WA State Democratic Party Events 2009

[eridani]

First large event is the reorganization meeting January 23-24 in Olympia.

Here's the URL for the playlist of youtube videos of the debate between Mark Hintz and Dwight Pelz for the Chair of the Washington State Democratic Party held at the Labor Temple in Seattle, Sunday afternoon of 1/11/09.

http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=SuperWaDem&view=playlists

I know of only one major problem, Dwight Pelz's comment were inadvertently cut off on question 2 (I don't know why, some technical problem). I apologize to Dwight for this.

Please let me know of other major problems.

And please forward this email to Democrats throughout the state. Hopefully it will help them make a more informed vote for chair of our party.

Sincerely Yours,

Jim Sizemore

[eridani]

1. King County Legislative Action committee meeting in Bothell 1/18

Next Meeting
~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~
January Meeting of the King County Democrats Legislative Action Committee
Sunday, Jan 18, 2009 from 2 PM to 4 PM
Bothell Regional Library
18215 98th Ave NE in Bothell.


Agenda:

1. Guest Speakers:

Senator Rosemary McAuliffe 1st LD 2:00 PM - 2:30 PM
Representative Ruth Kagi 32nd LD 2:30 PM - 3:00 PM
Kerri Cechovic - Environmental Priorities Coalition 3:00 PM - 3:15 PM

2. Legislative Action Agenda - Updates by Leads 3:20 PM -3:40PM

3. Legislative Lobby Day Planning 3:40 PM - 4:00 PM

Our Legislative Action Day is scheduled for Monday Feb. 16, 2009 It will start at 10 AM in Olympia and last until about 4 PM. It will be in the John L O'Brien Building, Meeting Room ABC from10:00 AM until about 1:15 PM. The morning session will have presentations on our priority issues and bills, followed by someone from the Governor's Office speaking. At noon until 1:15 PM we will be hearing from King County Senators and Representatives while we share lunch. From 1:15 PM to 4 PM we have scheduled for people to be meeting with individual Legislators.
At 5 PM the Washington State Democrats Annual Crab Feed will be held in Lacey at St Martians College.

Please note: Our Agenda is full, so please try to arrive early so we can make good use of out time. See you Sunday.

Steve Zemke Co-Chair
Sarajane Siegfriedt Co-Chair
King County Democrats Legislative Action Committee

stevezemke@msn. com, 206-366-0811

[eridani]

2. Progressive Caucus reorganization events1/23-1/24 in Olympia

Progressive Caucus Board members to be elected at the WA State Dems reorganization meeting
January 23-24 in Olympia

2300 Evergreen Park Drive, Olympia
Make reservation by 1-16-09, and say you are with the WA State Democrats
We will have a hospitality suite from 8-11Pm on Friday 1-23, room TBA
We may also have a health care presentation--still working on this.

The Progressive Caucus will meet from 8-9AM 1-24 in the Capitol Room. We will be electing new board members. Currently serving and running for re-election are at large representatives Bob Parazin, Jean Thomas and Sharon Abreu, Secretary Martha Koester and Treasurer Barbara Whitt.
Stepping down are at large representative Rich Austin and Eastern Vice-Chair Maureen Shiemo. Chad Lupkes will continue to participate as a caucus member, but will not run for chair. Judith Shattuck, Western Vice-Chair, is running for chair. If you are interested in running for any position, please send a statement to Progressive Caucus Secretary Martha Koester at [e-mail].

Tentative Agenda (Send further agenda items to Martha)

1. Reorganization and election of board members.
2. Discussion of health care initiatives
3. Progressive Democrats of America organizing
4. PDCW listserv changes

[eridani]

3. 8th CD Democrats reorganization meeting in Auburn 2/10

Meeting Notice

Subject: 8th CD Democrats
Date: Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Time: 7:00 to 9:00
Location: Auburn IAM Hall
Address: 201 A St SW, Auburn, WA

The main purpose of the meeting will be to re-organize and elect new officers. We will also discuss possible 2009 activities. Please forward this to new officers from your organization, or anyone else you think might be interested. Please feel free to contact me with any questions.

Bryan Kesterson,
Chair, 47th LD Democrats
Chair, 8th CD Democrats
22955 130th PL SE,
Kent, WA 98031
Home: 253-639-3515
Cell: 206-304-2701
bryan.kesterson {at} gmail.com <= Please note new e-mail

[eridani]

4. WA Young Democrats Convention in Spokane

You might think that this is the political "off-season" especially after the hard-won election victories of the past year. I want to let you know that the Young Democrats of Washington are busy trying to build on election success stories to establish an effective and long-term Democratic majority.

The Young Democrats annual Convention is being held in Spokane this year, March 13th through 15th. We bring together high-school students, college students, and young professionals from across the state for a weekend of intense trainings on campaign work, organizing, voter

registration, and the legislative process. The annual convention is a unique opportunity for young activists to learn about different topics and get to know each other and members of the Democratic party in the state. Many of our party's brightest leaders got started with local Young Democrats chapters.

We are currently preparing our fourth annual Lobby Day at the Capitol in Olympia, so that legislators hear directly from young voters on the issues that matter most to them. In 2008, our volunteers from across the state knocked on thousands of doors for more than a dozen candidates. Our members have helped their communities not only by being involved politically, but also with community service projects. We also work to get our members involved with their local party organizations by becoming PCOs and officers in their County and Legislative Districts.

Please support our Convention and our many programs throughout the year, by making a contribution to YDWA. A donation of $100 makes it possible for our members to attend Convention and get involved in ways that no other group can.


We know there are many causes and campaigns competing for your donations, and in these economic times, giving is not always easy. Please consider that YDWA is an entirely volunteer run organization, and your donations are what make our programs possible. During the last campaign cycle, our members worked hard for our party's many candidates, from Governor Gregoire on down. Some members drove as far away as Texas, Iowa and Nevada to help organize Presidential Primaries and Caucuses, and later volunteer in key battleground states like Colorado.
Please contribute today, online at http://ydwa.org/donate or by mail at:

YDWA
PO Box 4642
Seattle, WA 98194

Sincerely,

Amanda Nelson
President Young Democrats of Washington

P. O. Box 4642 « Seattle, WA 98194 « [phone] « [phone] fax

[norepubsin08]

5. Sent you a heart to thank you for all you do

for progressive causes and the for helping America in Solidarity!

[eridani]

6. Jim McDermott's annual Potato Fest 3/15

15th Annual "Celebrating Our Roots" Potato Festival


This year Congressman McDermott's 15th Annual "Celebrating Our Roots" Potato Festival will be held on Sunday, March 15th from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. at Town Hall in Seattle. Congressman McDermott began the "Celebrating Our Roots" Festival as a way to recognize and honor our ethnically diverse district and as a celebration of his own Irish heritage. This year's event will again feature an "Irish" Baked Potato Bar and delicious desserts.

The Potato Fest is underwritten by our event sponsors. Their generous contributions allow us to keep the ticket prices affordable, making the Potato Fest accessible for students, party activist, campaign volunteers and seniors.

It has been a tradition at this event for Jim to honor two individuals who have made substantial contributions in the community. This year Jim will be honoring King County Executive Ron Sims and longtime political activist Ruth Woo.

Please help us to honor Jim's courage and commitment in standing up to the Bush Administration, promoting health care, the environment, human rights and many other issues by being a sponsor of this year's event. Your generosity as a Sponsor at the $5,000 $2,000, $1000, $500 $250 or at the $100 level will be greatly appreciated by Jim.

With your help, we can make this year's "Celebrating our Roots" Potato Fest the most successful ever. The deadline to be listed on the invitation as a sponsor is February 22nd. Please contact me at 425-828-8969 or at anna.rising@ verizon.net if you have any questions.

Thank you for your consideration

Join Congressman Jim McDermott for his
15th Annual Celebrating our Roots Potato Festival
Sunday, March 15th ~ 5:30 - 7:30 pm
Town Hall, Seattle (1119 8th Ave)
Ticket price ~ $35 Event Sponsor ~ $2000, $1000, $500, $300, $250 & $100 Deadline to be listed on the invitation as a sponsor is Feb. 22nd.

Reserve your tickets early as space is limited www.mcdermottforcon gress.com

This year Jim will honor two outstanding individuals in our community: King Country Executive Ron Sims and a surprise honoree.

Traditional baked potato bar and desserts provided by Cameron Catering

For questions call: Anna Rising, Event Coordinator, 425-828-8969 anna.rising {at} verizon.net

[eridani]

7. Progressive Democrats of America CD 7 meeting in SEattle 3/1

Organized by Kathryn Keller

Hi:

I'm inviting everyone to my house for a get together of PDA Chapter folks in the 7th CD (folks who have expressed interest or are on the google group), Washington State Progressive Caucus members in Seattle (please forward to the list Martha) and any interested progressive friends. Let have a snack and talk about our common priorities and progressive political focus. For example, Single Payer Healthcare, Clean Elections (it's an issue for Seattle, too!) and the continued wars in the Middle East are areas that many are working on.

