Walter:

Thanks for your response and good words.

Your coalition proposal is certainly worth trying. I had assumed that the Bay Area would serve as a ‘test bed’. Please keep us apprised of your progress. We need to get moving in a positive and constructive direction.

I think it’s a misreading of my proposal to say that it is “Bay Area” related. I think neither Roy nor Mickey, the Directors present at the 3/10 meeting, thought that either.

When the Network reorganized in 1995 to have regional organization, that has left us with an ambiguity, in regard to how local clients relate to statewide Network issues. In this case Sally gave a 40 minute speech about the Network’s legislative activity and the people running the meeting also provided for ‘input’ time for our proposal, among other things. This was totally civil and appropriate I thought. But I think we all thought this was in re a statewide matter, and amounted to (1) personal networking then and there but was also (2) targeted at the Public Policy Committee and the Board of Directors itself, on a statewide basis.

NAMI’s growing influence at the local and national levels greatly concerns me. NAMI California is eager to dramatically expand its membership, particularly of clients. Because we have no credible national organization, NAMI by default can boast of having more consumer members than any other national organization.

I got a message the other day from Sara Turner, the founder of Humboldt NAMI, who is close with Wes Chesbro. We are discussing my client computer course, as two people with academic backgrounds. But I’m not unaware that she represents the camp of people in NAMI pushing their current ‘moderate’ legislative agenda. Or that there aren’t “on the ground” issues there in Eureka regarding what the implementation of this legislative vision implies for local client self-help.

My point is, kind of indirectly, this is intended to be a statewide coalition. Up to and including Yolo County and its client activists who subscribe to (1) choice and (2) quality services.

Most respectfully

Andrew