Meeting Minutes Archive

    Archived notes from our business meetings, WSDCC meetings, KCDCC meetings and our newsletters.

    April Monthly Meeting Minutes

     150 150 34th Democrats

    April 2017 Meeting Minutes

    34th District Democrats

    District Reorganization Meeting

    4/12/17

    The Hall at Fauntleroy

    • Meeting called to order at 7:09 by Chair David Ginsberg
    • Pledge of Allegiance
    • Recognition of VIPs and Elected Officials:
      • Lorena Gonzalez – Running for re-election, Seattle City Council Position 9
        • Her priorities: Sustainable Police Reform, getting paid family leave statewide, and a
        • Legal defense fund for undocumented immigrants and refugees
      • Judge David Mann
      • Joe McDermott – King County Council
        • Update: Resilience fund voted through committee to help the 1 in 4 King County
        • Residents who are foreign born
    • Approval of the Minutes – (M)oved, (Seconded) and (P)assed
    • Adoption of the Agenda – MSP
    • Chairs Report –
      • Short explanation of the Showdown Format. 5 rounds, questions pulled from a hat, each
      • Candidate has 2 minutes. Top 6 as voted by the Membership move on to the 2nd round
      • Expressed need for a Fundraising Committee Co-Chair
      • Solicited suggestions for Garden Party theme
      • Announced Campaign kickoff for Dave Upthegrove on April 13
    • Legislative Action Committee highlighted sheet of ideas to support a Democratic Budget
    • Showdown in the 34th — Seattle City Council Position #8
      • MC Chris Porter announced Jenn Huff had dropped out of the race and Rudy Pantoja could not make it.
      • Speaker order chosen at random
      • First – John Grant
        • Make Seattle affordable, get corporations out of politics, is only accepting small donations.
        • (Q)uestion: How to protect commuters and visitors downtown.  (A)nswer: The Bicycle Master Plan and the Center City initiatives must be funded, impact fees should be considered
      • Second – Teresa Mosqueda
        • Heavily endorsed, focus on Healthcare and affordable housing, family leave and childcare.
        • (Q) Her opinion of homeless camp sweeps (A) Homelessness is a public health crisis, we need to get people inside and out of the elements
      • Special Appearance by Representative Pramila Jayapal – Updated on current priorities:
        • College for All with Bernie Sanders
        • Healthcare
        • Immigration
        • Medicaid cut by $800 million under Trumpcare proposal, its defeat was a victory for the American people, and she has signed on to HR 676, Medicare For All.
        • Of the Puget Sound area – “We are the Moral Conscience of our country!”
        • Trump’s action against Syria was unconstitutional, and Syria is not an imminent threat
        • “You can’t bomb your way to peace.”
        • OPEN THE REFUGEE GATES BACK UP!
        • Trump’s budget adds $54 million to the military and takes $54 million from EVERYTHING else.
        • Keep Resisting – “Strength emerges from times of crisis.”
        • Adam Smith may sign on to the College for All bill.
        • Emphasized the importance of workers and unions, and of OSHA standards and workplace safety rules.
        • Is Moving to West Seattle!
      • Third – James Passey – Libertarian
        • Taxation should be the LAST option considered. Is in favor of “Responsible Taxation”.
        • (Q) What advice for Seattle Schools to address achievement gap between white students and students of color. (A) Supports higher wages for teachers and the right for them to organize.
        • Wants to “help the adults help the kids”
      • Fourth – Sheley Secrest – Law clerk, VP of the local NAACP chapter, worked for the Urban League.
        • Her community got her where she is, we should “lift as we climb.” (Q) Does she support the annexation of White Center (A) Example of Skyway, suspects people in White Center feel like  they “are on an island.”
      • Fifth – Ryan Asbert – Developing Collaborative Democracy, a new kind of representation which is transparent and accessible.
        • (Q) How to spread tax reform (A) Is open to any tax proposal, sees the sales tax as regressive,
        • Doors are open to anything
      • Sixth – Charlene Strong – Need to be caring, and citizens should have a voice. Works as a civil rights commissioner.
        • (Q) Supports a progressive income tax? (A) Yes. Sales taxes are regressive. Property taxes should be lowered as well