Sunday, March 1
1:00 - 3:00 PM

Let me know if you are coming and I will send you a map and directions.

I'm Centrally located in Madison Valley, near a lot of bus lines. If you'd like to carpool, let me know where you are and if you are a driver.

Please forward to individuals you know who might also be interested,

Very much looking forward to seeing you,
Kathryn
WA 7th CD Point Person
Progressive Democrats of America

PDA Priorities:
http://pdamerica.org/policy/priorities.php

PDA Action Alerts:
http://capwiz.com/pdamerica/home/

[eridani]

8. West sSeattle Democratic Women meeting 2/26

West Seattle Democratic Women's Monthly Meeting Reminder


Thursday, February 26, 2009
11:15 Registration
11:30 Meeting/Luncheon Begins
Cost: $10.00 for Members, $12.00 for Non-Members
(Cash, Checks*, Visa, & MC accepted)

Registrations are required. Please contact WSDW at [phone] or wsdwomen {at} yahoo.com to insure a seat at Thursday's meeting.


Program:

Comments from newly announced candidate for King County Executive –West Seattle's own Dow Constantine!
Port Commissioner Gael Tarleton to speak on the workings of the Port of Seattle.
Quickie on "How a Bill Becomes A Law" followed by consideration of HB#1517 & SB#5534, Restoring Voting Rights to Convicted Felons who have completed the terms of their conviction,
Possible adoption of a Logo specific to WSDW, and
Tickets go on sale for auction opportunity to win catering for dinner of 8 or reception up to 20.


Of Special Note:

Remember to bring your grocery receipts from the Morgan Street Thriftway and the Metropolitan Market so we can submit them for a donation to our local food banks. WSDW Dues now due for 2009. Have you paid yours?

Location: West Seattle Golf Course
4470-35th Av SW
Seattle, WA
Banquet Room

See you there!
Karen
Outreach Committee
West Seattle Democratic Women

*Please make checks payable to "West Seattle Democratic Women"

[eridani]

9. Metropolitan Democratic Club to meet 2/26 in Seattle

Metropolitan Democratic Club Members and Friends:

Here is your reminder to join us this Wednesday, Feb. 25, from 12 to 1 p.m. in the 2nd floor conference room of the Plaza 600 Building at 6th & Stewart - just across Westlake Avenue from the Westin hotel.

Our program speaker will be celebrated civil rights attorney and MDC charter member Ken MacDonald of MacDonald Hoague and Bayless, who will be returning to finish his talk about the origins and early days of MDC.

As always, please feel free to bring a guest and a brown bag lunch with you. (There is a Starbucks and an adjoining grocery/deli on the ground floor of the Plaza 600 Building.)

For those of you not currently on our mailing list, our February newsletter is now available online at www.metrodems.org. If you are interested in joining MDC, or have not yet renewed your membership for '09, please visit our website or give us a call at [phone].

Thank you for your good citizenship, your support for good government and the Democratic Party, and your sustaining interest in the Metropolitan Democratic Club.

Peace and justice,


Justin Simmons
President
Metropolitan Democratic Club
www.metrodems.org

[eridani]

10. 3/14 46th District Legislators to hold Town Hall

46th District Legislators to hold Town Hall on March 14

Reps. Phyllis Gutiérrez Kenney and Scott White will answer questions and discuss issues ranging from education to the state's fiscal outlook when the Seattle legislators hold a Town Hall Meeting on Saturday, March 14 beginning at 1 p.m. at the Meadowbrook Community Center.

Reps. Gutiérrez Kenney and White encourage the public to share their views on topics such as higher education, workforce training, health care, transportation, the environment and any other issues important to them.

WHAT, WHERE & WHEN:
Town Hall Meeting
Meadowbrook Comm. Center 10517 35th Ave. N.E.
(Corner of 35th & 105th, near Nathan Hale High School)
Saturday, March 14, 2009 at 1 p.m.

WHO:
Rep. Phyllis Gutiérrez Kenney (D-Seattle)
Kenney.Phyllis {at} leg.wa.gov
360-786-7818
Rep. Scott White (D-Seattle)
White.Scott {at} leg.wa.gov
360-786-7886

[eridani]

11. 8th CD Dems to meet 3/10

Meeting Notice

Subject: 8th Congressional District Meeting
Date: Tuesday, March 10, 2007
Time: 7:30 to 9:00
Location: Auburn IAM Hall
Address: 201 A St SW, Auburn, WA
Directions: Directions may be found at http://www.wa47dems.org/


Topic: Susan DelBene has recently filed as a candidate for the 8th CD. She and possible candidate Ross Hunter will join us to talk about the upcoming race.

Bryan Kesterson,
Chair, 47th LD Democrats
Vice-Chair, 8th CD Democrats
22955 130th PL SE,
Kent, WA 98031
Home: 253-639-3515
Cell: 206-304-2701
bryan.kesterson {at}gmail.com

[eridani]

12. Adam Smith's Town Hall on 4/7 in SeaTac

Congressman Adam Smith invites you to attend a town hall meeting on Tuesday, April 7th, 2009 from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., at SeaTac City Hall Chambers, 4800 S 188th St, SeaTac, WA 98188.

The purpose of the town hall meeting is to meet with constituents to listen to concerns, answer questions, and discuss issues facing Congress.

Space is limited so please RSVP if you are able to attend by calling [phone] or (888) SMITH09.

[eridani]

13. State Party quarterly meeting 4/24 and 4/25

The WSDCC Veterans & Military Families Caucus (WA-VETS) will sponsor a no-host breakfast at the Hotel Murano's Bite Restaurant,

in the private dining area on Saturday, April 25th, from 7 am - 8 am.

There is limited seating; please RSVP to Bob Iness at bob {at} compcasting.com if you wish to attend.

Several special speakers will present current State and Federal legislation concerning Veterans and their families.

Ray Miller will also present his efforts regarding moving homeless Vets towards home ownership

[eridani]

14. Workshop on Freedom of Information requests 4/25

The Washington State Democratic Party History Project will hold a workshop on making Freedom of Information requests on Saturday April 25th in Tacoma.



THIS WORKSHOP IS OPEN TO ALL DEMOCRATS.

12:00 Noon
The Pavilion Room C
Murano Hotel
1320 Broadway Plaza, Tacoma WA 98402


The workshop will be conducted by Keith Scully, an attorney from Seattle who specializes in FOIA requests.



Participants will be encouraged to complete a request to the FBI for their own files. We may be surprised that they FBI know more about us than we ourselves do.

Knowing how to make requests for public records is a skill that we should all have. Being able to find out how our governmental bodies operate in areas not usually open to the public has proven to be just as important as knowing those things we read about in the press or on line or see on TV.



Be there if you can. I regret that I won’t be able to be, so I won’t see if you’re in attendance or not. But chances are, the FBI will.

[eridani]

15. Public Disclosure Act training available on 4/24

Following up on an action item taken at the January 24th WSDCO meeting, we have just received word from the Washington State - Public Disclosure Commission that they will be available for a two-hour training course in Tacoma:

Friday April 24, 2009 - 2:00 pm through 4:00 pm
Murano Hotel
Torcello/Burano Rooms
1320 Broadway Plaza, Tacoma WA 98402

PDC Representative Jennifer Hansen will make a PowerPoint presentation and provide handouts. Normally, the PDC teaches in an environment where laptops/pcs are available; for those potential attendees, please bring a laptop, if possible. Otherwise, you will want to follow along with Jennifer's presentation.

Please email Susan Sheary, WSDCO Chair, at kcdcc1 {at} gmail.com, if you and/or your treasurer will attend.
-------

The following is a step-by-step procedure to load the PDC Online Reporting system onto your laptop:

How To Update JAVA and ORCA Version

Go to www.pdc.wa.gov
Click on the FILER RESOURCES tab
Choose the “download software” link located under the ORCA LINKS heading
Update your version of JAVA (this will take you to the JAVA website)
When you have JAVA loaded and have verified the installation, go back to the “download software” link on our site
Click on “Download ORCA” and load it on your computer
ORCA will open automatically when it is done loading
Click on the ORCA WEB UPDATES icon
Click on the update button located in the bottom right corner (the button does not have a label)

ORCA will close to update and re-open when it is done. You can see what version you have in the top left corner of the page after the update. You should have version 1.038.

If any potential attendees have a MAC rather than a PC, the software is available on our website in the same location under the “Apple/Mac” tab. They will not have to use the update button inside of ORCA. The download process from our site will provide them the current version.

