Friday, May 22, 2009
New Executive Board Member!
Candidate Forum Open Thread
This is an open thread. Please feel free to post comments on what you saw and heard, and talk to each other about which candidates deserve our endorsement on June 18th!
Don't forget, another opportunity to hear from the Seattle Mayor candidates is June 2nd at the Seattle Labor Temple, starting at 6:30pm. Hope to see you there!
Raymond Cole Committee
I have appointed Jan Ames to chair the committee. Jan was a long time 1st Vice Chair of the 46th LD and knew Ray well. I know that under her leadership we will be able to focus his gift towards ideas that he would approve of that will help us build our organizational strength over the next few years, or even longer. I'm very excited about the possibilities and the opportunities that this will open for us.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
2009 Post-Session Update from Rep. Scott White
5/18/09
Dear Neighbors,
The 2009 Legislative session began just as the global recession that had been plaguing much of the rest of the nation hit our state full-force. What had been an $850 million budget surplus a year ago had turned into a $5 billion budget deficit by the time I arrived in January to be sworn in for my first legislative session. As the session wore on, the economy continued its decline and the deficit grew to $9 billion.
The focus of the session naturally centered on the revenue shortfall and how to protect critical state services. Ultimately, we agreed on a budget that protected many priorities of Washington’s people – basic education, health care for our children, and a safety net for our most vulnerable. It was a difficult – at times, heart-wrenching – process, but we produced a balanced budget. I will not sugarcoat the result for you: the economic recession drastically reduced state revenues and required significant cuts to social services, K-12 and higher education, and the capital budget, among reductions in other areas. Given these cuts, I was disappointed that we did not pass progressive tax reforms that would help our working families, vulnerable populations and businesses.
However, writing the budget was not the only thing we did this session. As daunting as the economic crisis is, we didn’t let it paralyze us. We kept focused on our core values and where, as a state, we want to be in the future. With that in mind, here are a few highlights about legislation that was passed this year.
K-12 Education: Basic education for the next generation.
Ensuring our children are ready for the world is the paramount duty of the state. With this critical mission in mind, the legislature took action on several important pieces of legislation.
Basic Education Finance Reform (HB 2261)
K-12: Creates a framework for historic reforms to our K-12 funding system. It starts with a redefinition of “basic education,” and will also ensure that any new requirements for schools are accompanied with funding.
Early Learning: Begins a process to include early learning for at-risk children (ages 3-4) as part of the Basic Education definition. The bill directs a working group to recommend parameters for the program, develop eligibility criteria, and determine how the program will be shared between the Department of Early Learning and the Office of the Superintendent for Public Instruction.
Student Achievement Gap (HB 2147/SB 5973)
Addresses the achievement gap that exists for students of color.
Statewide dropout reengagement system (HB 1418)
Creates a statewide dropout-reengagement system for youth aged 16 to 21 who have dropped out of school or are not expected to graduate by age 21.
High-school diplomas/options (HB 1758)
Provides that individuals who enroll in a community or technical college and complete an associate's degree are awarded a high-school diploma from the college, including students enrolled in Running Start.
Apple Health for Washington’s Kids.
Healthy kids are happy, productive learners. We’re ensuring all of Washington’s children have access to full health coverage including mental and dental health coverage as well as preventative care.
Children's health coverage (HB 2128)
This law brings us closer to the state's goal of every child having health coverage by 2010. We have already reached 96 percent coverage. HB 2128 defines the next key steps to reaching full coverage, including simpler administration, and outreach to ensure that eligible kids actually get the care they need. These efforts will also help us get enhanced federal funding to support our effort to have good health coverage for all children. (Delivered to Governor)
Children's mental health (HB 1373)
In 2007, the legislature expanded access to mental health services for children covered through Apple Health for Kids. It allowed health care providers, in addition to psychiatrists, to treat children and increased the number of visits covered. HB 1373 eliminates a June 30, 2010 expiration date on that benefit so that these important services continue to be available. (Delivered to Governor)
Environment: Evergreen Legacy for Washington’s future.
We must preserve and enhance our environment to protect our quality of life for generations to come. Electric vehicles (HB 1481) Requires state and local governments and other entities to implement the use of electric vehicles by modifying zoning and development codes, building permits, transportation policy, and environmental regulations.
Evergreen Jobs Act (HB 2227)
Establishes the Evergreen Jobs Initiative to create 15,000 new green-economy jobs by 2020, target 30 percent of the jobs to certain populations, and accelerate and coordinate "Leadership Team" efforts to secure federal and other green-economy funding. Authorizes workforce-training organizations to prioritize training programs that lead to certification for green-economy jobs. Includes clean energy, high-efficiency building, green transportation, forestry, and environmental protection as green-economy industries. The Evergreen Jobs Act will promote, develop and encourage green economic jobs, which will get our state on the right path toward becoming a world leader in green industries.
Restricting development into floodplains (HB 1967)
I was pleased to sponsor HB 1967 which limits the expansion of Urban Growth Areas (UGAs) into 100-year flood plains. Our state has experienced billions of dollars in flood related damage in recent years. This legislation effectively helps to protect thousands of acres of farmland, as well as personal property and human life from the dangers of flooding.
Investing in Clean Water (HB 1614)
Establishes a fee on petroleum products to clean up storm water pollution in our rivers, lakes and marine areas. Petroleum is the single largest contributor to storm water pollution. Contamination from petroleum products in surface water runoff accounts for up to ninety percent of the pollution load in Washington's water bodies. (This legislation passed by the House, but did not pass the Senate.)
Rescue tug (SB 5344)
Requires certain vessels entering the Strait of Juan de Fuca west of Port Angeles to include a catastrophic-event response provision in their oil spill contingency plan that includes a contract with a rescue tug. This shifts the responsibility for funding the Neah Bay rescue tug from state taxpayers to the vessels that would use the tug.
Economy and Jobs: Support for Working Families and Fostering Economic Development.
Ensuring that our state remains strong during tough times by supporting our businesses and bolstering economic activity in our local communities.
Unemployment insurance (HB 1906)
Increasing weekly benefits to unemployed workers to assist them through these tough economic times.
Unemployment insurance conformity (HB 2204 / SB 5963)
Reduces the tax burden on our businesses and providing additional benefits to unemployed workers.
Minority and women's business (HB 1087)
Requires the Office of Financial Management to work with the Office of Minority and Women's Business Enterprises in developing a strategic plan addressing the effectiveness of state agencies in helping small minority and women's businesses compete for state contracts.
Small Business Assistance (SB 5723)
Directs the Small Business Development Center to work with economic and workforce-development organizations to integrate, target, coordinate, and tailor its services, and to increase satellite offices when financially feasible. Adds an institution's contributions to business-assistance organizations as a factor in evaluating a bank's performance in meeting community-credit needs. Requires that state-agency purchased goods and services, as well as personal, information, and printing services bids must be posted on the state's electronic vendor registration and bid-notification system. Requires the state to develop procurement policies and procedures that encourage and facilitate state-agency purchases of products and services from in-state small businesses.
Transportation: Keeping Washington Moving.
Investing in our transportation infrastructure to help people move throughout the region and enable our economy to thrive.
Despite the economic downturn, the transportation budget is still able to forge ahead with unprecedented investments to keep Washington moving. Construction of the 2003 Nickel and 2005 TPA revenue packages will hit their peak in this upcoming biennium, providing thousands of jobs and improving our system.
This budget together, with the $341 million of federal stimulus funds, represents an unprecedented level of nearly $5 billion for transportation projects at the time our people and the economy need it most.
Civil Rights: Expanding rights for domestic partners.
Registered domestic partners (HB 1727 / SB 5688)
Provides that for all purposes under state law, state-registered domestic partners shall be treated the same as married spouses and that provisions of the act shall be liberally construed to achieve equal treatment, to the extent not in conflict with federal law.
Thank you for your interest in state government and for subscribing to my E-memo. Your input is important to me and is key part of the democratic process. However, please do not hit “Reply” to this message, as it is an automated service.
To contact me directly, please send an email to white.scott@leg.wa.gov
Thank you for your time and the opportunity to serve you as your State Representative.