      • Seventh – Mac McGregor – 1st transgendered candidate in the state. Seattle needs to support diversity. “We will never be a first class society if there are second class citizens.”
        • (Q) Catholic hospitals should disclose their policies on care that they provide, Yes or No? (A) Yes
      • Eighth – Dr. Hisam Goweli – Professor at the UW, is a medical doctor. Advocating for the homeless and POC/LGBTQ, also for quality, affordable health care, housing, affordability, and greater access to cultural services.
        • (Q) Opposed to metered parking in West Seattle? (A) More reliable mass transit is needed, then people wouldn’t complain about parking
    • Membership votes for who continues to 2nd round. Questions from a hat.
      • Jon Grant, Teresa Mosqueda, Sheley Secrest, Charlene Strong and Hisam Goweli move on
      • Hisam – (Q) How to address sex trafficking? (A) Has worked with victims in trauma and ERs, counsels them as well. This issue affects EVERYONE and there should be Zero Tolerance
      • Charlene – (A) Do you oppose a new stadium in SODO (A) Yes. Impact on Port and its labor force is too great, cannot afford the effect on traffic as well
      • Sheley – (Q) Her recommendations to builders to address housing issues (A) Points out she would be the only renter on the Council. There absolutely should be more affordable housing, as it is a public health issue
      • Jon – (Q) What can be done to address the housing fiasco in Seattle? (A) Former head of the Tenant’s Union. (A) 25% of new buildings should be affordable. Is running a campaign of specificity, there should be a corporate tax to help build affordable housing
    • Teresa and Jon to Final Round.
      • Question #1 – How would they address Food Deserts?
        • Jon – City should incentivize corner markets,  rent control for commercial properties
        • Teresa – Seattle is known for prosperity, BUT we should not have Food Deserts. Community plots should be available for locally grown/produced food. All of her policies would be viewed through a Health/Equity lens
        • Jon’s response – What are Teresa’s specifics?
        • Teresa’s response – Has done the work , has brought the people who are affected to the table for the discussion
      • Question #2 – Opinion of All Our Best, a new mayoral program to help African American males
        • Teresa – Communities of Color have less access to good jobs. School to Prison pipeline needs to be broken.  Involve the people affected in the discussion
        • Jon – Favors Restorative Justice for students. Expulsion should be the last option, try to keep the kids in school/ Develop and implement a program for post school life
        • Teresa’s response – Points out that prosperity is not being shared, and she will speak for the forgotten
        • Jon’s response – The community must be engaged as City Hall has been unresponsive. Big Business should pay impact fees to help fund schools
    • Closing Statements
      • Jon – City Council voted against affordable housing, he will push for it
      • Teresa – She will make sure that Seattle works for everyone
    • Winner of the Shootout: Jon Grant
      • Jon – 53 votes
      • Teresa – 44 votes
    • Moved and Seconded to endorse Jon, Teresa, Sheley, Hasim and Charlene
      • Members vote by paper ballot, tallying of the ballots begins
    • Burien Candidates introduced:
      • Pedro Olguin
      • Krystal Marx
      • Charles Schaefer – identifies as a Libertarian
      • Jimmy Matta
      • Nancy Tosta for Deputy Mayor
    • Endorsement for Seattle City Council Position #8
      • Question from the membership: Is Jon Grant eligible for our endorsement? He is running as a Democratic Socialist
      • (Meanwhile, tallying of the ballots continues)
      • Much discussion. It is MSP to table this endorsement until the May meeting.  Vote was by show of hands, 42 for tabling 28 against.
      • Results of ballot are announced:
        • Jon – 34 votes, 42%
        • Teresa – 36 votes, 44%
        • Charlene -1 vote, 1.2%
        • Sheley – 4 votes, 4.9%
        • Hasim – 6 votes, 7.4%
    • Treasurer’s Report – 406 members! Budget outlined, moved and seconded to approve.
    • Slate of Committee Chair nominees announced:
      • Carrie Alexander for Events
      • Chris Godwin for Finance
      • Chris Porter for Fundraising Co-Chair
    • Appointment of PCOs:
      • Irene Stewart -1473
      • Hugo Garcia – 0913
      • Christina McHugh – 1471
      • Craig Branham – 3632
      • Jason Cheung – 1255
    • Good of the Order
    • 9:50 – Meeting Adjourned.

