Updated February 1, 2010 Next District Meeting is February 10
Our next monthly meeting is Wedneday, February 10th at the Hall at Fauntleroy. It will feature a discussion with the League of Women Voters of Race to the Top
funds and impact on state education, an update on the legislative session, 34th District Labor Caucus, and consideration of a resolution on raising State revenues to
avoid devastating cuts to services. More details on the Agenda Page and in the February newsletter, which is now online.
Updated January 30, 2010 King County Dems Adopt 2010 Legislative Agenda
• Our 34th District Legislative Action Committee (LAC) Chair, Greg Doss, reports that the Legislative Action Agenda for 2010 has been adopted. The full agenda is on our LAC page here, but it includes:
• Repealing I-960 and raising revenues
• Tax reform and an income tax on incomes over $250,000 a year
• Election reform
• Full funding of Education
• and more! Also, the King County Democrats' Legislative Action Day is February 15th in Olympia. Hear from Governor Chris Gregoire, meet your legislators - pictured at right - Rep. Sharon Nelson, Rep. Eileen Cody and Senator Joe McDermott. More information here.
Updated January 20, 2010 Cherisse Luxa, Rest in Peace
In place of the normal Drinking Liberally, Burien, we will celebrate the life of Cherisse Luxa at Mick Kelly's pub next Wednesday, January 27th. All are welcome. Details on the calendar.Click here or on the image at right for a eulogy to Cherisse (thanks to Liz Giba for sending us this eulogy).
Updated January 17, 2010 34 Dems Endorse Schools Levy, Pass Resolutions in January
At our January meeting, we unanimously endorsed "yes" votes on both the capital and operating levies for the Seattle School district, which will be on the ballot on February 9th. We heard from Steve Sundquist, Seattle Schools Director, and Glenn Bafia, 34th District member who is also the Executive Director of the Seattle Education Association. We appointed seven new PCOs:
Elisabeth Carr: 34-1436, Damiana Merryweather: 34-1469, Betsy McConnell-Gutierrez: 34-1496, Catherine Stineback: 34-1517, Elizabeth Shedd: 34-3175, Scarlett J. Foster-Moss: Baker, Sandra Cooke: Seaview, Dan Morris: 34-1516 (Acting in -1532)
In other action, we passed resolutions recognizing the Vietnamese Flag and supporing Adam Eisenberg for appointment as Superior Court Judge.
Newly appointed King County Council Member Jan Drago spoke and was introduced by State Senator Joe McDermott (see news item below). And many people - including 34th District Republicans' Chair Jim Clingen, spoke in tribute to Cherisse Luxa, long-time local activist for progressive causes and a 34th District member (see news item further down on this page). Minutes of the meeting will be posted shortly.
Updated January 5, 2010 Jan Drago is new King County Council Member
Jan Drago was appointed the 8th District King County Councilmember on January 4th. Jan will replace Dow Constantine who was elected King County Executive in 2009. Jan will fill out the remaining term. The position will be open for election in November 2010. Read more about the appointment process on the West Seattle Blog which has a detailed timeline plus video statements from Joe McDermott and Larry Phillips, or on Publicola. Jan served four terms or 16 years as a Seattle City Councilmember.
Updated January 4, 2010 Cherisse Luxa Passes Away
Long-time member Cherisse Luxa succumbed to stomach cancer on December 13th. She was one of the founders of Drinking Liberally Burien, and a former alternate King County
Committeewoman for the 34th District. You can view tributes to her on the White Center Now Blog and
Burien's B-Town Blog as well as at Horse's Ass and Daily Kos with 88 comments..
Updated January 5, 2010 Chair Tim Nuse's Message for January
Happy New Year! I hope your holidays have been filled with family and
friends and lots of good spirit. Now is the time to reflect on the
previous year, ponder the next, and refocus on what matters most in
our lives.
Updated November 24, 2009 Dow Constantine sworn in as King County Executive
Updated October 15, 2009 New Officers Elected at Oct 14th District Meeting We elected Dorsol Plants as the new King County Committeeman Alternate. Dorsol most recently has run for Seattle City Council, butwas also a leader in the Highland Park neighborhood opposing siting of the proposed new City of Seattle jail in the 34th District. We also ratified appointments of Justin Anderson as Communications Chair and Tara Jo Heineke as Diversity Chair for theDistrict. Tara Jo is formerly chair of the 33rd District Democrats. Precinct Committee Officers picked up their piles - LARGEpiles - of literature to distribute to over 14,000 households in the District. Those PCOs or others who need to obtain literature to walk their precincts should contact Kimber McCreery (see her info on the sidebar at right) to get the material.
