A few opportunities for you to meet with your elected representatives…

Assemblywoman Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley, will hold three budget summit meetings around her 14th Assembly District later this week, partnering with the nonprofit Next 10 so constituents can tackle the “California Budget Challenge” simulation and decide how to grapple with the state’s $24 billion deficit. “I am looking for feedback that I can take back to Sacramento,” Skinner says. The meetings are from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Thursday, June 18 in Emeryville City Hall, 1333 Park Ave.; from 4 to 5:30 p.m. Friday, June 19 in Room 1 of the Elihu Harris State Office Building, 1515 Clay St. in Oakland; and 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, June 20 in the McHale Room at the Pleasant Hill Community Center, 320 Civic Dr.

Congressional Black Caucus Chairwoman Barbara Lee, D-Oakland, will host a roundtable discussion on Congress’ health-care reform efforts and steps needed to reduce healthcare disparities among minorities from 9:30 to 11 a.m. Monday, June 22 in the Evergreen Missionary Baptist Church, 408 MacArthur Blvd. in Oakland. Health care community leaders, providers and stakeholders from throughout Lee’s 9th Congressional District have been invited to participate.

Rep. Jerry McNerney, D-Pleasanton, will share updates on Washington happenings – including economic stimulus efforts – at a Contra Costa Council/Tri-Valley Business Council luncheon at 11:45 a.m. Tuesday, June 30 in the Crow Canyon Country Club, 711 Silver Lake Dr. in Danville. Tickets for the event cost $35 for council members or elected officials, $45 for all others; reservations are required by June 24. Send your name, company, e-mail address, telephone number, number of tickets by type, amount due, and a Visa/Mastercard/American Express number with expiration date and authorized signature to the Contra Costa Council via fax, 925-674-1654, or by mail, 1335 Willow Way #253, Concord, CA 94520.

The first few weeks of June offer a plethora of political punditry…

Friday, June 5: Former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright speaks to the Commonwealth Club of California on her book, “Memo to the President: How We Can Restore America’s Reputation and Leadership,” at noon in the Peacock Court at the InterContinental Mark Hopkins Hotel, at 1 Nob Hill in San Francisco. Tickets cost $15 for club members and $25 non-members while premium seating in the first few rows costs $45 for members, $65 for non-members, all available through the club’s Web site.

Monday, June 8: Christina Romer, chairwoman of the President’s Council of Economic Advisers, will address the Commonwealth Club of California on “The Great Credit Freeze and the U.S. Economy” at noon in the club’s offices on the second floor of 595 Market St. in San Francisco. Tickets cost $12 for club members and $18 non-members while premium seating in the first few rows costs $45 for members, $65 for non-members, all available through the club’s Web site.

Wednesday, June 10: Chevron Chairman and CEO Dave O’Reilly and Sierra Club Executive Director Carl Pope will discuss balancing energy and the environment in a forum moderated by Wall Street Journal Deputy Managing Editor Alan Murray before the Commonwealth Club of California, at 6:30 p.m. in the Hotel Nikko, 222 Mason St. in San Francisco. Tickets cost $15 for club members and $30 non-members while premium seating in the first few rows costs $45 for members, $65 for non-members, all available through the club’s Web site.

Wednesday, June 10: The Blackhawk Republican Women, Federated will welcome APL Ltd. Vice President of Security Earl Agron, recently appointed to the National Maritime Security Advisory Committee of the Department of Homeland Security, speaking on “Security of Global Trade on the High Seas.” (Yes, pirates.) It’s a 5:30 p.m. social and sign-in and a 6:15 p.m. program in the Blackhawk Country Club, 599 Blackhawk Club Dr. Tickets cost $25 per person; per the hostesses, “all welcome, tie not required, no denim please.” Please make reservations and payment (payable to “Blackhawk Republican Women, Federated”) by noon Monday, June 8th; contact rlyons1009@sbcglobal.net for a mailing address.

Wednesday, June 17: It’s a big double-bill at the Contra Costa Republican Party meeting: Assemblyman Chuck Devore, R-Irvine, who’s challenging U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., next year; and state Sen. Jeff Denham, R-Merced, who’ll be running for lieutenant governor. It all starts at 6:30 p.m. at the Contra Costa Country Club, 801 Golf Club Road in Pleasant Hill; tickets cost $25 per person, RSVP to director@contracostagop.com or (925) 948 5141. It’s cosponsored by PoliticalVanguard.com and KSFO radio.

