2d 529, 540 (5th Cir. 1989) (per curiam); see also Brooks v. Miller, 158 F.3d 1230, 1241 (11th Cir. 1998); Turner v. Arkansas, 784 F. Supp. 553, 570-71 (E.D. Ark. 1991) (three-judge court), aff'd mem., 504 U.S. 952 (1992).

In short, I do not believe that section 2 of the VRA authorizes vote dilution claims that are wholly dependent upon massive crossover voting. There is a critical distinction between minority-preferred candidates who lose because redistricting excludes too much of the minority electorate from a particular district (illegal vote dilution) and minority-preferred candidates who lose because they do not attract enough votes from other constituencies within the district (legal majoritarian rule). The amended complaint, even when taken at face value, blurs this distinction. Some vote dilution cases are sufficiently clear that, on any rational view of the facts alleged, further proceedings are inappropriate. This is one of them. Accordingly, I respectfully dissent from the court's decision. Left to my own devices, I would affirm the order of dismissal. 1. There are obvious dangers in applying the principle favoring further factual development too liberally. If one is willing to split an infinite number of hairs, it always will be possible to conjure up remote scenarios that might be disinterred during discovery (and, thus, might prevent the allowance of a motion to dismiss). Rule 12(b)(6) does not invite courts to engage in such endless surmise; rather, "[t]he method of Rule 12(b)(6) requires courts . . . to resolve all realistic possibilities in the pleader's favor." Garrett v. Tandy Corp., 295 F.3d 94, 105 (1st Cir. 2002) (emphasis supplied).

Monthly Meeting International Institute 645 Elmwood Avenue, Providence June 8, 2004 6:00 PM – 7:30 PM 15. Welcome • Moment of silence in memory of the Dominican & Haitian tragedy 16. President’s Statement 17. Board restructuring 18. New Senate District 16 Strategy • Potential Candidates: Pedro Espinal, Gwendolyn Andrade, Christopher Lopes, Charles Walton, Harold Metts, Nick Tsiungus 19. Treasurer’s Report & Fundraising Plan • RI Latino Political Action Committee • RI Latino Civic Fund 20. Review Latino Civic Fund’s Programs for 2004 • Latina Leadership Institute • Latinos On the Hill • Latino Voter Registration Project, June 12 – August 14, 2004 21. RILPAC’s Proposed Activities for 2004 • Bill Richardson Award September 7, 2004 • Primary Elections, September14, 2004 • General Election, November 5, 2004 22. Other Issues Redistricting Settlement, May Judicial Nominating Committee Committees Staffing Central Falls 2005 Political Empowerment Strategic Plan Democratic Convention, Boston, July 26-29 Republican Convention, New York, August 30, September 4 23. Adjourn RILPAC/ RI Latino Civic Fund

Minutes for the February 10th 2004 Meeting

Present: Carmen Mirabal, Melba Depena, Marisol Camilo, Sylvia Bernal, Katherine Hellwin, Ricardo Patiño, Ingrid Ardaya, Claudia Cardona, Dr. Barrajas, Domingo Morel, Victor Mendoza, Sabina Matos, Kat and Maria Fernanda Escudero. Meeting called to order by Exe. Vice President Melba Depena. Melba informed the group that Tomas Avila was away on vacation. A request was made to change the agenda so that we can move Committee’s Report to address the issue coming from Central Falls. Request was granted and Carmen Mirabal proceeded to introduce Councilman Ricardo Patiño. Councilman Patiño gave us a report on the status of Central Falls’ search to appoint a new judge. A search committee will be established with members of the city council. Once the search is on the way, the search committee will submit 3 names for the city council to review. A lengthy conversation took place during the meeting about one of the candidates that apply to be considered for the post. Al Cardona asked RILPAC to support Mr. Carrillo, because if he is selected this will be a historic moment for Latinos in Central Falls and in Rhode Island. A few individuals were present to support Mr. Carrillo. Dr. Barrajas, Victor Mendoza and Al Cardona informed the members present about Mr. Carrillo’s strengths as an attorney and why they think he will be an excellent judge. There was a question and answer period in which members participated because members wanted to know more about Mr. Carrillo. Melba Depena proposed that besides deciding tonight about whether we support or not Mr. Carrillo, that as an organization we should have a process about how we can support candidates in the judiciary field. We had a brief discussion and everyone agreed that we should have a process. It was recommended that we establish a committee to review the judiciary endorsement process, and it was also suggested that this committee be spearheaded by Chris Petrarca our legal advisor. We came back to further discuss the issue of Mr. Carrillo. Again, we had a leanthy discussion. Carmen Mirabal proposed a motion to end discussion and move to vote. Al Cardona seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous that RILPAC should support Mr. Carrillo. We briefly reviewed minutes from the Jan. 13th meeting. Melba Depena explained that they were not the official minutes, that on March 9th minutes will be approved. Sylvia Bernal gave the treasure’s report; she distributed a balance sheet for RILPAC with a total Liability & Equity of $1, 892.00 and the RI Civic Fund’s balance sheet with a Total Liability & Equity of $15, 201.28.

Sabina Matos gave us a report on the DMV Committee. She stated that the committee is working on rewording the language on the bill so that a passport can be accepted as a requirement to get a license, rather then using the ITIN. It was also announced that Senator Juan Pichardo did not want to support the DMV bill. Announcements: Maria Fernanda Escudero informed the members that she would like to coordinate a lobbying training so that a group of members from RILPAC are trained lobbyist. A group of about 7 members will attend the training on March 2nd at 6pm at the International Institute. Maria Fernanda will be sending a message to the RILPAC list group in case anyone else is interested. Sabina Matos announced the Theatre Month will be kicked off with “La Fiesta Del Chivo” which will take place Feb. 28 at the RI College auditorium. Motion to adjourn meeting by Maria Fernanda, seconded by Silvia Bernal. Meeting adjourned.

