Adopted by the 34th LD District Democrats on September 10, 2025

Resolution Denouncing Arrest of Muhammad Zahid Chaudhry and Detention by ICE of American Residents and Demanding Their Release

WHEREAS United States residents, many of whom have lived, worked, and paid taxes for decades, are being
detained by ICE, and Muhammad Zahid Chaudhry, an activist for peace and an honorable, decorated, disabled
veteran in a wheelchair due to injuries sustained in US military training for service to our country, has been
placed in ICE detention after a naturalization meeting under circumstances that raise significant concerns about
the protection of civil liberties and the overreach of the executive branch; and

WHEREAS the arrest of Muhammad Zahid Chaudhry sparked widespread concern among residents of the 34th
Legislative District, who believe these actions are intended to intimidate political opposition and activism into
silence and inaction, and to unjustly infringe on the fundamental rights of individuals—particularly
non-citizens—to peacefully assemble, speak out, and engage in activism without fear of retaliation or
criminalization; and

WHEREAS, as Democrats, we must stand against any actions that disrespect the service of our veterans,
undermine our democracy or create a chilling effect on activism, especially when it comes to protecting the rights
of individuals who seek to make positive changes in their communities through lawful means;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED the 34th District Democrats call for the immediate release of Muhammad Zahid
Chaudhry from solitary confinement and ICE custody, processing of his naturalization as a US citizen recognizing
his service in the US military, and DHS act in accordance with due process guaranteed by the US Constitution
protecting democratic freedoms and rights, fostering open dialogue, and refraining from any actions that
contribute to or support the unjust criminalization of activism or the targeting of individuals for their political
beliefs or activism; and

THEREFORE BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED the 34th District Democrats call for the application due process
guarantees for all detained people and release of individuals who have not been convicted of a crime; and urge
that those committing illegal acts pertaining to the detention of Zahid and others be brought to justice in
accordance with the US Constitution; and

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED the 34th District Democrats resoundingly condemn the arrest of Muhammad Zahid
Chaudhry as a blatant violation of the right to free speech, and reaffirm our commitment to defending
democracy, human rights, and the fundamental freedoms that define our nation.

Submitted by 34th District Democrats member, Steve Rubicz, on August 28, 2025

Adopted by the 34th LD District Democrats on September 10, 2025

Resolution on Gaza

WHEREAS the ongoing, and now critical, humanitarian crisis in Gaza, due to the current use of famine as a
weapon of war and bombing of food and healthcare sites, has resulted in the documented loss of over 60,000
lives, displacement of 1.7 million Palestinians, and widespread destruction at the hands of the Israeli
government; and

WHEREAS this month, the world’s biggest academic association of genocide scholars has passed a resolution
saying the legal criteria have been met to establish Israel is committing genocide in Gaza along with
international humanitarian organizations such as the United Nations, Human Rights Watch, and Amnesty
International have characterized the humanitarian situation as catastrophic; [1] and

WHEREAS the Democratic Party has consistently advocated for peace and followed international law; and

WHEREAS the escalation of violence and Israel’s continued blockade preventing humanitarian aid are
exacerbated by U.S. policy decisions; and

WHEREAS, 27 Democratic members of the United States Senate voted for a resolution to block offensive arms
shipments to the Israeli government Senators Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Lisa Blunt
Rochester (D-DE), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Mazie Hirono (D-HI),
Tim Kaine (D-VA), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Angus King (I-ME), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Ed
Markey (D-MA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Patty Murray (D-WA), Jon Ossoff (D-GA), Jack Reed
(D-RI), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Tina Smith (D-MN), Chris Van Hollen
(D-MD), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Peter Welch (D-VT), and Sheldon Whitehouse
(D-RI);

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED the 34th Legislative District unequivocally condemns the use of famine as a
weapon of war and bombing of healthcare personnel and sites, and recognizes the immediate need to reopen
the humanitarian corridor in Gaza; and urges its elected Washington State Democratic Congressional delegation
members to support: (a) an immediate ceasefire; (b) an arms embargo; and (c) suspension of military aid to
Israel; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED the 34th Legislative District affirms, and requests that our Democratic
Congressional Delegation also affirms, a commitment to U.S. law, international law, human rights for all people,
an immediate and continual supply delivery chain opened for humanitarian focused lifesaving food and medical
care in Gaza, and the pursuit of a just and lasting peace for all in the region, and

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED the 34th District Democrats request that the Washington State Democratic Party
urgently consider and support this resolution at their September 2025 meeting.