Lots happening in the East Bay tomorrow, Saturday, May 16:

World Can’t Wait will protest the University of California, Berkeley Boalt Hall Law School’s “complicity in torture” at 8 a.m. outside commencement ceremonies in the campus’ Greek Theater, and at 11 a.m. outside a reception in the law school’s Clark Kerr Courtyard along Bancroft Way between College and Piedmont avenues. Protesters will denounce John Yoo’s continued presence on Boalt Hall’s tenured faculty (though he’s currently on leave from UC, serving visiting professor of law at the Chapman University School of Law in Orange). Yoo, as a Justice Department lawyer, authored memos that cleared the way for “enhanced interrogation techniques” believed by many to be illegal torture; critics want UC to fire him.

Assemblywoman Mary Hayashi, D-Castro Valley, in cooperation with St. Rose Hospital will host her 2nd Annual Women’s Health Fair from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the San Leandro Public Library, 300 Estudillo Ave. Women of all ages are welcome to take part in free health screenings and get the latest information on living a healthy lifestyle; topics will include “Feeling Fabulous after 50 From Head to Toe,” “Weight Loss at Any Cost vs. Health at Any Size,” “Fitness at Home: Exercises You Can Do in the Comfort of Your Living Room,” and “Breast Cancer: Latest Statistics, Risks and Treatments.” More than 450 women have already confirmed their attendance; to RSVP, call Hayashi’s district office at 510-583-8818.

United for Change, a “grassroots group of Obama volunteers inspired and empowered by the President,” will host a free foreclosure workshop from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Everett and Jones Barbeque, 126 Broadway near Oakland’s Jack London Square. The workshop will offer homeowners and tenants in foreclosed properties the education, tools and resources needed to help their individual situations; among those scheduled to speak are Assemblyman Sandre Swanson, D-Alameda, and Oakland City Councilwoman Desley Brooks, as well as representatives from Fidelity National Title Insurance Co., the Oakland City Attorney’s Neighborhood Law Corps and Operation HOPE Inc.

Oakland-based TransForm – formerly the Transportation and Land Use Coalition, working “to create world-class public transportation and walkable communities in the Bay Area and beyond” – will hold its 12th Annual Summit from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Laney College, 900 Fallon St. in Oakland. This year’s theme is “Windfall for All: Saving Our Economy, Pocketbooks, and Planet with World-Class Public Transportation and Walkable Communities;” it’s expected to bring together hundreds of local nonprofit and labor leaders, community activists, agency staffers, legislators, students, and policy practitioners seeking the tools, knowledge, inspiration, and connections needed to make change. Registration, available online or by calling 510-740-3150, costs $25 per person, or $15 for TransForm members.

Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Oakland, will host the 29th Annual “An Artistic Discovery 2009” Reception and Awards Ceremony from 12 noon to 2 p.m. in the Chiodo Art Development Studio, at 1933 Peralta St. in Oakland. It’s the annual Congressional art competition recognizing emerging high school artists throughout the country; students from the 9th Congressional District – including Albany, Ashland, Berkeley, Castro Valley, Cherryland, Emeryville, Fairview, Oakland and Piedmont – will compete, the winner will be flown to an awards ceremony in Washington, D.C., and the winner’s work will be displayed in the U.S. Capitol for a year.

…and by a few, I mean: Wow.

Wednesday, May 13 – State Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, is inviting constituents of his 11th State Senate District to take part in what he says is that chamber’s first-ever live online streaming town-hall meeting from the State Capitol, from 7 to 8 p.m. on his Web site. State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell will join Simitian to help field education questions, but all topics will be open for discussion. Questions can be sent in advance through Simitian’s Web site, and he says everyone who submits a question will get an answer.

Thursday, May 14 – Just five days before voters decide whether to approve a package of special-election ballot measures he advocates to patch up the beleaguered state budget, California State Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, will share his ideas for putting the Golden State on a course for success with the Commonwealth Club of California at 6 p.m. in the club’s office, on the second floor of 595 Market St. in San Francisco. Tickets cost $12 for club members, $18 for non-members and $7 for students with valid ID, and are available through the club’s Web site.

Thursday, May 14 — The Tri-Valley Republican Women Federated will host guest speaker Steve Giraud, Director of the NorCal Minutemen Defense Corps, at a 6:30 p.m. dinner meeting at Cattlemen’s Restaurant, 2882 Kitty Hawk Road in Livermore. “Discussion will focus on the Minutemen’s efforts to secure our borders and coastal boundaries against the unauthorized entry of individuals and contraband,” the news release says. Tickets cost $26 for members, $30 for nonmembers, and reservations – required no later than Saturday, May 9 – can be made by calling 925-846-5944.

Tons more, including some hot CD-10 action, after the jump…
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Saturday, April 25 – The Northern California chapter of American Political Items Collectors will host a political memorabilia show from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Finnish Brotherhood Hall, 1970 Chestnut St. in Berkeley. Aside from lots of dealers, there’ll be free appraisals, a special display of Obama campaign collectibles and a live mini-auction at noon. Admission is $4, but free for kids or students with valid ID.

