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This Friday, September 22, Priya David will be our speaker. She will be introduced by Mr. Priya David, a.k.a. Sac Seminarian Alex Clemens. Priya is concluding a long run as host of KQED-Television’s Newsroom. See Priya’s bio at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Priya_David_Clemens If you haven’t met Priya before, she is a true star. This is a must attend seminar. Her topics will include the state of news in the Bay Area, her recent experiences with KQED and Priya’s current work with the city’s host committee for APEC, an international gathering of world leaders coming to SF in November where she'll be APEC's press ambassador.
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RSVP TO ATTEND: To assist Perry’s kitchen staff with planning for our Friday lunchtime meetings please advise Dennis Wheatley by email [email protected] if you plan to attend and if you’ll be bringing a guest. Dennis DOES NOT need to know you are not attending. If members have RSVP’ed a “yes” and need to cancel, please tell Dennis before the cutoff of Thursday noon prior to each seminar.
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UPCOMING SEMINARS:
Rabbi Andrew Straus the Northwest Regional Director of J Street is set to be our speaker on Friday, September 29. His career as a rabbi has been devoted to leading Reform Jewish congregations, inspiring members to participate in social and political action. J Street organizes “pro-Israel, pro-peace Americans to promote US policies that embody Jewish and democratic values and that help secure the State of Israel as a democratic homeland for the Jewish people.
San Francisco supervisor Joel Engardio is our in-person speaker on Friday, October 6 thanks to Alex Clemens and Jon Rubin. A self-described forward thinking, sensible Democrat,” Supervisor Engardio represents District 4 which encompasses the Sunset District. From CNN see Supervisor Engardio’s comments, “Asian Americans who are fed up with city (SF) crime are shifting right.”
https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2023/03/23/asian-voters-san-francisco-crime-push-right-lah-dnt-ebof-vpx.cnn
Clay Jackson was literally Sacramento Seminar’s first member. He suggested to our club’s founders that old Capitol hands get together weekly to chat and review the events of the day. Clay, now a Novato resident, is a Sacramento legend. He was the most influential lobbyist of his day. Clay has agreed to present a series of three talks (better called classes) on the capitol works. While our lunches are all off-the-record, for Clay’s seminars Chatham House Rules will be strictly enforced. These sessions are “members only.”
Friday, October 13 will be the first of Clay’s seminars: “Winning and losing the Sacramento Game: A personal odyssey.”
Susan Kirsch, president of Catalysts for Local Control is Sac Sem’s Friday, October 20 guest at Perry’s. Catalysts is a statewide network dedicated to promoting affordable housing while preserving single-family zoning, the environment, and reliable infrastructure. The New York Times said, “Kirsch is a 78-year-old retired teacher who lives in a small cottage home in Mill Valley. A Sierra Club member with a pesticide-free garden, she has an Amnesty International sticker on her front window… The cause that takes up most of her time is fighting new development and campaigning for the right of suburban cities to have near total control over what gets built in them.” https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/05/business/economy/california-housing-crisis-nimby.html Seminarian Leon Hunting organized this program.
Assemblymember Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland) will be Sac Sem’s guest on Friday, October 27 at Perry’s. Seminarian John Tysell will make the introduction. With our chair Jon Rubin traveling, Sac Sem co-vice chair Linda Muir will preside.
California’s top political pollster and Seminarian, Mill Valley’s Marc Di Camillo returns as Sac Sam’s speaker on Friday, November 3 at Perry’s. Chair emeritus Dick Spotswood will make the introduction.
National Democratic campaign consultant, Kentfield’s Averell “Ace” Smith is our guest on Friday, November 10 at Perry’s.
California State Treasurer Fiona Ma returns to Sac Sem on Friday, November 17. By profession, Ma is a certified public accountant. She’s now a candidate in 2026 for the Democratic nomination for Lieutenant Governor. Seminarian John Tysell who organized this program will introduce Treasurer Ma.
December 1 sees San Francisco Supervisor Matt Dorsey as the Seminar’s guest at Perry’s. Seminar Board Member Alex Clemens has the introductory honors. The Supervisor represents District 6 which encompasses Downtown, South of Market and Treasurer Island.
The next in Clay Jackson’s series of “classes” on Sacramento: December 8 is “The lobbying enterprise – how it works, the powers that be and the real rules.”
SAVE THE DATE: Christmas/Hanukkah/Holiday Party: Friday, December 15, 2023, 12:15 p.m. at Mona Lisa Restaurant, 353 Columbus Avenue.
Friday, December 29 will be a Sac Sem Zoom roundtable.
Our first program for 2024 on January 5 is the final seminar in Clay Jackson’s series on practical politics: in the Golden State’s capitol: “What really makes Sacramento tick.”
On Friday, January 19, the dean of the UC Berkeley School of Law, Erwin Chemerinsky, will address the Seminar. Seminarian Dan Visnich organized this program.
Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguin, a Democratic candidate for the 9th Senate District (Richmond, Berkeley, Oakland, Alameda, and San Leandro).is Sac Sem’s guest on Friday, February 9 at Perry’s starting at 12:30 p.m. The 9th SD is now represented by Sen. Nancy Skinner who is termed out of the legislature.
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OTHER THOUGHTS: “We are all tattooed in our cradles with the beliefs of our tribe; the record may seem superficial, but it is indelible.” Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.
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Jon Rubin, Chair, The Sacramento Seminar, Inc. [email protected] Tel: (415) 753-0289
Dick Spotswood Weekly Update editor. E-mail: [email protected] Tel and text to: (415) 260-3235
Find us on the web at www.sacsem.net
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