Sincerely,
Scott White
State Representative 46th Legislative district
Monday, May 18, 2009
Legislative Update from Representative Phyllis Gutierrez Kenney
Dear Neighbor:
I have spent the last week wrapping up work in Olympia and preparing to resume my normal life here at home. The legislative session was tough but we managed to create a responsible, budget that protects key programs. We also prepared our state for a 21st century economy. I am particularly proud of the steps we took to build a transportation system that will create jobs and help us emerge stronger from this recession.
The thoughtful feedback and creative ideas many of you shared made a real difference in my voting decisions. I’ll continue to share as much information as I can about what we accomplished and talk about what that means during the coming months.
You told me that protecting working families should be a top priority so I fought to create jobs and offer more training opportunities. We all recognize that when workers receive family wage jobs and benefits, they’re more productive and offer more not only to their employers, but also to their communities.
Through a combination of state and federal money, we’ll be jumpstarting our economy this construction season, building new roads and buildings and laying the groundwork for future economic development in our state. This means family wage jobs immediately and better prospects for attracting and keeping good-paying jobs in the future.
Of course, a lot of folks need short-term help to bridge the gap between jobs. During hard times when working families need it most, we have coordinated with the Obama administration to provide added funding for unemployment benefits, increasing the weekly amounts and expanding the training benefits program.
Unemployed workers will now be eligible to receive unemployment benefits while training for new jobs. We have also opened the program to disabled workers, honorably discharged military personnel and low-income workers.
Support for small businesses was also a priority. We expanded the Shared Work Program, which helps businesses weather tough times by helping employers temporarily cut payroll costs while keeping their skilled workers. Meanwhile, employees can still receive a paycheck, partial unemployment and health benefits.
In the coming weeks, I’ll share more information with you through this e-memo. You’ll also find me at community events and I’m always available if you’d like to meet in person.
I look forward to hearing from you. Your voice keeps our democracy working.
Here is the actual budget bill for 2009-11 operating budget.
Here are the 2009-11 operating budget highlights.
Here is the 2009-11 operating budget agency detail.
Here is the list of transportation projects funded in the 46th Legislative District:
- WA-522/I-5 to I-405 (multimodal improvements) in Seattle - $544,000
- I-5 Reverse Express Lane to/from WA-522 (safety) in Seattle - $615,000
- I-5/5th Avenue to NE 92nd Street (Noise Wall) in Seattle - $4,601,000
- Concrete Rehabilitation Program (Nickel Funds) on I-5 in Seattle - $7,237,000
Here is the list of projects funded through the Capital Budget in the 46th Legislative District, totaling $10,224,000:
- Department of Community, Trade, & Economic Development
- Community Center for Sand Point Housing (Building Communities Fund Grants) - $350,000
- Community & Technical College System
- North Seattle CC (Facility Repairs "A") - $709,000
- North Seattle Community College (Minor Works - Preservation) - $487,000
- North Seattle Community College (Minor Works - Program) - $702,000
- North Seattle Community College: Employment Resource Center - $5,000,000
- North Seattle Community College: Technology Bldg Renewal - $2,976,000
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Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Notes from the Chair, May 2009
Because we don’t think that our members would really want to be at the Olympic View Elementary School from 7:30 to around midnight for our May meeting, we’re not going to have all the candidates for all the positions at our forum. We just can't. What we will be focused on for May 21st is the candidates for the Seattle Mayor, Seattle City Attorney and Seattle City Council.
But even in the heart of Seattle, we know how important the County positions are, from Executive to the Port of Seattle. We have been working with our neighbor districts, and we would like to announce a special joint forum focused on the King County Executive, the Seattle Mayor and the Port of Seattle on June 2nd at the Seattle Labor Temple in Belltown. This will be the best opportunity for our members to hear from these candidates, so please put this evening’s event on your calendar and try to attend. This is also our first attempt at a joint event with the 43rd , 36th and 37th, and we will have a few sales tables to buy campaign stuff as a fundraiser to help pay for the space.
The Raymond Cole Committee is getting organized, with their first meeting on May 18th. The committee will submit a proposal for their operating procedures and the criteria for how we will judge and approve ideas to the eboard at our June meeting for presentation to the membership at the following general meeting. Please keep the ideas and criteria coming!
The Obama Administration is doing their best to start to turn our national direction, and it's a hard job. Our Representatives and Senators in Congress are facing decisions every day on what bills to support and what priorities to focus on. They need our voices to encourage them to do the right thing and push for health care reform that covers everyone, a national energy policy that can help repair our damaged planet, provide a strong financial foundation for our future and bring the United States back onto the world stage as a respected member. Without our voices hitting their phones, sending emails, writing letters to the editor and talking with our friends and neighbors, the only voices that they will hear are the siren songs of the corporate lobbyists, lulling them to write laws that put profits before the needs of people and our planet. That's what progressive political activism is all about, keeping our voices louder than the sirens so we can keep our ship going in the best direction for our future.
On a more personal note, I have had some major changes in my family. I now have an even stronger connection to Olympic View Elementary School, because my 11 year old son Shea is now attending the 5th grade there. Now my own motivation to help support Education in Seattle and the state of Washington is stronger than ever. Did everyone see the LAC report? Contact Sarajane if you have not. The Budget cuts hurt everyone, without exception. And until the economy starts turning the corner, there is only one thing that we can do that will really help.
Build our communities, stronger than ever.
Chad Lupkes
Chair, 46th District Democrats
Saturday, May 02, 2009
46th District Housing Levy Resolution
On April 16th, the 46th District Democrats held a forum focused on the housing needs of our most vulnerable citizens. Our guests spoke about the history of the Seattle Housing Levy, and the evolution of our understanding about how much the services have been needed since the first Levy passed in 1981. We learned a great deal.
With the national economy this hard hit, and our state and local budgets following the same patterns, the number of people just holding on to survival is up all around the country. Seattle and King County have seen the numbers of homeless increase, and we know that we are only seeing the surface of the problem.
We understand there are some efforts being made to use Housing Levy dollars in any 2009 package to include those who are below average income, but not in as much danger as our homeless population. We would love to be able to provide help to everyone who needs it, no matter how little of a boost they need. But the precious dollars that are given by the residents of Seattle to help provide housing resources to our neighbors need to have a focus, and we are proud that the focus of the Housing Levy over the last few decades has been to help the most vulnerable among us. We urge that the 2009 Housing Levy continue this tradition.
I have posted a copy of the resolution that we passed after the forum. We would like to ask the Seattle City Council to focus the upcoming renewal of the Seattle Housing Levy on the people in our community that need the most help.
Please take the message of this resolution and the needs of our city into account when you make the decision of how to draft the Levy measure that we will see on our ballots in November.
Sincerely,
Chad Lupkes
Chair, 46th District Democrats
cc: Seattle City Council Members
Mayor Greg Nickels (via web form)
King County Democrats
Washington State Democrats
Friday, April 24, 2009
The newest addition to 46dems.com
Kathryn and Stan put a lot of work into a point by point comparison between 8 different options to accept online payments. They finally settled on Click and Pledge, after determining that the costs for their services were overall more reasonable for our purposes.
Raymond T. Cole Fund Committee
In selecting the members of this committee, Kathryn and I set 3 main goals. First, we needed members of the Executive Board to ensure a secure connection with the core leadership team of the district. Second, we wanted to identify people who had worked with Ray while he was Treasurer and an active member of our community in order to help ensure that his values and dreams are part of the discussion of criteria and selection of ideas and projects. Third, we wanted to encourage new people to be involved and bring forward ideas and energy that we might not otherwise see.
Given those goals, I have selected the following people to be members of the Raymond T. Cole Fund Committee:
* Javier Valdez
* Jan Ames
* Pat Emerson
* Stan Moffett
* Betty Means
* Jason Sawatzki
* Janet Miller
* Kathryn Lewis
* Mariah Voutilainen
Per the bylaws, I am also a defacto member of all committees, and I will be very engaged with the process of developing criteria and the selection of ideas. However, because I plan to bring a lot of ideas to the committee myself, I am going to leave most of the organizational work to the nine members so as to avoid undo influence on the process. Ray's primary personal focus was ethics, and I see my role as chair as one of establishing the foundation and supporting the work of others. I have every faith in the members of the committee.