Jaxon Ravens



Executive Director
Washington State Democrats
P.O. Box 4027
Seattle, WA 98194
[phone]
Jaxon {at} wa-democrats.org
http://www.wa-democrats.org

[eridani]

16. Progressive Caucus to meet at the WSDCC quarterly meeting

April 24-25,2009
Hotel Murano
1320 Broadway Plaza
Tacoma, WA 98402

Friday 8:00PM

Hospitality Suite--look for signage

Caucus meeting
8:00AM-9:00AM
Pavilion Room E

Please send agenda items to Secretary Martha Koester [e-mail]

[eridani]

20. A note from the Disabilities Caucus

Message Index:

1. State Operating Budget - includes keeping YVS open;
2. Statewide Forum on Residential Habilitation Centers (RHC's);
3. Touring RHC's in WA.
4. Note of Thanks.

1. State Operating Budget: News from lobbyist Rick Jensen:

" You all have probably heard that the House and Senate have agreed to an Operating Budget. What wasn’t reported in the news is the House Ways & Means Chair has stated that the Yakima Valley School will remain open! There may be studies regarding ALL state operated facilities to be performed in the future but for now, YVS, will remain open! This is the result of a very successful, very dedicated, grassroots effort. The system does work! Congratulations to all of you. More to follow. ... "
All friends of WSDIC are encouraged to call the Legislative Hotline and urge the Governor to approve the budget so it keeps YVS open. Please visit www.leg.wa.gov or call the Legislative Information Hotline at 1-800-562-6000 to check for updates.

2. Statewide Forum on Residential Habilitation Centers (RHC's): The WSDIC will host a statewide forum on RHC's, including the impacts of their closure and consolidation, featuring Michael L. Johnson, JD, CPG, and WSDIC's 2nd Vice Chair.


Here are the particulars of our meeting:

What: WSDIC Membership Meeting and Statewide Forum on RHC's
Date: Saturday, April 25, 2009
Time: 8 to 9 am
Place: Hotel Murano, Venice Room Number 2
Address: 1320 Broadway Plaza, Tacoma, WA 98402
RSVP to: Julian Wheeler, WSDIC Chair, at [e-mail].

3. Touring RHC's in WA:

WSDIC encourages you to take a tour of our state’s residential habilitation centers (RHC’s), including intermediate care facilities (or “ICF/MR”) or skilled nursing facilities. Discussions of these facilities require a complete knowledge of the subject matter. In this case, taking a tour of an RHC will be perhaps the best way to see first-hand the communities that thrive there and demonstrate how much they are a part of their local, surrounding communities. Face to face contact with residents, families, and staff is a most valuable way to help you determine how priceless these facilities are to our state.

The following are tour contacts for each of our state’s RHC’s. They will gladly help you to arrange a date and time. Feel free to visit their respective web sites beforehand to round out your tour. You may need a minimum of 2 hours on-site for a complete tour:

Frances Haddon Morgan
Residential Habilitation Center
3423 6th Street
Bremerton, WA 98312
Carol Kirk, Superintendent
Tel. [phone].

Lakeland Village RHC
2310 S Salnave Rd
P.O. Box 200
Medical Lake, WA 99022-0220
Tel. [phone]
Tour Contact: Sue Stralka

Rainier School
2120 Ryan Road
Buckley, WA 98321-9115
Perry Patson, Tour Director
Tel: [phone]
You may also contact Tom Dean, w/Friends of Rainier, at Tel. [phone]

Fircrest School
15230 15th Avenue NE
Shoreline, WA 98155
Contact: Administrative Assistant's Office
Tel. [phone].

You may also contact James R. Hardman, w/Friends of Fircrest, at aguak9 {at} aol.com.

Yakima Valley School
609 Speyers Rd.
Selah, WA 98942
Tour contact: Dolores White, [e-mail]
Tel. [phone].

(Others: John Mahaney, Friends of YVS, Tel. [phone]; Julianne Moore, WFSE Local 1326, Tel. [phone].)



The organization Action DD can also assist you in planning a tour of an RHC. You may reach Action DD through its President, Maureen Durkan, RN, at maureendurkan {at} comcast.net.


4. Note of Thanks: Thank you for your support of the WSDIC. Please stay tuned for news about planning for our upcoming Summer Picnic.

Sincerely,

Julian Wheeler, WSDIC Chair.

[eridani]

17. Metropolitan Democratic Club to meet 4/22 in Seattle

Metropolitan Democratic Club Members and Friends:

Please join us this Wednesday, April 22, from 12 to 1 p.m. in the 2nd floor conference room of the Plaza 600 Building at 6th & Stewart - just across Westlake Avenue from the Westin hotel.

Our program speakers will be Larry Phillips, King County Councilmember and candidate for King County Executive, and Tom Carr, Seattle City Attorney, running for re-election. We may be joined by other candidates as well.



Please feel free to bring a guest and a brown bag lunch with you. (There is a Starbucks and an adjoining grocery/deli on the ground floor of the Plaza 600 Building.)

The April MDC Newsletter is now available online at www.metrodems.org, along with a schedule of programs for upcoming meetings and events. If you are interested in joining the MDC, or have not yet renewed your membership for '09, please visit our website or give us a call at [phone].

Thank you for your good citizenship, your support for good government and the Democratic Party, and your sustaining interest in the Metropolitan Democratic Club.

Democratically yours,


Justin Simmons
President
Metropolitan Democratic Club
www.metrodems.org

[eridani]

18. Native American Caucus

Native American Caucus
Washington State Democratic Central Committee

April 25th, 2009
Meeting at 8 AM

Who are we? What are our goals?

Are we Native Americans who have progressive/democratic values that see this Party as the best alliance to help our communities?

What can we get from the State government to help with our issues?

Education, Health Care, Jobs, are all things to work on. OK? What else?

How do we support our Native Representatives?

How do we recruit, train and support Native American candidates?

How do we mobilized and inform the voters to support these efforts?

What else?

Who are our members and Representatives? Generate list.


9 AM Adjourn Jay Hollingsworth, Vice-chair

[eridani]

19. Nominating conventions for Thurston and Snohomish Counties

Call for Nominating Conventions
by Dwight Pelz, Chair, Washington State Democratic Party
April 13, 2009

As chair of the WSDCC, and pursuant to the rules adopted by the Central Committee in 2005 (Rules for the Selection of Candidates and Nominees for Public Office) I am calling the following Nominating Conventions:

The Thurston County Democrats will hold their Nominating Convention on Monday, April 27 at the Olympia Center, Room 106 & 107, 222 Columbia St. NW in downtown Olympia at 7:00 PM. The Nominating Convention is for the upcoming 3rd district Commissioner race. This convention will be open to all PCO's from the 3rd District.

The Snohomish County Democrats will hold their Nominating Convention on Saturday, May 9th, 2009, at the Everett Labor Temple, 2812 Lombard, Everett, WA, at 10:00 AM.

[eridani]

21. Metropolitan Democratic Club to present all candidates for city council 5/6 in Seattle

The Metropolitan Democratic Club is proud to be the first city-wide organization to present members and friends with an opportunity to hear from all 15 candidates running for seats on the Seattle City Council. The forum is free and open to the public, and will be moderated by Sen. Pete Francis. Boxed dinners will be available for purchase.

Where: Labor Temple in Downtown Seattle, 2800 First Avenue, Hall #1
When: Wednesday, May 6, 5:30-8 PM

Parking: Free (The parking garage has 102 parking spaces and is located across the street, at 2801 First Avenue, under the Ellington Condominiums. It can be accessed from the alley that runs parallel to First Avenue, between Clay Street and Broad Street. The Labor Temple's garage door is the door closest to Broad Street. To gain entry, you must enter the code *011203# on the keypad to the right of the door. The characters and numbers must be punched in in that order, or it won't work. When they are punched in correctly, you will get a green light on the keypad and the door will open.)

The Labor Temple is within easy walking distance of Metro bus routes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 13, 15, 16, 18, 24, 26, 28, 33, and 358.

I hope you will be able to join us! If you plan to attend, please take a moment to RSVP by replying to this email.