Updated September 25, 2009 Endorsements for the November 3rd General Election
At our July 8th and September 9th meetings we've made the
the endorsements below. More news about the September 9th meeting is on the West Seattle Blog here, and here are the complete set of endorsements: • King County Executive: Dow Constantine
• King County Assessor: No endorsement
• Seattle Mayor: Mike McGinn • Seattle City Attorney: Tom Carr • Seattle Council Pos. 2: Richard Conlin & David Ginsberg (dual)
• Seattle Council Pos. 4: Sally Bagshaw & David Bloom (dual)
• Seattle Council Pos. 6: Jessie Israel & Nick Licata (dual)
• Seattle Council Pos. 8: Robert Rosencrantz
• Seattle School District Director Pos. #5: Mary Bass and Kay Smith-Blum (dual)
• Seattle School District Director Pos. #7: Wilson Chin
• Burien Council Pos. 1: Sue Blazak
• Burien Council Pos. 3, 5: No endorsement
• Burien Council Pos. 7: Brian Bennett • Port Commissioner Pos. 1: No endorsement
• Port Commissioner Pos. 3: Rob Holland • Port Commissioner Pos. 4: Max Vekich
• State Referendum 71 (Support Domestic Partnerships): Vote Yes
• State Initiative 1033 (cap revenue growth): Vote NO!
• Burien Transportation District Vehicle Fee: Vote YES
• Seattle Housing Levy, Proposition 1: Vote YES
•
King County Charter Amendments: Vote YES
Updated August 15, 2009 Garden Party Draws a Crowd, Great Food
The 34th District Dems annual garden party and auction was held at West Seattle Nursery (thank you, Mark Smith! And by the way their big fall sale starts today). The dinner drew an enthusiastic crowd despite cool
temperatures. We enjoyed wonderful music from Grupo Amoroso, food from Herban Feast and humorous, entertaining auctioneering from our PCO, member and sports personality New York Vinnie.
The event was organized by our State Committeeman Chris Porter. Coverage from the West Seattle Blog is here. Later we will report the dollar results, but for now, enjoy the two video clips and photos embedded below - click any thumbnail to play the video or enlarge the photo.
Fitzgibbon, McDermott, Cody
Dancing to the Music of Grupo Amoroso
Video: New York Vinnie Auctions Sen. Joe McDermott
Bidding on an Auction Item
Ginsberg and Carr
Video: New York Vinnie Auctioneering
Updated August 14, 2009 Pillage of Maury Island Halted in Federal Court!
Federal Judge Throws Out Glacier's permits to build a dock on Maury Island. See Seattle Times's Story here.
Updated August 13, 2009 Massive Crowd Packs 34th Dems August Meeting on Healthcare
A crowd estimated at over 250 people packed the Hall at Fauntleroy Wednesday night to hear Congressman Jim McDermott and others talk about Healthcare reform in the
United States. The 34th District Democrats and Democrats and progressives from throughout the region packed the Hall, thanks to great publicity by MoveOn and
our neighborhing Legislative Districts such as the 37th. About a dozen or less "tea-baggers" opposing the Obama Administration's Healthcare initiatives confined
themselves to the sidewalk outside the hall, too timid to confront the the rest of the crowd which overwhelmingly supports a federal government administered option.
As always, there is outstanding and extensive coverage of this event on the West Seattle Blog and here is Joel Connelly's report in the P-I.
And our resident 34th District photographer Dina Johnson posted a great set of photos on her flickr site here.
Below are four photos and two videos of the event. Click any image for a larger version or to play the video.
Debate on the Sidewalk
Video - Rep. McDermott - "This is War" - 3:38
Video of Rep. McDermott and Audience 1:32
Assessor Candidates Hara and Rosenberger
Congressman McDermott talks to the Crowd
Sen. Joe McDermott and Rep. Sharon Nelson speak for Dow Constantine's candidacy
Updated July 19, 2009 Beth Greiser Volunteer Award
Our member Beth Greiser was recognized on July 14th by the West Seattle Blog and other organizations for her volunteer work with the White Center Food Bank, the Democratic Party and
other organizations. Read full details on the Blog. Photo courtesy West Seattle Blog.
Updated April 18, 2009 Rep. Sharon Nelson Named "Legislator of the Year"
Rep. Sharon Nelson, D-Maury Island was selected by aides of her 62 fellow Democrats as the Legislator of the Year. The Legislator of the Year Award was established to recognize outstanding leadership and professionalism within the House of Representatives. It recognizes her ability to work across party lines and with people of differing opinions to create good policies for all Washington citizens. See more details on the West Seattle Blog or the Tacoma News Tribune. Congratulations Sharon!. Photo courtesy the West Seattle Blog.
