23-01-11 Membership Meeting Minutes

400 300 34th Democrats

34th District Democrats Biennial Reorganization Meeting Minutes

January 11, 2023 – Virtual meeting held via closed Zoom

7:03 Call to Order by Temporary Chair Carrie Barnes, Chair of the King County Democrats

Appointment of Temporary Officers

The Temporary Chair appointed the following:

  1. Parliamentarian – Gina Topp
  2. Sergeant at Arms – Ted Barker
  3. Secretary – Steve Butts

Opening Ceremonies

  1. Land Acknowledgement – Rachel Glass
  2. Explanation of the Voting Process – Carla Rogers

Agenda and Meeting Rules

  1. Adoption of the Agenda moved by Chris Porter; seconded by Ann Martin. Agenda approved.
  • Amendment to the Agenda to add KCDCC Alternates to list of nominations was made and moved by Carla Rogers; seconded by Bunny Hatcher. Amendment approved.
  1. Adoption of the Meeting Rules moved by Ann Martin, seconded by Chris Porter, and approved. 

VIP Speakers

  1. King County Executive Dow Constantine
  2. King County Councilmember Joe McDermott
  3. Retired Representative Eileen Cody
  4. King County Democrats Chair Carrie Barnes

Officer Nominations and Voting

Chair

  1. David Toledo was nominated by Jordan Crawley.
  2. Graham Murphy was nominated by Carla Rogers. 
  • David spoke for himself.  Jordan used his speech to defer to David. 
    • Chris Porter spoke against David.
  • Graham spoke for himself. Carla spoke in favor of Graham.

Graham Murphy was elected Chair via Zoom poll ballot by 100% of the PCOs present.

Graham assumed the role of Permanent Chair for the rest of the meeting.

1st Vice Chair

Rachel Glass was nominated by David Toledo; Carla Rogers seconded. Rachel spoke for herself. David spoke in favor of Rachel. Rachel was elected via voice vote of attending PCOs.

2nd Vice Chair

Jordan Crawley was nominated by David Toledo; Seconded by Bunny Hatcher. Jordan spoke on his own behalf. He was elected via PCO voice vote.

State Committee Member (2 Positions)

  1. Chris Porter (Male Identifying) was nominated by Preston Anderson; Tamsen Spengler seconded.
  2. Roxanne Thayer (Female Identifying) was nominated by Bunny Hatcher; Julie Whitaker seconded.

Each candidate spoke on their own behalf and were both elected by PCO voice vote.

KCDCC Committee Member (2 Positions)

  1. Ted Barker (Male Identifying) was nominated by Joe McDermott; Tamsen Spengler seconded.
  2. Bunny Hatcher (Female Identifying) was nominated by Julie Whitaker; Ann Martin seconded.

Each candidate spoke on their own behalf. Both were elected by PCO voice vote.

KCDCC Committee Member Alternate (2 Positions)

  1. Leah Griffin (Female Identifying) was nominated by Bunny Hatcher; Rachel Glass seconded.
  2. Preston Anderson (Male Identifying) was nominated by Julie Whitaker; Carla Rogers seconded.

Each candidate spoke on their own behalf. Both were elected by PCO voice vote.

Treasurer

Julie Whitaker was nominated by Nick Bonazza; Rachel Glass seconded. Julie spoke on her own behalf and was elected by voice vote of all members present.

Secretary

Steve Butts was nominated by Nick Bonazza; Carla Rogers seconded. Steve spoke on behalf of himself and was elected by voice vote of all members present.

Minutes from the October meeting adopted by voice vote.

Budget and Membership Report

    • Treasurer Julie Whitaker reported on the month’s end financials for October, November, and December. 
  • As of the meeting there were 52 contributing members.

Initiative Spotlight – City of Seattle I-135 (House our Neighbors)

Camille Gix from the Yes on I-135 campaign gave a presentation on this initiative that concerns developing and maintaining affordable social housing in Seattle. It would put in place a Public Developer to create, own, and maintain social housing for those making 60-120% of the Area Median Income.

This social housing would be:

  • Publicly owned
  • Permanently affordable
  • Be home to cross-class communities
  • Feature resident leadership

The initiative was slated for the February 14, 2023 election, ballots sent January 25.

Also speaking for the initiative was Marc Auerbach who put out a call for volunteers.

A motion to endorse I-135 was made by Julie Whitaker; Seconded by Roxanne Thayer. Roxanne spoke in favor of the initiative. It was passed by 87% of the membership vote, cast via a Zoom poll ballot.

https://www.houseourneighbors.org/

King Conservation District Board Special Election

Chris Porter spoke to his reelection campaign to the Board of Supervisors of the King Conservation District. He displayed a postcard reminder we were to expect to receive for this unique and standalone election…which was to be separate from the City Special Election on the same date.

Eligible voters could vote online from January 24, at 8:00 AM through February 14, 2023, at 8:00 PM, or they could request ballots to be mailed, postmarked no later than February 14.

https://kingcd.org/about/board-of-supervisors/elections-and-appointments/

Bunny Hatcher moved to endorse Chris. Julie Whitaker seconded. Chris is endorsed via a voice vote of all members.

Graham Murphy adjourned the meeting at 9:05 pm.