Democratically yours,

Justin Simmons
President
Metropolitan Democratic Club
www.metrodems.org

[eridani]

22. Rural and Agricultural Caucus forum in Omak on 7/18-7/19

ANNOUNCEMENT AND REGISTRATION FOR “AGRICULTURE AND RURAL CAUCUS “ FORUM
July 17-19, Okanogan Grange Hall, Okanogan, Washington

“Survival of Small Agriculture and Logging Enterprises in Time of Economic Downturn, Globalization and Corporate Agri-Business”

Friday July 17: Tour of Omak Lumber Mill (BioMass) 2:00 pm

“Early Bird” Reception 6:00 pm

Saturday July 18: All Day Forum with Four Panels focusing on Forum Topic from Perspectives of Government/Legislators, Industry/Business/Trade Associations, Workers/Labor & Education, and Individual Farmers/Loggers/NGOs

Registration 7:30-9:30 am
Panels Commence 8:30 am thru 4:30 pm

Sunday July 19: Tour of the Omak Stampede “Suicide Race” Site/Facilities 10:00 am

Registration Fee: $12.50 (Includes Materials & Lunch served by Okanogan Grange)

Lodging Available at Special “Agriculture and Rural Caucus” (ARC) Rate (includes breakfast)

(1) Omak Inn, 919 Koala Ave., 509-826-3822, $62.50 single, $72.00 double
Rate good thru/Reservations must be made by 05/17/09

(2) Okanogan Inn, 1 Appleway, 509-422-6431 $50.00 single, $55.00 double
Rate good thru/Reservations must be made by 06/17/09

For more information contact ARC Chair, Jackie Bradley, 509-422-3723 or [e-mail] or ARC Secretary, Larry Ludwig, 509-738-4987 panludwik {at} aol.com
Attendee Space is Limited----Available on “First Come-First Served” Basis





REGISTRATION FORM FOR “AGRICULTURE AND RURAL CAUCUS” (ARC) FORUM
JULY 17-JULY 19, 2009, OKANOGAN, WASHINGTON

Date ________________________________

Name ________________________________________________________

Mailing Address ________________________________________________

_________________________________________________

County of Residence _____________________________

E-Mail ________________________________________________________

Telephone _______________________ Cellular ________________________

Democrat County/LD/Caucus/Committee Organization(s) of which a member:_____________


Democrat Office(s) You hold: _____________________________________________________

Registration Fee is $12.50 per person. Fee includes forum materials, lunch (sandwich, soup and non-alcoholic beverage) and “Early Bird” reception

Enclose check or money order made out to “ARC”

Mail payment along with registration form to Jackie Bradley, PO Box 368, Okanogan, WA 98840-0368

In addition to the Saturday Forum, I will be attending (check all that apply):

(1) Friday tour of Omak Lumber Mill _________

(2) Friday “Early Bird” Reception _________

(3) Sunday tour of Stampede Site _________

[eridani]

23. King County Exec race forum in Renton 5/5

The King County Democratic Central Committee will host a King County Executive Candidate Forum on

Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Social Hour at 6:30 pm
Forum begins at 7:30 pm
Renton Carpenters Hall - 231 Burnett Avenue North

With 48th Legislative District Rep Ross Hunter announcing his candidacy at the KCDCC meeting last night, there are four candidates and they have all committed to participation. NPI Advocate Executive Director, Andrew Villeneuve, will be the guest moderator - Andrew wrote a blog today that related Rep Hunter's announcement and invited the public to attend the forum (thank you, Andrew).

Please consider attending this event and open the attachment for details,

Thank you,
Susan Sheary
KCDCC Chair

[eridani]

24. Weigh in on the caucus system

I have created a dedicated email for ANYONE for wishes to weigh in and advise or comment about the caucus process. Love it-hate-it fix it, whatever the suggestion or comment here's your chance.

please email your thoughts-ideas to:

washingtoncaucusfix {at} gmail.com

RIck Lloyd
Caucus task force member

[eridani]

25. Progressive Caucus to meet in Ellensburg 6/20

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

The Washington State Progressive Caucus will meet Saturday, June 20 from 10 AM to 4 PM at the Hal Holmes Community Center in Ellensburg, WA.

As voted on at the WSDCC quarterly meeting of the caucus, our action plan in support of the WSDCC platform and resolutions, will focus on Single Payer Health Care for All,
Clean Elections, and Civil Rights. The upcoming Ellensburg meeting will be a strategy session, organizing activities to bring accountability to these top 3 issues.

Our objective to grow the caucus will be in focus at the meeting as well. Please extend invitations to attend this meeting to organizations and individuals who are also working for our action plan issues.

Look for more information about this meeting in upcoming weeks.


In Peace and Solidarity,

Judith Shattuck, Chair
Washington State Progressive Caucus

[eridani]

26. 8th CD Dems meeting in Auburn 5/12

The 8th CD Democrats will be meeting May 12, Tuesday, 7:30 p.m., at the IAM Hall, 201 A St SW, Auburn. We are going to be discussing what the Task Force on Caucuses/Primaries has done so far, and what we would like to be included in the report that the task force will be writing in August for the WSDCC Executive Committee.

Anyone within convenient driving distance of Auburn is invited to attend and weigh in.

Karen Willard,
Chair, 8th CD Democrats

[eridani]

27. King County Dems legislative avtion committee meeting 5/17

May 17, 2009 Legislative Action Committee Meeting

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Shoreline Regional Library
345 NE 175th
Shoreline
2 PM - 4 PM
Sunday, May 17, 2009

Featured Speaker - Rep. Scott White 46th LD
"The Good, the Bad and the Ugly"
Scott will reflect on his experience in this year's difficult session and what's in store for the future.

Possible second speaker still unconfirmed

[eridani]

28. Federation of Democratic Women elects new chair

WA Federation of Women elects new President

by Representative Maralyn Chase



Congratulations to the new State President of the Federation of Democratic Women, Catherine Chambers of Bellingham.

President Chambers follows Elaine Phelps of Shoreline as State President and we thank Elaine for her service to women in our state.

As we approach the 100 Anniversary of Washington women voting, it is appropriate that a woman from Bellingham should lead one of our significant women’s organizations. The first two women to serve in the State Legislature were from Bellingham, (Frances Axtell (R)) and Tacoma, (Nena Jolidon Croake (PR) ) taking their seats in 1913. Their pictures hang on the wall on the 4th floor of the Leg building.

In February, 1909, the all-male legislature passed legislation amending the Washington Constitution to enable women to vote, pending a ratification vote of the male voters in November, 1910. The women of the state of Washington and their supporters had 21 months to convince the male voters that women should have the franchise.

During the 1909-10 campaign, the emphasis was not generally on public rallies but the personal, intensive work of wives, mothers, and sisters to influence the men who went to the polls in every community in the state. The suffragists distributed one million pieces of literature. The Washington State Grange, labor unions and the Farmer’s Union and other groups backed ratification. Among those opposing women voting were men who were afraid that the only reason women wanted the vote was to close the taverns and bring prohibition to our state.

The ballot measure to amend Article VI of the Washington Constitution won by a majority of 22,623, on November 8, 1910.

The Federation of Democratic Women will be inviting all women in our state to assess the status of women after 100 years of voting and are recommending the formation, in the State Legislature, of a Select Committee on the Status of Women in the State of Washington after 100 years of the Franchise. President Chambers will be communicating this request to Lisa Brown and Frank Chopp.

The Federation further recommends that the framework for the 100 year assessment should mirror the critical areas of concern identified in the Houston Women’s conference in 1977, and the Beijing World Conference on Women in 1995. The publication of a report of women’s progress could be scheduled for release on November 8, 2010. The Federation will also be inviting women’s groups to join us in celebrating on November 8, 2010.

Women’s groups across the state could use the report to craft a Platform for Action on the Critical Areas of Concern. Other states have initiated such platforms for action including California, New Hampshire and Minnesota.

Just imagine what our sisters were doing this month some 99 years ago, campaigning to get us the vote! And we are still fighting for equality: women now earn 72 cents for every dollar men earn – up from 59 cents when we started keeping track of this number some 40 years ago. Women’s history is powerful herstory …all across the globe and in the center of our universe, the State of Washington.

[eridani]

29. 8th CD Dems to meet 7/14 in Auburn

8th CD Democrats WILL be meeting on the 2nd Tuesday of July,
the 14th at the IAM Hall in Auburn (201 A St SW) at 7:30pm

This will be our wrap-up on what folks in the 8th think of the Caucus
and/or Pres. Preference Primary.

We'll be consolidating what everyone has gathered from our fellow
Democrats on this question, to be taken to the report-writing session
that the Caucus Task Force will be holding in August. Brian suggested
we might try to capture everyone's ideas in a "mind mapping" app,
rather than a straight bullet-pointed document or spreadsheet.

Karen Willard, Chair
8th CD Democrats

[eridani]

30. Western States DNC conference in Coeur D’Alene Aug 7,8,9

DNC Member Ed Cote asked me to pass on the following information about an upcoming meeting of the DNC Western States Caucus in Coeur D’Alene, Idaho - August 7, 8, 9.


From: Aleita Huguenin
Subject: DNC – Western Caucus Meeting in Coeur D’Alene, Idaho
August 7, 8, 9. --BOOK IT NOW!!!!