Long-time Member Norman Kunkel Passes
Norman C. Kunkel died April 2, 2009 in Seattle. He was born Sept 17, 1918 in Wessington, SD to Joseph E. and Winnifred B. (Wright) Kunkel and later moved to Yakima
where he finished high school. He worked in Alaska, at Job Corps, CCC, Seattle City Light and in China with UNRRA. He served in the AFS Ambulance Corps during WWII
in India, Italy, and was a liberator at Bergen Belsen concentration camp in Germany. In 1946, he married Georgie M. Bright. He attained a BA from the UW in 1954 and
taught at Gregory Heights Elementary in Burien for 25 years. For many years he served as Democratic Precinct Officer for the 34th District. After retirement he spoke
about his war experiences completing a book about it, traveled around the globe with Georgie and volunteered for Sightline Institute. He loved gardening and supplied
azaleas for Saltwater UU church which he and Georgie attended. He is predeceased by his parents and all 7 siblings and is survived by his wife, Georgie; son Stephen (Alice)
Kunkel of Bellevue and their children Samantha (children--Isaac & Toby) of Renton and Farrah of Bellevue; daughter Susan Kunkel (Dan Wilson) and children Gregory and
Kenneth Williams of Tacoma; daughter Kim Waligorska of Seattle; and children of son Joseph (deceased 2001): Curtis Kunkel, Jolie (Lance) Taylor (children--Joe, Trevor, Heath),
Mica (Chelsea) Kunkel (children--Hazel and Ezra), Farron and Travis Kunkel. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Sightline Institute, Children's Hospital or the
charity of your choice. The memorial service is to be held at Saltwater UU Church at 25701 14th Pl S., Des Moines, WA on Saturday, April 18th at 3;00 p.m.
Updated March 12, 2009 34th District Endorses Dow Constatine,
Contributes $3,434.34
The 34th District Democrats overwhelming endorsed King County Council President Dow Constantine in his bid to become King County Executive in this year's election.
In addition we voted to contribute $3,434.34 to Constantine's campaign. This contribution adds to the almost $60,000 Constantine has collected in only three weeks
since he announced his campaign. The 34th District Democrats' endorsement of Constantine adds to an impressive list of early endorsements, including State Senate
Majority Leader Lisa Brown, Senators Joe McDermott, Kevin Ranker, Ed Murray and Ken Jacobsen, and State Representatives Eileen Cody and Sharon Nelson. (More information on
Dow's fundraising and endorsements is here.)
In accepting the endorsement, Dow spoke eloquently 25 years of work on behalf of the people of King County, advocating for transportation, public health and
clear performance management goals for County government. Constantine has served West Seattle, White Center, Burien and Vashon and Maury Islands not only as
King County Councilmember, but also as State Senator and State Representative. He is also a past Chair of the 34th District Democrats.
In other business, we heard from two West Seattle candidates for Seattle City Council, David Ginsberg and Dorsal Plants. We also passed a resolution calling for the West
Seattle Bridge to be renamed in honor of long-time Seattle City Councilmember Jeanette Williams. More details of the meeting will be posted here in a few days.
Updated January 14, 2009 34th District Democrats Elect New Leaders
We elected a new set of leaders at our biennial reorganization meeting on January 14th.
The new leadership team is pictured below (click it or click here for a larger version with
names and positions). The new leadership includes Tim Nuse (Chair), Kim Becklund (First Vice
Chair), David Ginsberg (Second Vice Chair), Stu Yarfitz (Treasurer) and Miki Meahan (Secretary).
Marcee Stone and Chris Porter are our state committeewoman and man respectively. Lisa Plymate
and Ivan Weiss are the King County committeewoman and man, and Asha Mohamed and Robin Hess are
the alternates.
Updated January 14, 2009 Chair Nuse Appoints Committee Chairs
Newly Elected 34th District Chair appointed committee chairs during our regular meeting
on January 14th. They are pictured below and include Jackie Dupras, Newsletter Editor,
Beth Greiser, Greg Doss (Legislative Affairs), Brian Earl (By-Laws Chair), Les Treall (Outreach), Jeff Upthegrove (Membership), Walter Sive (Finance). Click the photo for a larger version with names.
Updated July 30, 2008 Nels Ekroth Passes
Nels Ekroth, long-time 34th District Democrat and PCO, passed away on July 29th. He was born in 1918 and was 8 days short of his 90th birthday when he died. See additional information and photos on his tribute page. If you have a quote or thought or photos to share as a tribute, send them to the webmaster.
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Updated January 5, 2010
Updated January 4, 2010
Chair Tim Nuse's Message for January 
Long-time Member Norman Kunkel Passes
