Notes from 11/5 GA

[markm]

11/5/11 Occupy Saratoga General Assembly
Meeting held on Broadway in Saratoga Springs in front of the Post office.

Facilitators: Erica and Chad
Stack Taker: Kathleen
Note taker: Mark

• Review of how to participate
Raise had to speak will be put “on stack”
2 ways to break stack (speak out of order) Point of Process, Point of Information
Hand signal we use

• Working group report backs
Legal Erica
Has contacted someone who is willing to provide us with legal advice

Media AL
Reports we had great coverage today at today’s BOA protest.
At least 2 media outlets were there including the Saratogian

Facilitation Mark
Appreciates Erica (facilitating for the 1st time) and Chad facilitating today. Nice to see new faces up front. We need to have more people help out planning and running our GA’s. Should have different people run each meeting. No experience necessary. We are all learning together. There are facilitation training links on our boards and Occupy Albany Facilitation working group has ongoing training. (side note I will post, on our message board when OA is having Facilitator training for those who want to attend)

Outreach Kathleen
Would like to see more flyers to hand out at our events like the ones we had for today.
Outreach needs more people. Need contact info in a central place so people in working groups can communicate better.
Would like to see something planned for Veterans day.
Point of Information Joe
Veterans for Peace is having a March on Friday 11/11.
March starts at 10:30 at Central and Partition? In Albany and ends at Academy Park (Occupy Albany). (side note look for more info
on our boards and on OA’s website and boards)

Mission Statement Mark
Would like more input on what people think should be included. Post suggests on thread under Mission Statement on our message board. Will post a proposed mission statement on our message boards for comment and bring it up at the next GA for discussion.

• Discussion: Occupy Saratoga vs Occupy Saratoga Springs
Many people spoke. Confusion over who we. Facebook page is Occupy Saratoga Springs while our website and message boards are Occupy Saratoga. Leads to confusion. Some have commented online that we can’t build big in Saratoga Springs. Occupy Saratoga more inclusive. Saratoga is a big county and we could reach out across the county maybe even having events outside of Saratoga Springs. People associate Sarastoga with Saratoga Springs anyway. Our concerns are broad based not aimed specifically at Saratoga Springs. We don’t want to alienate local businesses we want to support them.
After the discussion a proposal was made that we call our group Occupy Saratoga. Consensus was reached and the proposal passed.

• Discussion: Where/ when to have our next GA.
Their was a suggestion to have a large indoor meeting in order to attract more people. Erica has reached out to the Universal Unitarians about using their hall which holds around 100 people. A suggestion was made to consider the Chamber of Commerece. It was decided that a group be formed to look into a large indoor location for a big GA. Erica, Kathleen, Mark and Bob agreed to look into locations and report back at the next GA with some places to consider. A discussion broke out about the Chamber of Commerce. Someone suggested that maybe we should be protesting the Chamber of Commerce, that they support and represent a lot of what the Occupy movement is protesting against. Joe brought up a Point of Information that the National Chamber of Commerce is much different than local chambers. It was agreed that we should reach out to the local chamber to let them know we support local businesses. A proposal was brought up that Occupy Saratoga endorse the ideal that people should by local and support local businesses. Consensus was reached on the proposal and it was adopted. Discussion turned to our next meeting. We are very visible meeting in front of the Post office. We have an event (the ongoing Saratoga Peace Alliance Protest) that we can couple with our meeting. A proposal was made and adopted to meet next Saturday at noon for the Protest for Peace and to have our GA immediately after at 1:05PM on the steps of the Post Office.

• New business
Joe brought up that on 11/17 Moveon was planning to protest against the Millionaires tax. A point of information was added that OA was planning a large protest that day. It was suggested that we as a group join that protest. Joe stated that the Moveon action for that day was still in the planning stages. It was suggested that Moveon and Occupy Saratoga work together to support the larger protest in Albany. Someone (Chad?) mentioned that we may be able to get a bus from Saratoga to Albany (I believe he said 50 people would be needed?) (side note I am sure this will be discussed more at our next meeting)
A motion was made and accepted to end the meeting.
(side note $68.55, some warm cloths, a few food items and some propane cylinders were collected for OA, thanks to all who donated!)

[admin]

Great notes, wish I could of been there. I apologize if I caused any confusion. I live in Clifton Park and when I talk about Saratoga Springs say to direct some people there for the track I never have heard anyone say Saratoga Springs just Saratoga. I also thought it was the county seat. Boy would I fail a civics course. Also at the time I didn't know how many other Occupy movements just in this county would get started. So again sorry if I caused any problems.

[brynin]

From a email i got

In just 16 days, the congressional "Super Committee" could announce a proposal with billions of dollars in job-killing cuts—instead of raising taxes on the 1%.1

Washington doesn't understand—or doesn't care—that we're in a state of economic emergency.

The 99% can't take more of the same from Congress. So we're organizing a massive day of action on November 17 to draw a line in the sand. We'll rally at crumbling bridges, understaffed schools, and other sites that show the local symptoms of a failed economy—the very places that can also create millions of new jobs. In all 50 states and in every corner of the country, we'll demand that Congress stand up for a plan that helps us, not the 1%.  

There's not an event in Gansevoort yet. Can you sign up to host? You'll get all the materials and support you need to organize a powerful, media-friendly event, and we'll invite other MoveOn members in the area to attend.

Yes, I can lead an event!

I can't lead this event, but keep me up to date on the campaign.
The past months have been filled with powerful, creative, and passionate displays of people fighting back against a system rigged against them. But many of our elected officials continue to sit on the sidelines—or worse, to look out only for millionaires and powerful industries. Until we start to see our economy transformed, we'll keep taking to the streets to amplify our voices.

That's why we're working with SEIU, AFL-CIO, Occupy Wall Street, and other groups to organize hundreds of events for our "We Are The 99%" day on November 17. If we organize enough events, tens of thousands of Americans can maximize their voices a week before the Super Committee decision. Can you lead a We Are The 99% event in Gansevoort?

Yes, I can organize an event on November 17!

I can't lead this event, but keep me up to date on the campaign.

By leading an event, you can help make change and meet people who care about fighting for the 99% as much as you do!

Thanks for all you do.

–Lenore, Wes, Laura, Michael, and the rest of the team

Source: 

1. "Washington Pre-Occupied," Huffington Post, Nov. 4, 2011
www.moveon.org/r?r=267072&id=32675-20110075-Y1w6%3Dzx&t=6