    Report from Washington State Democratic Central Committee Meeting 4/22/17, Walla Walla

     150 150 34th Democrats

    Report from Washington State Democratic Central Committee Meeting 4/22/17, Walla Walla

    Structural changes in our function under new leadership

    In overview, our meetings have a new format under our new chair Tina Podlodowski, and so far it’s a real improvement. Previously our Friday nights were devoted to socializing at “hospitality suites” run by various groups or individuals (often candidates). Then our time to meet in caucuses of various groups and interests was condensed and overlapping on Saturday AM, allowing for only an hour-long committee meeting before the business meeting that afternoon. Under our new system, caucuses begin Friday night, and it would be theoretically possible to attend a series of 3 caucuses, from 5-8PM before hospitality suites. On Saturday morning, we were able to attend special training sessions and hold longer committee meetings of 1h45min each, making our work far more meaningful. Plus, our committees will be much more active than they were in the past. We formerly met for an hour three times a year. We now meet for 1:45 in person, plus hold at least monthly conference calls for work, and we have much more extensive goals than in the past. This is exciting, and it reflects a commitment on the part of our new leadership to really get the job done of electing progressive Democrats in Washington state!

    Our training program starting this meeting was on “Heroes’ Narratives.” The aim is to teach us to take the long view of identifying stories that excite our base at the moment, while building our base over the long term. What is our best progressive story, and how do we tell it? Unfortunately, when it comes to using a values-based narrative, thus far the conservative voices have been defining the message; we have been battling their narrative. Story-telling over a long period of time delivers a strong message that captures and holds the audience’s attention, stimulating the desired action. A good narrative, however, helps different campaigns tell a common story and builds power over time. A given campaign may have many messages, but these should all support a long-term narrative. We discussed the importance of making messages resonate, using values-based language; we need to speak to peoples’ hearts to change their minds. People cherry-pick what facts they will believe based on the emotional parts of their brains. We want to increase participation of our base and grow our base at the same time. 

    In this era of sound bites, we need to return to developing “epic stories,” as, over time, that is what will resonate with people. The story elements include:

    1)a hero who makes 2) a quest which should be real, tangible and urgent. The hero faces 3) a threat which may not necessarily be true, but which resonates and mobilizes. The hero uses policies as 4) tools to accomplish goals. It’s more important to tell why a policy matters, not what it does. Along comes 5) a villain is the person we hold accountable for the threat; he has his own weapons. The story is most compelling if the hero, the heart of the story, is your audience; you are their mentor. For example, Obama spoke of “single moms” as heroes. A quest might be “change you can believe in.” A threat might be “climate change.” To Trump, Hillary was the villain; she was “weak” and “threatening.” Her weapons were “lies.” This session provided a refreshing way to approach our strategies as a party moving forward. 

    Lunch speaker Hillary Franz, newly-elected Commissioner of Public Lands

    She spoke of the importance of listening to others, of spending time to come up with solutions to common problems we see in rural areas. She wants to work with communities and focus on helping the economy while conserving public lands. She feels we can address climate change without speaking of “climate change” per se in a way that upsets opponents; we can find common ground and build on that. She wishes to demonstrate that we can create a strong economy while supporting clean energy, and she plans to start with demonstration projects that should do just that in 5 areas she will select.

    Chair’s report

    Chair Podlodowski has built a budget and has an organizaing plan. She’s hired 5 new staffers, and we have a new funding source, “the Resistance.” Based on small dollar fundraising attracting new participants, the state party’s working budget based on recurring contributions went from $2000 to $17,000 per month. We now have 1100 small donors and plan to grow this base further. We now have a full-time communications director for the first time who is about to start working.

    Progress report from Dylan Cate, our new organizing director

    Theme “win every race in every place.” We plan to win elections and build strategic long-term political relationships. Previously the party didn’t support candidates in areas we “couldn’t win.” We will instead support all good Democratic candidates. They might not win this election, but they’ll become known, and they’ll become stronger. We’ll have new tools in our voter file; traditional methods are not working. We won’t just canvass known Democrats; we’ll get out and listen to voters, ask their priorities. PCOs should learn what their neighbors care about.

    New tool

    On your cell phone, open text messaging app and write: 444999. Type the work “persist” and you’ll go to volunteering opportunities. Type “resistance,” and you’ll be able to support us financially.

