November 1998:

The NOMINATING COMMITTEE has nominated the following to be Club Officers in 1999:

President . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Carol Norman

1st Vice President . . . . . . . . . Alicia Brewster
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . and . .Joe Mendez

2nd Vice President . . . . . . . . . Don Dear
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . and . .Debra Reid

Treasurer . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jack Wilson
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .and. . .Ingrid Tsukiyama

Recording Secretary . . . . . . . . .Jim McGreevy

Corresponding Secretary . . . . . . .Sally Cutshall

Additional nominations can be made from the floor by any Club members. In order to vote, you must be a current, paid-up Club member. To vote, new members must have been approved at a General Membership meeting at least 28 days earlier. Your 1998 Gardena Valley Democratic Club membership card is proof of membership, or you can get proof at the table outside the meeting hall.

In Memory of . . .

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Harmon Belcher, 75 years old, who for decades was a leader of the Gardena Valley Democratic Club and who served as our Club President many times, died on Thursday, June 13, 2002. Harmon was a World War II Army Air Force veteran, serving in the Pacific. He worked many years at North American Rockwell. Harmon had long been known as "Mister Democrat" in the South Bay. Starting in the early 1960s, Harmon collected the names and addresses of every Democratic activist and volunteer he met, creating a list of
campaign workers that the California Democratic Party used, by the 1990s, to turn the South Bay into a solid Democratic block. In the 1960s, Harmon was President of the North Torrance Democratic Club and was a Director of the California Democratic Council. During the 1980s, Harmon served as Chair of the 51st Assembly District Democratic Committee, in the Beach Cities. Harmon was known to Democrats across the State, and in recent years he mailed his "Postcard News" editorial cartoons to friends everywhere. He will be missed greatly.

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Bruce Dutton, one of our oldest Club members and for decades a confidant to Mayor Don Dear, died on September 15, 2001. Bruce served the City of Gardena for many years in many capacities and was a mainstay at City Council meetings. We will miss him.

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Al De Filippo, a longtime Club member who twice served on the Gardena City Council, died in February, 2001. Al was a civic leader in Gardena for many decades and was a friend to many members of our Club. Our Club has donated to help create a Library in Al's name at St. Anthony's Catholic Church. He will be missed greatly.

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We were very saddened by the death of Iris "Jean" Sanders, just re-elected as the California Democratic Council State Comptroller the day before, at the County Committee's annual "Democrats of the Year" Dinner, which Jean was in charge of decorating, on May 20, 2001. Jean was a leader of Democrats statewide as well as locally in the Martin Luther King Jr. Democratic Club and in the Torrance-Lomita-Carson Democratic Club. She was also a leader in many other activities in Compton and Southern California. Our Condolences go to her son, Compton City Treasurer Douglas Sanders, and to all of her extended family. She will be missed greatly.

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Grace Bean, 79, a longtime Club member, died in Victorville on August 8, 2000. Grace was the daughter of Clifford Holliday and, like Cliff, was a great supporter of universal health care and other issues affecting our senior citizens. We will miss her.

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William Mohr, a very active Club member, died in December 1999 following an accident while trimming a tree. Bill attended nearly all of our meetings and marched in all of the parades our Club participated in for many years. He always had something to say about important issues. Bill will be missed.

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Bill Sanders, former Treasurer of the Beach Cities Democratic Club, died in late July, 1999, when canyoneering alone in the Utah wilderness. Bill was a leader in the Peace movement, working for the Office of the Americas, Sane-Freeze and Witness for Peace. He walked for peace across America and again from Moscow to then-Leningrad. He strongly supported the Sierra Club. In 1988 Bill was also instrumental in bringing Presidential candidate Senator Paul Simon to the South Bay. We will miss him greatly.

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Mark Erikson, former President of the Torrance Democratic Club, died of a heart attack on July 17, 1999, in Seoul, South Korea. Mark was 42 years old and had been teaching English in Korea for the past three years. He was a leader in the 1988 and 1992 Democratic headquarters in the South Bay and helped keep our annual Labor Day Picnic going until he left for Equador in the mid-1990s. Mark was also a great Grateful Dead fan. We will miss him. Our condolences go to Mark's family.

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Elaine Hampton, a very active Club member for several years, died on March 11, 1999. Elaine led a troubled life and cared much for the downtrodden, as do many in our Club. She occasionally enjoyed shocking us into action, but her intentions were always good. We will miss her.

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Mayor Tom Bradley, the Mayor of Los Angeles for twenty years until 1993, died on September 29, 1998. The former Mayor, 80 years old, died of a heart attack while recovering from a stroke that left him partially paralyzed. Many of our Club members joined in the long standing ovation that was given to Mayor Bradley -- who then couldn't speak -- at the 1998 Democratic State Convention in Los Angeles. Tom Bradley was our candidate for Governor twice in the 1980s, nearly winning in 1982. Mayor Bradley visited the South Bay area on many occasions, among them speaking at our Club's events and investigating toxic waste sites in the L.A. Strip (Harbor Gateway). He will be remembered always.

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Thirvin Fleetwood, 75, for decades a leader of our Club, died on August 16, 1998, in Kansas. Thirvin was born in Oklahoma in 1922. Thirvin's wife Norma, who was also an active member of our Club, passed away in 1994. Thirvin moved to Missouri and to Texas, but he returned frequently to the South Bay and remained a member of our Club. Thirvin served in the United States Coast Guard in the Second World War. We offer our condolences to Thirvin's family. He will be missed greatly.

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Joel Lubin, a Club member and longtime Democratic activist and organizer, died on May 22, 1998. Joel was our candidate for County Supervisor in the 4th District in 1996 and was a member of the Los Angeles County Democratic Central Committee. He was born in Chicago 60 years ago and was active to his last days. Our condolences go to his wife Shirley and to all of his family. We will miss Joel.

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Archie Snow, 79, the former Redondo Beach City Councilman and longtime Gardena Valley Democratic Club member, died on February 27, 1998. Archie led efforts to clean up Redondo Beach politics in the 1970s before being elected to the City Council. Several years ago he ran unsuccessfully for Mayor, but he remained a leader in Democratic politics. Our condolences to his wife Eva and to his family. We will all miss a very colorful politician.

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George Ogawa, 79, a longtime member of the Gardena Valley Democratic Club, died on February 9, 1998, following an accident in a parking lot. In addition to being a loyal Democrat, George was very active in the American Civil Liberties Union. Our condolences to George's wife Mary and to all his family. George will be missed greatly. At left, George Ogawa speaking at one of our Sunday Breakfasts at the Spanish Inn in Gardena in the mid-1980s. One of George's many concerns was getting reparations for Americans of Japanese descent who were sent to internment camps during the Second World War. George served in U.S. Army intelligence in China during that war, and was a Professor of Mathematics and worked locally in the defense industry until his retirement in 1985.

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