Submitted by 34th District Democrats member, Roxanne Thayer, August 28, 2025

[1] THE HAGUE, 1 Sept 2025 (Reuters) –[1]. THE HAGUE, 2025 Sept 1 (Reuters)

Letter to the Washington State Democratic Central Committee

The 34th Legislative District Democrats hereby submit our Resolution on Gaza for urgent
consideration at the September 2025 meeting of the Washington State Democratic Central
Committee.

The seriousness of this matter cannot be overstated. For nearly two years we have watched as the
humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza worsens. As the Democratic Party, and as fellow humans, it is long
past time for us to meet the demand for change and lasting peace. Tens of thousands of Palestinians
have been murdered, and nearly two million displaced. Famine conditions threaten countless lives as
hospitals are destroyed, children are starved, and an entire nation of people are collectively punished
through siege and blockade.

We claim our Party stands for human rights, dignity, compassion, and peace. Our platforms, emails,
and social media posts claim as much, yet the policy choices of these United States directly enable
this devastation. We cannot reconcile our values with silence or inaction while a genocide unfolds
with American complicity.

Momentum is building in Congress. Twenty-seven Democratic senators, including our own Patty
Murray, recently voted to block offensive arms shipments to Israel. Local and state Democratic bodies
across the country have passed ceasefire and embargo resolutions. Washington Democrats were
among the first to act, adopting strong resolutions in 2024 condemning the siege and urging an end
to U.S. military support. Our voices must continue to lead, and we must insist that the building
pressure actually affect change.

We therefore urge our State Party to act swiftly to consider and adopt this resolution. Doing so will
reaffirm our Party’s commitment to US and international law and human rights, demand an
immediate ceasefire, the resumption of full and immediate humanitarian aid, and call for the
suspension of military aid to Israel.

The people are watching, listening, and judging; noting those who demand and fight for peace, and
those who turn away. There has already been damage — likely irreparable — in our delay to take
meaningful action as a Party. We ask that the Washington State Democratic Central Committee wait
no longer and join us in taking a principled stand — for justice, for peace, and for the protection of
innocent lives.

In solidarity,
Jordan Crawley
Chair, 34th District Democrats

Adopted by the 34th LD District Democrats on September 10, 2025

Resolution Regarding Washington State US Senators’ Votes on Arming Israel in Conflict with Palestinians

WHEREAS many experts, including Israeli human rights organizations, academics, and politicians, have
concluded that Israel is committing genocide and/or war crimes against the Palestinian people, practicing
apartheid, and currently using weapons provided by the US to induce famine by targeting food sites and
healthcare facilities; and [1]

WHEREAS Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is wanted by the International Criminal Court to answer
to charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including the use of starvation as a method of warfare;
and [2]

WHEREAS the Washington State Democratic Platform states “Palestinians, like all other peoples, have the right
to self-determination, to life, liberty, security; freedom from torture, cruelty, degrading treatment, arbitrary arrest,
detention, or exile; and every other right established by the 1948 UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights
(UDHR),” and, in 2024, Washington Democrats overwhelmingly passed resolutions at our convention to halt
military support for Israel and restore humanitarian aid to Gaza, and the Washington State Democratic Central
Committee passed a resolution with strong support condemning Israel’s siege on Gaza and calling for the
re-funding of UNRWA; and [3]

WHEREAS, on July 30, 2025, Sen. Cantwell voted to continue arming Israel with weapons, opposed two
resolutions which would have ended the supply of arms to Israel and the perpetuation of the forced famine in
Gaza, breaking with a majority of Democrats in the US Senate (27-17 and 24-20), while Senator Murray sided
with the majority of Senate Democrats by voting against continuing to arm Israel with weapons; and [4]