    Committee reports:

    • Rules committee will have rules for endorsements ready in September. Rules for primaries (vs caucuses) will come later.
    • Affirmative action committee (chaired by our own Chris Porter! and to be renamed to express “inclusion”) is dealing with harassment issues and code of conduct language plus a framework for mediation
    • Technology committee has recruited 60 members from tech industry and has in place 16 teams with functions ranging from mobile apps, webcasts,centralized calendar, PCO finders.

    Democratic National Committee

    Members report feeling new Chairman Tom Perez is refreshing and is truly overhauling the party. We will have a 57 state strategy going forward. They report the biggest change is that they now feel the “people at the top are interested in listening.”

    Resolutions 

    Please see state party website for full list and content of resolutions passed by the body.

    Please contact either Chris Porter or myself if you have any specific questions or concerns. And yes, we enjoyed both the eastern Washington sunshine and the wines! 

    Respectfully submitted,

    Lisa Plymate

    State Committeewoman

    March Monthly Meeting Minutes

     150 150 34th Democrats

    34th District Democrats

    District Monthly Meeting

    3/8/17

    The Hall at Fauntleroy

    Meeting called to order at 7:00 p.m. by Chair David Ginsberg.

    Pledge of Allegiance.

    A short welcoming address from the Chair for new members, an invitation to be a PCO, and a request for a volunteer to fill the role of Technician.

    Adoption of Agenda and Meeting Rules.

    Moved, seconded, and passed.

    Treasurer’s Report – 145 people joined at the February meeting and Current membership is 335.

    Committee Reports:

    Legislative Action – Ann Martin explained purpose of committee and invited members to join. Emphasized helping the 31st and 45th Districts to take back the State Senate due to special elections.

    Data & Technical Committee report – Nick Bohall gave a short introduction of the new interactive PCO map.

    Candidates for Seattle City Council made short speeches introducing themselves to the membership.

    Teresa Mosqueda highlighted her public healthcare background and her endorsement

    From Rep. Pramila Jayapal.

    Sheley Secrest cited her commitment to Jobs Not Jails and housing and community issues.

    Address from Mayor Ed Murray

    The Mayor spoke about balancing Growth with Equity, fighting the new administration’s

    Policies, and homelessness.  He took one question about the Mayoral Office

    Budget.

    Main Program, Part I: Threats to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, presented by Robby Stern from the Puget Sound Advocates For Retirement Action.

    In honor of Women’s History Month, the program focused on women and Retirement and the Social Security safety net. Wage inequality and POC participation rates examined.

    King County Sherriff John Urquhart addressed the membership and pledged that the King County Sherriff’s Department would NEVER enter into a 287(g) agreement to assist ICE.

    Main Program Part II: Velma Veloria, the first Asian American woman to be elected to the Washington State Legislature and Organizer and Policy Advocate for the Faith Action Network spoke about the scourge of Human Trafficking and its impact on women and POC.

    Unfinished Business:

    Resolution regarding greenhouse gas emissions, HB-1646. Moved, seconded, and passed.

    New Business:

    Digital Communications – Chair Carrie Alexander invited members to join the committee and encouraged membership to interact with our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages. Video Project was highlighted, with Lynn Randal and Ann Martin being featured.

    Appointment of New PCOs:

    • Eric Ferrel – 34-0298
    • Juniper Rogneby – (Acting) – Carpenter
    • Gina Topp – (Acting) 34-1420
    • Jeanne Fellin – 34-1425
    • Ruth Kerr – 34-1422
    • Chryssa Brazil – 34-1246
    • Shelley Chase -34-1448

    All were moved, seconded, and passed.

    Resolution opposing attacks on our health benefits. Moved, seconded, and passed.

    Resolution Expanding Social Security. Moved, seconded, and passed.

    Resolution in support of HB-1144 which would amend limits on greenhouse gas emissions in Washington State. Moved, seconded, and passed.

    A Letter by the Washington Federation of State Employees was introduced in support of a Statement Regarding Locality Pay to Create an Equitable Living Standard. Moved, seconded, and passed.

    King County Council Chair Joe McDermott informed the membership of a County program for legal aid to immigrants.

    Good of the Order

    Adjourned at 9:00 p.m. by Chair David Ginsberg.

