Endorsement Schedule Update

At the end of the June meeting, I announced that the Endorsements for Seattle City Council Position 2 and Seattle City Attorney would happen at the August meeting. I have received communications from both campaigns for the City Council Position, and they have both asked to be considered at the September meeting instead. I would like to thank both Council President Richard Conlin and David Ginsberg for asking. We will have a full agenda in August.

Endorsement Meeting Results and some notes

Last night was an incredible meeting. We did our Primary Endorsements, and struggled through some issues. But first,

I need to apologize to Jean Arnott. She had shown an interest in being on the Raymond Cole Committee, and I had forgotten that when I made the appointments to the committee. Last night I fixed that, and you might have also noticed that she had flowers with her last night. Those were from me. Jean Arnott is appointed to the Cole Committee, and I know that her experience will serve the district well.

The results of the Endorsements are posted on the home page. I also posted a copy of the PowerPoint that Kathryn and I used to keep track of the votes. More detailed minutes will be coming from Stan Sorscher as soon as he can get them done.

I want to thank the members of the district that helped us struggle through the procedural issues last night. It was a good meeting with everyone working together to find the best solution. I made some mistakes, and I did my best to fix them. We will consider City Council Position 2 and the City Attorney at our August meeting. the rest of the Endorsements will be done at our September meeting.

Rep. Scott White (D-46) plans Virtual Town Hall

News from the Washington State House of Representatives
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Virtual town-hall with Rep. White on June 23rd at 6:20 p.m.
Technology will enable Seattle lawmaker to reach thousands of households at once

OLYMPIA – Constituents in Seattle’s 46th Legislative District are invited to join in a telephone virtual town-hall meeting next Tuesday evening.

Roughly two months after the 2009 Legislative Session reached its end, Rep. Scott White will hold a virtual town-hall meeting, which will give people in his district the opportunity to voice their concerns and get their questions answered in real-time.

“I value every chance I get to meet with my constituents; in mid-March my seatmates and I held an on-site town hall meeting that was very successful, but then I heard from many constituents who were interested in attending but could not make it,” said White, who is serving his first term in the Legislature. “While I will continue to meet with my constituents in-person over coffee and at town hall meetings, I do want to make it easy for everybody this time by holding a ‘virtual town meeting’ via telephone.”

On Tuesday, June 23 at about 6:20 p.m. phones across White’s district will ring giving people who answer the option to take part in the virtual town-hall meeting by simply staying on the line. For the next hour, White will take questions from people who participate in the meeting.

“The whole point is to make it easy for people to access their government and to engage in a dialogue with their elected State Representative. With this new telephone technology I can reach thousands of people, and they don’t even have to leave their homes,” White added.

North Seattle’s 46th Legislative District includes the neighborhoods of Bitter Lake, Broadview, Bryant, Carkeek, Cedar Park, Chelsea, (North) Greenlake, (East) Greenwood, Haller Lake, Hawthorne Hills, Jackson Park, Lake City, Laurelhurst, Licton Springs, Magnuson Park, Maple Leaf, Matthews Beach, Meadowbrook, Morningside, North College Park, Northgate, North Park, Olympic Hills, Paramount Park, Pinehurst, Ravenna, Roosevelt, Sand Point, Victory Heights, View Ridge, Wedgwood and Windermere.

The virtual meeting will conclude by 7:20 p.m. Those who do not get the chance to ask a question during the hour-long call will have the option to leave White a voicemail, and each person leaving a message will get a call back from Rep. White.

Cell phone users will not receive a call, as the technology that makes the virtual town meeting possible does not call cell numbers. However, there is a toll-free number and an ID code for people who don’t get a call and want to participate in the virtual meeting: (877) 229-8493, ID code: 14971. This information will also be available on White’s website at www.housedemocrats.wa.gov/members/white.

###

For more information:
Rep. Scott White
District office: (206)366-7830
Olympia office: (360) 786-7886
white.scott@leg.wa.gov

Elizabeth Willmott is off to DC!