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED the 34th District Democrats condemn Senator Maria Cantwell’s vote to continue
sending weapons to Israel while it is carrying out a genocide against the Palestinian people, despite the
overwhelming support for a ceasefire and arms embargo throughout the Democratic Party statewide,
recognizing that it is already illegal for the US to provide military assistance to countries blocking humanitarian
aid (US Foreign Assistance Act, Section 620 I); [5] and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED the 34th District Democrats appreciate Senator Patty Murray’s vote to stop sending
weapons to Israel while it is carrying out a genocide against the Palestinian people, and urge Senators Cantwell
and Murray and the Washington State Democratic Party to act now and support the liberation of the Palestinian
people, end the apartheid regime, and recognize of a Palestinian state; and

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED the 34th District Democrats request that the Washington State Democratic Party
urgently consider and support this resolution at their September 2025 meeting.

Submitted by 34th District Democratic member, Steve Butts, August 29, 2025

[1] See, e.g., Our Genocide, B’Tselem, July 2025; Omer Bartov, I’m a Genocide Scholar. I know It When I See It., New York Times, 15 July 2025; Ehud Olmert, Enough is Enough. Israel is Committing War Crimes, Haaretz, 27 May 2025; World
Court Finds Israel Responsible for Apartheid, Human Rights Watch, 19 July 2024; Israel’s apartheid against
Palestinians, Amnesty International, 1 February 2022; The Israeli Occupation of the West Bank and the Crime of
Apartheid: Legal Opinion, Yesh Din, June 2020.
[2] Arrest Warrant, International Criminal Court, 21 November 2024.
[3] Jerry Cornfield, Washington Democratic Party backs ending U.S. aid to Israel until ceasefire with Hamas, Washington
State Standard, 24 June 2024; Ceasefire Democrats, Washington State Democratic Party’s CEASEFIRE resolution
passed on January 28, 2024.
[4] Roll Call Vote 119th Congress – 1st Session, S.J.Res. 41 and S.J.Res. 34. censuring Senator Maria Cantwell,
commending Senator Patty Murray, and demanding both senators take concrete action for Palestinian liberation
[5] Most Americans believe countries should recognize Palestinian state, Reuters/Ipsos poll finds, Reuters; 2025-08-20.

Letter to the Washington State Democratic Central Committee

The 34th Legislative District Democrats hereby submit our Resolution Regarding US Senator Votes on
Arming Israel in Conflict with Palestinians for urgent consideration at the September 2025 meeting of
the Washington State Democratic Central Committee.

This resolution addresses a matter of conscience, accountability, and alignment with our Party’s
stated values. On July 30, 2025, Senator Cantwell voted to continue arming Israel while its
government stands accused by international bodies of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against
humanity — including the deliberate use of starvation as a weapon of war. In contrast, Senator
Murray voted to halt arms shipments, standing with the majority of Senate Democrats and with the
broad grassroots consensus in Washington State.

With this vote occurring so close to our organization’s August meeting, we did not have time to
appropriately process this resolution in accordance with our Bylaws until our September 10 meeting.
We request that the Washington State Democratic Central Committee recognize that the urgency of
this resolution lies in the need to hold our elected officials accountable at a time when their decisions
carry life-or-death consequences for millions. While we commend Senator Murray for her principled
stance, Senator Cantwell’s vote undermines our Party’s credibility and betrays the will of her
constituents. As Democrats, we must not shrink from speaking truth to power within our own ranks.
Palestinians have the right to life, liberty, and security, and the United States must not arm
governments engaged in systematic violations of international law. Washington Democrats have
already urged overwhelmingly that we halt military support for Israel and restore humanitarian aid.
Senator Cantwell’s vote directly contravenes these commitments.

Adopting this resolution at the September meeting will send a clear message: Washington
Democrats expect their elected officials to uphold human rights, international law, and the values of
our platform — even when doing so requires political courage. It is only through such accountability
that our Party can maintain the trust of its grassroots and credibly advocate for justice both here and
abroad.

We urge the WSDCC to advance this resolution without delay. The stakes are too high, the human
cost too great, for silence or half-measures.

In solidarity,
Jordan Crawley
Chair, 34th District Democrats

Adopted by the members of the 34th District Democrats at the April 2025 meeting.