    Candidate Questionnaires for 2017

     150 150 34th Democrats

    Candidate Questionnaire for King County Sheriff

    The following candidate filled out questionnaires from the King County Democrats for the King County Sheriff position. Please click his name to read his responses:

    Candidate Questionnaire for Seattle City Council, District 8

    The following candidates filled out questionnaires from the King County Democrats for the Seattle City Council, District 8 position. Please click on their names to read their responses:

    The following candidate filled out questionnaires from the Democratic Socialists:

    Candidate Questionnaire for Judicial Candidates

    The following candidate filled out questionnaires from the King County Democrats for judicial candidates. Please click the name to read the responses:

    Chair’s Message: Winning by not losing, and our upcoming Seattle City Council Position 8 Showdown in the Wild West

     150 150 34th Democrats
    Winning by not losing

    At the national level we are an opposition party, and will be for the next 3 years and 10 months. So we won’t be able to achieve any of the things we’d like to. At the national level, we need to put our positive agenda for the nation on hold while we fight the rightwing extremists who have taken over our government using dark money from oligarchs who now believe the end of democracy is within their grasp. But, just as we did yesterday, we will prove them wrong.

    Celebrating our victories

    While I’m extremely confident we’ll win in the end, we’re going to lose many fights in the coming years. So many that we’ll get good at losing (like Trump’s nominees). But sometimes, on the most important fights – like saving the ACA – we will win. And when we do it’s important that we celebrate our victories so that we can recharge and inspire each other to continue the fight. That’s what we did last night at Dakota Place Park, where we gathered and celebrated yesterday’s victory over the Republican attack on our health care.

    The next fight we’ll win if we continue to stand up and stick together: tax reform

    The republican leadership had two major goals for this Congress: repeal the ACA and reform the tax code. Both are designed to give huge tax breaks to the wealthy oligarchs who fund the Republican Party, at the expense of the poor, the middle class, and democracy itself. The Republicans chose to use a budgetary procedure called reconciliation to pass their draconian agenda, because budget reconciliation allows them to avoid the possibility of a Democratic filibuster in the Senate. And they chose to repeal the ACA first because the budget resolution for the current fiscal year dictates that any reconciliation measure must reduce the deficit, which the Republican ACA repeal was designed to do. Republicans then could draft a new budget resolution for the upcoming fiscal year with easier deficit targets, allowing for more aggressive tax cuts. Yesterday they saw their plans go up in flames. Any tax cuts for the super wealthy will now have to be smaller than they would if the measure had passed. And the political challenges the Republicans faced with the ACA repeal aren’t going away any time soon. They have to deal not only with an American electorate that is against them, but with extremist factions within their own party that demand ideological purity that moderates can’t stomach. On this fight, just as with the repeal fight we just won, if we stand up and stick together, we will win.

    Coming up in April: Seattle City Council Position 8 Showdown in the Wild West

    There are now 10 declared candidates for Seattle City Council Position 8. How do you choose from such a large field. We know the approach the Republicans took last year ended in national disaster. We also know that a candidate forum in which 10 candidates get equal time isn’t necessarily effective in leading to a decision. So we’re trying something different: 

    After brief introductory comments from each of the candidates they’ll each draw a question at random and answer it, and after each has had a chance at answering one of our questions we’re going to let you choose which candidates you want to hear more from through a process of elimination.  Eight of the ten candidates have enthusiastically said they’ll be there. One has said maybe, and one has yet to RSVP.

    Note: If you have a question you’d like to hear the candidates answer please submit it to Chris Porter at wsdccm@34dems.org.

     At the end of the evening we’ll endorse one (or more) of the candidates. We want it to be fun, interesting, informative and valuable for our members and for the candidates alike. Hope to see you there!

    A note about voting: according to our bylaws:

    “Only members in good standing by the end of the prior month’s meeting may vote, except that any member who had paid dues in the previous calendar year may vote if the membership is renewed at or before the meeting where the endorsement takes place.”

    If you were a member last year but haven’t renewed yet, you can click here to pay your dues and renew your membership in time for the April meeting. If you weren’t a member by the end of the last meeting you won’t be eligible to vote at the April meeting but can join now to be eligible to vote at our big May endorsements meeting.

    http://www.34dems.org/contribute/

     In solidarity,

    David Ginsberg

    Chair, 34th District Democrats

    KCDCC Meeting Notes March 2017

     150 150 34th Democrats

    KCDCC Meeting Minutes March 27, 2017

    The March KCDCC Monthly Meeting was brought to order with 53 in attendance and the agenda was approved. We began with Public Announcements, in which Matt Cantor from the King County Young Democrats stated that they are working to help fill vacant PCO spots, and that they would like to have a King County Young Democrats representative from each LD.

