September General Club Meeting

By Mia Taylor and Tommy Hough

Click here for the Zoom link for Wednesday's meeting.

As we head into the final weeks of the 2020 campaign, we realize it may be difficult to think about anything other than the November election and the threat of Trump, the GOP, and foreign powers manipulating the outcome of the most critical presidential race in our nation's history. It's a nervous, stressful time.

Keep calm by volunteering and making phone calls for your candidates and campaigns of choice as we notice several items, including bylaw changes and endorsements for our September Club Meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 16, beginning at 6:30 p.m. via Zoom (we'll post the Zoom link shortly). Also, be sure to check out the video from our Environmental Report on Sept. 10th with Los Padres Forest Watch on logging at Pine Mountain.

One of the most pressing items our club will address on Wednesday involves two proposed changes to our bylaws, both of which are key components to members' eligibility to vote on club matters. We'll vote on both of the proposed language changes outlined below at our meeting on the 16th, including:
 
Article IV – Section (v) – Voting
"A member in good standing who has attended at least one prior meeting two prior general membership meetings over the previous twelve (12) months or and has paid dues at least 34 days prior to the meeting or at the previous general membership meeting, shall be eligible to vote for club officer elections and club endorsements."

Appendix A: – Section (i)
"To be eligible to vote for an endorsement of a candidate or a ballot measure a member must be a member in good standing, must have paid their dues at least 34 days prior to the endorsement meeting, or have at least attended one previous scheduled club meeting and have attended at least two prior general membership meetings over the previous twelve (12) months."

Also at our Sept. 16 club meeting, four candidates for office will be considered for our club's endorsement. In alphabetical order:

• Teresa Acosta  –  Carlsbad City Council, District 4
• Mark Gracyk  –  Helix Water District Board, Division 3 (friendly incumbent)
• Samm Hurst  –  Santee City Council, District 4
• Mark West  –  Imperial Beach City Council (friendly incumbent)

In addition, we're pleased to welcome San Diego Coastkeeper executive director Matt O'Malley as our special guest for the evening, as we discuss our region's relationship with water, including the potential for new concrete channel infrastructure near our coast to collect stormwater runoff before it reaches the beach in a toxified state.

We'll discuss with Matt the San Diego County Water Authority's megalomaniacal, fossil fuel-heavy proposal to build a pipeline across the Cleveland National Forest (!) and beneath the Cuyamaca Mountains (!!) in a project that would take over 120 years to pay for because the water authority can't come to a deal with the Metropolitan Water District. According to Voice of San Diego, "It could be the most expensive public works project in San Diego history."

Click here for the Zoom link.

We'll begin checking in and credentialing club members at 6 p.m. The meeting will come to order at 6:30 p.m.

Photo by Tommy Hough

Any suggestion to lay a pipeline over, under, or across the Cuyamaca Mountains is a non-starter.