Resolution Affirming Transgender Rights

WHEREAS we affirm the right of all members of our community to live the gender that feels most authentic to them, whether or not it is the gender they were assigned at birth, as part of the life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness to which we are all entitled; and

WHEREAS our government at all levels has a duty to protect the rights, dignity, and very existence of all people, including transgender, nonbinary, and other gender-expansive people, as the Bostock v. Clayton County ruling by the Supreme Court of the United States has affirmed; and

WHEREAS transgender, nonbinary, and other gender-expansive people are especially vulnerable members of our society, experiencing disproportionately high rates of unemployment, poverty, housing instability, violence, mental illness, and suicide; and

WHEREAS actions are being taken at all levels of government to infringe upon the rights of transgender, nonbinary, and other gender-expansive people by limiting their right to serve in the military, their access to passports and other government documentation, and their ability to participate in sports according to their gender identity; and

WHEREAS actions are being taken to criminalize the affirmation of transgender individuals’ identities at all ages, outlaw or eliminate their access to gender-affirming health care (1)(2), and impose heightened risk of sexual abuse and violence against trans women in federal prison by relocating them into men’s prisons against their will,

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED the 34th Legislative District Democrats affirm the existence, dignity, and human rights of transgender, nonbinary, and other gender-expansive people of all ages and will continue to advocate for their safety and wellbeing.

THEREFORE BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED the 34th Legislative District Democrats urge our elected leaders to stand with the transgender, nonbinary, and other gender-expansive members of our community and vigorously defend their lives, dignity, autonomy, and wellbeing by opposing all legislation and government actions that would impair their rights and instead putting forward legislation that will codify their rights.

THEREFORE BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED the 34th Legislative District Democrats will send a copy of this resolution to each member of Congress and the U.S. Senate representing the 34th Legislative District and urge our members to contact their Federal representatives in support of this resolution.

Sponsored by Hannah Cameron, 34th District Dems member and PCO, 2/11/25

Adopted by the members of the 34th District Democrats at the April 2025 meeting.

Resolution for Restoration of Constitutional Order

Whereas the executive branch led by President Donald Trump is overstepping its Constitutional authority, notably usurping Congress’ Article 1 power to spend; and

Whereas President Trump is blatantly contradicting our Constitution through executive orders, such as illegally attempting to end birthright citizenship guaranteed in the 14th Amendment; and

Whereas President Trump is bypassing the rules of a representative democracy by empowering individuals like Elon Musk to act through non-existent, unelected positions; and

Whereas President Trump is creating and disbanding agencies including firing of civil servants in contravention of Congressional powers and civil service protections, thereby harming the ability of our government to provide essential services and to protect the interests of and very lives of Americans; and

Whereas President Trump and his crony billionaires and corporations are corrupting our government by ignoring ethical standards and conflict of interest rules such as the Emoluments Clause and the Hatch Act and thwarting public knowledge to their actions by limiting press access,

Therefore be it resolved the 34th District Democrats urge Senator Patty Murray, Senator Maria Cantwell, Representative Pramila Jayapal and Representative Adam Smith to use all available rules-based procedural methods, including filibuster in the Senate, to oppose key Congressional actions such as approving a budget, raising the debt limit, and approving nominees until Republican legislators join to reassert Congress’ authority.

Be it further resolved the 34th District Democrats support Senator Patty Murray, Senator Maria Cantwell, Representative Pramila Jayapal, Representative Adam Smith, Governor Bob Ferguson, and Attorney General Nick Brown in all efforts to obstruct authoritarianism and to restore the Constitutional order and rule of law.

Submitted by Bunny Hatcher, 34th District Dems member, PCO and Representative to KCDCC

Based on a resolution drafted by:

Aaron Schrader, Chair, 45th District Democrats, chair@45thdemocrats.org

Jennifer Curtis, KCDCC representative, 45th District Democrats, kcdcc@45thdemocrats.org

Kellen Hoard, KCDCC representative, 45th District Democrats, kcdcc@45thdemocrats.org

Adopted by the members of the 34th District Democrats at the April 2025 meeting.