    Brandon Dotson from the 47th LD spoke next and shared that on April 12th, at Cedar Heights Middle School, there will be an event called “Dave Reichart Empty Chair Town Hall” with Dave Upthegrove from 6:30pm to 8:30pm. It is called “Empty Chair” because Dave Reichart refuses to host a town hall meeting.

    Jin-Ah Kim shared that she went to the Korean Action Commission and learned that Korean Ballots received 80% return, Vietnamese came in third. This was the first time that the ballots were in Korean, and she was really excited to see how many voted.

    Bailey Stober began the Chairs Report by apologizing that he has been unavailable due to pneumonia over the past few weeks. He stated that they
    had their leadership team meeting and it was good. He also said that he had
    good news from King County Labor Council, who sent a check for $5000 and will match that $5000 with another check next month. They were happy to donate and were glad to have a seat at the table with our party.

    Marvin had a great idea asked to work on a project to get Larry Phillips to pass on annual Salmon Bake, which made $32,000/year in the past. The Salmon Bake will be in June.

    Member of the month, Brandon Dotson, has been helping a lot with events and committee work and organized the town hall as mentioned earlier in the meeting.

    Bailey said that Brian Gunn and the 31st LD had doubled attendance during their most recent meetings. Also, they held two meetings last weekend and Brian found the perfect candidate who has military and police experience. They are excited to have some good candidates in the 31st this year. It was also announced that there is a strong democratic candidate running against Reichart, though he didn’t provide the name.

    The KCDCC talked about a group called Democrats of South King County, who approached the KCDCC about partnering as they have in the past. They picked 40 precincts that had 16-20% turn out and hired an organizer who knocked on doors and asked people to vote, then came back later and told them about their ballots, and then helped them with their ballots and reminded them to vote. When they compared numbers with vote builder, they found that turn out went up to 82%. Bailey will follow up with the group and figure out a way to partner with them and then present it to the membership at our next meeting.

    2017 budget was proposed. A couple of people had concerns about the percentage of funds going to candidates being too low, but ultimately the budget passed.

    The next two hours were spent with the Bylaws and Resolutions Committee going through their proposed Bylaws changes. Some were tabled for further discussion, while others were passed. Endorsement rules were also discussed and endorsement questionnaires were passed around to review. There were about 5 different questionnaires for different types of candidates and they were approved.

    February Meeting Recap: How to Resist Trump and Protect What We Hold Dear

     150 150 34th Democrats

    Thank you to everyone who attended in person or watched on Facebook live and made our first program such a success! This is what the beginning of a movement looks like, and this is a movement that will rescue our democracy, restore decency and a leave a liveable planet for our kids.

    Together we will win.

    The attendance last night was inspiring, staff at the Hall at Fauntleroy put the headcount at just over 700! An additional 674 watched via the Facebook live feed provided by Indivisible West Seattle.

    Per usual, the best play by play of the evening can be found on the West Seattle Blog here: http://westseattleblog.com/2017/02/overflow-crowd-34th-district-democrats-gathers-to-stand-up-and-fight/

    Membership

    We started the night with 195 members, and this morning we have 290, thank you to everyone who joined last night! Last year at this time we had 350 members, so we’ve still got a ways to go just to stay even with last year, and I know we can do better – if you haven’t joined for 2017 please do so now, and please consider monthly donations as it helps us plan. Note: it costs about $10/month per member to provide the programs and candidate/election support we do, so a monthly donation of $10 is the sustaining level. If you can afford to give more please do – we’ll put your money to good use continuing to build the strongest Democratic organization in the state! You can join or renew on our new website at www.34dems.org.

    PCOs

    We started the night with 125 PCOs, and ended with 141. Thank you to everyone who signed up to be a PCO last night, this is by far the biggest impact one can have on voters and elections, and we don’t want to leave any potential democratic voters behind. We have 209 precincts, so we’ve still got work to do here. If you’re interested in becoming a PCO please contact Brooks Salazar at pco@34dems.org.

    Lobby Day

    King County Democrats Lobby Day is Monday, February 20th. If you’re interested in carpooling to Olympia please contact Steve Butts at newsletter@34dems.org.

    Calling all High School Activists!

