Friday, December 5, 2025 at North Beach Restaurant: Chris Rogers, California State Assemblymember from the 2nd District

Friday, December 5 will see Assemblymember Chris Rogers as our guest speaker at the North Beach Restaurant starting at 12:15 p.m. The past Santa Rosa mayor, a Democrat, represents the counties of Del Norte, Humboldt, Mendocino, northern Sonoma, and Trinity in California's Assembly District 2.  https://a02.asmdc.org/biography He will be introduced by Seminarian Bruce Raful. Chris started his career in public service as a legislative aide and senior staffer to State Senator Mike McGuire. In 2016, he was elected to the Santa Rosa City Council, where he led the city through devastating wildfires, a historic drought, and the COVID-19 pandemic

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RSVP TO ATTEND any upcoming seminar. To assist the kitchen staff with planning for our Friday lunchtime meetings, please notify DENNIS WHEATLEY at dennis@triticum.com NO LATER THAN MID-DAY ON the WEDNESDAY BEFORE EVERY SEMINAR if you plan to attend and indicate if you’ll be bringing a guest. Dennis DOES NOT need to know you are not attending. Valet Parking: If there are less than (10) ten sign-ups, there will be no valet. To Register for Valet Parking contact Chair Greg Ryken at (415) 215-3775 or email him on the Wednesday before seminars at Greg@rykenlaw.com

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IT’S THAT $ TIME OF THE YEAR for the payment of Sac Sem annual dues. Your Board has recommended that dues remain the same as 2025, $200 for 2026. Please send a check made out to ‘Sacramento Seminar Inc.’ to our Treasurer, Dennis Wheatley       72 Heritage Drive, San Rafael, CA 94901. It’s become custom at this time of year to recognize the staff at the North Beach Restaurant, the recommended gratuity is $50, combining the dues and gratuity in one check is fine.

     If you would like to transfer the funds by e-banking we suggest using Zelle rather than PayPal, the age-appropriate instructions are:

1)   Determine if your bank is in the Zelle network (most major banks are but not all of the smaller banks).

2)   In your banks on-line interface please select ‘transfer funds’ and put in Dennis Wheatley’s email address dennis@triticum.com and this should then bring up ‘Sacramento Seminar’ (we bank with Wells Fargo).

3)   Put in the appropriate sum (see above)

4)   Confirm payment.

We have tested this with Wells Fargo. Your funds really do end up in the Sacramento Seminar account – NOT Dennis’!

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UPCOMING SEMINARS:

The annual Sac Sem Christmas-Hanukkah-Holiday Party is set for Friday, December 12 at the North Beach Restaurant starting at Noon. There is no charge. Your complementary holiday meal is one of the benefits of being a paid Sac Sem member. The complementary wine is courtesy of the North Beach Restaurant. Drink up! Seminarians may, if they choose, bring one (1) guest. There is no charge for that guest. Make your reservation today with DENNIS WHEATLEY at dennis@triticum.com

As Sac Sem is a California non-profit corporation, this is also the time and place for Sac Sem’s annual meeting and the election for Sac Sem’s chair and its board of directors. This is official notice to all current paid members. Nominations can be made in advance or at the December 12 annual meeting. This will be the final seminar of 2025. The next seminar will be on Friday, January 9, 2026.

Due to Christmas being on Thursday, December 25, there will be no seminar on Friday, December 26, the day after Christmas, St. Stephen’s Day in Ireland most of Europe aka Boxing Day in the UK. Also, there’s no seminar on the day after New Year’s Day, Friday, January 2, 2026.

Our first speaker of the new year is Josh Fryday, Democratic candidate for Lt. Governor https://joshfryday.com/ The date is Friday, January 9, 2026. The time is 12:15 p.m. A past mayor of the City of Novato and chair of the Governor's Office of Service and Community Engagement is a member of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s cabinet. The U.S. Navy veteran will be introduced by Seminarian and past State Assemblymember Dion Aroner.

John Kabateck, California Director of the National Federation of Independent Businesses https://www.nfib.com/california/ is our speaker on Friday, January 16. NFIB’s philosophy is that “Small businesses are not smaller versions of bigger businesses. They often have different difficulties in remaining solvent and policies that lump all business together often do more harm than good.” The Glendale native and USC grad attributes part of his success in working with people to having grown up in a Hollywood family. His mother was musical director for the Ernie Kovacs Show, and his father produced the Criswell Predicts TV program.

U.C. Berkeley Professor Eric Schickler will be our featured speaker on Friday, January 23rd. Professor Schickler is considered one of the foremost Congressional scholars. https://polisci.berkeley.edu/people/person/eric-schickler He’s currently completing a co-authored with Paul Pierson, “Madison Upside Down: The Rise of Nationalized Polarization and the Crisis of the American Constitutional Order.”

“Ace” Smith is our guest on Friday, February 13. Averal “Ace” Smith is the campaign guru behind Kamala Harris and Gavin Newsom. Capitol Weekly says he’s “a legend among California political consultants, the San Francisco-based Smith has handled campaigns for president, governor, senator, local contenders and, perhaps most memorably, his own father.” (Past Seminarian and San Francisco District Attorney) Arlo Smith. https://capitolweekly.net/oral-histories/ace-smith-political-consultant/ Ace will be introduced by Sac Sem’s new speakers/program chair Brian Chase.

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REMINDER: The MEMORIAL SERVICE for long-time Seminarian Themis Michos is set for this Saturday, December 6 at 2:30 p.m. The venue is Christ Church (Episcopal) in Portola Valley. Address: 815 Portola Road. Themis was a long-time resident and past mayor of the Town of Portola Valley. There will be a reception after the service. Carpooling is recommended."

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OTHER THOUGHTS: “The true symbol of the United States in not the bald eagle. It’s the pendulum. And when the pendulum swings too far in one direction it will go back.” Ruth Bader Giinsberg