Join Representative Kenney for a Summer Party!

Phyllis Gutierrez Kenney, State Representative
Cordially invites you to a Summer Party

Wednesday, August 4th, 2010
5:30pm to 7:30pm

The Landing
(Across from University Village)
5001 25th Ave NE
Seattle, WA 98105

Join us along with our special guest:

King County Executive, Dow Constantine

Donations are greatly appreciated

Information: 206-526-5236
Website: http://phylliskenney.com/

Meet the new Olympia Team! Hosted by the LEV

Please join the League of Education Voters, Gaurab Bansal, Jim Fridley, George Scarola and other 46th district neighbors and friends to meet and support our new All Star Pro Education Legislative Team

Representative Phyllis Kenney
Soon-to-be Representative David Frockt
Soon-to-be Senator Scott White

Wednesday, July 28th
5-6:30 pm

Lisa and Ross Macfarlane’s home
12571 Corliss Ave N #A, Seattle 98133
NE corner of Haller Lake

(Feel free to bring kids and their swim suits and towels.
They might be interested in the floating trampoline.)

Please RSVP to George@educationvoters.org
$46 donations welcomed, but not required

Community News, July 2010

Because we will not be publishing a Demogram for July, we've posted the Community News article here on the blog.

Community News

J Peter Shapiro
outreach@46dems.com

Maple Leaf honored by Audubon Society

From the Maple Leaf Community Council: "The Seattle Audubon Society presented their 2010 Conservation Award to the Maple Leaf Community Council and Menachem Mendel Seattle Cheder for their role in permanently preserving Waldo Woods. Seattle Audubon's annual Conservation Award is given to the individual or group in the greater Seattle community who has made a unique and significant contribution to the protection of birds and wildlife habitat, using creative means for engaging and inspiring the public. Founded in 1916, Seattle Audubon members and volunteers have continually worked for the protection, restoration and preservation of natural habitat for birds and other wildlife." Seattle Audubon makes its headquarters in the 46th District, on 35th Ave NE in the Wedgwood neighborhood.

"NEST" in the news

The Seattle Times recently published a lengthy story about one of the District’s new grass-roots community groups, North East Seattle Together (NEST), whose mission if to help our elderly neighbors stay in their homes. As described by the paper, "the group is attempting to build a 'virtual village' and serve as a stand-in for family members or friends who can't be there to help all the time with the little things. It would be the first such program in the state, modeled after similar villages on the East Coast." For more information visit www.nestseattle.org, which you can also find via our website’s "Advocacy and Action" links at www.46dems.com.

Welcome Alleycat Acres . . .

. . . as our latest link to our many community Action and Advocacy groups ("Farming and Local Food"). Alleycat Acres defines it mission as an "urban farming collective that transforms vacant spaces to create a network of sustainable urban farms that reconnect people to food while helping to increase food security on a community level." You can find them on our website, or directly at http://www.alleycatacres.com. Currently, their urban farms are located south of the Montlake Cut, but we’re hoping they’ll soon make connection with like-minded groups and individuals here in the Fightin’ 46th. They write, "By farming on plots within the city, we seek to strengthen communities and rebuild the connection that has been lost between people and food. To accomplish our goals, we partner with landowners to secure farmland and aim to connect with community organizations to find local residents to help maintain and design the farms and plan for distribution." Oh, and they explain their name on their website.

Progress in the "swamp"

Laurelhurst neighbors celebrated their progress in developing the Yesler Swamp Trail by hosting Father’s Day walks starting at the nearby Center for Urban Horticulture on Surber Drive. The tours gave visitors a chance to see Seattle’s only swamp up close, thanks to almost a quarter of a mile of trails that intrepid volunteers had installed in the area in the preceding two and a half months. The walks meandered through 70-foot high poplars. With luck, eagles were overhead as the hikers perambulated. The site of the swamp, before the Montlake Cut lowered Lake Washington, was a holding area for logs destined for Henry Yesler’s saw mill on Elliott Bay. For more information about this project and history of the area visit the Friends of the Yesler Swamp Trail website, which you can also find via our "Advocacy and Action" links.

Futurewise honored by Laurelhurst Elementary

From Angela Uhl, Co-Director of Futurewise: "The students of Laurelhurst Elementary School selected Futurewise to receive funding from their Penny Harvest program at their year end assembly. Grade School children collected pennies to distribute to local area non-profits throughout the year. As part of the program the children researched, interviewed and selected the recipients. Futurewise is honored to have received this award from such a thoughtful, enthusiastic group of young philanthropists. Thank you Laurelhurst Students!" Where can you learn more about this environmental advocacy organization? Via the "Advocacy and Action" links on our website, of course!