Dear DNC Western Region Members-

Once again the Western States Caucus of the DNC is putting on another Western States Caucus Training Meeting!

This year the Western States Conference is in Coeur D’Alene, Idaho- August 7, 8, 9.

We will be at the Coeur d’Alene Golf and Spa Resort owned by the Native American Tribe of that area.

http://www.cdacasino.com/html/
"Number 11 Best Casino Course in America" - Golfweek Magazine 2008

Attendance will be the DNC Members from the 13 Western States, and Democrats from Idaho and Washington States. The training sessions will once again include the top experts in the areas of polling, training, targeting and other campaign skills.

Flights to Coeur D’Alene are booked into Spokane, Washington airport and the resort is about 30 minutes away by rental car or free shuttle. (Right now there are some great early bird rates!)

We have a special room rate down from $255 a night to $79. (This is the vacation high season so that is a great deal.)

You will be our guest at all the conference meals.
Please come join us in Idaho! Make a vacation out of this opportunity!

Please contact or email me regarding your attendance/ absence in order that we can make the appropriate arrangements for room set up, meals etc. (We will then know how many slots to open up to interested Democrats from the local areas or other states.)

SPECIAL: If you arrive on Thursday please plan to attend a Bar-B-Que at Jeanne Buell's ranch!!! Please RSVP so we can tell her the number of folks to expect and arrange your transportation to her place.

Aleita Huguenin, Chair
DNC Western States Caucus
6318 Agua Vista
Rancho Murieta, CA 95683
916-354-3344 (h)
916-761-3374 (c)
Aleita4DNC {at} aol.com



From: Aletia Huguenin

Date: 4/2/2009 2:08 PM

Subject: DNC – Western Caucus Meeting



This year the Western States Conference is in Coeur D’Alene, Idaho - August 7, 8, 9.



We will be at the Coeur d’Alene Casino and Spa Resort owned by the Native American Tribe of that area.



_http://www.cdacasino.com/html/_ (http://www.cdacasino.com/html/)



Hotel Reservations: 800-523-2464



Code: DNC Western States Meeting

[eridani]

31. Disability caucus to have picnic in Seattle 8/4

Dear Friends of the Washington State Democratic Disabilities Issues Caucus (WSDIC):



Message Index:



1. WSDIC Picnic Potluck Block Party

2. Shoreline Candidates' Forum

3. President to Sign UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities (CRPD)



1. WSDIC Picnic Potluck Block Party: To help get us through this heat wave, WSDIC will be hosting its Picnic Potluck Block Party:



Date: Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Time: 7 - 9 pm

Place: 1200 Block of NE 52nd ST, Seattle

Address: In front of the garage on the north side of NE 52nd St.



Directions: Take Exit 169 off of I-5. Go east on NE 50th ST. Turn Right on Brooklyn Ave NE, and look for parking, which is free on-street after 6 pm. Block party is on NE 52nd ST between 12th Ave NE and Brooklyn Ave NE (12th Ave NE is one block west of Brooklyn).



Details: Bring dessert for the potluck. We will honor colleagues in the community who have passed on since last year's block party season. This will be a chance to catch up, and share in the celebration of our victories earlier this year and hopefully more to come, i.e., keeping Yakima Valley School open.



Stay tuned for planning for a WSDIC Picnic to be held in Puyallup later in August or September.



2. Shoreline Candidates' Forum: WSDIC will be working to organize a Shoreline City Council candidates' forum in August or September. Feedback is currently welcome concerning cost-free venues and other organizations with whom to host such a function. Shoreline is the site of the Fircrest Residential Habilitation Center (RHC), and the city council will decide on matters pertaining to Fircrest, i.e., land use planning, etc. Our allied organization Friends of Fircrest (FOF) has encouraged members to get involved in the Shoreline City Council campaigns of Janet Way, Cindy Ryu, and Chris Roberts.



The Primary is on Tuesday, August 18. Voting is by mail only in our state. So be sure to postmark your ballots ASAP on or before the 18th.



3. President to Sign UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities (CRPD): This is already dated, as the occasion was meant to mark the 19th Anniversary of the Americans With Disabilities Act on July 25:



"President Obama to Sign UN Disability Rights Convention:

After advocacy by Mental Disability Rights International (MDRI) and allied
disability rights organizations, President Obama will sign the new United
Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). The
announcement will take place Friday June 24, 2009 at a White House ceremony
marking the anniversary of the adoption of the Americans with Disabilities
Act.

?Obama's signature on the Convention is a cause for great celebration. Since
MDRI was founded in 1993, we have been fighting for the day when people with
disabilities have the same human rights as all other citizens,? says MDRI
founder and Executive Director, Eric Rosenthal. ?This is the culmination of
more than fifteen years of our work.?

?The United States must be held to the same human rights standards as all
other countries,? says MDRI President Laurie Ahern. ?Obama's signature
indicates this country's willingness to meet that standard. Now we must turn
our attention to ensure that our government lives up to this promise to
protect the rights of our own citizens with disabilities.?

President Obama will send the CRPD to the US Senate, which must ratify the
convention to make it binding US law. MDRI is working in coalition with the
US International Council on Disabilities, and Eric Rosenthal serves as
co-chair of the Committee on CRPD ratification. For the USICD press release
marking this occasion, Click
Herehttp://rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1102647742502&s=4488&e=001o-Xb1c9U9kANc5M2I9zlJQ4nWLgd5spORn7Kz0QPS9mZoYVe3hNtKJaewHnp3YE4UHJpZ4de8goqyYWb3IAUuOPxq0CaCdNaObmqO4ICohZ_3omIf2qEUpp8QvJAqDfbBkv2_Nzdrm96yLLK6zOv_HAVa4mgjuDospi3x86VFM5uPjkT8MjxVBwxpuvcddYzWEcw1Yw0HcIGcN6roVnRaHOkfQ13BuN67i-sN7LdXLUKB7Fxe0O6X4MpBTywokWe. ..."

Thank you for your support.



Sincerely,
Julian Wheeler, WSDIC Chair.

[eridani]

32. Some eastern WA events in August

Hi guys, as some of you know I'm one of the community organizers in
Eastern WA, of OFA. Things are getting really nasty at there and I
need support in this area. First off there is a training in Spokane on
the 15th, if you are interested please sign up here:http://
my.barackobama.com/page/s/WACampOFA (there will be 4 in the state of
WA) Secondly, I have a few events up that some of you in Eastern WA
might be interested in for the next few weeks.

http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/gpfmdx this one is in
Pullman, at the Lentil Festival it is a booth for the Whitman County
Democrats and we will have OFA stuff there as well.

http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/gpfm2r this is a "virtual"
phone bank to call on our neighbors to ask if they support health care
reform, and to ask them to call Congress.

http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/gpfmd3 This is a rally,
letter writing event at Cathy McMorris Rodgers office in Walla Walla
(If someone wants to create an event for Spokane too, that would be
great!!)

And last is an event I didn't create, but I think progressives need to
be there: http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/communityservice/gpf5pm
This is a BBQ in the north that Maria Cantwell will be at. I am
concerned "tea party" people may go to that, and I don't think we only
want their voices heard. Our Senators need to know we want health care
reform passed.

Thanks for all you do!

Crystal Ainardi
Chair Whitman County Democrats
OFA Community Organizer for EWA

[eridani]

33. Disability caucus picnic in Seattle in Shoreline Aug 30th

You are invited to attend our Annual Summer Picnic In Shoreline:

Name: WSDIC Picnic, Hosted by Representative Maralyn Chase (D-32nd Legislative District)
Date: Sunday, August 30, 2009
Time: 9 am to 2 pm. This includes a Shoreline City Council Candidate Forum from 1 - 2 pm.
Place: Paramount Park
Address: 15000 10th Ave NE, Shoreline, WA 98155 (close to Fircrest RHC Campus)
In addition: We are working with our allied organizations to arrange tours of Fircrest following our picnic.
Please RSVP by August 25 to [e-mail].

Thank you for your support.

Sincerely,

Julian Wheeler, Chair,
Washington State Democratic Disabilities Issues Caucus (WSDIC).

[eridani]

40. Address correction

Reminder: Correction of address: 15300 - 8th Ave NE, Paramount School Park, Picnic Shelter.
This is a Dessert Potluck. Suggested donation is $ 10.

[eridani]

34. Metropolitan Dems to meet 8/12 in Seattle

Metropolitan Democratic Club Members and Friends:

Please join us this Wednesday, August 12, from 12 to 1:30 p.m. in the 2nd floor conference room of the Plaza 600 Building at 6th & Stewart - just across Westlake Avenue from the Westin hotel.

We will have a few business items to discuss, and our program speaker will be Rep. Bob Hasegawa from the 11th Legislative District, who will discuss successes and failures of the last Legislative Session in Olympia.