Present: Jose Gonzales, Ingrid Ardaya, Carmen Mirabal, Melba Depena, Sylvia Bernal, Jose Brito, Betty Bernal, Gladys Corvera-Baker, Domingo Morel, Sabina Matos, Tomas Avila, Rosendo Fontecheca and Maria Fernanda Escudero. Excused: Chris Petrarca, Tony Affigne and Johanna Petrarca. Meeting called to order by President Tomas Avila at 6:25pm. Mr. President Avila welcomed everyone to the meeting and mentioned that he hope everyone had a great New Year. He proceeded to review the agenda and explained the agenda will be followed as structured. In the interest of time meetings will be one hour the longest will be 1 ½. Minutes were reviewed. There were 2 changes to the minutes: 1) Maria Fernanda Escudero was excused not absent. 2) The Coalition to Rebuild the RI Women’s Movement received a $15,000 grant not $20,000. Once these changes were noted we proceeded to approve the minutes with the specified changes. Motion to accept minutes by Jose Gonzalez, seconded by Betty Bernal: unanimous vote

Betty Bernal mentioned that she was disappointed that the minutes did not reflect the election process that took place that night. A discussion took place about the responsibility of executive committee members, board members and members at large. Mr. President mentioned that we should review information when is sent ahead of time, because this will help us not discuss them at the meeting. The president encouraged everyone to use the list group to communicate, respond, debate or bring up any issues. The president explained that there are 3 ways to do that: 1) [email protected]: This list group is only for paid members. 2) [email protected]: This list group is an internal communication vehicle for the executive committee and board members. 3) [email protected]: This list group is the general and public way to communicate with RILPAC members, friends and community leaders. The issue of RILPAC v the RI Civic Fund was brought up. Mr. President informed us that we should not be too concerned about making a distinction between the 2 organizations. He plans to address this issue in more detail at the retreat. Insert Civic Fund Report and Treasurer Report Here. The president distributed a written report:

Welcomed all the members who have joined our organization since December a total of 12 members have joined. The president mentioned that we should continue to recruit to make sure that we meet our goal. Congratulations to: 1) Domingo Morel for participating as a candidate for the Providence School Board. 2) Ana Cecilia for her appointment to the Women’s Fund board. 3) Tony Affigne for his eloquent speech about the Historical Roots of the Latino Community in Rhode Island. The president proceeded to talk about 3 pieces of information (Membership Manual, Issues Agenda, and the membership and Recruiting materials) that he distributed in order to ensure that all members have members responsibilities, what RILPAC’s stands on important issues and recruiting materials. In terms of the Issues Policy Briefing: a draft was submitted to the board of directors for further analysis. It will then be distribute to the general members to establish action groups for each of the issues. We will be voting on these issues at the retreat. The RILPAC Retreat will take place march 6, place TBA. Sabina will contact Capital City Community to check availability. If anyone has a suggestion on a venue for the retreat, please contact our president. The president gave us a summary of all the meetings that he has attended. It has been a combination of people who want to reach out to RILPAC and some individuals that our president felt it was important to outreach. We had a brief discussion about councilman Patino. Betty Bernal brought a motion forth: Requesting that RILPAC request a meeting with councilman Ricardo Patino to discuss some issues that can affect RILPAC and the community at large. The motion was seconded by Carmen Mirabal, unanimous vote. The president will contact Councilman Patino and report to us at the next meeting. We also discussed the idea that we should be identifying Latinos to run in Pawtucket. Maria Fernanda brought a motion forth: RILPAC should establish procedures/criteria to identify individuals who may be interested. The motion was seconded by Melba Depena, unanimous vote. Insert Committee Reports here. Unfinished Business: DMV: Sabina was not able to attend the meeting because it was held the same day as RILPAC’s meeting.

President’s Report January 13, 2003 Happy New Year to all our members, and may 2004 be full of prosperity and achievements to you and your families and may you accomplished all your personal resolutions. I like to welcome our newest members: Jose Brito, Gladys Corvera-Baker, Ernesto Figueroa, Rosendo Fontecha, Katherine C. Hellwig, Carmen Mirabal, Sabina Matos, Carmen Mirabal, Alexander Parmenidez , Laura Perez, Christopher Petrarca, Jophana Petrarca, Hector Solis, Johmphy Ventura. Congratulations to our Executive Vice President Melba Depeña for her appointment as Executive Director of the Rhode Island Democratic Party. It’s quite an honor to have Melba serve in such position and having her as a member of our organization. I also take this time to congratulate our Vice President Domingo Morel for having been a candidate to the Providence School Board and the success of LADO’s 10th Annual Scholarship Dinner. My congratulations also go to our past Secretary Anan Cecilia Rosado for her appointment to the RI Foundation’s Women Fund. I like to congratulate Professor Tony Affigne for his very eloquent, informative and empowering historical of the Latino community in RI, and for his very assertive and timely call to the Latino community to become a role model to this nation and this state of the real meaning of the word DIVERSITY, by embracing other communities issues as we embraced our diversify ethnicity. The President convened the Board of Directors of the Rhode Island Latino Political Action Committee (RILPAC) and the RI Latino Civic Fund to a meeting on December 15, 2004, at 6:00 p.m. at 550 Broad Street, Providence, RI. The purpose of the meeting was to introduce his work plan and other issues as follow: Membership orientation manual This manual has been developed to provide the membership with standardize information about being a member of RILPAC/RILCF in order to keep every member abreast of their responsibilities. Membership recruiting marketing material The material consist of a brochure describing the organization and the membership responsibilities, to be provided to all new members as well as using it as part of the marketing campaign. Issue Policy Briefing In alignment with RILPAC’s original strategic planning of developing an issues agenda and the revisit of this issue during the organization annual retreat, the President conducted a research of national Latino/Hispanic organizations and based on such information prepared a draft agenda