This Committee, and the Fund itself, is a new road for us as an organization. We have the potential to have a huge impact in North Seattle, King County, and Washington State. The more we can extend our opportunities into the future, the better. There is no box.
Let's go change the world.
Thursday, April 02, 2009
Notes from the Chair, April 2009
Part of that history, and a clear indication of the dedication of past members to our cause, revealed itself this past month when I received a notification letter from the Raymond T. Cole Trust. Ray was the Treasurer of the 46th for a number of years in the 1990’s.
We have been given a gift. It’s not huge, but it is substantial. I see it as an opportunity to build our organization, in order to fulfill our mission in ways that we have yet to imagine.
There is a story about a woman who gets a goldfish and a small fishbowl, and when she went to clean that bowl she put the goldfish in the bathtub. She cleaned the bowl and returned to find the goldfish swimming in a small fishbowl sized circle, not understanding that he had the whole bathtub to explore. That is where I see the Democratic Party, swimming our small circles inside imaginary walls. To explore our new horizon and find new opportunities, we need your help. Specifically, we need your ideas.
What are your “Big Ideas” on what a party organization could do? Some ideas that I’ve heard already are extra trainings for activists, both inside the district and around the county or state. We could help provide transportation to big events, like our state committee meetings, by renting a bus to pick up people from around the Seattle area who need to travel across the state. Or we could make some long term capital expenditures.
I do want to make some things clear. This gift does not replace the budget that we passed in March. We still need your membership, and we still need your participation. In fact, we need it now more than ever. More opportunities for activism means more opportunities for activists, and that means you.
It’s also important to mention that this gift was to the “46th District Democrats”. That’s not just me, and that’s not just the Executive Board. That means all of us. So, we need ideas from everyone, thinking outside the box about how we can best use this gift to accomplish our mission. I have posted a copy of Ray’s obituary on our website, and you can read more about him on page 4 of the April newsletter. The Executive Board will be discussing criteria for evaluating the ideas that come in.
What do you think? What can you imagine? Contact me.
Chad Lupkes
Chair, 46th District Democrats
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Education in Seattle and Statewide
What is happening, if anything, this year to improve funding for public schools (will we remain 42nd in the nation?), and expanding "basic education" for our children???
What is the Seattle Public Schools' strategic plan, and how will it change curriculum, overcrowding in North Seattle, assignment plans?
Join us Thursday evening March 19th for a terrific panel featuring:
- Seattle School Board Members Sherry Carr and Board President, Michael DeBell;
- Lisa MacFarlane, President of the League of Education Voters and one of the top voices our statehas ever had for education (also a 46th District PCO);
- Seattle PTSA Board Member Ramona Hattendorf, who parents and education activists in Seattle know as the voice of the Seattle PTSA's newsletter and education updates, and state PTSA leader for funding and basic education.
Also - we hope to hear from County Executive Candidates Larry Phillips and Dow Constantine.
The full formal agenda is published on Page 2 of our March Demogram. In addition to the forum above, we will be considering one published resolution and our 2009 Operating Budget. PCO's and Members, please make an effort to attend!
Saturday, March 07, 2009
March Notes from the Chair
Thank you to everyone who stepped up to help us elect our endorsed candidate, Sherril Huff, for King County Director of Elections on February 3rd! The 46th came out strongly for her, with 58.29% of our vote helping her to get a countywide total of 46.33% and over twice the number of votes of any other candidate. This position will be on the ballot again in 2011.
King County Executive Ron Sims was nominated for a HUD post in Washington, DC, and a cascade of changes resulted from that. Because of the Charter Amendment that passed last November making the county positions “non-partisan”, the King County Council is the body with authority to fill the post. Precinct Committee Officers no longer have a direct vote to select candidates, although that does NOT mean that we don’t have or shouldn’t use our voices to express our preference.
As WSDCC Chair Dwight Pelz said in a recent op-ed, we need a strong leader in King County who will provide a vision to help secure our foundations, and we can’t wait until the November elections to find that person. I agree with Dwight that the person selected to lead our county needs to be a Democrat, and I encourage everyone to contact our council members to voice your opinions and let them know that they still represent us.