    Do you know a high schooler who’s concerned about their future and interested in having their voice heard in Olympia? The 34th District Democrats are sponsoring a bus to take high schoolers from the 34th to Olympia for Lobby Day. Please have them contact inclusion@34dems.org ASAP to get on board.

    Sponsor an activist! Please contribute whatever you can to help send these budding young activists to Olympia by making a contribution on our website here: http://www.34dems.org/contribute/

    Taking the next step and getting involved

    Here are some ways you can get involved in the new 34th District Democrats organization:

    1. Become a PCO: http://www.34dems.org/get-active/pco/
    2. Become a member: http://www.34dems.org/membership/
    3. Volunteer: http://www.34dems.org/volunteer/
    4. Join one of our Executive Committees: http://www.34dems.org/our-executive-board/
    5. We’re still looking for an Executive Board member to chair the Finance Committee. If you’re interested in this role please contact me at chair@34dems.org

    And here are the speakers and organizations we heard from last night. Please join one or more as well as joining the 34th. Our strength will come in the relationships we build.

    1. ACLU of Washington: https://aclu-wa.org
    2. Greater Seattle Neighborhood Action Coalition: https://www.neighborhoodaction.info/
    3. IndivisibleSEA: http://seattleindivisibles.blogspot.com/
    4. American Muslim Empowerment Network: https://www.facebook.com/AmericanMuslimEmpowermentNetwork/
    5. Equal Rights Washington: https://www.facebook.com/EqualRightsWashington/

    Thanks again for everything you do. We’re building a grassroots organization to protect what we hold dear and leave our kids a world we can be proud to leave them.

    It won’t be easy, but it will be rewarding. And we will win.

    In solidarity,
    David Ginsberg
    Chair, 34th District Democrats

    KCDCC Meeting Notes January 2017

     1024 333 34th Democrats

    For the first KCDCC meeting of the new elected delegates and chairs from each LD in King County, Chair Bailey Stover decided to make it more about getting acquainted. All new delegates stood up at the beginning and seemed to be more than half of the room. He took the time to go through each newly appointed member of the Executive Board of the King County Central Committee, including Chair, Vice Chairs and all of the committee chairs. Each person was allowed time to introduce themselves and provide an idea of what their committee’s objective will be and to ask for volunteers. Although each of these positions is listed on the website, it was very helpful to put faces with names and to hear more about their goals.

    Bailey shared that he is 52 days into his term and that during that time he has had significant challenges. In fact, in his first 24 hours he was faced with a lawsuit and a restraining order! During the first two months, he has been busy overseeing reorganization meetings, the final 17 of which finished up last week. There are a lot of new people in positions throughout the county. Bailey also gave an update that there are about 1135 PCOs in the county and that about a third of them have reached out to him directly since the reorganization. The overall feeling is that people are ready to help and looking for direction.

    We approved a temporary operating budget that will be in place until March and includes funds for logo and web design.

    Cat Williams, First Vice Chair, shared the events she is working on producing throughout the year, starting with a Committee event called “February Action Kickoff” that will allow an opportunity for volunteers to find a committee that suits the ways in which they would like to participate. The date has not yet been set for this event, but will be decided upon soon and information will be available on the website.

    The LAC Co-Chairs invited everyone to participate in Lobby Day in Olympia on February 20th – information will be available on the KCDCC website for this, as well. They also provided a 2017 Legislative Agenda handout.

    Two Republican State Senators and one former Senator have accepted positions in the Trump administration, leaving 2 positions open.

    The committee voted to endorse Keith Ellison for DNC chair by 2/3 vote.

    Chad Lupkes, Training Committee Chair, is scheduling PCO training and other training opportunities throughout the year. PCO training is February 4th 1-4pm, details on website.

    Two candidates for City  Woodinville spoke, Paula Waters and Susan Sanders.

    Brian Gunn, 31st LD Chair, spoke about winning a seat in the senate in the special election and is looking for donations and volunteers to help democratic candidates.