for the Board of Directors to study and analyze, prior to presenting it to the general membership and establishing Issue Action groups to analyze and develop our own issue agenda. Meetings: Central American Black Organizations conference To present a Development Plan which includes economic, political, social and cultural aspects for each country participating. To exchange experiences from the different regions where Africans live and carry out institutional capacity building. To Propose a Space for collective Coordination around issues that can help to assess the present situation of Afro-American communities. To identify actions for social, economical, political and ecological change. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Met with Juana Horton, Chairwoman, to reiterate my wishes of continuing a close relationship between the Chamber and RILPAC. We agreed to follow up with another meeting early 2004 to put some strategic activities for the 2 organizations to execute. Mayor Stephen Laffey, City of Cranston Requested a meeting to get to know each other because he wants to keep the good relationship established with 2 past presidents, as well as sharing with me the Comprehensive Public Safety Performance Audit of the Cranston Police Department and the Cranston Fire Department. According to the report, both departments need to initiate more aggressive, energetic and targeted racial/ethnic and gender minority recruitment program designed to attract greater quantities of quality applicants for civilian positions. Mayor Laffey will be seeking our organization’s help in recruiting Latino candidates to apply for upcoming positions in both departments. He also shared with me the executive summary of the audit which reports the following: Police Personnel Profile Approximately 93 percent of the sworn workforce is male (i.e., 139 of 149). This percent is considered high when compared against nationwide police workforce statistics. Females then, are under-represented in the sworn workforce. The non-white sworn representation on the Department is less than 3 percent (i.e., 4 of 149). This is a remarkably low percent when compared against nationwide police workforce statistics, and is also below the City's estimated racial/ethnic minority population of approximately 11 percent (5 percent Hispanic, 3 percent Asian, and 3 percent Black). It is important to note that the City's non-white population is increasing. Between 1990 and 2000, an increase of 6 percent occurred in the City's non-white population (i.e., 5 to 11 percent). Among supervisory and managerial personnel, there is one non-white among a total of 32 such positions (i.e., Hispanic female). Among supervisory personnel, 20 percent are female (i.e., 2 of 10). This figure is high in comparison to their representation in the total sworn workforce (i.e., 7 percent). Fire Department Personnel Profile

The Cranston Fire Department has 203 Uniformed/Sworn personnel. The actual authorized is 202. The additional position seems to be a result of one employee on extended absence. A review of the ethnicity and gender of these employees indicate: A. All 203 Uniformed/Sworn members of the Cranston Fire Department are White Males; B. Minorities are under-represented in the sworn workforce; and, C. Females are under-represented in the sworn workforce. In conducting reviews of fire departments, the Study Team has not seen a paid fire department without uniformed/sworn women or minorities in 20 years. In this regard, Cranston is, indeed, unique. It is important to note that the City's non-white population is increasing. Between 1990 and 2000, an increase of six percent occurred in the City's nonwhite population (i.e., 5 to 11 percent). Under Human Resources Management, the Study Team has suggested initiatives to improve women and minority representation in the Cranston Fire Department. Toby Ayers, Executive Director NCCJ Met to discussed her new job as Executive Director of the National Coalition of Community & Justice, and begin conversations of how her organization can attain greater involvement of the Latino community. During our discussion I informed Toby of my desire to establish an African American Leadership Council within RILPAC, that would allowed both communities to work together in the development of grater trust and greater political empowerment. After discussing some of the basic objectives, we agreed to test the plan with their Leadership for a Future program starting at the beginning of the month, thereafter we’ll develop a proposal around the improvement of relationship within the Latino and African American communities. Jenny Rosario/Jaime Aguayo Meeting convene at their request, to discuss their interest in the possible merger of their political organization with RILPAC. According to them, the union of both organizations would create an institution to be reckoned with, and would send a very power message to the political establishment. Roberto Taboada, Providence En Español Conducted interview about my presidency, that was published January 2, 2004 and January 9 due to typographical error in the printing of the paper. David Talan, Chairperson Providence Republican Party Discussed how to foster the principles of the Republican Party in the Latino community; and how to provide Latinos with a forum to play an influential role in local, state, and national Party activities; how to increase the number of Latino Republican elected officials; and to create and maintain a network of Latino Re publican leaders that will become RILPAC members. Francisco Ogando PRD Ernesto Figueroa Activities: Hispanic Police Association Ball Oasis International 10th Anniversary Gala Senator Pichardos District Office Inauguration

Inauguration of Biblioteca Republica Dominicana Mayor Cicilleni's Holiday Party Melba Depeña Appointment as ED of RI Democratic Party Luncheon Patrick Lynch Christmas Party Senator Pichardo’s Christmas Party Mayor Chuck Mareu Innauguration, Central Falls LADO's Banquet Upcoming Meetings: High Hat Jazz To discuss and plan RILPAC’s Bill Richardson Award to take place Thursday September 9th, 2004. Adam Compton, Republican Party Executive Director To discuss how to foster the principles of the Republican Party in the Latino community; and to provide Latinos with a forum to play an influential role in local, state, and national Party activities; to increase the number of Latino Republican elected officials; and to create and maintain a network of Latino Re publican leaders that will become RILPAC members. Fred Sneesbee, Ward 5 Republican Party Chair Jenny Abreu, President LUCHA Lloyd Monroe, Executive Director of the RI Select Committee on Police and Race Relations Victor Cuenca, Providence En Español Councilmen Aponte & Luna Upcoming Activities: Secretary of State Lobbyist Training MLK Hall of Fame induction Martin Luther King Tribute Mayor Steve Laffey's Bullhorn Breakfast Instituto Duartiano of Rhode Island Dominican Independence Day Gala! Providence Police Recruitment Drive Underway Mayor David N. Cicilline, and Colonel Dean M. Esserman today, announced an aggressive campaign to recruit new members to the ranks of the Providence Police Department. One of the focal points of this recruitment drive is to strongly encourage minorities and women to choose a career in law enforcement. The 62nd recruit class of the Providence Police Academy is scheduled to begin in June of this year. Democratic Leadership Remarks during Melba’s Appointment Congressman Patrick Kennedy The Republicans are responsible for Proposition 187 and it’s attack on illegal children; Welfare Reform bill, illegal aliens, lumping all immigrant in one lump, target it to the Latino community,