There have been some internal changes here in our organization that I need to bring to your attention. Elizabeth Willmott stepped down from her position on the Executive Board on the Friday after our last meeting. She can’t say why yet, but I’m sure we won’t be disappointed in her reason.
This opens a vacancy on our executive board, and I have appointed Erica Minshull as our King County Female Rep. The bylaws require that an announcement be made at our next meeting, with an election to be held at the following meeting. If Erica is elected to the position, this will mean that an At-Large position will be elected at our May meeting. Elizabeth still wants to be involved, so she is staying on as our Outreach Committee chair for the time being.
Our March meeting is going to be focused on the issue of Education. It’s enrollment time for the Seattle School District, and we have a lot of people within our district and beyond focused on giving our kids the best education possible. We’ll hear from some of them on March 19th. Hope to see you there!
And finally, Welcome to Padraig Comron Finan, son of Jayron and Danny Finan!! He was born on Saturday, February 28th. Both Baby & Mom are healthy, and we’re looking forward to meeting Padraig someday soon!
Friday, February 20, 2009
Resolution for consideration at March meeting
Dean
Re-naming the West Seattle Bridge
WHEREAS the bridge across the Duwamish waterway, commonly known as the “West Seattle Bridge,” connecting West Seattle directly with SR 99 and with I-5 via Spokane Street, provides significant benefits to Seattle residents;
WHEREAS Jeanette Williams, while a member of the Seattle City Council, was the primary figure in procuring the funding necessary to build the bridge at a high level, rather than just above the waterway as its predecessor was configured before being irreparably damaged by a marine collision;
WHEREAS the bridge’s high level eliminates the need to raise and lower the bridge for marine traffic, making it the best solution for drivers and others;
WHEREAS no other person was as instrumental in seeing the high-level solution implemented; and
WHEREAS Mrs. Williams is now deceased, thereby meeting a criterion set forth by city ordinance;
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the West Seattle Bridge should be re-named the “Jeanette Williams Bridge,” for now and in perpetuity; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the 46th District Democrats petition the City Council and the Mayor of Seattle to initiate and pass the necessary ordinances to accomplish the re-naming of the bridge.
Submitted to the 46dems for consideration at their March 2009 meeting
Executive Board changes
For the February 24th KCDCC meeting, per the authority granted in our bylaws, I am appointing Erica Minshull as the King County Female Delegate. She will continue in that role until the vacancy is announced at our March 19th meeting and an election is held on April 16th. If she is elected as the Female Delegate, we will announce the At-Large vacancy at the April meeting for an election in May.
We all wish Elizabeth the best of luck in whatever is pulling her away from us!
Eboard working meeting, February 18, 2009
The Local Action Fair on Thursday is going to be great. We're getting a lot of positive feedback from the community, and we have confirmations from at least 17 groups so far.
Janet Miller brought forward a proposal to create an ad-hoc Elections Committee. This would be a group of people working to review and recommend changes to our Endorsement rules, establish and maintain an Elections Calendar, provide analysis of past campaigns and elections, and write articles for the Demogram based on their findings. Proposal for ad-hoc Elections Committee for the 46th LD, Passed. Chad appointed Janet to chair the new committee.
Sarajane made a motion to sponsor Rep. Jim McDermott's Potato Feed at the $100 level, Passed. Sarajane will make this motion to the full body tomorrow night.
After a discussion about online communications, Betty made a Motion to establish a Constant Contact Account and upload up to 2,500 for $30 per month, Passed. Chad will set up a free 60 day trial account over the weekend, and come to the body for approval of the ongoing expense before that trial period runs out.
Friday, February 13, 2009
The Top Two Primary lawsuit continues
Washington State’s political parties are expected to be back in court in March 2009 in the on-going court case over the state’s so-called Top-Two Primary election method. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled last spring that the Top-Two Primary was constitutional “on it’s face,” and that the state should go ahead with implementing the primary system, and see if it is unconstitutional in practice. Now the U.S. District Court will determined if the primary method, in practice, is constitutional, by evaluating how Sec. of State Sam Reed conducted the election.