Resolution Supporting Freedom of Conscience and the Principle of Separation of Church and State

Whereas the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom disestablished the Church of England in Virginia and guaranteed freedom of religion to people of all religious faiths when it was enacted into the state’s law on January 16, 1786, and the substance of the Virginia Statute is incorporated into the Establishment Clause and the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution; and

Whereas individuals, groups and institutions in the United States today persist in deliberately misrepresenting the purpose and intent of the Virginia Statute and the First Amendment so that they can unjustly seize power for their own ends and with the intent of subjugating their fellow citizens; and

Whereas state laws, such as the Louisiana law that allows the display of the Judeo-Christian Ten Commandments in public spaces, are eating away at the separation of church and state and the prohibitions on establishment of religion by governmental bodies in contravention of the First Amendment; and

Whereas it is good to remind ourselves that the erosion of the Establishment Clause through coins bearing “in God we trust,” the Pledge of Allegiance stating “under God,” and allowing prayer in schools has become commonplace since the 1950s,

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED the 34th District Democrats fully support and endorse the original intent of the Virginia Statute and the First Amendment; we wholly reject any form of state-mandated religion, any religious exemption from obedience to the law, and likewise any restriction on the private exercise of religion.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED this resolution be shared widely by the 34th District Democrats and forwarded for action by the Washington State Democrats so that we remind everyone of our freedoms and the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED this document be forwarded to our state legislators and our congressional representatives for inclusion in their deliberations.

Sponsored by Ted Barker, 34th District Dems member and State Committee Member, 2/25/25

Historical Background

Virginia Statute for Establishing Religious Freedom (1786)

SUMMARY

The Virginia Statute for Establishing Religious Freedom was drafted by

Thomas Jefferson and adopted by the General Assembly on January 16,  1786, before being signed into law three days later. The statute affirms the

rights of Virginians

1. to choose their faiths without coercion;
2. separates church and state; and,
3. while acknowledging the right of future assemblies to change the law, concludes that doing so would “be an infringement of a natural right.”

Jefferson’s original bill “for establishing religious freedom,” drafted in 1777 and introduced in 1779, was tabled in the face of opposition among powerful members of the established Church of England. Then, in 1784, a resolution calling for a tax to support all Christian sects excited such opposition that James Madison saw an opportunity to reintroduce Jefferson’s bill. It passed both houses of the General Assembly with minimal changes to its text.

One of the most eloquent statements of religious freedom ever written, the statute influenced both the drafting of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the United States Supreme Court’s understanding of religious freedom. Jefferson considered it one of his crowning achievements and a necessary bulwark against tyranny.

Well aware that the opinions and beliefs of men depend not on their own will, but follow involuntarily the evidence proposed to their minds:

• that Almighty God hath created the mind free, and manifested his supreme will that free it shall remain by making it altogether insusceptible of restraint;
• that all attempts to influence it by temporal punishments, or burthens, or by civil incapacitations, tend only to beget habits of hypocrisy and meanness, and are a departure from the plan of the holy author of our religion, who being lord both of body and mind, yet chose not to propagate it by coercions on either, as was in his Almighty power to do, but to extend it by its influence on reason alone; that the impious presumption of legislators and rulers, civil as well as ecclesiastical, who, being themselves but fallible and uninspired men, have assumed dominion over the faith of others, setting up their own opinions and modes of thinking as the only true and infallible, and as such endeavoring to impose them on others, hath established and maintained false religions over the greatest part of the world and through all time: 
• that to compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he disbelieves and abhors, is sinful and tyrannical;
• that even the forcing him to support this or that teacher of his own religious persuasion, is depriving him of the comfortable liberty of giving his contributions to the particular pastor whose morals he would make his pattern, and whose powers he feels most persuasive to righteousness; and is withdrawing from the ministry those temporary rewards, which proceeding from an approbation of their personal conduct, are an additional incitement to earnest and unremitting labours for the instruction of mankind;
• that our civil rights have no dependance on our religious opinions, any more than our opinions in physics or geometry;
• that therefore the proscribing any citizen as unworthy the public confidence by laying upon him an incapacity of being called to offices of trust and emolument, unless he profess or renounce this or that religious opinion, is depriving him injuriously of those privileges and advantages to which, in common with his fellow citizens, he has a natural right;
• that it tends also to corrupt the principles of that very religion it is meant to encourage, by bribing, with a monopoly of worldly honours and emoluments, those who will externally profess and conform to it;
• that though indeed these are criminal who do not withstand such temptation, yet neither are those innocent who lay the bait in their way;
• that the opinions of men are not the object of civil government, nor under its jurisdiction;
• that to suffer the civil magistrate to intrude his powers into the field of opinion and to restrain the profession or propagation of principles on supposition of their ill tendency is a dangerous fallacy, which at once destroys all religious liberty, because he being of course judge of that tendency will make his opinions the rule of judgment, and approve or condemn the sentiments of others only as they shall square with or differ from his own;
• that it is time enough for the rightful purposes of civil government for its officers to interfere when principles break out into overt acts against peace and good order; and finally,
• that truth is great and will prevail if left to herself; that she is the proper and sufficient antagonist to error, and has nothing to fear from the conflict unless by human interposition disarmed of her natural weapons, free argument and debate; errors ceasing to be dangerous when it is permitted freely to contradict them.