Hate Crime Bill, Ashcroft Initiative, that allow law enforcement to do immigration work. Arrest power without search warrant. Leave no child behind without funding. Democrats-Education, Health, Open and shot case of the Democratic Party. Including more people and Latinos. Appropriations to the Latino community Congressman James Langevin Brings so much knows democratic politics, revitalizing the party and bringing the message to the voters. The Republicans are taking the country the wrong path. The rich getting richer an the poor getting poorer Matt Brown A terrific event and a testament the hope Melba brings to the party. Fighting for the things we care, bringing people together, smart, organizer, communicator, putting hope & dreams to win election. Paul Tavarez Joyous occasion and Melba has her hand full. Commitment and dedication to the party. A great wise decision. Patrick Lynch-I know Melba is remarkable and giving colds and doing justice for people and our community, she's energetic leader to take us where we need t go. Juan Pichardo Knows commitment to democratic politics. Know Melba for many years. Student Leader, Senoritas Unidas Sorority. 1998 Capellan, 2000 RILPAC, Matt Brown, Myrth York, She's fighter, Latina co character. Extremely happy to have Melba as the party’s Executive Director. Bill Murphy Community supportive of Democratic Party. Symbolize the Democratic Party, behind the people of RI, Excellent assets. Melba Depeña It's an honor to be here, organizing skills, rely on all of you, to carry out the goals and objectives.

Tomas Avila Bi-Annual Work Plan 2004 - 2006 Strategic Planning Meeting January 17, 2004 24. Latino Civic Fund’s Programs for 2004 • Soy Mujer: Latinas Past, Present & Future, March • Latinos On the Hill, April • Latino Voter Registration Project, April-Aug • Latina Leadership Institute 25. RILPAC’s Proposed Activities for 2004 • Declaration Of Candidate For Delegate To The National Convention Jan 2-12 • Presidential Primary Elections, March 2 • Endorsement Committee Meeting July 2 • Endorsement Interviews July 12-16 • Endorsement Announcement July 30 • Legislative Elections Primaries, September 14 • Legislative Elections General, November, 9 • Bill Richardson Award, September 7 • Democratic Convention, Boston, July 26-29 • Republican Convention, New York, August 30, September 4 • Districts Analysis 26. Other Issues Providence 2004 Charter Review Commission Recommendations Appointed & Employed Latinos Support Network Review of Board & Commissions Latino participation Latinos Resume Bank Legislative Advisory Council Candidate Training School Issue Policy Briefing • Civil Rights • Economic Development • Education • Health • Housing • Immigration 2005 Blackstone Elections • Mayor • City Council • School Board 2006 Mid Term Elections • U. S. Senate

• Governor • Lt. Governor • Secretary of State • Treasurer • Attorney General • Legislative • Providence Mayor • Cranston Mayor • City Council 2008 Presidential Elections RILPAC 10th Anniversary, August 20 2008 2010 Redistricting 2012 Elections

November 30, 2003 Dear Boar Member; In keeping with my commitment to “transparency”, I am keeping you posted of all the plan and ideas that I’ll be instituting during my presidency, and would like your collaboration in being and active Board member, by giving me feedback about all materials that I share with you. I have the liberty to interpret your silence as an approval of suggestions, but I’d rather receive your feedback. Once again I am delivering attached information for your review, comments, editing and revision of such material, prior to he execution of the delivery of the marketing material. Please be aware that the requested discount I am proposing is temporary recruitment fee in order to increase the membership and ease new members financial burden for the first 2 years, and I also plan to extend this offer to existing members who’s membership will be expiring early next year. I also want to make you aware that I am proposing this request under Section 3. Financial Obligations of the bylaws that states the following: A. Members shall pay a $25.00 annual fee in the manner specified by the Board of Directors. B. These fees may be changed by the Board of Directors as required, with approval of the membership. Once I hear your comments and suggestions, I’ll notify the general membership about the temporary change and as required by the bylaws, I’ll bring it to the table at our next official meeting. There I ask your due diligence and collaboration in taking a look at the material and letting me know your input. On another note, I like to inform you that I am scheduling a Board of Directors meeting for Monday December 15, 2003 in lieu of our regular meeting schedule Monday December 8th, 2003. The purpose of this meeting, is the officially come together as a board and discuss the material I shared with you on Monday December 24, 2003, as well as to hear any suggestions any and all of you may have regarding the organization. The meeting will take place at 550 Broad Street, Providence at 6:00 PM and I promised you that will not last longer than 1 and a half-hour. I’ll be delivering the agenda soon. Lastly, as you may have read by now in the manual I provided you with on November 24th, I am planning to schedule a strategic meeting for Saturday January 17th, 2004 for the general membership, to present some of the initiatives I’m considering to implement, as well as to give them the opportunity to give us their suggestions and opinions. The reason I have picked that date, is because I’ll be traveling to my native Honduras January 31st, 2004 through February 14, 2004 and want to leave everything in place prior to my departure. I’ll be preparing an agenda for this meeting as well as a letter of invitation to inform the general membership. Well I thank you very much for your attention, and I look forward to your collaborative input regarding all the above matters. Respectfully; Tomás Alberto Ávila

Minutes of the Board of Directors Meeting of November 24, 2003 A meeting of the Board of Directors of the Rhode Island Latino Political Action Committee (RILPAC) was held on Monday November 24, 2003 at 6:00 PM at House of Representatives' hearing room, Room 35, State house (basement) 82 Smith Street Providence, RI 02903 Present: Melba Depena, Tomas Avila, Jose Gonzalez, Senator Juan M. Pichardo, Alberto Cardona, Betty Bernal, Christopher Petrarca, Johana Pertrarca, Sylvia Bernal, Claudia Cardona, Jose Gonzalez, Tony Afigne, Ana Cecilia Rosado, Sabina Matos, Rosendo Fontecha, Nellie Gorbea, Hector R. Solis, Gladys Covera-Baker, Ingrid Ardaya, Domingo Morel, Ana Cabrera, Johmphy Ventura, Andy Galli Excused: Ricardo Patino, Adriana Dawson, Angel Taveras Absent: Pablo Rodriguez, MD, Maria Fernanda Escudero, Catherine Horsey, Melba Depena, President of the Board, called the meeting to order at 6:30 PM Welcome: Melba Depena, President of the Board, welcomed new Board members to their first meeting Christopher Petrarca, Johana Pertrarca, Sabina Matos, Hector R. Solis. Minutes: There were no minutes presented Treasurer’s Report: Sylvia Bernal, Treasurer, gave the following report The state quarterly report was filed on a timely fashioned. $125.00 in new membership revenue was collected. $3,400.90 was raised through the Bill Richardson Awards ceremony. After all the expenses were paid, the treasury is left with a balance of $1,175.00 in the bank. President’s Report: Melba Depena, presented the following report: Latino Civic Fund IN 2003 Latina Leadership Institute - It graduated 30 emerging Latina leaders, whom have become actively involved in the community, and are being requested to participate in many of the community events. Latinos on the Hill - This was an event that took place at the state House that gave the Civic Fund a lot of visibility and it was well received by the elected officials and the community members. We have received a lot of good comments about it. Latino Voter Registration Project Website - The site is almost finished, and I have been meeting with Cesar Mullix to work on the remaining items that need to be put into place before bringing it to the membership for approval.

Latino Agenda - There were 3 coordinated meeting between the Latino Civic Fund, Progreso Latino and CHisPA, to discuss the possibility of establishing issues around a common agenda, but there hasn’t been another meeting in the last 3 months. Coalition to Rebuild RI Women Movement A coalition of local organizations spearheaded by Ocean State Action put together a grant to the RI Foundation, and have been granted $20,000 to develop ways for women to gain political power. A consultant has been hired to help them put programs together and the first activity will take place December 6th a the RI Foundation RILPAC in 2003 Elections in Central Falls - At the July meeting, it was agreed not to endorsed in the primary elections, and conduct the endorsement during the general elections. We endorsed 2 winning candidates in what has become the most controversial endorsement done by the PAC. Bill Richardson Awards - The event was attended by over 100 participants. Thanks to Tomas for the organizing of the event, and also to Sylvia for her collaboration. RI Coalition for Justice and Reconciliation - Thanks to Tony Afigne for representing RILPAC in this coalition and doing a great job. According to Tony, this coalition is a great opportunity to repair the rift brought on by the redistricting between the Black and Latino community and it provide us with an opportunity for healing some of the tension and give us an opportunity to work together. Immigration Freedom Riders - The PAC participated as a sponsor of this event, which was a great success. Pablo Rodriguez, MD spoke on behalf of the PAC and Tony Afigne and Senator Pichardo also participated in the ride. Election of New Board Congratulations to the new RILPAC/RI Latino Civic Fund Board: Tomas Avila--President Melba Depena--Executive Vice President Domingo Morel--Vice President Sylvia Bernal--Treasurer Ingrid Ardaya--Assistant Treasurer Johanna Petrarca--Secretary Claudia Cardona--Assistant Secretary Christopher Petrarca--Legal Advisor Members at Large: Tony Affigne Alberto Cardona Nellie Gorbea Juan Pichardo

Special thanks to the elections committee: Jose Gonzalez--Chair Betty Bernal--Member Maria Fernanda Escudero--Member Other Business: Senate Legislative grant: I am happy to report that during tonight's meeting Senator Pichardo presented the $15, 000 check for our Voter Education Project. I will be coordinating a meeting with the Latino Voting Rights Coalition to determine when we will launch the Project. I will keep you informed about this matter. Biltmore Boycott: Melba Depena requested a motion for the Latino Civic Fund to participate and support the Biltmore Hotel workers boycott. A motions was made by Tony Afigne to formally endorsed the Biltmore Hotel Boycott by participating, encouraging the members to support it and outreaching to our networks and encouraging them to support the boycott and was seconded by Alberto Aponte-Cardona, and so voted. DMV: Sabina Matos requested that the DMV issue be put in the agenda for next meeting and informed the membership that she has been invited to participate in such issue on behalf of the PAC. Upcoming Events: Adjourn: Not having any other items to discuss, Melba Depena requested a motion to adjourn at 8:30 PM. A motion to adjourn was made by Jose Gonzalez and seconded by Betty Bernal and so voted. Respectfully submitted,

Tomas Alberto Avila Recorder

Tomas Avila Initial Planning Tomás Alberto Avila President Chief Strategist, Database Manager Melba Depeña Executive Vice President Director of Civic Education/Latino Civic Fund Domingo Morel Vice President Director Civil Rights Sylvia Bernal Treasurer Director - Finance Ingrid Ardaya Assistant Treasurer Johanna Petrarca Secretary Claudia Cardona Assistant Secretary Chris Petrarca Legal Advisor Senator Juan Pichardo Chair, Elected Latinos Leadership Council Nellie M. Gorbea Chair, Appointed Latino Leadership Council Tony Affigne Chair, Civil Rights Council Alberto Cardona Chair, Judiciary Council Sabina Matos Constituency Director Andy Galli Director Policy, Research and Advocacy Esmeralda San Andres Development Associate Eulogio Acevedo Field Operation Director Carmen Mirabal Central Falls Chapter Director Wilfredo Rodriguez Woonsocket Chapter Director Adriana Dawson Business Leadership Council Delia Rodriguez-Masjoan

Latina Leadership Council Kyle Benneth/Daphne Clarke African American Leadership Council Youth Leadership Council Director Press Secretary Fundraising Consultant Political Strategy Consultant Communication Consultant Administrative Assistant Policy Analyst

Voters Database Here's where we manage all of our campaign's activities. With a quick glance we'll know how we're doing with our voters, how many voters we've contacted and how much time we have left before the election. •

Create sophisticated voter lists using demographic and geographic information

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Conduct a canvassing effort that allows you to collect information on your voters as you go and then send them a personalized letter on the issues they care about.

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Survey our voters via the telephone

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Keep track of our campaign's finances

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Create dozens of detailed reports to keep our campaign on track

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On Election Day, use our volunteers efficiently by tracking whether your supporters have made it to the polls on Election Day.

Create Voter Lists We'll create sophisticated lists of our voters based on criteria that we select. The system allows us to create lists based on dozens of criteria such as prior voting history, age, party affiliation, address, and more. Voters can be tagged with unlimited criteria that you select, such as whether they're a member of a union household or whether they'll post a lawn sign. • Create lists of voters in specific neighborhoods • Find voters based on party affiliation, age, prior voting history, and more • Export lists into Excel for future mailings or print labels right from your computer • Use your lists to create canvassing efforts and telephone surveys • Print walking sheets with barcodes corresponding to support levels and issues • Collect information on voters as you canvass the neighborhood • Later, send them a highly personalized letter generated by these barcodes

Business Council (RBC) The RILPAC Business Council (RBC) will grow from a handful of business leaders and entrepreneurs to a council of more than 300 men and women who represent a wide array of business and corporate groups throughout the state. The RBC will continued to build upon this strong foundation and cultivate the partnership between RBC members and the Rhode Island Latino Political Action Committee . Each year, RBC members will have the opportunity to participate in a variety of informative and substantive activities including an annual retreat, a spring issue conference, and focused policy briefings. Additionally, RBC members receive reciprocal membership in the RILPAC's Women's Leadership Council. Women Leadership Council The Women's Leadership Council (WLC) has emerged as a strong and proven force within RILPAC. Founded in 2003, by then President Melba Depeña and a small group of imaginative women and sustained by dedicated volunteer leadership, the WLC has played a galvanizing role in bringing women into the political process and has provided its members with a "seat at the table." The WLC has become a force at RILPAC and will help develop chapters across the urban communities in the state. Over the years, the WLC will embark on new initiatives and create new opportunities for women to come together and participate in the political process in a direct and significant way. Developed and supported by the WLC, the RILPAC Women's Vote Center will reach out to women and provide vitally-needed tools and information to enlist more women as advocates, fundraisers, candidates, and voters. WLC's Chair is Executive Vice President Melba Depeña. African American Leadership Council (AALC) As part of the Rhode Island Latino Political Action Committee (RILPAC) long-standing commitment to the African American community, Chairman Tomas Avila has spearheaded the creation of the African American Leadership Council (AALC) as part of a comprehensive effort to recognize the vast contributions of the African American community to the local political community. AALC members are a dynamic group of progressive African American business, labor, and community leaders who represent a wide array of business, labor and community groups statewide -- all committed to advancing the ideals and values of the local minority community and the African American community. The primary goals of the AALC include • Strengthening the influence of African Americans in the local political scene • Encouraging investment in RILPAC and its programs • Holding regular AALC meetings at the RILPAC headquarters and conference calls. • Meeting semi-annually with the Chairman of RILPAC

RILPAC Chapter Council RILPAC Chapter Council work to promote greater participation of Latinos in the political process by encouraging non-partisan voter registration, voter education and voter mobilization. RILPAC also works in coalition with other Hispanic organizations to maximize support for economic and social policies and legislation that are essential to advance the interests of Latinos. The Rhode Island Latino Political Action Committee is a nonpartisan organization formed to influence the political process in the state of Rhode Island in order to improve the quality of life of Latino and urban communities. The responsibilities and timeline for Chapter council will be as follows: Identify and grow membership Develop internal leadership Identify critical issues and key priorities within subdivisions Identify key races for support Identify key candidates for endorsement Chapter Council Member Communities • Central Falls • Cranston • East Providence • Newport • North Providence • Pawtucket • Providence • Warwick • West Warwick • Woonsocket • Local Districts

Activities Annual Bill Richardson Awards Awarded to individuals and organizations best represent the mission of RILPAC, based on their track record in support of the Latino community, the awardees involvement in the Latino community, and their advocacy on behalf of the Latino community. They know first-hand the issues affecting the Latino community. Their life experience, track record and advocacy on behalf of the Latino community of Rhode Island shall provide us with a clear choice in this selection. The award winners are chosen from individuals and organizations nominated by community residents and committee members attesting to their leadership in advocating on behalf of the Latino community of Rhode Island. Bi-Annual Convention RILPAC should hold a biennial delegate convention (not less than 1 year from the date of a major election) where delegates and members from across the state come together to consolidate key issues statewide, identify candidates to potentially endorse and key races to focus on and begin discussion of political strategy for coming year. Policy Briefing Series Each month, RBC members will have the opportunity to meet with issue experts and leading PAC officials from the legislature and around the state to discuss such topics as health care, energy, small business, technology, and economic policy. These issue-specific discussions are designed to highlight business issues in an ever-changing political environment. Post-Election Forum What do the election results mean to Latinos? Is moderation in the pursuit of political empowerment a virtue or vice for the next wave of Latino Leadership? How did Florida’s 2000 debacle and 2002 election adjustments impact Latinos voter turnout? Was enough done to motivate the N generation to vote? Did the recently passed election reform bill prevent another Florida? What are the key issues facing the next Congress? Leading the political charge, RILPAC sought answers to these pertinent questions at our first post-election forum Meet & Greet Reception In 2002, RILPAC held special fundraisers featuring candidates seeking state and local office. Such events included the reception held in the ____________

Orienting Board Members to their Responsibilities for Strategic Thinking By Terrie Temkin, Ph.D. NonProfit Management Solutions, Inc. Oct 23, 2003, 07:00 PST How To Build A Strategic Thinking Board Those who have been following this series know that a strategic thinking board is essential in today's environment. However, such boards do not just appear. An organization must ensure that its bylaws promote strategic thinking and that it recruits people with the capacity for thinking strategically. However, I have seen some of the most brilliant strategists reduced to yes-men and women because of an organization's culture. The orientation is one of the first places that an organization has the opportunity to officially stress its need and desire for strategic thinking. Traditionally, board members are introduced to an organization's mission in an orientation. This remains essential. They will be hard pressed to think strategically if they do not know or do not buy into the raison d'etre of the organization because it provides the primary screen through which all decisions must be filtered. No activity -- even the pursuit of a grant -- should be adopted if it doesn't fit the organization's mission. The same is true of vision, values, goals and the rarely considered but critical Duty of Care. Vision Vision refers to how you expect the community to look --how you expect it to be better -- once the organization has achieved its mission. It must be widely shared. Think how easy it becomes to make strategic decisions if everyone responsible for making the decisions has the same picture of this desired future in his/her head. Unfortunately, most board members don't envision the same future even when an organization has a succinct and carefully crafted vision statement that each can spout. Why? Words can be -and therefore will be -- interpreted in many different ways. If you want to create a strategically thinking board take the time to have everyone describe -- I like to have them draw -- his or her interpretation. Then, work to merge the pictures until you have everyone operating from the same image. One of my proteges uses a computer program to meld these! Values Organizational values, like vision, allow board members to focus their energies in a unified, strategic way. Drawn up to specifically speak to your organization's responsibilities and its philosophy regarding clients and the community -- these are not the generic, "We shall be honest and have integrity in our dealings." -- they serve as guiding principles for all decisions.

For example, a values list for an organization that deals with domestic violence might include the belief that every person deserves to return to a safe environment at the end of the day, every day. Let's say that the board was faced with making two decisions. The first was between building a program that builds self-sufficiency so that people can make it on their own outside the abusive relationship or building a program that provides emergency shelter. The second was between opening the program to men as well as women and children or concentrating on women and children. Regarding the first decision, the board would have to lean in favor of investing its resources in the self-sufficiency model because the value statement includes "deserves to return to a safe environment -- every day." Regarding the second, it would have to plan for abused men as well as abused women and children because the value statement says "every person" has a right to a safe environment. The use of organizational values keeps personal agendas at bay. It also ensures that generation after generation of board members makes its decisions strategically around the same core principles. Goals I may be suggesting that traditional strategic plans don't work, but I am not suggesting that we throw the baby out with the bathwater. Goals are still important. After all, Lewis Carroll's Cheshire Cat taught us along with Alice that if we don't know where we are going, any road will take us there. Each year the board should identify a limited number of organizational goals (2 - 5) to be accomplished during the year that will bring the organization closer to the fulfillment of its vision. At the same time, it should identify a similar number of goals for which the board itself should be responsible. The board's goals should be related to the organizational goals. The more specific each of these goals is in terms of what is to be achieved and by when, the more strategic the board can be in its direction. A discussion of accountability is also appropriate at this time. Let people know how progress toward these goals will be assessed, how people will be held accountable for achieving or not achieving them, and the consequences if the goals are not achieved. After the board has been oriented to mission, vision, values and goals it should be oriented to its legal duties: Duty of Care, Duty of Loyalty, and Duty of Obedience (the last is often incorporated in Duty of Loyalty). When these are presented, it's helpful to emphasize the organization's expectations under each category. You should also share any tools or techniques the organization uses to ensure the board members' adherence to its legal responsibilities and expectations, such as a board commitment letter or forms for disclosing conflict of interest. Given our subject of creating strategic thinking boards, I will concentrate on the Duty of Care in this article.

Duty of Care As mentioned earlier, board members have a legal responsibility to make informed decisions. This means that they must understand context, have sufficient data and thoroughly explore the issues at hand. In order to accomplish these three responsibilities -- which are all critical to a strategically thinking board -- there are a number of things board members must be expected to do. The first -- in no particular order -- is to be able to read a financial statement. Statistically very few board members feel comfortable doing this, so one of the first things that might be covered in an orientation is a segment on understanding and interpreting financials. The second is to become familiar with whatever dashboard the organization uses. Each organization should have a set of indicators that are presented at each meeting that give board members an instant read on the status of the organization, much like a dashboard on a car gives a driver an instantaneous idea of how fast he or she is driving, whether the engine is running too hot, or how much gas remains in the tank. Indicators might include the number of clients served in relationship to capacity, projections and the previous month's figures or the relationship between revenues and expenses. Being attuned to such current indicators allows board members to make strategic decisions for the future. Third, board members must also be knowledgeable about any decision-making screen that the organization uses in addition to mission, vision, values and goals. Sometimes called a decision tree, this screen provides a list of criteria -- often weighted -- against which the board can measure the options it comes up with. For instance, an organization might determine that the cost of an option is more of an influencer than the time it might take or the staffing it would require. A list of criteria a board can use to think more strategically was provided in Part I of this article. Fourth is to come to meetings prepared. This means that board members have read any briefing papers that were sent prior to the meeting and called in with questions or requests for additional information. Fifth is to ask questions. Perhaps you might give board members a cheat sheet with the types of provocative questions that will stand them well in a number of different situations. Some sample questions are: What's driving our desire to go in this direction? Are the drivers valid? How will this decision impact our clients? How will this impact our image in the community? What are the downsides of this? Also key to Duty of Care is the expectation that board members will openly share their knowledge, ideas and reservations, as well as respect the knowledge, ideas and reservations of others. Also, that they will engage in sufficient dialog to feel comfortable hat they are in fact reaching the best decision. This means that they must have an expectation of confidentiality -that what is said in the boardroom will stay in the boardroom. It also means that they have to understand that meetings may run more than the customary timeframe and that they are expected to stay and hash out the resolutions. Putting all these pieces together in the meeting itself is the subject of Part 5, the last, of this series. Stay tuned.

Recruiting Strategic Thinkers By Terrie Temkin, Ph.D. NonProfit Management Solutions, Inc. Oct 14, 2003, 07:00 PST How To Build A Strategic Thinking Board I have lost count of how many times over the last few years I have heard boards talk about their need to recruit board members of affluence and influence. While individuals who meet these qualifications can add much to a board, they may or may not be what a particular organization needs at its particular stage of development. In all cases, however, organizations need strategic thinkers -- people who can size up the environment, predict the most likely future, weigh the ramifications of various options, and determine the best direction for the organization. Since merely putting out a call for strategic thinkers is unlikely to produce the results you desire, you must consider how you can recruit people with the necessary skills. The first step is to identify the common characteristics for which you are searching. The second is to plan to ensure sufficient diversity. The third is to strategically narrow your list of potential board members to the best of the best. Characteristics of Strategic Thinkers For me, the list of common characteristics is relatively short. I look for people who are curious, who will ask questions, challenge, probe and never take a statement at face value. These are the ones who will refuse to move forward without answers to such questions as: Why does this matter? How does this relate to our mission? Is this the best way to approach this? Or, What are the costs as compared to the benefits if we proceed in this manner? I also look for people who can think ahead -- people who are able to anticipate the most likely results from specific actions. Hockey legend Wayne Gretzky credits his success to his ability to ignore where the puck is and skate to where the puck will be. Organizations will always be playing catch up as long as their boards are skating to where the puck is. Individuals who are good at brainstorming options -- who embrace the French philosopher Emile Chartier's view, "Nothing is more dangerous than an idea when it's the only one you have" -would be on my list as well. When I facilitate brainstorming I often ask groups to come up with at least 60 ideas in 10 minutes. When the group has petered out, I ask for at least 20 more ideas. The best ideas are usually in this last group. The first ideas are typically the over-tried. If you want a strategic thinking board, you must find people who not only will dig deep for the best solution, but who are excited about the prospect of doing so. Two other characteristics I would look for are a comfort level with uncertainty and a willingness to fail. We all know there are no guarantees in life. However, strategic thinkers seem more at ease with taking risks. Perhaps this is because they are able to calculate their chances for success

fairly accurately. It might also be because they appreciate that the only way to move the organization to the level of the extraordinary is to take risks. How can you tell if potential board members hold these characteristics? Putting them on committees and watching their interactions over time before inviting them onto the board is one way. At the very least, pay attention to the questions they ask -- or don't ask -- when you inquire about their level of interest in serving on the board. Ensuring Diversity Betters Chances for Strategic Thinking Equally important to identifying potential board members on the basis that they share characteristics commonly associated with strategically thinking boards, is identifying potential board members that can bring unique perspectives. Historically, board members have felt most comfortable recruiting people who look, speak and act like they do. A recent study of corporate boards found that, on average, the members of any two of 550 of these boards are connected by only 3.5 degrees of separation. My experience in the nonprofit sector suggests if anything, the degrees of separation here are fewer. However, today, diversity must rule. We now know that people have different learning and working styles. None is right or wrong, better or worse. We need big picture thinkers, but vision will never be realized without detail people. Maintaining a focus on one's job is critical, but rarely do people step up to the plate unless they are doing so for others -- ergo, a people orientation is as important as a task orientation. There is a saying, "If two people in business think the same way, then one of them is unnecessary." We must solicit the different perspectives our board members bring to the table as a result of the unique blend of their education, careers, connections, experiences, and so on. It is critical to the process of creating a strategically thinking board. Margaret Wheatley, in her classic work Leadership and the New Science: Learning about Organization from an Orderly Universe (San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler, 1992), concluded that as long as there is an organizing principle within which people can work -- in the case of nonprofits this would be mission, vision, values and goals -- the best (most strategic) results will come from communication between diverse individuals. Strategically Building -- Then Narrowing -- Your Pool of Potential Recruits One way that you can build a pool of people from which to choose the best of the best is to ask your current board members to think about everyone with whom they come in contact as possible recruits. Have them share names of the most viable potentials at every meeting. Then, start the cultivation process, sending these individuals newsletters and invitations to events. Invite them to a special introduction to the organization. Put them on committees. When it's time to nominate future board members you not only have a wide range of individuals from which to choose, but based on their responses to your cultivation efforts, you will have a better idea of who, in fact, thinks strategically.

So, you've now recruited strategic thinkers. How can you ensure that they will utilize their skills to benefit your organization? I will discuss orienting board members not only to your organization but to their responsibilities for strategic thinking in Part four of this series. Editor's Note: Our thanks to Terrie Temkin her contribution to Nonprofit Boards & Governance Review. More information about Terrie can be found at: http://charitychannel.com/resources/Detailed/600.html __________________________________________________