Sunday, April 26 – Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish, a Palestinian physician whose three daughters and niece were killed January 16 by Israeli shelling in Gaza, will speak about the reasons for his unwavering hope for peace between Israelis and Palestinians at 7 p.m. in Kehilla Community Synagogue, at 1300 Grand Ave. in Piedmont. The longtime peace advocate’s loss gained an international spotlight when he called into an Israeli television show during the attack. The event is co-sponsored by Kehilla, Americans for Peace Now, and the Bay Area chapter of Brit Tzedek v’Shalom. The suggested donation is $10 to $20, but nobody will be turned away for lack of funds.

Thursday, April 30 — American Civil Liberties Union executive director Anthony Romero will speak on “The Urgency of Action in the Age of Obama” at 6 p.m., preceded by a 5:30 p.m. reception, at the Commonwealth Club of California’s office on the second floor of 595 Market St. (at Second) in San Francisco. Romero says that while the first months of Obama’s presidency have been marked by considerable change, if the threats to civil liberties are not addressed, America’s future may be more imperiled than previously believed. Tickets cost $12 for club members, $18 for nonmembers and $7 for students with valid identification, and are available online.

Thursday, May 7 – Former Assembly Speaker and former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown will give his annual critique of state and national political trends at 6 p.m., preceded by a 5:30 p.m. reception, in the Commonwealth Club of California’s office on the second floor of 595 Market St. (at Second) in San Francisco. This event is open only to club members at $12 per ticket, each of whom can bring one guest at $18 per ticket; tickets are available online.

A slew of interesting things to see, hear and do in the next 10 days, including several this Thursday…

Thursday, March 12 – Noon-1 p.m., Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will address the Commonwealth Club of California on what he believes it will take to get California back in the black as California’s fiscal melodrama heads to voters in a special May election, at the Mark Hopkins Intercontinental Hotel, 999 California St. in San Francisco. Tickets are available online at a cost of $15 for club members and $25 for non- members, or for premium seating in the first few rows, $45 for members and $65 for non-members.

Thursday, March 12 – 7-9 p.m., State Sen. Mark DeSaulnier, D-Concord; Assemblywoman Joan Buchanan, D-Alamo; and Jewish Public Affairs Committee lobbyist Cliff Berg will discuss the state’s budget and finances, and their impact on Jewish issues and the broader community, at a forum hosted by the Jewish Community Relations Council in the Contra Costa Jewish Community Center, 2071 Tice Valley Blvd. in Walnut Creek. The event is free and open to the public.

Thursday, March 12 – 7-9 p.m., Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Jose Antonio Vargas will speak about the intersection of politics and technology and the impact of the Internet on our democracy, in Room 250 of McLaren Hall at the University of San Francisco, 2130 Fulton St.; the entrance is on Fulton between Clayton and Parker. The event is free and open to the public.

More, after the jump…
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If you have a hankering to talk to your congressman, Rep. Jerry McNerney, D-Pleasanton, will host a series of public events next week.

Here’s the schedule as provided by his office:

February 19: 1-2 p.m., Congress at Your Corner, Mountain Mike’s Pizza, 130 Hartz Ave., Danville

February 20: 1-2 p.m., Education Advisory Board Meeting, West Merrill High School, 1775 West Lowell Ave., Tracy (This his is second meeting with his education advisory board, made up of educators, parents and administrators from thoughout his district.)2:15-3 p.m., meet and talk with West High School students, West Merrill High School, 1775 West Lowell Ave., Tracy

February 21: 11 a.m., noon, roundtable discussion about the economy with Brentwood Chamber of Commerce and local leaders, Harvest Park Bowl, 5000 Balfour Road, Brentwood. (The discussion will focus on the impact of the economic stimulus package on Brentwood as well as the foreclosure crisis and the recently-announced Project Lifeline program to aid homeowners who are 90 days or more behind on mortgage payments.)

California Secretary of State Debra Bowen will speak at the Feb. 21 meeting of the Lamorinda Democratic Club about her decision to decertify touch-screen voting machines in more than 20 counties.

First elected in 1992 to the state Assembly to represent constituents in west Los Angeles County, Bowen served three terms before being elected to the state Senate. She served two Senate terms prior to being elected in 2006 as California’s Secretary of State, the sixth woman in state history elected to statewide constitutional office.

The event begins at 7 p.m. at the Contra Costa County Jewish Community Center, Koret Auditorium, 2071 Tice Valley Blvd. in Walnut Creek. The cost $10 per person and it is open to all residents.

For more details, call 925-210-7337 or visit www.lamorindademoclub.com.