UPDATED 6-11-02

The brunch that Chad Alexander warned us all about will take place at 2308 NW 57th from 11AM -2PM this Sunday. A contribution of $50 per person is suggested. Music will be provided by Louise Goldberg and Jim Nimmo. RSVP Keith Smith at 405-840-2219 or 405-760-6801.

 

The following is an email from Keith Smith
(Posted 5-27-02)

Stonewall Democrats and PAL PAC are pleased to announce that.......

Governor Howard Dean has agreed to be the Special Guest at a June 16th Sunday Brunch in OKC to benefit PAL PAC, (The Progressive Alliance Political Action Committee). PAL PAC was formed to address the alarming increase in extreme right wing politicians being elected in Oklahoma. PAL PAC believes that is primarily due to our inability to effectively fund progressive candidates for office who believe in reproductive freedom, protecting the environment, affordable health care, and full inclusion in society of minorities including people with disabilities and the GLBT community. PAL PAC was formed to assist in electing progressive candidates and building a war chest in anticipation of the effects of term limits in The Oklahoma Legislature taking effect in 2004. Location for the brunch is yet to be announced........stay tuned.

Governor Dean showed his courage and became famous when he signed into law the nations first gay marriage law.

Governor Dean believes that candidates who share his vision bring to their races a message that voters are seeking. Here's what is being said about the successes of Governor Dean's leadership and political vision:

"... A candidate running a campaign based on expanded access to health care, protection of the environment, and equal rights would at least have something to talk about. Whatever Dean does, his administration has been one of clear goals and significant achievements toward them."
The Boston Globe - September 6, 2001

"Howard Dean is Vermont's Harry Truman. Dean, like Truman, is a no-nonsense, plain-speaking guy who loves to give 'em hell. ... He defies labels, following a pragmatic not partisan path. ... Our first baby-boomer governor harkens to a time gone by, a time when families were strong and values deep. He is patriotic, a strong law and order man who believes in the American dream and expects people to do their best to climb the ladder." The Associated Press - September 9, 2001
Column by Vermont Bureau Chief Christopher Graff

"The governor, also a doctor of internal medicine, has crafted policy that provides health insurance to all children up to the age of 18. He is credited by Democrats and Republicans for steering Vermont through one of its worst recessions in the past hundred years. Although he expanded several social programs, Dean's administrative skill enabled him to cut the sales and income taxes. ... Independent of these significant achievements, Dean is a leader."
The Portsmouth Herald (NH) - August 24, 2001

"This equal emphasis on creating jobs, balancing budgets and expanding government's social activism sums up Dean's approach to the office he has held longer than anyone in this century. A decade later, it's hard to think of another politician who could have handled the job so successfully for so long." The Burlington Free Press (VT) - August 13, 2001

"In his decade in office, Dean has shone most brightly when he fought for children's programs. His efforts guaranteed health care for virtually every child in need, doubled spending on child care and helped create Success by Six, a program that helps preschoolers and their families. That's vintage Howard Dean: pragmatic and humanitarian." The Burlington Free Press (VT) -
September 9, 2001

"It is doubtful that (the next governor) will leave office with a better record of having so well attended to the basic health of Vermont than Howard Dean." The Valley News (NH) - September, 2001

Howard Dean called the governorship "the greatest job in Vermont" when he took the state's top post in 1991. In the decade since, Gov. Howard Dean has lead Vermont with a firm fiscal discipline, an unwavering commitment to children's health care and education, and a keen environmental awareness.

A common sense moderate who firmly believes that social justice can only be accomplished through strong financial management, Gov. Dean has cut the income tax twice, removed the sales tax on most clothing, and reduced the state's long-term debt. Not only did the governor pay off an inherited $70 million deficit, he worked with lawmakers to build "rainy day" reserves to help the state through any future economic downturn.

During the Dean tenure, more than 41,000 new jobs have been created, the state's minimum wage has climbed twice, incentive programs have expanded to help downtowns attract new businesses, and tax incentives were created to attract and keep new companies.

If fiscal management is Gov. Dean's trademark, improving the lives of Vermont's children is his passion. A physician, Gov. Dean strengthened the Dr. Dynasaur program to guarantee health coverage to virtually every child in Vermont age 18 and under. Vermont has one of the lowest uninsured rates in the country -- and highest rates of immunized children. Gov. Dean has expanded programs to help seniors afford prescription drugs, and signed into law one of the toughest managed care consumer protections in the U.S.

It is preservation of Vermont's precious natural resources and landscapes that the governor considers his legacy. Gov. Dean worked with local communities and the federal government to preserve more than one million acres of farmland, shorefront, working forests and wilderness.

Under the Dean administration, 76 of the state's leaking landfills were safely closed, and Vermont became a leader in the move to reduce mercury pollution and stop power plants from polluting the air. Gov. Dean has created bikeways, lead the effort to restore commuter rail service in Vermont, and lead a strong, coordinated attack on sprawl.

Working with lawmakers, prosecutors, judges and law enforcement, Gov. Dean has cracked down on violent crime in Vermont and ensured that violent felons spend time behind bars. He has fought to protect family farms, increased the number of women and minorities in judgeships and other prominent positions, cracked down on domestic violence, and put Vermont in the forefront for child support collections.

Gov. Dean is a physician who previously shared a medical practice with his wife, Dr. Judith Steinberg. He received his bachelor's degree from Yale University in 1971 and his medical degree from Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City in 1978. He served in the Vermont House from 1982 to 1986; was elected lieutenant governor in 1986; became governor in 1991 with the death of then-Gov. Richard Snelling.

Paid for by "Fund for a Healthy America" .......visit Governor Deans web site at www.fundforahealthyamerica.com.