Todd Nichols, a practicing attorney and chair of the Rules Committee of the Washington State Democratic Party spoke to the quarterly meeting of the 40th Legislative District Democrats in February about the progress of the case. Nichols explained that in order for the Top-two Primary to be constitutional, as claimed by its proponents, it would have to be conducted completely without political parties, which is the reason the primary ballot used the unusual wording of “prefers Democratic Party” rather than straightforward statements of party affiliation. The court will be looking at whether under a purely non-partisan primary, the political parties can still exercise their constitutional rights to select their own party nominees, and that these nominees can be considered on the General election ballot.
The Democratic Party conducted “nominating conventions” in the spring of 2008 to select party nominees, to show the court that it’s desire to choose it’s own candidates was genuine. If the party had skipped this step, it would have undermined the party’s argument that their constitutional rights to choose their party’s nominee would be infringed by the Top-Two method.
In evaluating the constitutionality of the Top-Two Primary of 2008, U.S. District Court Judge John C. Coughenour could determine that the harm to the voters is too great and issue an injunction against use of the Top-Two, pending the final outcome of the court case, Nichols said. He predicted that the case could take up to four more years to resolve.
While party conventions have been used for centuries to choose nominees, partisan primary elections are more common in the U.S. today. Washington is the only state in the union that does not use a partisan primary method. Washington’s political parties support a partisan primary like the Open Primary, Private Choice, also known as the Montana Primary, that was used in Washington from 2004-2007. This method asks voters to choose one party’s ballot to vote for their preferred party nominee, and each party’s nominee advances to the General Election ballot.
Many editorial writers and Washington Secretary of State Sam Reed have claimed that a partisan primary, where voters chose a party ballot, is unpopular with the voters. However, the Washington State Presidential Primary election was conducted as a partisan primary in February 2008, with strong public support for it over a caucus process. If the state continues to use the Top-Two method for its regular primaries (in August), the parties will be forced to choose nominees in a caucus or convention process.
Nichols said the strongest legal argument against the Top-Two method is that in order to make the primary non-partisan, and therefore acceptable to the court, the Secretary of State ignored state law on the conduct of elections for political party’s Precinct Committee Officers. Reed ordered county election officials to declare as winners the top vote-getter, even though they did not meet the state law requirement (RCW 29A.80.051) that they receive at least 10% of the number of votes cast for the top vote-getter of the same party in that precinct. As a result, people whose names were written in and received one vote were declared winners. The reason for the 10% requirement is to ensure that PCOs of the political parties be at least nominally representative of the party voters in that precinct.
Another constitutional argument against the Top-Two method will be that candidates on the general election ballot in November 2008 were not the nominees of the parties, in some cases. This situation shows that a political party was denied the right to select their own nominee to be considered by the voters in the general election. The same argument applies to races where two candidates from the same party were the top two vote-getters and advanced to the general election ballot, which happen in a number of races for Legislature in 2008. Having a constitutional right to select your own party’s nominees becomes meaningless if that nominee cannot be considered by the voters on the general election ballot.
Plaintiffs in the lawsuit are the Democratic Party, the Republican Party, and the Libertarian Party. It's ironic that the one common ground the major political parties share is their desire to remain separate in the eyes of the voters.
Friday, January 30, 2009
January 15th Minutes and Action Item
At our General Membership Meeting on January 15th, we conducted our Biannual Reorganization, and passed a resolution. This resolution was submitted by Ruth Williams to our newsletter editor, Barbara Whitt in time for inclusion in the January Demogram, however because we printed the entire set of bylaws and the proposed endorsement rules necessary for the Reorganization, we could not include the resolution in the printed version. Ruth had also sent the resolution to the 46-democrats discussion list, and asked for discussion on that list and for a ruling from the Chair that the resolution was timely. I ruled that it was. The body put forward a motion to suspend the rules to allow us to hear the resolution, a 2/3rd requirement which passed overwhelmingly. You can read the details of the debate in our minutes.