Feel free to bring a guest and a brown bag lunch with you. (There is a Starbucks and an adjoining grocery/deli on the ground floor of the Plaza 600 Building.)

The August MDC Newsletter is now available on-line atwww.metrodems.org, along with a continually updated schedule of programs for upcoming meetings and events. If you are interested in joining the MDC, or have not yet renewed your membership for '09, please take a moment to visit our website or give us a call at [phone].

To connect with other MDC members and RSVP for special events, add us to your list of friends on Facebook. Click on the link:http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=203043720312&ref=ts.

Thank you for your good citizenship, your support for good government and the Democratic Party, and your sustaining interest in the Metropolitan Democratic Club.

Democratically yours,

Justin Simmons
President
Metropolitan Democratic Club (MDC)
[phone]
www.metrodems.org


"There is a new day to be won - a world of peace and goodwill, a world of hope and abundance." - JFK

[eridani]

35. King Co Legislative Action Team meeting 8/12 in Renton

The monthly meeting of the King County Democrats Legislative Action Committee is this Sunday, August 12, 2009
from 2 PM to 4 PM at the Renton Carpenters Hall, 231 Burnett Ave N, Renton.


Agenda

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
2:00 PM Transit Oriented Communities Legislation

special guest speakers:

John Fox - Seattle Displacement Coalition
Sara Nikolic - Futurewise Urban Strategies Director

3:00 PM Review and Discussion of Legislative Priorities for 2010 Session

4 PM adjourn

This last legislative session we had bills being covered in 8 different areas. Some areas we were watching multiple bills and adding bills as the session progressed. We would like to have a discussion of trying to pick a top priority in each area. Also we will review what worked and what didn't.

We also would like to get a commitment of who is willing to take the lead in each of the legislative areas for this next session.

The areas we covered this last year were environment, housing and human services, labor, education, election reform, , tax reform and criminal justice.

The King County Platform has the following areas: agriculture, civil and human rights, economic justice and tax fairness, education, environment and energy, foreign policy and national security, government and political reform, healthcare, human services, immigration, labor, media reform. military, transportation and land use. Some of these areas are more national than others. Our focus has mainly been on state legislative efforts to date.

We can discuss this because the action on some of the platform like health care is happening now on the Federal level.

For us to impact any of these issues we need to focus our efforts and have people willing to help facilitate information flow and action needed. If no one is willing to coordinate an area then we will not be able to take it on. So be prepared to volunteer to lead an area and to indicate which areas you can help in.

We will discuss different ways to coordinate our efforts - like how the newsletter worked versus coordinating via a King County Democrats LAC blog where issue coordinators can post on issues and actions without waiting for the newsletter to come out.

We would like to develop a workplan as to how we can function and start making contact and setting up meetings now with legislators on our priority issues.

Give this some thought and bring your ideas. See you Sunday.


Obama Health Care website

Check out the new website put up by President Obama at

White House.gov/RealityCheck

If you haven't yet sent an e-mail to Senator Murray and Senator Cantwell and your Representative in support of strong health care reform legislation including the public option, please do so. Even when they say they are supporting it like Murray and Cantwell are they need to know we are backing them up. Thank them for their support and urge that they continue to fight for the public option. The King County Democrats support the Single Payer System and you can also remind them of that.

Thanks.

[eridani]

36. 5th LD Dems picnic 8/30 in Issaquah

The 5th Dems will be holding our annual summer picnic at Lake Sammamish State Park (Issaquah) on August 30th from Noon - 4pm. We'll have live music, and, as Bob Ennis so eloquently puts it, only "itty bitty" speeches by candidates/elected officials.

I've attached the flier, and would love for you to come!

Jennifer Sutton
Chair, 5th Legislative District

[eridani]

37. Metropolitan Dems to meet 8/26 in Seattle

Metropolitan Democratic Club Members and Friends:

Please join us this Wednesday, August 26, from 12 to 1:30 p.m. in the 2nd floor conference room of the Plaza 600 Building at 6th & Stewart - just across Westlake Avenue from the Westin hotel.

King County Charter Review 2008 Commissioners Allan Munro and Terry Lavender will speak in favor of the Open Space Preservation Act, which amends the King County Charter to preserve 156,000 acres of county-owned land. Ms. Lavender is a community activist best known for her work in preserving open space and salmon habitat. Mr. Munro is an MDC board member who has been participating in local political causes and campaigns since the 1960s.

Feel free to bring your lunch and a guest with you. (There is a Starbucks and an adjoining grocery/deli on the ground floor of the Plaza 600 Building.)

The August MDC Newsletter is now available on-line at www.metrodems.org, along with a continually updated schedule of programs for upcoming meetings and events. If you are interested in joining the MDC, or have not yet renewed your membership for '09, please take a moment to visit our website or give us a call at [phone].

To connect with other MDC members and RSVP for special events, add us to your list of friends on Facebook. Click on the link:http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=203043720312&ref=ts.

Thank you for your good citizenship, your support for good government and the Democratic Party, and your sustaining interest in the Metropolitan Democratic Club.

Democratically yours,

Justin Simmons
President
Metropolitan Democratic Club (MDC)
[phone]
www.metrodems.org

[eridani]

41. Endorsement meeting 9/9/09

Press Release: MDC General Election Endorsement Meeting, Sept. 9


At its General Election Endorsement Meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 9, the Metropolitan Democratic Club (MDC) will be hearing brief presentations from all 5 candidates running for King County Assessor, and making new endorsements for the general election for the positions of Assessor, Mayor of Seattle, Seattle City Council Position No. 8, and measures to appear on the ballot.

At the last meeting of the MDC, members present voted to entertain motions to reconsider the club's endorsement for Mayor of Seattle for the general election. MDC members had dually endorsed Joe Mallahan and Mike McGinn for Mayor in the Primary.

All of the candidates endorsed by the MDC survived the Primary, with the exception of Seattle City Council Position No. 8, and will appear on the ballot for the general election.

Candidates for Mayor and Council are expected to attend the meeting on Sept. 9, which is open to the public and will occur from 12 noon to 1:30 p.m. in the 2nd floor conference room of the 600 Plaza Building at 6th Avenue and Stewart Street in downtown Seattle.

The Metropolitan Democratic Club has endorsed and supported progressive candidates and ballot measures in the greater Seattle area for over fifty years. A description of the organization and its endorsement procedures can be found on its website: www.metrodems.org.

[eridani]

38. Disability caucus Seattle candidate forum 9/18

We are planning a candidate forum on issues of concern to People With
Disabilities on Friday, September 18, 5:30 pm, at Center Park Community
Center, 2121 - 26th Ave S, Seattle. Forum will cover candidates for
Mayor, City Attorney, and City Council.

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Julian Wheeler, Volunteer Convener, on behalf of
ad hoc Committee for the Establishment of a Seattle Disability
Commission (CESDC)

[eridani]

39. Young Dems to debate Yound Repubs 8/27

Debate with Young Republicans
at Intiman Theatre!

Free! Debate at Intiman Theatre August 27th

YDWA and KC Young Republicans

DATE: Thursday, August 27th, 2009

TIME: 7:00PM to ~8:30PM

LOCATION: Intiman Theatre
201 Mercer Street - Seattle, WA 98109

It's fun. It's free. It's a chance to really connect with the other party. And you don't want your own party to be outnumbered, do you?


On Thursday, August 27th, at 7pm, Intiman Theatre - in partnership with King County Young Republicans AND Young Democrats of Washington - will host a free Front Porch Theater event for Abe Lincoln in Illinois. Be "cast" as Abe Lincoln and other characters from the play for an informal, 40-minute reading, followed by a facilitated conversation. The reading includes scenes dramatizing Lincoln's student days, his tragic first love and events leading up to his election as president, including the Lincoln-Douglas debates about racial equality. During the discussion, talk about the critical issues today that compel us to confront what seems to be impossible. Familiarity with the play is not necessary, and those who don't wish to read are encouraged to attend as audience and be part of the conversation. The reading is free, and there will be a raffle for tickets to Intiman's production of Abe Lincoln in Illinois.

More Information on Facebook


Join Our Mailing List!
YDWA
PO Box 4642
Seattle, Washington 98194

[eridani]

42. PDA 5th birthday party in Spokane 9/12

SPOKANE PROGRESSIVE DEMOCRATS OF AMERICA TURNS 5!
5-7 PM SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 12, 2009
AT BART & LINDELL HAGGIN'S
15418 N. LITTLE SPOKANE DRIVE

RSVP WITH ROSE HONSA AT 509-747-3454

A Chicken And Vegetarian Cuisine BBQ
BBQ Chicken Stuffed Zucchini Stir-Fry Tofu with
Baked Yams Arizona Mountain Soup Garden Vegetables
Bread with Salsa Tortilla Chips
Punch There Will Be Cake!!!!!

Bring Your Own: Chair, Beer and Wine

Suggested Donation of $5.00 at the door

Directions: Go North on Division Street (HWY 395)
Right on N. Wandermere Rd, Go 1.1 miles
<Highway sign says N. Little Spokane Drive>
Turn right at E. Little Spokane Connection Rd.
Go 0.3 miles. Slight Left at N. Little Spokane Dr.
Look For The Baloons!

SEE YOU AT THE BIRTHDAY PARTY!!!

[eridani]

43. Eastside Dems dinner 10/4

SAVE THE DATE!!
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 4TH

THE 23rd ANNUAL
EASTSIDE DEMOCRATIC DINNER

"THAT WAS THEN - THIS IS NOW!"
The original Eastside Democratic Dinner was held in 1987.
Then the entire Eastside was represented by Republicans.
Now 9 of the 12 Eastside legislative seats are held by the Democratic Party!

It's time to celebrate the successes of
the Democratic Party on the Eastside!

Plan now to join your fellow Democrats, Governor Chris Gregoire
and other state and local elected officials at the
23rd Annual Eastside Democratic Dinner
October 4th

So save the date - October 4th - for this very special event!

You will receive an official invitation with event location and ticket information soon.


Event Hosts
Martin Chaney, Chair - 45th District Democrats
Jeff Smith, Chair - 41st District Democrats
Diane Lundeen Smith, Chair - 48th District Democrats
Jennifer Sutton, Chair - 5th District Democrats


Proceeds from this event benefit the 5th, 41st, 45th, and 48th
Legislative District Organizations and our endorsed candidates.

[eridani]

44. Metropolitan Democratic Club to host King County Assessor's candidates 9/9

Metropolitan Democratic Club Members and Friends:

Please join us this Wednesday, September 9, from 12 to 1:30 p.m. in the 2nd floor conference room of the Plaza 600 Building at 6th & Stewart - just across Westlake Avenue from the Westin hotel.

We will hear from all 5 candidates for King County Assessor, make endorsements for Assessor and measures to appear on the ballot, and reconsider endorsements for Mayor of Seattle and Seattle City Council Position No. 8.

Feel free to bring your lunch and a guest with you. (There is a Starbucks and an adjoining grocery/deli on the ground floor of the Plaza 600 Building.)

The September MDC Newsletter is now available on-line at www.metrodems.org, along with a continually updated schedule of programs for upcoming meetings and events:

Wed., Sept. 9, 12-1:30 PM - General Election Endorsement Meeting
Wed., Sept. 23, 12-1:30 PM - Program: New Local Media and Messaging for Press, Policy-Makers, Candidates and Activists.
Wed., Oct. 14, 12-1:30 PM - Election of MDC Officers/Club Business Meeting.
Wed., Oct. 28, 12-1:30 PM - Program: MDCs role in CHECC (Choose An Effective City Council) and Initiative 229, repealing Washington's "Blue Law", and implications for civic activism today.
Wed., Nov. 11, 12-1:30 PM - Program to be determined.
Wed., Nov. 25, 12-1:30 PM - Program to be determined.
Wed., Dec. 16, 12-1:30 PM (one meeting only in December, 3rd Wednesday, Tower Building, 1809 7th Avenue, Ste. 403) - Program: Nora Leech will speak about her study for the League of Women Voters on the effects of government privatization, nationally and internationally.
MDC Winter Holiday Party at Anne Johnson's - Date to be determined.

If you are interested in joining the MDC, or have not yet renewed your membership for '09, please take a moment to visit our website at www.metrodems.org or give us a call at [phone].

To connect with other MDC members and RSVP for special events, add us to your list of friends on Facebook. Click on the link:http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=203043720312&ref=ts.

Thank you for your good citizenship, your support for good government and the Democratic Party, and your sustaining interest in the Metropolitan Democratic Club.

Democratically yours,

Justin Simmons
President
Metropolitan Democratic Club (MDC)
[phone]
www.metrodems.org

[eridani]

45. King Co, Legislative action team meets at Northgate library 9/20

King County Democrats Legislative Action Committee Newsletter

Sunday September 20, 2009 Meeting
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
in this issue
Article Headline
Article Headline
Article Headline
The September 20, 2009 LAC Meeting will be held at the Northgate Library, located at 10548 5th Ave NE. just east of Northgate Mall.
We will meet from 2 PM to 4 PM. Guest speakers this month will be Senator Margareta Prentice and Representative Ross Hunter. They will be speaking on "Funding our Priorities: Insights from the Senate Ways and Means and the House Finance Committee Chairs.

Plan ahead for November 15th when Speaker Frank Chopp will be our guest.


Minutes from August LAC Meeting ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
KCDCC Legislative Action Committee
Meeting Notes August 16, 2009
Seattle Displacement Coalition ED John Fox
Futurewise Political Director April Williams
Futurewise Urban Strategies Director Sara Nikolac

Meeting called to order 2 p.m. by Co-chair Steve Zemke, with introductions.

Steve reported that Speaker Frank Chopp has asked to have his annual meeting with the King County Dems LAC in October or November. Rep. Tina Orwall brought this message.

Transit-Oriented Communities HB 1490
All land use decisions made on the local level would have to take into account the effect on global warming, in terms of land use and transportation. This involves re-thinking the Growth Management Act. Rep. Sharon Nelson was a prime sponsor.

Futurewise wanted to be sure that land use and transportation decisions were made with climate change and greenhouse gas emission in mind. One section of the bill was most controversial, the one that dealt with transportation-oriented communities.

These transportation hubs need to be well planned and well designed and meet the needs of both current and future residents, with a mix of affordable and market-rate housing. There were minimum standards for affordable housing and new inclusionary mixed housing. It required replacement of demolished housing and minimum zoning of 50 units per acre, averaged over all. A new station area is over 200 units per acre. Also looks at open area and parks and requirements for streets. There are only four of these hubs in Seattle.

The bill ran into a lot of opposition and was much amended, and ultimately did not pass. Private developers and BIAW, Master Builders of King & SnoCo objected. Affordable housing provisions were objected to. Futurewise felt it was imperative to have affordable housing as part of the bill.

Advocates were often supportive of the intention, but had concerns. The half-mile radius within a station was changed to a half-mile walking distance, changed density guidelines to apply only to urban centers. Urban Centers within Seattle are Capitol Hill, Downtown, University and Northgate. This alleviated much of the opposition. Some opposition passed out flyers that pictured Mumbai, India, saying, this is what your community will look like. There was much fear mongering.

The Republicans filled the bill with 36 amendments the last three days that eliminated all the climate-change parts and killed the bill, although Speaker Chopp is in favor of it.

John Fox, Seattle Displacement Coalition
Both groups have met recently and are interested in common areas of agreement in support.

Mandates of 50 units per acre within 1/2 mile of the station areas were interpreted differently by SDC. The impact on areas with 2 - 5 units per acre such as Rainier Valley, would be quite different. They'd already gone through station area planning, and the bill would have pre-empted that planning, as well as for Roosevelt Light Rail area.

The bill should require an assessment of current housing stock within the affected area. We need to protect the remaining low-income single-family housing stock occupied by people of color. We think it's a laudable objective to increase densities in areas not meeting their targets, consistent with participation of those people in communities. We need to mitigate the impact on low-income housing, either by preserving the stock that's there, or by replacing it 1:1, preferably by developers. We should require a right of first notice to enable non-profits and affected tenants to buy their own apartments when they are put up for sale. We need to amend the GMA to allow the use of developer fees for housing mitigation.

The principle of 1:1 replacement is, to some extent, in Seattle's current plan. Eighty percent of median starts at $1150 a month for a studio, which is above market rate in SE Seattle. This is too high for rentals. Developers must provide units below 50% of the area median income, to help those who need help.

Sara Nikolac, Futurewise
Agrees with much of that. The affordable housing language in the bill was written by the Washington Low-Income Housing Alliance (WLIHA). Originally it had 10% of housing affordable to those at 60% of median income and 15% at 80%. She is not sure why it changed.

Net density (at 50 per acre) looks only at developable land, and looks only at what is allowed by code, not by what is there. Two-thirds of areas are zoned single-family, 8 units per acre. If the requirement is larger, it will be met by the part that's zoned multifamily. It's looking 50 to 100 years out, as targets. The Seattle Comprehensive Plan now goes out to 2024. The bill affects 20 cities in the region, not just Seattle. Density should be planned in Kent, Auburn, Mukilteo, etc, all cities that have mass transit, for which we all pay. Seattle has reached 60% of its growth targets for 2024. Most of the growth in King County is and will go outside of Seattle. We have zoning capacity to add another 120,000 units, especially if we include detached Accessory Dwelling Units .