Dear Friends in the 46th District:

I have not participated in the district's activities for a few months, while my life has been going at 100 miles per hour. By way of explanation, as many of you know, I will be departing for Washington, D.C. on Tuesday, June 23. On Monday, June 29 I will start a new job at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

Specifically, I will be the senior program manager for economic recovery funding at HUD. In title I will be the special assistant / deputy director of the Office of Strategic Planning. Every day I will work for the vulnerable communities, families and individuals in our country. It will be an eye-opening and sobering responsibility but I am fired up and ready to go!

I wish that I could have worked more with you, but in the time that we have known one another I have found such inspiration in your deep political commitment and general kindness. Please know that I will take your commitment to social justice and environmental protection with me as motivation in the work ahead.

I will also look forward eagerly to the time I return home and rejoin the community organizing in North Seattle. In the meantime, I will be you in enthusiastic spirit.


Please let me know when you pass through DC. Stay in touch.

With warmest regards,

Elizabeth

(Chair's note: We couldn't be more proud to have one of our own going to Washington DC to help oversee the Change we need to see in the world. I look forward to seeing updates from her, and please feel free to comment on this post to tell her good luck! - Chad)

Another Reminder: Endorsements Thursday!

This is a reminder from the 46th District Democrats about our ENDORSEMENT MEETING on Thursday. We'll have Candidates, Campaigns, Chili and DESSERTS!

Thursday, June 18
Olympic View Elementary School
504 NE 95th
6:30 pm Social Time, Chili Feed AND Dessert Buffet
7:00 pm Meeting

Please make sure to put this meeting on your calendar this week. We will be making our endorsements for the Primary Ballot. We've met the candidates, we've heard the candidates. Now it is time to endorse those we know will best support our values and platform.

And back by popular demand:
Dessert Buffet will be available for a contribution before and during the meeting.
(If you would like to do a bit of baking to donate to the goodies, bake on!)

Letter from Seattle's Office of Housing

City of Seattle
Gregory J. Nickels, Mayor

Executive Department - Office of Housing
Adrienne E. Quinn, Director

June 8, 2009

Dear Mr. Lupkes,

Thank you for your email to Mayor Nickels expressing the support of the 46th District Democrats for the Seattle Housing Levy. The Mayor's staff has asked me to respond to you on his behalf.

The Mayor greatly appreciates the work that you and many of your members have done on behalf of affordable housing. The Mayor and staff here at the Office of Housing completely agree that the levy should focus on the most vulnerable in our community, as it has for the last three decades. We know, as do the 46th District Democrats and an overwhelming number of Seattle residents surveyed on the issue, that it is more important now than ever to keep investing in low-income housing programs and assistance to ensure that our struggling families, seniors and other at-risk people keep a roof over their heads.

And Mayor Nickels' proposal to renew the Housing Levy will continue Seattle's commitment to help house our most vulnerable neighbors. As proposed, more than half of the seven-year $145 million levy will be dedicated to families and individuals earning minimum wage or less - including retail, restaurant and hotel workers, as well as seniors living on fixed incomes, homeless individuals and families, and those on the brink of losing their homes.

While the only stated target in the Mayor's proposal is for 55% of rental production and preservation program money must go toward units for people making 30% of area median income or less (about $17,000 for an individual; $22,750 for a family of three), that does not mean that the rest of the money will go toward people who earn up to 80% of median income, as some advocates are claiming. Simply put, because of the way low-income housing finance works, we anticipate the funding awarded from the 2009 Housing Levy will produce units at similar income levels as the past levies produced, which actually surpassed targets. With the 2002 Housing Levy, City Council set a target for 59% of the rental production and preservation program funding to go toward those earning 30% AMI or less; as of the end of 2008, over 73% of this program's funding was spent on units for those earning up to 30% of AMI.

As you may know, the levy funding is only a portion of the capital funding needed to complete a housing development. Other funding sources have varying restrictions on how they are used, including income levels - some sources limit to 30%, while some may go up to 50% or 60% AMI (we call this "workforce" housing; about $35,000 a year for an individual and $45,000 for a family of three). Besides this fact, every proposal that comes in for levy funding is analyzed based on its overall merits, including the needs of the population it serves and how the development may serve a need in the surrounding neighborhood. For example, with the coming of Sound Transit's light rail and bus rapid transit routes, it may make sense to consider funding buildings that serve households at 60% AMI to ensure Seattle's hard-working, low- and moderate-wage families can have the opportunity to live in the city, close to jobs and transit.

Thank you for taking the time to weigh in on such an important issue in our community. Your continued support of the Housing Levy is essential to its success.

Sincerely,

Adrienne E. Quinn
Director

Office of Housing
PO Box 94725
Seattle, WA 98124-4725
Tel: 206-684-0721
Fax: 206-233-7117
www.seattle.gov/housing

You can view this letter in PDF form as well.

2009 Endorsement Procedures

I have posted the proposed endorsement procedures for the June 18th meeting.

The following changes are being proposed from the version we used in January:

The date of the General Endorsement meeting is being moved to our September meeting. There are several reasons for this. First, this is only two days after the August 18th Primary, and we might not have all of the results. Also, the extra cost for using Olympic View Elementary School means that we are moving to the Olympic View Church. This is a smaller facility, and a full Endorsement Meeting would not work. We're planning some other things for the Agenda in August, and I hope we'll see a good crowd. But we really do need the school for a full sized meeting.

Another change is that we would like to change who can speak during the Endorsement meeting. We have had a tradition of only allowing members to speak, which has left some candidates out. So instead, we would like to give 3 minutes to each endorsement motion. The nomination and seconding of the nomination must be done by a member, but they would be able to give their time to the candidate if they wish.

If you have any comments about these proposed changes, please post a comment below and we'll see you on June 18th!

Saturday's KCDCC Endorsement Interviews

From Shanna Sawatzki:

On Saturday, a the KCDCC Endorsements Committee Held their first day of Candidate Interviews. It's a long day, 9 am - 7:30 pm, with each candidate taking 15-20 minutes of questions from the committee.

I have attempted to take notes for each candidate that I had a chance to listen to and thought I would share. These are in short hand, and I have tried to be as unpartial as possible.* I may have missed some key details as it's really hard to listen and type, but hopefully this provides some insight.

Larry Phillips

Executive experience as Chief of Staff of Randy Reveille, 10 labor endorsements, 9 of which are sole endorsements. Focus on major infrastructure programs, esp transit, light rail, waterfront w/ tunnel, 520 to drive economy & new jobs. Reach out all parts of the county, listen to their concerns, 31st LD endorsement. Cooperation between Seattle & the rest of the county: worked with Mayor on Sound Transit. Supports passing an income tax.

Fred Jarrett

Became a Democrat because he was asked. Active for 30 years in politics, 35 years in business (at Boeing). Pro-choice, supports gay marriage. Most proud of his term of mayor, getting a dysfunctional council to work together as team. No organizational endorsements as of yet.

Ross Hunter

Not 100% in agreement with KCDCC platform, but just minor quibbles with it. King County has been on a path to more compact, transit oriented King County, but it’s not happening. Every other Democratic candidate has been involved in it unsuccessfully, and he has history of accomplishment and believe being an outsider can benefit this cause. Supports gay rights & marriage, but we should not introduce a gay marriage bill until it can will, to avoid a referendum where we lose. Balance of building consensus and getting things done. Did not remember that there is no Deputy Exec, it’s a Chief of Staff. Would pick Fred Jarrett. Supports passing an income tax.

Dow Constantine

Differentiates himself from Larry by trying to be an agent of change. Says Larry is quiet protector of status quo. Mentioned Maury Island quarry. Wants to challenge status quo, bring in innovative ideas. Says someone coming from Legislature would be unable to create change. Represents rural interests as well. Says he is collaborative, won’t worry about who gets credit for successes when it comes to city vs state efforts. Says Council & Executive need to be on same page and lobby Olympia.

Jan Drago

Decided to run since paying for a poll which showed that she was viable. Would only run if she felt that she could win. Downtown vs neighborhoods: style difference from Nickels. Claims Norm Rice style of broad-based consensus. Has lived & worked downtown for a long time. Many problems of downtown are a result of incompatible zoning. Doesn’t think jail should be built. If it has to be, it should be built by county, as an expansion of downtown or regional justice center. Opposes districting of Seattle, because we don’t work by caucus, and city council can’t make decisions behind closed doors like the legislature can. Wants a King County summit to set a King County agenda for legislative session with all elected officials in King County.

Greg Nickels

Doesn’t want jail, but we have to have a place. Wants central site near current jail. Unpopular decision which he thought he was right: tunnel to replace viaduct, knows it made everyone mad, but in 15 years, people will like it. Democrat since 16. Homelessness: proud of efforts to end it. Created 10,000 units since housing levy first passed. People in encampments are guaranteed space in shelter on Roy street. Will handle snow removal differently in the future.

Joe Mallahan

Democrat all his life, life plan of public service. Management skill set and personality are well suited to be a mayor we can trust. Downtown vs neighborhoods: committed to re-empowering the neighborhoods. Mayor fired great person and has reduced matching funding ever since. Shared vision of cooperation, esp w/ transit. Small business says it’s too complicated to deal with city. Must improve service model of city of “great service for all.” Donated to his own campaign to take the “war chest” argument off the table, so his financial viability is off table. Differentiates himself by his management experience. Running to do major things: re-empowering the neighborhoods. Against Mercer Street project: way underfunded. SLU: generally good. Big on increasing housing. Mayor has to make hard decisions that may be in conflict with neighborhoods, but thinks input from all stakeholders is important.

James Donaldson

Wide reach with different parties & affiliations, but a strong Democrat. Switched to Mayor because people kept mentioning he would be a good candidate for mayor and field was wide open. Differentiation: 2 entrenched people running (Nickels and Drago). Been in community, small business owner, invested in neighborhoods. Been in conversation with previous mayors to garner info and insight. Approach to diversity: keep doors open, give experience they haven’t had available to them or they have been denied. Will personally ensure diversity.

Robert Rosencrantz

Landlord supporting homeless to housing initiative

Dorsal Plants

Outreach to build Democratic Party, beyond just election cycles. Urban Density vs Neighborhood Quality: need to protect neighborhoods & planning process w/ improvement of neighborhood influence w/ city. Have dialogue with n’hood leaders & city leaders to increase capacity w/o ruining neighborhood quality. On Nickelsville: is homeless advocate & neighborhood activist. Mayor is not communicating, city council is too compartmentalized to communicate with people. Need people on council who take initiative to work with ppl. Preserving tree canopy: is important, especially on public property & want to encourage & incentivize individuals to keep trees on private property. No jails in neighborhoods, want to use land downtown near jail or as add-on. Want to have open gov’t. Wants to lead by example, take care of people first.

Peter Holmes

Wants to reduce litigious impact of labor orgs of police in Seattle. Need to reduce repetitive litigations. Mentioned Lem Howell’s litigation and cost to city. Want to enhance relationship with city attys and police. Critizised Carr’s incarceration record, for talking about incarceration alternatives, but not acting. Favors decriminalization and legalization of marijuana. Start with medical marijuana.

Mike O’Brien

Need to increase mobility, people like mobility even more than they like their cars. Need people closer to transit, can’t keep sprawling. Have to have great rapid transit, have more housing. Support idea behind community input on transit. Need to get ppl involved in n’hoods, city needs to play an active role in getting more people involved in councils. Wants to open government process to all citizens.

Sally Bagshaw

Land use, transportation, labor, union, housing experience. Worked on 10-year plan to end homelessness. Work with n’hood organizations. Pursue Cascade city agenda, n’hoods take responsibility for new people coming to Seattle. Bagshaw’s hero is Obama, “Hope over fear, unity of purpose over discord.”

Tom Carr

Talked about his daily incarceration rate decrease ~400 daily inmates when he was elected, now in the mid-high 200’s, to justify his incarceration alternative record. Talked about the success of daily check in program for typical no-shows to court in first few offenses who would typically be incarcerated until court date. Thinks there is merit to both sides of marijuana decriminalization issues.

Rusty Williams

Says Seattle can have both density and n’hood character. Has bits of similarity with all other Pos 8 candidates: small businessman, environmentalist, has a famous parent. Was for fixing viaduct, might support toll on tunnel, not sure, needs more details. Need constant stream of revenue from the arts. Paratransit to help support arts. Enhanced public safety in Pioneer Square so women can go out without being scared. Fiscal conservative, but need more police. Talked about gang violence prevention measures: engage churches, schools and parents, building community. Brute force won’t work. Mom used to chair KCDCC.

Nick Licata

Endorsed by 11th LD. Gang violence: supports human rights commission report on racial profiling and hate crime. Get housing and social services for those released from prison. Legislation doesn’t work. Police must work with community. Opposes Mercer street plan: $100 mil initially, now >$200 mil. Can’t add bike lanes. Parks: mayor announced park plan without telling council. Chaired parks committee. Favors tolling 520 and 1-90, not sure about tunnel. Supports preserving tree canopy and urban forestry. Wants urban forest commission.

Jesse Israel

Need to bring density into Seattle in a way that works to preserve neighborhood character. Involve neighborhoods. Exp bringing communities in early in projects, which helps prevent reactionary responses on the back end. Decrease gang violence by decreasing truancy. In Licata’s term, gang violence prevention programs have continuously eroded. White Center should choose whether they want to be annexed. Downtown SLU, Capitol Hill, u district have been designated growth area. Vote for women, get more family friendly policies, want more women running. Campaigned for Clinton & Obama. Solely endorsed by Washington Conservation Voters.

Richard Conlin

Wants to honor neighborhood plan, worked with Sally Clark on putting together n’hood plan. Need effective public safety approach to gangs. Changed way police are allocated. Need to mobilize effectively. Need to re-mobilize gang unit. Need prevention approach. Need to separate gangs from ppl being drawn into them. N’hood gang violence prevention program. Greenwood is getting sidewalks near 85th and east of Greenwood. Supports requiring developers to install sidewalks when they redevelop. Started bridging the gap and building sidewalks in the city. Put together 19 point economic recovery plan in December. Stimulus pkg, borrowing for new projects, repealing emissions tax on small venues for live music. Worked on hunger in KC $1mil in city budget to conquer hunger.

Mike McGinn

Solving resurgent gang problem: helping school districts achieve their goals. Emphasis on academic achievement. Safe, healthy, ready to learn, support to families. Former program was left to atrophy. Need to build network to support youth, communities and families. Add $ needed, as well as coordination between programs, to solve problems collectively. Started Great City, which asks what is important for n’hoods, similar attitude needs to be in city gov’t. Wisdom is in communities, connect with civil servants. Needs to be bottom up, not top down. Supports gay marriages. Has gotten sidewalks and biking, transit, mixed use areas together in Greenwood. Great city involved in Parks Levy. Wants to build transit system sooner. We need right of way that supports transit, walking & biking, which is more affordable than alternative fuel vehicles. Tree canopy: need incentives to keep & grow trees. But it’s a trade off to accommodate urban growth. Want a holistic approach to development, so concerned about another commission. Coming in from environmental/liberal side, does not support tunnel, retrofit would be preferable, but not permanent option. See his comment below.

David Miller

Preserving n’hood w/ quality: past president of Maple Leaf council. N’hoods should determine where in n’hoods density. Data doesn’t show that we need to release single family zoning. Need n’hood activist, environmentalist & business experience in city council. Supports gay marriage. Gang resurgence: need to acknowledge problems are all over city, entire city needs comprehensive-city wide cooperation. Need to listen to communities and strengthen them. They have really good ideas and have committed volunteers (ie block watch volunteers). Bring gang unit back, put officers back in schools. N’hoods are soul of city. Jim Deers (sp?) had great ideas, and was fired. Need better dept of n’hoods. Need tree inventory to help preserve canopy, research incentives for trees on private property (such as stormwater credit). Should be treated as city infrastructure. Need tree preservation goals, & urban forest commission with arborists, env scientists, etc. Need to control destiny on land use issues.

David Ginsberg

Resurgent gangs: March Against Violence in Rainier valley, only candidate there. 2 pronged approach: better opportunity for our youth, to provide alternatives to gang involvement. Secondly, implement plan for areas that are hardest hit, make sure community policing is implemented. Conlin wants to lay off police. Community police should be primary focus, but gang unit should be re-established. N’hood quality vs density: need to re-constitute our n’hood planning departments. Tie zoning to n’hood plans. Streamline permitting for development. Big box condos often do more harm than good. We need walkable communities, urban centers need density development. Like “urban village concept.” May have a lot in common with Conlin, but Conlin’s interested in process, not results. Need better cooperation w/ Metro and Sound Transit. Switched from Greens to Democrats in early 90’s. Need to listen to n'hoods and deliver on their ideas.

*I will disclose that I have made personal endorsements in the Executive Race, and Seattle City Council Positions 2, 4, and 8.

June Demogram is Posted

How many people were at the Mothers March for Health Care on May 30th? I was there with my son, marching with the King County Democrats. We all know that Health Care is one of the biggest issues we face, and our platform at the District, County and State level declares our strong support for a Single Payer option. There are other options on the table, and they should all be heard. But our platform articulates strongly that Single Payer is the best solution to the problem. I hope that the 5,000+ marchers in Seattle and across the country get the attention of our elected officials in Washington D.C. that we want everyone covered by a single system. Everybody in, nobody out.

Our June meeting is where we continue the process of selecting and supporting candidates for local office who will do on a local level what we hope our representatives in Congress will do on a National level. Our platform may not speak as clearly on many of the local issues, but our values hold true. Seeking Peace and Cooperation in order to get things done. The “Seattle Way” of endless debate must change so we can get some things done. We must do everything possible locally to reduce our negative impacts on the environment, and push instead for sustainability. Our children deserve a world with clean air, clean water, and opportunity for all. That’s what we stand for, and that’s what we want the candidates we elect to work for.

The endorsement procedures have not changed significantly since they were published in the January Demogram, except for some minor edits for the dates. Please see that issue for the details, or check our website for a copy.

Part of what our children deserve is a great education, and we have some members who are forming a focus group here in North Seattle to help push for improvements both from the inside and the outside. (See page 6)

We will need to give the Raymond Cole Committee some extra time to develop their plans and procedures. This is a huge undertaking, and we want to do it right.  Please keep the ideas and criteria coming!

Please read the rest of the June Demogram here!

Chad Lupkes
Chair, 46th District Democrats

Housing Levy

From J. Peter Shapiro:

Dear colleagues,

Sarajane and I urge you to send emails to these four councilmembers advocating allocation of the proposed Housing Levy funds as outlined below, consistent with our Resolution. These elements of a proposed Levy ordinance are now being debated.

Timing: emails by early next week (the next hearing is scheduled for June 11, with adoption of an ordinance later this month)

To: Drago, Conlin, Harrell, and Burgess

Use of levy funds:

* at least 55% of the funds should be used to create housing for people earning less than 30% of area median income (AMI)

* no more than 10% of the levy funds should go for housing people in the "top" bracket, i.e., people earning 60-80% of AMI

Thus, a minimum should be set to help the most needy, and a much smaller amount established as a ceiling for those in the highest eligible income bracket. Our Resolution advocated that "the levy predominantly shall be to provide low-income housing for homeless and working individuals and families".

Thanks,
Peter