Here is the text of the resolution:
Naming Thornton Creek Park Six
”Alice Bryant Peace Park on Thornton Creek”Whereas Alice Franklin Bryant was a Seattle activist for peace, justice, and a healthy environment, who passed away in 1977; and
Whereas Ruth Williams, the long-time neighborhood park steward for Thornton Creek Park Six, is endeavoring to have said park named "Alice Bryant Peace Park at Thornton Creek"; and
Whereas naming a beautiful, urban, natural area after a person who devoted her life to creating a more peaceful, beautiful world is a very appropriate honor; and
Whereas honoring a peaceful person in a peaceful place directly across the street from a large and growing shopping center invites the public to come and take refuge from the pressures of daily life;
Therefore, Be It Resolved that we, the 46th District Democrats, endorse and support the effort to name Park Six: “Alice Bryant Peace Park on Thornton Creek”;
You can download a PDF version of this resolution on our website, and I am submitting a copy of the resolution to the appropriate members of the Seattle City Government today.
Chair's Note
I received a phone call from the chair of the Thornton Creek Alliance about this resolution on Friday, January 16th. She was disappointed that the body considered this resolution without hearing full presentations from all sides. I invited her to submit an article to the Demogram.
Consideration of resolutions like this is part of our responsibility as a community organization, and we have rules and procedures to help us and set the foundation for how we do this. But this does not end the discussion. The decision on what this park will be named is made by the Parks Department and the Seattle City Council. Comments on this resolution and the topic of naming parks are welcome here on this blog or via letters to the editor. The bottom line for me is whether we as an organization followed our procedures, and that we encouraged a discussion on the issues of the day.
What do you think?
Monday, January 26, 2009
Finance Committee
We now have a full set of standing committee chairs!
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Committee Appointments
- Program Committee: Gerry Pollet
- Legislative Action Committee: Sarajane Siegfriedt
- Membership Committee: Betty Means and Javier Valdez (co-chairs)
- Platform and Resolutions Committee: Dean Fournier
- Community Outreach Committee: Elizabeth Willmott
I would also like to appoint Dean Fournier as the chair of the Bylaws Review Committee, tasked with collecting ideas for changes to the bylaws and bringing a set of recommended changes to either the February or March meeting. I would also like to tap this committee to review the standing rules that we have that are appropriate to review during this election cycle so we can have them ready to go when needed.
Moving forward, I am still working to identify someone who can take on the Finance Committee for the next two years, and I am open to suggestions on who should be appointed to conduct the required Financial Review of our 2008 books. I would also like to task this committee with coming up with recommendations for opening the books of the district to our members. Not every exhaustive detail, but being able to see reports from the Finance Committee on the website would be valuable, and I would like to hear ideas on what those reports should contain and how they should be formatted. The members money needs to be well spent, and it is our responsibility to ensure that we are transparent to those who give us their hard earned dollars.
You can read more about the committees and see what reports have been submitted over the last few years on our website:
http://46dems.com/committees/index.php
Keep in touch!
Chad
Welcome from the Chair
"The purpose of the organization shall be to promote citizen participation in the Democratic Party, advance the 46th District Democrats’ platform, and support and work for the election of Democratic candidates and candidates for nonpartisan office who demonstrably espouse the principles contained in that platform." |
Activism is the quest to answer three questions.
- What decision is being made?
- Who is making that decision?
- How can I influence that decision?
Most often, political activism focuses our attention on legislation, executive decisions, and the elected members of our government that we can influence by our vote. Community activists recognize that this is only part of the picture. The decisions we make as individuals, like whether to pay our mortgage or our medical bills, are just as important as a decision made by an elected official whether to lower interest rates or pass Health Care Reform. And our ability to influence decisions can be focused in both directions, as we try to influence the larger community toward social and economic justice.
I've heard it said that Democracy stands on two feet. One is political, the other is economic. If the members of our community do not have a solid and secure economic foundation, they will be too distracted by their lives to be able to get involved or even pay close attention to the decisions made by elected officials. In order for the Democratic Party to be able to say that we support "Democracy", we need to be as focused on the day to day decisions of the members of our community as we are focused on the day to day actions in City Hall, the County Council, Olympia or Washington D.C.
I encourage everyone to get involved in their community. Our membership provides our organization with the resources that we need to conduct our operations. Our resolutions and platform are the basis for how we communicate with our elected officials and how we allocate our resources to influence their decisions. We use tools both online and off to get in touch with our neighbors, build and strengthen our community, and maximize the positive influence we can have. We invite you to join us, teach and learn from us, and be empowered to become the change that you wish to see in the world.