File for PCO!

The Primary Election in August is where the Democratic Party elects our Precinct Committee Officers. These are the leaders who cast critical votes during our reorganization meetings, nominate official candidates for partisan positions and fill those positions when a vacancy occurs. They also convene the Precinct Caucuses during Presidential years.

We need someone in every precinct. Please check our PCO list. If you live in a precinct with an established PCO, please remind them to file! (Contact our Chair if you would like their contact information.) If you live in a precinct without a PCO, please file for the position yourself!

How to file for PCO

First, check to see if your precinct has had someone file. You are still able to file, but if someone has filed in your precinct and you are willing to serve we need your help in a neighboring precinct. To see if someone has filed, you can go to this page hosted by the 41st LD. You can also check the list of precincts where no one has filed yet and look for yours. You will only be able to officially file for your own precinct. We will be able to make appointments of PCOs after the reorganization in January.

King County Elections has launched a web page so that PCO candidates may file electronically. Click here to go to file electronically from 9:00am Monday June 7th to 4:00pm Friday June 11th. Please click here for more information.

If you prefer to file in person, here is a link to the PCO Candidacy Form. Please fill this out and take it in person down to King County Elections before Friday, June 11th at 4pm.

Questions from the May 20th Candidate Forum

For the uncontested Judicial races:

Opening remarks introducing themselves: 3 minutes per candidate, answers 1.0 minute unless extended by the Chair.

For trial court judges only:

1. Please describe what you will do/currently do to make jurors feel they are a vital and respected part of our judicial system.

For all judges:

1. What is your view regarding openness of judicial records and regarding judicial discretion on sealing those records?
2. Judicial candidates may not directly solicit contributions, but are often aware of their contributors. What standards would you set for your self in regards to recusal on cases involving campaign contributors or conflicts of interest?
3. Do you believe in public financing of judicial campaigns; and, if so what will you do to promote reform?
4. Racial disparity dominates our judicial system. What will you do to reduce it?

For contested Judicial Races

The format for the forum for contested judicial positions is opening remarks 2 minutes each, answers 1.0 minute each, unless extended by the Chair

1. Do you believe that the public defender system is working in our state, in particular for three strikes or capital cases, and if not what would you do to improve the situation?
2. Judicial candidates may not directly solicit contributions, but are often aware of their contributors. What standards would you set for yourself in regards to recusal on cases involving campaign contributors or conflicts of interest?
3. Do you believe in public financing of judicial campaigns; and, if so what will you do to promote reform?
4. Should judges publicly discuss their judicial views and philosophy? (Yes/No)

LD Candidate Forum

No opening remarks, answers 1.0 minutes each unless extended by the Chair.

1. Name 2 or 3 things that you will work hard to accomplish during the next legislative session if you are elected.
2. The State faces another multi-billion budget deficit next year. How would you close that gap?
3. What other employment will you have when the legislature is not in session, and how will that influence your priorities as a legislator?
4. How should our school districts evaluate teachers to ensure that our kids get the best K-12 education possible?
5. What should the role be for the state legislature in requiring high density development around transit centers such as Northgate?
6. What are your most significant accomplishments in recent years that have advanced progressive values in our community?
7. Our state plan to reduce homelessness by 2015 cannot be successful without adequate support for mental health and substance abuse treatment funding, which have both been cut. Would you support increased funding for these services? How can we actually reduce homelessness to achieve our goal?
8. What will you do to protect the interests of our district in regards to the SR 520 Bridge, and do you believe that it should be built to carry light rail?

Yes/No Questions:

1. Have you contributed to, or endorsed, any candidate who did not describe themselves as a Democrat in a partisan race in the past five years?
2. Do you support allowing UW tuition to be set by the UW and not the Legislature?
3. Will you sponsor legislation applying the Public Records Disclosure and Open Government laws that apply to City and County Councils to the Legislature?
4. Will you sponsor public campaign financing for legislative races?
5. Will you co-sponsor global warming cap and trade or carbon tax in Washington to meet the goals already in state law?
6. Do you support enacting a five-year sunset on tax exemptions and annual performance reporting by businesses to keep their exemptions?
7. Would you support legislation to require state institutions such as hospitals and prisons to make a plan for discharge of their patients or inmates?
8. The 46th District is a relatively expensive place to live. Would you advocate for more low-income and working family housing within the 46th?
9. If you are the nominee tonight, do you support the right of other Democrats to continue their campaigns?

New Faces, New Energy and New Ideas

Senator Ken Jacobsen announced yesterday that after 28 years serving in Olympia for the 46th Legislative District, he will not run for reelection. The 46th District wishes to express our thanks for his nearly three decades of service to our district and the State of Washington.

District Chair Chad Lupkes said, "It is always exciting when changes happen, and the Democratic Party always welcomes new faces, new energy and new ideas. This year is not an exception to that pattern, it is following the same pattern that we see every year."

The Nominating Convention, which will be held on Thursday in conjunction with our annual Candidate Forum, is where the PCOs of our party select the official Democratic Nominee. Where we expected to have two incumbents in the House and one challenged incumbent in the Senate, the siutation on Tuesday morning is one incumbent in the House, one open House seat, and one open Senate seat. What will happen between now and Thursday evening will be fascinating to watch. Just as a reminder, anyone may be nominated from the floor for any of these positions. The question of the timing of the Nominating Convention has come up in conversation, and I need to cite the State Party rules on the Nominating Conventions:

V. B. 2. Legislative Nominees. The nominees for Washington State Senate and Washington State House of Representatives shall be chosen at a legislative district nominating convention consisting of elected and appointed precinct committee officers representing precincts in that legislative district. Such nominating conventions shall be called by the Chair of the Legislative District Democratic Party not later than 45 days and held not less than 14 days prior to the date filing for office commences. The results from each nominating convention shall be reported to the Chair of the Washington State Democratic Party within 24 hours after the convention has adjourned.

May 20th is the last possible date that we could hold the Nominating Convention in the 46th District. It's either that or we leave the decision up to the State Party Chair. We would rather our PCOs have a chance to cast their ballots.

The 46th District Democrats will provide election resources to endorsed candidates. Our Endorsement Meetings are in June for the Primary election, and August for the General election. The district organization does not judge who is allowed to run for any position. Anyone may file for any seat. It is the mission of the 46th District Democrats to elect and support candidates who pledge to enact the policy positions that are expressed in our District Platform. We also work to engage, educate and empower our members to hold elected officials accountable to that platform. We hold endorsement votes, advocate on behalf of our endorsed candidates and cast our ballots as citizens to do that work.

May Community News

by J Peter Shapiro (outreach@46dems.com)

This is an expanded version of the article that appears in the May Demogram.

This month’s column features some splendid organizations that are providing much-needed services to low-income and homeless people in our Lake City community. They are working hard to help achieve many of the social justice goals of our Platform. They deserve our admiration and support.

Neighborcare Health joins other providers at McDermott Place

Neighborcare Health is opening a primary care clinic at McDermott Place, just south of the Lake City Fred Meyer. This rounds out a collaboration of several agencies serving low-income and homeless people at that facility:

• The Low-Income Housing Institute provides apartments for previously homeless veterans and others. LIHI offers its residents programs to help them maintain stable housing, gain access to education, and obtain employment.
• North Helpine runs a food bank and emergency services office in its new headquarters at McDermott Place (see the November 2009 “Community News” column).
• RotaCare (a non-profit coalition of Rotarians and health professionals) provides acute health care through a volunteer staff at the facility.
• Americorps helps provide outreach to the surrounding community to link residents with these newly available services.

Lake City Task Force on Homelessness marks its 5th year

The Lake City Task Force supports neighborhood solutions to end homelessness in the Lake City area. The group represents local residents (people living inside and outside), many community organizations such as Meadowbrook Community Council, North Helpline, the Seattle University School of Nursing practicum program, Seattle Department of Neighborhoods, faith-based communities, and advocacy groups. The Task Force celebrated its fifth anniversary earlier this month.

Project THRIVE comes to Lake City

Project THRIVE (Treatment, Housing, Resources and Interventions for Veterans Empowerment) is creating a new service continuum for homeless veterans, a few blocks from McDermott House at the Community Psychiatric Clinic, 11000 Lake City Way. Many veterans return from serving our country with hidden injuries. Project THRIVE will operate a new veteran's resource center and provide services in supported housing for homeless veterans with dual disorders of mental illness and chemical dependency.

According to the Washington Department of Veterans Affairs, there are approximately 2,000 homeless veterans in King County. CPC will initially be providing 45 units of supported housing for the project, and plans to construct a new housing facility for homeless veterans within three years. Project THRIVE is funded by a five-year grant from the U.S Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

---

For more information about these organizations, visit our web page that provides links to Advocacy and Action Groups. Or give me a call at (206) 524-9386.

Aggressive Solicitation Ordinance (Council Bill Number: 116807)

Dear Councilman Burgess, members of the Seattle Council, Mayor McGinn and City Attorney Holmes,

At the meeting of the 46th District Democrats on Thursday, April 15th, 2010, a resolution was submitted by one of our members expressing concerns about Council Bill 116807, the Aggressive Solicitation Ordinance. The resolution passed with a very strong margin, which you can read about on the blog of The Stranger.

The resolution is linked from our website on this page:

http://46dems.com/resolutions.php

I will also attach a copy to this email.

My impression of the discussion was reflected well in the interview that I had with Dominic from The Stranger on Friday morning. And I very much appreciated Council Member Harrell's discussion points on the resolution during the main program of our meeting where both he and Council President Conlin had a chance to speak. The question I believe we need to focus on is the outcome that we desire to see that this ordinance was drafted to address.

Please take the views of the membership of the 46th District Democrats into account while you are debating and voting on Monday.

Chad Lupkes
Chair, 46th District Democrats

Save Town Hall's Windows & Walls

I'm writing to ask you to Help Save Town Hall's Windows and Walls.

It won't cost you a cent and takes just seconds a day.

Town Hall Seattle is one of 25 worthy sites in Western Washington designated by the National Trust for Historic Preservation (and funder American Express) to compete for a $125,000 Partners in Preservation grant.

To receive our full request, Town Hall must earn the greatest number of votes in a poll conducted by Partners in Preservation. That's where you come in.

Every day, between April 15 and May 12, please go to www.partnersinpreservation.com to cast your vote for Town Hall Seattle. That's right: you can vote for Town Hall once a day, every day, for 27 days. On your first visit, you'll be asked to register with a valid e-mail address. After that, all you'll need to do is log in and vote.

We'd be happy to send you a daily e-mail reminding you to vote-just sign up here: email reminder

Town Hall dearly needs the $125,000 grant to restore our historic building's cracked, white terra cotta tile. (Water infiltration is causing damage underneath.) We'd also repair Town Hall's beautiful and massive, but crumbling, stained glass window. It casts a rosy glow on the over 300 performances, lectures, rehearsals, and community events held under our soaring dome each year—events ranging from Al Gore and Madeleine Albright to Isabel Allende and Garrison Keillor, from Malcolm Gladwell and Jared Diamond to Says You and The Magnetic Fields, from children’s choirs and community activists to the King/Snohomish County Spelling Bee. With your help, Town Hall will delight and enlighten audiences, and deepen our bonds of community, for decades to come.

Thank you so much for taking a few minutes to vote now, and daily, for the next 27 days. Together, we can Help Save Town Hall's Windows and Walls!

Register and vote at:
www.partnersinpreservation.com

Two final and important steps:

1. Please forward this message to as many friends as possible.

2. If you have Facebook or Twitter accounts, please use them to encourage others to Vote for Town Hall. Use this as your status: Help Save Town Hall's Windows and Walls: Vote Every Day through 5/12. visit: Town Hall Seattle Partners in Preservation

With sincere appreciation for your cultural activism,

Susie Tennant
PR & Marketing Director
Town Hall Seattle
susie@townhallseattle.org
@THSEA

Control Your Demogram Subscription

Dear Valued Member,

Thank you for everything that you are doing to support our efforts in the 2010 election cycle. We can't do this without you.

Did you know that the 46th District spends almost 30% of our expense budget every year to print and mail our newsletter? We are also trying to find ways to balance our values on the environment with our need to spread our message. We're constantly trying to find ways to reduce that, and I would like to offer a way for you to help us control our costs and our environmental impact.

We now have over 800 Demogram subscribers who have shared your email addresses with us. We send out a friendly reminder each month when the Demogram is published on-line on our website. That email includes an easy-to-access link so you can read that month's issue and any of the back-issues at your leisure. However, the Demogram is one of our major outreach efforts, giving our paid members a monthly reminder of just how important we consider your membership to be, and also giving you something to pass on to friends and neighbors in order to spread our message.

Over the last few months, I have tried a few things to provide the member services that you expect while also trying to minimize our expenses. In March, we sent a printed Demogram to all of our members in order to boost participation in the Legislative District Caucus on March 14th. In April, I pulled back and only sent printed Demograms to people who had requested it or for whom we don't have an email address. (If you expected one in your mailbox and didn't receive one, please go to our website and view the copy online. We will have the extra copies at our meeting tomorrow night.)

I would like your help to find the point in the middle of these extremes. I have set up a form on our website that will give you direct control over your subscription. You can choose to receive the Demogram via email only, via both email and printed copy, or only printed copy. The Executive Board feels that this is a way to push the decision making process out to you, our members.

http://46dems.com/demogram/subscription.php

The 46th District Democrats are committed to use our contributions wisely. The less we spend on printing and postage, the more trees we save and the more resources we have available to help support candidates and elected officials who support our platform.

Thank you for your help in streamlining our systems. Please let me know if you have any questions. It would be great to hear from you.

Quick Links...

• