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Commission on the Status of Women
County Of Sonoma › Administrative Support & Fiscal Services › Human Resources › Boards, Commissions and Committees › Commission on the Status of Women › Commission Meetings › Minutes May 9 2019
Commission on the Status of Women

Minutes May 9, 2019

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Commissioners Present:
First District: Jan Blalock , Joanne M. Brown
Second District: Trisha Almond (Chair), Karen Langdon, Caitlin Quinn
Third District: Jennifer Whyte (Officer-at-Large)
Fourth District: Dianna MacDonald 
Fifth District: Lorena Barrera (Vice-Chair), Ariana Diaz De Leon, Jessica Wood

Commissioners Absent:
Fourth District: Leticia Padilla, Betsy Connolly

  1. CALL TO ORDER – INTRODUCTIONS – MISSION STATEMENT
    Chair Almond called the meeting to order at 6:00PM
  2. APPROVAL OF THE MAY 9, 2019 AGENDA

    Motion to approve the May 9, 2019 Agenda.

    Motion: Commissioner Quinn
    Second: Commissioner Barrera 

    Ayes: 9     Noes: 0     Absent: 2     Abstained: 1

    Commissioners Connolly and Padilla were absent. Commissioner Almond abstained as Chair. 

    The motion passed.
  3. PUBLIC COMMENT ON AGENDIZED ITEMS
    No members of the public addressed the Commission.
  4. COMMISSIONER ANNOUNCEMENTS 
    1. Commissioner Blalock reminded everyone about the Pride event taking place on June 1st.
    2. Commissioner Brown reported speaking with Supervisor Susan Gorin regarding the Commission’s status and mentioned that Supervisor Gorin is supportive of the Commission’s efforts and is willing to assist wherever possible.
    3. Commissioner Barrera announced that the County Administrator’s Office (CAO) has postponed the Commission’s presentation to the Board of Supervisor and also stated that the CAO declared that the commission would not be losing any funding.
  5. OPENINGS AND APPOINTMENTS
    Chair Almond announced that Commissioner Padilla and Whyte will be sworn in next month. Commissioner Barrera is going to be working with Tracy Cunha from Supervisor Zane’s office, on being appointed in the Third District. There is an individual who has applied to be on the Commission representing the Fifth District so if Barrera gets moved to the third, the applicant can fill the vacancy in the fifth. There is also a vacancy in the First District. Chair Almond also announced that Commissioner Langdon is resigning. Commissioner Langdon then addressed the Commission. 
  6. PUBLIC COMMENT ON NON-AGENDIZED ITEMS  
    No members of the public addressed the commission.
  7. PRESENTATIONS  
    Commissioners heard from Ms. Jong Lee, Director of the Women’s Rights and Peace of Bay Area nonprofit, who has actively worked to spread understanding of the Korean community and heritage throughout the Bay Area. During the last four years, she has been a volunteer at Dominican University, teaching about and bringing awareness to the stories of the Korean Comfort Women through Korean drumming. Jong is also a choreographer and has directed the North Bay Korean Dance Company for 10 years.  In 2001, she choreographed and directed a two-hour presentation describing Korean Comfort Women’s experiences with dance called "Cry".
  8. REGULAR CALENDAR ITEMS
    Discussion and possible action on Items 1 to 8.
    1. Report on Administrative Responsibilities
      Chair Almond reported that there is a $28,000 fund at the Santa Rosa Junior College that is to be used to award scholarships. Almond is still trying to find out how the scholarship works and how people can apply. Chair Almond also announced she is purchasing business cards for Commissioners who never received any. Chair Almond said she would be emailing instructions on accessing the storage unit to all commissioners and she also mentioned that Elaine Holtz requested she and another commissioner speak on her radio show.
    2. Roseland’s 4th Annual Mochilada
      Commissioner Diaz De Leon and Wood explained the event and the benefits of supporting it. Due to the limited funds available in the general fund, Chair Almond stated funds already allocated for an ad hoc or project would need to be moved.

      Motion to move $500 from the Junior Commissioner Project to the General Fund and to approve $500 from the General Fund for support of the Roseland 4th Annual Mochilada event.

      Motion: Commissioner  MacDonald
      Second: Commissioner Quinn

      Ayes:  8     Noes: 1     Absent: 2     Abstained: 1

      Commissioners Connolly and Padilla were absent. Commissioner Whyte voted against the motion. Commissioner Almond abstained as Chair.

      The motion passed.
    3. Code Red Project
      Chair Almond went over the launch of the "Code Red Project" – May 28 "Menstrual Hygiene Day" and the nonprofit Guided to Safety’s work on the project. Commissioners were in favor of the efforts of the project.

      Motion to move $500 from the ACCW Conference Budget to the General Fund.

      Motion: Commissioner Blalock
      Second: Commissioner Wood

      Ayes: 9     Noes: 0      Absent: 2     Abstained: 1

      Commissioners Connolly and Padilla were absent. Commissioner Almond abstained as Chair.

      The motion passed.

      4. Motion to approve $500 from the General Fund to support the Code Red Project.

      Motion: Commissioner Quinn
      Second: Commissioner MacDonald

      Ayes: 9     Noes: 0     Absent: 2     Abstained: 1

      Commissioners Connolly and Padilla were absent. Commissioner Almond abstained as Chair.

      The motion passed.
    4. Budget Review
      Commissioners reviewed the current budget and discussed potential purchases that could be made using budget funds left over after accounting for already allocated funding. After providing several ideas, commissioners voted on approving the use of funds to be applied toward several different items.

      Motion to approve $300 from the Empowerment Ad Hoc Funds to support the Women’s Rights and Peace of the Bay Area nonprofit.

      Motion: Commissioner Brown
      Second: Commissioner Quinn

      Ayes: 9     Noes: 0     Absent: 2     Abstained: 1

      Commissioners Connolly and Padilla were absent. Commissioner Almond abstained as Chair.

      The motion passed.

      Motion to use $300 of the Women’s Voices funds and $200 from the Junior Commissioner Project for the printing of new brochures.

      Motion: Commissioner Quinn
      Second: Commissioner Blalock

      Ayes: 9     Noes: 0     Absent: 2     Abstained: 1

      Commissioners Connolly and Padilla were absent. Commissioner Almond abstained as Chair.

      The motion passed.

      Motion to approve up to $500 for the printing of new brochures.

      Motion: Commissioner Brown
      Second: Commissioner MacDonald

      Ayes: 9     Noes: 0     Absent: 2     Abstained: 1

      Commissioners Connolly and Padilla were absent. Commissioner Almond abstained as Chair.

      The motion passed.
    5. Social Media Post Policy
      Commissioners discussed the normal practice of sharing posts and the concerns and comments regarding posts that may be interpreted as being more political or seem to be more partisan issues rather than informational issues. The Commission agreed about reviewing posts and staying away from posts that might be misinterpreted by the public. Commissioners agreed to work on creating a social media policy that can provide some guidance on what types of articles or posts should be shared on CSW social media sites. Commissioners also agreed on having a disclaimer on social media sites. Commissioners Brown and MacDonald volunteered to be the individuals to draft a social media policy and disclaimer and review them with the marketing ad hoc prior to presenting a final draft to the commission for consideration and approval. 
    6. Event Ticket Purchases
      Chair Almond mentioned the issue that arose from having approved purchases for a specific number of tickets for an event and having extra tickets available due to lack of attendance from Juniors or Commissioners. There was a concern of giving tickets to family members or to offer them to county employees or elected officials. After discussion on the amount of time it takes the marketing ad hoc to coordinate ticket disbursement and communication efforts, commissioners agreed that the Commission should support organizations through sponsorships rather than purchasing individual tickets. Commissioners also agreed that tickets received through a sponsorship will first be offered to commissioners and juniors and any tickets left over can be used by commissioners committed to attending the sponsored event for a plus one.
    7. By-Laws Overview
      Commissioners discussed the idea of having a group of commissioners review the current CSW by-laws and work together to make recommendations for possible changes in order to eliminate the confusion that currently exists. Commissioners agreed that this could be something that starts next fiscal year. Commissioners Barrera, Brown, Diaz de Leon, MacDonald and possibly, Commissioner Almond, would be part of the group to review and edit the by-laws.
    8. 2020 Project
      Commissioner Brown discussed her idea of promoting any efforts made by the National Women’s History Alliance and CA 2020 projects once she receives information on something specific that the commission can promote and assist with.
  9. AD HOC COMMITTEE AND PROJECT COMMITTEE UPDATES
    Commissioners to provide reports and/or updates from the work being done by their ad hoc committee(s) and/or project committee(s).
    1. Empowerment Ad Hoc: Ad Hoc members reported on their first community workshop and briefed the commission on what they learned. They also gave information on the upcoming scheduled workshops.
    2. Marketing Ad Hoc: Ad Hoc members went over their report which was included in the agenda packet and provided Facebook analytics. They also asked that another commissioner join their ad hoc.
    3. Women’s Voices: Ad Hoc members reminded everyone about their upcoming listening session. They also stated they are looking into scheduling another listening session in a different part of the county.
    4. Junior Commissioner Project Committee: Commissioner Diaz De Leon reminded everyone about the upcoming graduation and reported on the previous field trip. She also reported on the group up junior commissioners for the new fiscal year.
  10. COMMUNITY ISSUES, LIAISONS, AND COORDINATORS
    Commissioners to provide brief updates or ideas on the following:
    1. ACCW: No report was provided.
    2. Field Trip Ideas: None
    3. Human Trafficking Task Force: Blalock reported on the Human Race, the participation at the event and the outcome of the event.
    4. Legislative Advisory Group: Group members gave a report on a few legislative bills relevant to the mission and work of the commission. The group gave some recommendations on some bills to track and committed to reporting back on those that were determined most important to the commission.
    5. NWHA: No report was provided.
    6. Sonoma County 2020 Centennial Coalition: No report was provided.
    7. Speaker Coordinator: Commissioner Diaz De Leon talked about the Sonoma Chapter for "Girls on the Run" and mentioned she would be working on having someone from the organization come and address the commission at a future meeting.
    • AGENDA ITEMS FOR NEXT COMMISSION MEETING
      Proposal, discussion, and possible action items for next Commission meeting.
      • No items were suggested.
    • ADJOURNMENT
      The meeting was adjourned at 8:50PM