     

     

    Executive Board Meeting Notes 1-18-17

     150 150 34th Democrats

    34th Democrats Executive Board Meeting

    1/18/17, Puget Ridge Common House
    Meeting Called to Order at 7:00pm by District Chair David Ginsberg.
    Welcome from Les Treall on behalf of Puget Ridge

    Introductions/Attendees:

    Rachel Ostrander
    Jacob Holt
    Gina Topp
    Nick Bohall
    Patrick Wicklund
    Elisabeth Atwood
    Nancy Craver
    Stu Yafitz
    Karen Richter
    Steven Butts
    Ted Barker
    Pam McCallister
    Sue Cummings
    Lisa Plymate
    Joy Pakuluk
    Sean Riley
    Kate Riley
    Martha Koester
    Chris Porter
    Treina Aronson

    Committee Reports:

    • Nick announced that Email addresses are up and live, and to contact him if there are any questions
    • Gina Topp will fill role as Finance Chair
    • Data and Technology Chair is still vacant
    • Pam McCallister will be the PCO Coordinator for Burien
    • Les brought up the idea of having a retreat for new PCOs, Chair formed an ad-hoc committee to organize this, with Jacob (as Events Chair) will spearhead

    Treasurer’s Report:

    Gina presented her report on the District’s finances.

    • $7449 in the bank at the end of 2016

    Draft Budget Revenues:

    • Membership Dues of $12,000.00 are expected
    • Numbers were higher in 2016 dues to Election/Caucuses
    • Fundraiser ideas and locations discussed

    Draft Budget Expenditures:

    • Discussion to increase the budget for GOTV Sample Ballots
    • Discussion to set budget at $500 for Non-Profit Organizations
    • Discussion on the merits of using Square vs NGP
    • Discussion to spend funds on Candidate forums for Burien
    • Discussion to budget $1034.00 for KCDCC
    • Discussion of Outreach budget.  $865 proposed
    • Discussion of Signage Budget. $200 proposed
    • Discussion of PCO Gear Up budget. $100 proposed
    • Discussion of fund raising costs. $8,000 proposed for 2017 Garden Party. Discussion of location, West Seattle Nursery appears to be leading candidate and is popular with the membership
    • There is a remaining outstanding bill of $559.00 for Hall rental for July
    • Discussion of adding a line item of $2000.00 for 3 months of operating costs for carryover into 2018
    • Discussion of adding a line item for campaign contributions, amount to be based on changes to this years budget over last years
    • There are currently 150 paid members

    Presentation of Program for February 8th meeting.

    • ACLU
    • Indivisible Washington

    Discussion of a meetup.com subscription for the 34th

    Nick presented the Web Editor’s report:

    • February District Monthly meeting will be live streamed on Facebook

    Sean presented the Inclusion/Diversity report:

    •  6 people signed up at January meeting.
    • Announced Young Storyteller’s event on February 3rd at the Thelma Dewitty Theatre at 4408 Delridge SW, running from 6:30 to 9:30 pm. Free, and a potluck!

    Elisabeth presented the Fundraising report:

    Meeting set for the weekend

    Kate presented the Hospitality report:

    Needs to complete transition from Past Chair Mike Heavey

    Joy presented the Membership report:

    • Onward and upward! Asked any members who did not have printed name tags to contact her
    • 2 people signed up for the committee at meeting

    Jacob presented the Event Planning report:

    3 people signed up for the Event Planning committee, they are busily at work organizing the retreat

    Treina presented the Volunteer report:

    • 4 members have reached out to her about joining the Volunteer committee
    • Discussed sending a Skills Audit to members
    • Discussion of a “Volunteer Match” to help Dems in other districts

    Old Business:  None

    New Business:

    • Stu Yafitz presented a resolution regarding reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions Goals for Washington State to be proposed at the February Membership Meeting
    • Les proposed a Phone Tree to ask membership to renew. This would be targeted at past year’s members who haven’t paid yet. Possibly also directed to people who attended the caucuses. Chair is in favor of this idea
    • Chris and Lisa spoke about the Candidates running for State Chair, Jaxon Ravens, and Tina Podlodowski

    Good of the Order:

    • Steve brought up changing the Masthead for the District. Asked if members would prefer their phone numbers or email addresses listed. Board expressed a clear preference for email addresses
    • Ted brought up sponsoring a Table at the West Seattle Food Bank auction on May 13th.
    • Lisa asked about organization for the Women’s March, Treina advises that we will have our banner there and to look for it
    • Les is looking forward to the Young Storyteller’s event February 3rd
    • Les also suggested more social events so that the membership can get to know each other better. Would Slack be good for this
    • Nick expressed again his willingness to help set up email accounts

    Meeting adjourned at 9pm