We the General Assembly of Virginia do enact that no man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever, nor shall be enforced, restrained, molested, or burthened in his body or goods, nor shall otherwise suffer, on account of his religious opinions or belief; but that all men shall be free to profess, and by argument to maintain, their opinions in matters of religion, and that the same shall in no wise diminish, enlarge, or affect their civil capacities.

And though we well know that this Assembly, elected by the people for the ordinary purposes of legislation only, have no power to restrain the acts of succeeding Assemblies, constituted with powers equal to our own, and that therefore to declare this act irrevocable would be of no effect in law; yet we are free to declare, and do declare, that the rights hereby asserted are of the natural rights of mankind, and that if any act shall be hereafter passed to repeal the present or to narrow its operation, such act will be an infringement of natural right.

Adopted by the members of the 34th District Democrats at the February 2025 meeting.

Resolution in Support of a Capital Gains Tax for the City of Seattle

Whereas the City of Seattle’s revenue sources have not kept pace with inflation, growing demand for essential services, and the urgent need for affordable housing; and

Whereas the Seattle City Council’s current reliance on spending cuts and reappropriating funds from the payroll expense tax — originally designed to largely fund affordable housing — to close budget shortfalls is not a sustainable long-term solution; and

Whereas Washington and Seattle have one of the most regressive state and local tax systems in the country, where the poorest twenty percent of our residents pay at least three times more of their income in taxes than the top 1%; and

Whereas a capital gains tax represents a progressive, legally viable source of new revenue for the City of Seattle, with support recently demonstrated by members of the Seattle City Council; and

Whereas the 2024 election reaffirmed broad public support for a statewide capital gains tax, including strong backing within Seattle and the 34th Legislative District,

Now therefore be it resolved the 34th District Democrats strongly support the enactment of a capital gains tax in Seattle to reduce our reliance on regressive taxes, address projected budget deficits, and preserve payroll expense tax revenue for investments in affordable housing; and

Be it further resolved the 34th District Democrats urge the Mayor of Seattle and the Seattle City Council to support a municipal capital gains tax, especially councilmembers Nelson, Rinck, Saka, and Kettle who represent jurisdictions that overlap with our legislative district.

Submitted December 9, 2024 by:

• Jordan Crawley, Chair of the 34th District Democrats and PCO in the 34th Legislative District 
• Graham Murphy, member and former Chair of the 34th District Democrats (2023-24)

References:

• KUOW – How city leaders want to patch Seattle’s $250 million budget deficit
• KUOW – How the Seattle City Council plans to patch a budget hole with JumpStart revenue
• Seattle Rejects Capital Gains Proposal, but Progressive Tax Time Is Nigh – The Urbanist
• Washington Measure 2109 Election Results 2024: Repeal Capital Gains Tax – The New York Times
• U.S. Supreme Court will not hear challenge against Washington state capital gains tax – Washington State Standard

Adopted at the February 2025 meeting of the 34th District Democrats. 