Q. from DesMoines, already struggling to meet the growth management mandates. They're struggling t make it happen. DesMoines just passed a tax giveaway to developers. What can suburban cities do to "step up"? The bill required the planning to go in place, once the station is sited (another 6 to 8 years). It has to be done thoughtfully, through planning. In Mercer Island and Bellevue, they will be updating their comprehensive plans in the next two years. Comprehensive plans are done every seven years. We don't want to miss this window.

In a handout are plans for Othello Station where 6-story buildings are planned for three or four corners. This is taking place without any changes in zoning, and results in net density of 175 units per acre. Thornton Place at Northgate has a net density of 194 units per acre.

"Inclusionary zoning" is used in Boston, S.F. and Chicago as a tool that required developers in include affordable housing. State law currently pre-empts inclusionary housing.

Discussion
Donald Smith expressed his dismay at the amount of low-income housing that has already been destroyed. Current zoning in South Lake Union allows for 150% of the density called for in the neighborhood plan.

Seattle zoning currently allows for a large amount of density. Our task in Seattle is to mitigate and shape the growth we are experiencing. We need to look at whether there is a need for upzoning, and how we protect trees and streams in the face of the development we are experiencing, much of it outside of station areas.

Is there a way to mitigate the development we're experiencing and create green infrastructure, with concurrency language?

Steve Zemke asked, how does Seattle's goal of 30% tree canopy fit with this bill? (We're at 22%.) Station-area planning must include park and recreational space to meet the needs of the population there, and must meet the needs of the green infrastructure (not defined). The bill needs to do a better job of defining this. Rep. Scott White introduced a bill that said you have to take groves into account.

Future plans
Sen. Adam Kline and Rep. Sharon Nelson facilitated a meeting with Transportation Choices and WLIHA. How do we move forward together? They are looking at an incentive-based plan, less prescriptive. This section was more prescriptive and detailed than any other part of the GMA. Cities could choose to designate the station area, to make it a high-performance station area, to give them access to incentive monies. They are looking at hotel-motel-stadium tax, as one idea of revenue. That would be King County specific, but KC is where most of the stations would be in the next 20 years. An incentive-based bill would be more likely to pass. We could use some funding for implementation, beyond planning.

Rep. Sharon Nelson will again provide legislative leadership. Sen. Kline is interested because of the interests of his district (Rainier Valley). The LAC asked for some points of agreement that would be a standard for judging a bill.

Sarajane suggested having a new state fund to underwrite commercial rents in these areas for non-profits and locally-owned small businesses, to help fill the many vacant storefronts. April said Redmond is doing something like this locally.

Planning process for 2010 Priorities
This will be a short, 60-day session. We need to scale our aspirations accordingly. Anything that costs money (has a fiscal note) will be on the back burner. We will do better to prioritize and focus our energies. For example, health care has moved to the national agenda, for now. Education won't move forward until the economy recovers and we have more money.

Rep. Scott White will be working on circuit-breaker legislation to give financial assistance to low-income renters. Don Smith wants to work on tax reform, work on a progressive income tax and eliminate some tax breaks. He's created a listserv of Eastside Progressives. Ning is useful for contact management; Chad Lupkes can explain. We need a better means of group communication.

We need to oppose Eyman's I-1033. It's modeled on Colorado's and guarantees that every year, spending will go down, based on higher expense for current programs, and adding population to current services. This year's recession budget would be the basis for all future budgets. Everything else would go into a "property tax fund" that would be refunded 40% to commercial real estate taxes (because 40$ of taxable property is commercial.) Only 65% of households in WA are owner-occupied. I-1033 leaves out renters. The more real estate you own, the more refund you would get. Education would get no benefit at all. Visit: www.no1033.com We rank 35th in the U.S. in combined state and local taxes. We have the 8th highest income per capita. Yet our state and local tax burden per capita is 35th (with 1 being the highest). Property tax burden - we rank 25th per capita. Eyman is demagoguing the issue that taxes are out of control.

Tax Reform
If we got rid of all 600+ tax breaks, we could cut our taxes in half. Speak with Rep. Bob Hasegawa, vice chair of House Finance. Look at a sunset law or a public benefit rating system. All tax breaks should have a fiscal note and be listed on the state budget as expenditures. Don Smith will look into supporting.

Education
The working group on education funding will be working on funding the bill they passed. We may want to support, depending on what they come up with.

Criminal Justice
Noemie Maxwell will continue to work on reform or repeal of Three Strikes with Sen. Adam Smith the group Justice Works.

Campaign Finance
Bob Loeliger and Craig Salins, E.D. of Washington Public Campaigns, will be bringing a bill for public campaign financing for the State Supreme Court.

Labor
Brad Larson wants to continue to work on labor issues. Labor has a lot of work to do.

Environment/Public Health
Prescription Drug Return bill will be reintroduced by Rep. Dawn Morell. (Cong Jay Inslee is working on this at the national level.) Margaret Shields will be our contact. She is also working on recycling mercury lights.

Low-Income Housing
Sarajane will be a liaison with Washington Low-Income Housing Alliance. She is on their task group to come up with priorities and will share them when they are ready.

We need to work on getting our information out, organizing at the L.D. level, ask each L.D. to have a liaison with their exec board.

Good of the Order
Bob Rosenburger is filing for King County Assessor. There are over 300 tax breaks that apply to that job. Sharon Tomiko-Santos is interested in raising the income limit for Homestead exemption for high-income counties.

Next Meeting: Northgate Library , Sunday, September 20th, 2 - 4 p.m.
Suggestions for speakers? Rep. Sharon Tomiko-Santos on finance, tax breaks, revenue sources?
Ross Hunter? Margarita Prentice? Governor's office?



Help Needed on Initiative 1033~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The No on 1033 campaign is kicking off phone banking the week of Sept 21, and have confirmed dedicated phone bank space at the SEIU 775 headquarters every Wednesday (10 lines) and Thursday (23 lines). We also have dedicated phone bank space at WCV's offices in downtown (15-20 lines). We will be scheduling phonebanks at WCV on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, eventually adding Sundays and Mondays as we get a solid list of volunteers.

Please contact Sierra Hansen at [e-mail] to help out.

The campaign website is www.no1033.com

Their phone number is 206-682-2767.

Initiative 1033 is Tim Eyman's measure to freeze the budgets of all 281 cities, 39 counties and the State government at this year's recession level. It will severely impact our state and lock in all the budget cuts permanently that have taken place due to the recession.

Eyman's Initiative 1033 will dig us deeper into recession economics over the coming years. In a newly released policy brief by the Washington Research Council on Initiative 1033, details are provided on the serious negative impacts of I-1033 over the next several budget cycles.

As the Washington Research Council notes, current projections show the state budget for 2009-2011 having a negative balance of $195 million. I-1033 would increase the budget shortfall to $871 million. This is for a maintenance budget- no new programs.

The impact on the 2011-2013 state budget is even worse. Here's what the Washington Research Council says the Impact on the 2011 -2013 State Budget would be:
"Even without passage of I-1033, the budget outlook for 2011-13 is grim. While the 2009 legislature did make substantial real cuts in spending, it also relied heavily on onetime money to balance the 2009-11 budget. Incorporating the June forecast, general fund spending for the biennium exceeds revenues by $1.4 billion. In addition, $2.5 billion in federal stimulus funds are being used to sustain programs that would normally be funded through the general fund. For 2011-13 these programs will shift back to the general fund.
Using OFM's revenue growth assumptions, general fund revenues are expected to grow by $3.5 billion from 2009-11 to 2011-13.
We have yet to see projections of "maintenance-level" cost increases for 2011-13. Looking backwards, the maintenance level increase for the 2007-09 biennium was $1.4 billion, while the maintenance level increase for 2009-11 was $2.1 billion.
With a $1.4 billion maintenance level increase, the budget gap for 2011-13 would be $1.8 billion; with a $2.1 billion maintenance level increase the gap would be $2.5 billion. I-1033 would expand these gaps to $3.8 billion and $4.5 billion, respectively."
check out the brief here:
http://www.researchcouncil.org/publications_container/I-1033%20Final.pdf



Approve Referendum 71 Campaign Needs your help
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To learn about what you can do to support the APPROVE 71 campaign, please attend one of our upcoming Organizing Meetings in your area.
Go to http://approvereferendum71.org/09/approve-71-organizing-meetings-statewide/


Mail a donation check payable to Washington Families Standing Together to WAFST, PO Box 12216, Seattle, WA 98102 (Political contributions are not tax deductible).


Go to Approve Referendum 71 website to volunteer:

http://approvereferendum71.org/volunteer-for-approve-referendum-71