03-10-21 Virtual Monthly Membership Meeting Minutes

      150 150 34th Democrats

      General Meeting Minutes

      March 10, 2021 –  Virtual meeting held via closed ZOOM


      7:00 pm – Call to Order by Carla Rogers, Chair

       

      Opening Ceremonies

      • Peter Steinbrueck, Port Commissioner provided theLand & People Acknowledgement
      • VIP Acknowledgements/Statements (some will speak later) 
        • Representative Eileen Cody
        • King County Councilmember Dave Upthegrove: Discussed targeting resources to low income communities and renewing Best Start for kids levy for childcare; more information is here: https://www.daveupthegrove.com.  
        • King County Councilmember Joe McDermott: Great work at the council lately, there is a package to provide more resources to King County and hazard pay for grocery workers; also working to ban the sale and discharge of fireworks in unincorporated King County. 
        • Port Commissioner Peter Steinbrueck: Committed to getting the bridge back in service as soon as possible and actively engaged in re-connecting West Seattle to the city.
      • Speak Up Survey Question:When we finally get to meet again in person, will you join us on Zoom or will you attend the meeting in person?  https://forms.gle/icSzFKfaiMisNRao7  
      • The Chair provided Zoom technical tips 

      Approval of Agenda

      • Ann Martin motioned to approve, Bunny Hatcher seconded, verbal approval vote, no opposition. 

      Approval of Minutes

      • Ann Martin motioned to approve, Karen Richter seconded, verbal approval vote, no opposition. 

      Announcements

      • Endorsement Rules; please review for vote on April 14th meeting: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1mC7J_1nvFg-VWYbHHFptWu0EkDgstfFImrxvm5hSLZ8/edit
      • Upcoming Programs
        • The Elephant in the Democratic Party – Racism in Political Institutions – 3/27, 10:30-12:00
        • Modern Monetary Theory – 4/5, 7:00 – 9:00
        • Legislative Town Hall – 5/2, time TBD
      • Candidate forum lineup:
        • City Council 5/22, 11 – 1pm
        • King County Executive 5/22, 3 – 4pm 
        • Burien City Council 5/25, 7 – 9pm, may need extra support to maintain democratic seats.  
        • Mayor 6/5, 11 – 1pm
      • Endorsement Meeting 6/9, 6:30 – 9pm, most important meeting of the year.  New 34th members must join by May 12 or renewing members by 9pm the evening prior in order to vote.. 

      Meet the Candidates

      5 candidates in the 2021 election spoke to the membership. 

      • King Conservation District Supervisor, Position 3
        • Brittney Bush Bollay and John Comerford
      • King County Executive
        • Dow Constantine
      • Seattle City Council
        • Teresa Mosqueda
        • Brianna Thomas
      • Mayor
        • Lance Randall 

      King Conservation District Election and Potential Endorsement

      Endorsements require a 60% majority vote. The Chair asked for motions for endorsement. 

      • Ann Martin motioned to endorse Brittney Bush Bollay, David Toledo seconded.
      • Julie Whitaker motioned to endorse John Comerford, Marcee Stone Vekich seconded. 
      • Joshua Wilmot endorsed Kali Clark, Bunny Hatcher seconded. 
      • Joe McDermott nominated David Toledo, Steven Butts seconded.  
      • Jeanne Fellin nominated Melissa Tatro, there was a second.
      • David Toledo withdrew his nomination in favor of John Comerford.


      Jordan reported on voting – No candidate received 60% of the vote. We moved to the 2nd ballet with John Comeford and Brittany Bush Bollay as the 2 candidate receiving the most votes in the first ballot.

      After the ballots were counted, 78.9% of the vote went to endorse Brittney Bush Bollay.

      Resolution for Consideration

      • The body considered the Resolution: Appointing a BIPOC Director To The City Of Seattle’s Office Of Arts & Culture (https://34dems.org/6757-2/) 
      • Bunny Hatcher made a motion to approve the resolution as submitted, Rachel Glass seconded
      • There was discussion for and against the motion. 
      • A voice vote was held and the motion passed with no opposition. 

      Membership, Budget Reports and 2021 Budget Approval

      • Trey Lykins provided the membership report with 198 members, 111 PCO’s, and with 24 recurring memberships totaling $364 a month.  
      • Budget Report was shared by Julie Whitaker. This report will be for January 2020 – April 2021 due to the new fiscal year transition. 
      • Budget shared with the membership in email the day prior to the meeting. 
      • Julie shared the 2021-22 Proposed Interim Budget and noted that the Budget committee will review the financial situation again  in the fall once we are further post-Covid. 
        • In the future, the budget reports will be sent to the membership/PCO email list prior to the monthly meeting.  
      • Ann Martin motioned to approve the 2021-2022 proposed interim budget. Rachel Glass seconded. A verbal vote was held and received unanimous approval with no opposition.

      Due to time constraints, Hannah Cameron motioned to remove agenda items Appointment of Board Members and Change Makes Sense Campaign. Sarah Koch seconded.  A verbal vote was held and the motion passed, with no opposition.

      Appointment of PCOs

      • Nick Bonazza presented PCO candidates Shellea Allen SEA 34-1518, Dominick Ojeda SEA 34-1493 and Clara Sekowski BUR 34-0402 for PCO Approval.
      • Jordan Crawley motioned to approve the 3 new PCOs with Randy Litzenberger seconding.  A voice vote was held with the motion passing, no opposition. 
      • Nick swore themin as Appointed PCOs for the balance of the 2020-2022 term. 

      MPC Spotlight – Environment, Energy & Land Use Caucus

      • Jordan Crawley reminded the body of the purpose of the Membership Policy Caucuses and introduced Environment, Energy, and Land Use Lead, Randy Litzenberger, to give a report on their activities.  If you’re interested in joining a Policy Caucus, email  lac@34dems.org. 

      Good of the Order

      Adjourned at 9:10pm by Carla Rogers, Chair.