Subject: Re: The illusion of power—By Irv Sutley
(The analysis is followed by Bella De Soto’s email to which it responds)
This attempt at a purge of Bella De Soto from the Los Angeles County Central Committee of the Peace and Freedom Party seems in large part to be in retaliation for Bella’s political stance in support of Palestine. It is a shock to see that in California’s most populous county which has the largest number of Peace and Freedom Party registrants in the state, there were apparently only four other people besides Bella bothering to show up at a meeting. As Jan Tucker can attest, the L.A. CCC in prior years and decades had a huge active membership and made political impacts which had both state and national consequences. And this latest meeting offers the spectacle of four people plotting to dump 20% of the participating membership.
The failure of the L.A. CCC officers to notify Bella of earlier campaign meetings in Los Angeles and exclude her from participation is similar to the undemocratic purge of Paul Dahmen from the leadership of Florida’s Peace and Freedom Party and from the National Organizing Committee. Several of California’s PFP officers were involved in both Paul and Bella’s situations as well as engineering my six week suspension from the party’s discussion listserve for exposing the anti-Semitic attack on Jan Tucker. Paul paid a far higher price than I did for outing this racist, lying document.
This Los Angeles situation compares with the California State Central Committee which started the current two year term (2012-2014) with about 115 members but has declined to around 75 with 13 officers. These state officers seem to constitute an undemocratic Politburo who operate under questionable by-laws that denies organized out of favor counties (such as my own, Sonoma County) from any meaningful part of the decision making processes of the party. Under state law the registrants of each organized county are to have membership on the State Executive Committee - a principle which the officers have done away with in order to self tenure their own titles and illusion of power.
In large part, it can be considered as the “Politics of Powerlessness” as the state officers try to micro manage every single detail and facet of members political lives, while abandoning any pretense of feminism in the effort to centralize all endorsements, procedures, and events under their theory of Leadership Vanguardism.
From: Bella De Soto
Sent: Wednesday, October 2, 2013 11:44 AM
Subject:
Bella De Soto dancing at The Talking Stick, Venice
Hi xxxx, et al: I will now be sharing a mail Notice I just received, but was expecting it for a very long time… xxxxx xxxxxxxxx, Secretary of the local Peace and Freedom Party local Chapter actually conspired to introduce a Motion against me, but it was not on the last Committee Agenda on Thursday Sept.19/13. This meeting which starts at 7PM, did not start till nearly 7:30, because I arrived 5 minutes after 7, and only xxxxx xxxxxxxxx and Husband xxxx xxxxxxx were present, who immediately walked out, to plot a motion of expulsion against me, which I overheard xxxx saying to his Wife xxxxx, in low voice outside the meeting hall door, reminding her that she could not present a motion, not reflected in the Agenda!. I began reading the Agenda and Minutes, waited a few minutes more in an empty room, and then decided to vacate, walked to my car, and I was approaching my automobile, I noticed xxxxx , Husband xxxx, xxxx xxxxxx (Committee Chair in paper only!), and xxxxx xxxxxxxx, who had just arrived together in xxxx’s car, all four were consulting across the sidewalk from the meeting hall. I quickly got in my auto and drove away.
There is much, but for later discussion…
—- xxxxx xxxxxxxxx has been on a personal crusade to push me from the local P&FP Committee since 2008. I knew this was in the works since I joined the party in 2008, when Ralph Nader was running for President, and I helped him get elected as PFP Presidential Candidate in Sacramento at the party Convention. xxxxx has never addressed me personally on any of her bogus charges, instead has spread many rumors about me in the activist community. So I hear from other activists what the intent is, but during the monthly meetings, I am met with much animosity. I have maintained my attendance because Socialism is not about personalities, but a urgent global matter.
Regarding your LACCC membership
Inbox Peace & Freedom Party L.A. <[email protected]>
1:14 AM (10 hours ago) to me (Bella De Soto) October 2, 2013
Bella,
This is an official notice from the L.A. County Central Committee to Ms. Bella de Soto. At the L.A. County Central Committee Meeting of September 19, a motion for your expulsion was made, seconded and passed under provisions of L.A. County bylaw 5. Charges related to expulsion fall under L.A.C.C.C. by –law 3; section g: “…intimidation and interruptions, disrespecting the chair and the membership, and using abusive language.”
The expulsion vote will be placed on the Agenda of the LACCC meeting of October 17th, 2013, and will be voted on at that time. Per by –law 6, you will be given an opportunity to speak for yourself at that time. Following that, a maximum of two speakers for and two against may be heard from. A two thirds vote by secret ballot is required for expulsion.
A member who is expelled may appeal to the SCC or State Convention. (By Law 7).
In Struggle,
The L.A. County Central Committee.
<>Consider the environment when printing e-mails.
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