Resolution in Support of Mandating Clergy Report Child Abuse and Neglect

Whereas House Bill (HB) 1211 and its companion bill, Senate Bill (SB) 5375 would require clergy to report cases of child abuse, consistent with requirements for other authorities in Washington State, this state being one of only two states in the US that does not have clergy or “any person” enumerated as mandatory reporters; 1 and

Whereas Washington has no legal mechanism to hold religious organizations accountable for complying with the law thereby hampering the ability of law enforcement to investigate and report alleged sexual abuse; 2 and

Whereas  the only recourse available to victims of sexual abuse in Washington State is to file a civil or criminal complaint at great personal expense and delay; and religious organizations have consistently abused Washington State’s clergy-penitent privilege resulting in a vicious, multi-generational epidemic of abuse fueled through decades of misguided secrecy at great expense to children specifically and society more broadly; and

Whereas HB 1211 and SB 5375 are narrow in its scope – reporting confessions of criminal child sexual abuse and neglect will only impact the perpetrators, child rapists and abusers and others who confess credible knowledge or complicity that directly affects the welfare of a child; no one else needs to be concerned about the confidentiality of their confession; and

Whereas Washington State still maintains the clergy-penitent defense protection as stipulated in RCW 5.60.060; HB 1211 and SB 5375 do not force clergy to testify in court; the bill seeks to mandate clergy report credible knowledge of child sexual abuse no matter how it is learned 3 ; there is no constitutional protection for acts of child sexual abuse, all citizens should be required to comply with the law equally, whether they hold religious beliefs or not, and the highest duty of the state is to protect its citizens,

Now therefore be it resolved, the 34th District Democrats affirm the separation of Church and State, but believe there is no constitutional protection for acts of child sexual abuse; these acts are not religious in nature and therefore not worthy of protection through legal privilege.

Be it further resolved, the 34th District Democrats endorse the passage of HB 1211 and SB 5375 to hold clergy equally accountable for protection of our children thereby reducing the cost to society and increasing the safety and wellness of our most vulnerable citizens.

Be it finally resolved, the 34th District Democrats urge our legislators and the legislators of the entire state to pass HB 1211 and SB 5375 and send them to the governor for signing.

Submitted January 15, 2025

Sharon Valdes Huling, Submitter / Clergy Accountability Coalition

Rachel Glass, Member Sponsor / First Vice Chair

Passed by the membership on August 14th, 2024

Resolution in Support of App-based Worker Minimum Wage 

WHEREAS the Washington State Democrats have called for “Legislating respect for workers [with] Government protection for workers in the gig economy” and, consistent with this value, the 34th District Democrats support ending the wealth gap and income inequity, living wages tied to the area’s median market housing rate, promoting healthy, harassment free workplaces, whistleblower, and workplace organizer protections, a $15 per hour federal minimum wage and local adoption of living wage standards in line with area median income, ensuring that every Seattle worker can support themselves and their families is a critical tool in reducing homelessness by ensuring that workers can remain housed and afford their other basic needs; and

WHEREAS federal minimum wage laws were developed with exclusions for certain industries and categories of workers, resulting in racialized disparities in earning power and incidents of workplace abuse that drive down working conditions for all workers and weaken the local economy, every worker in Seattle should have minimum wage protection with no exceptions; and

WHEREAS Seattle and the State of Washington have a proud legacy of strengthening labor standards to improving working conditions, including leading the national movement to increase the minimum wage, and passing the Seattle Domestic Worker Ordinance in 2018 thereby creating the right to minimum wage for all domestic workers in the city regardless of classification as an employee or independent contractor, and having a substantial positive impact on a previously unregulated industry; and

WHEREAS app-based workers:

• organized for the right to minimum wage and the law was approved unanimously by the council and supported by Mayor Bruce Harrell in 2022; the law is the product of good governance, shaped thoughtfully and deliberately by a workforce that is largely made up of immigrants and refugees, people with disabilities, working parents, and young people; enacting this law, 
• “face unique barriers to economic security and disproportionately must accept low-wage, unsafe, and insecure working conditions” and Black and Latinx workers are “disproportionately deprived of core employee protections” because corporations treat them as independent contractors;
• in Seattle were paid nearly $14,000,000 in settlements with Postmates, UberEats, GrubHub and Instacart for alleged violations of Seattle labor standards to date; and

WHEREAS, when the law went into effect, the regulated corporations responded by imposing substantial new fees on customer orders in a coordinated effort to undermine the law,  making delivery cost-prohibitive for customers and hindering workers’ and local businesses’ ability to support themselves; and, at the Seattle City Council Governance Committee meeting on March 28, 2024, the public learned that the Seattle City Council has been considering amending or repealing this new law, and that negotiations on the proposed policy to date have only included gig corporations and Drive Forward, an Uber controlled and funded lobbying group, and have excluded workers and their representatives; and that proposed changes would cut worker pay, eliminate legal protections for workers from retaliation, and make it much harder for workers to enforce their rights,

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED the 34th District Democrats support the minimum wage and other protections for low-wage, app-based workers.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED the 34th District Democrats call on all Seattle City Councilmembers to maintain support for this important law; to commit to open and transparent policymaking that includes all stakeholders, particularly workers; and to affirm that Seattle must continue to be a city where working families are able to thrive and support themselves with living wages. 

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED the 34th District Democrats urge its membership to take action and communicate their support for gig worker minimum wage.

Submitted by Rachel Glass, Vice Chair and PCO, 34th District Democrats, April 2024

Passed by the membership on August 14th, 2024

Resolution in Support of the City of Seattle Development of Low Income Housing on Surplus Fort Lawton Land

Whereas the original name of Fort Lawton and Discovery Park for time immemorial was PKa’dz Eltue, “thrust far out,” in Lushootseed and were part of the ancestral lands of kinship bands of Duwamish, Suquamish, Muckleshoot, Tulalip Nations prior to the Point Elliot Treaty of 1885; in the 1960s and 1970s the United States deeded a large portion of Fort Lawton in the Magnolia neighborhood to the City of Seattle (City) leading to the creation of Discovery Park and the Daybreak Star Cultural Center in response to indigenous community interests; and 

Whereas, Bernie Whitebear of the Colville Confederated Tribes and his fellow United Indians Of All Tribes Foundation (UIATF) advocates, successfully negotiated a 99 year-lease on 20 plus acres in November of 1971 of lands the United States government had previously used as the 

historic Fort Lawton, with the options to successive 99 year-plus lease renewals in a legally-binding agreement; Daybreak Star Cultural Center and the United Indians of All Tribes Foundation began building structures to support environmental security and sovereignty for Urban Indians on September 27, 1975; the United States government retained for military purposes approximately 34 acres at the northeast corner of Discovery Park; and

Whereas in 1975, the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act of 1975 (ISDEAA). 43 Title I of ISDEAA authorized federally recognized tribes freedom from federal decision making, providing self-determination, governance, and revised boundaries for tribal sovereignty, which was reinforced by the TItle IV in 1994 for full funding and allocation of appropriations, to include housing; and

Whereas in the early 2000s, as part of a realignment of assets, the U.S. Base Realignment and Closure Commission designated the City as the entity entitled to repurpose the site; considering Seattle’s urban indigenous people are at high risk of homelessness and housing insecurity, the City prepared plans for development of the site to accommodate low income housing and additions of green space to Discovery Park, with completion of environmental review (FEIS) of a Fort Lawton Redevelopment Plan in 2019; the Seattle City Council in June 2019 (Resolution 31887) confirmed “the City’s commitment to further fair housing” in support of the Fort Lawton Redevelopment Plan; during project planning in preparation for site development the City determined that the infrastructure cost per unit of housing under the 2019 Plan is too high; and

Whereas, as a result of extensive reassessment of the Plan, the City has determined that an increase in the density of housing on the 34 acre site can be done that will:

• Increase the quantity of accessible low income house at a lower per unit cost,
• Not decrease the amount of open space that will be incorporated into Discovery Park,
• Improve the access infrastructure in a manner less impactful to forest canopy, and
• Further the goals of the City’s Equitable Development Initiative;

Now therefore be it resolved the 34th District Democrats enthusiastically support the City proceeding with the revised Fort Lawton Redevelopment Plan as quickly as possible; and

Be it further resolved the 34th District Democrats urge the City to prioritize the project to provide housing for urban indigenous households; and

Be it finally resolved the 34th District Democrats convey strong support for this important project to the city council, the Mayor, and the involved federal agencies.

Sponsored by Ted Barker, 34th District Dems, PCO and State Committee Member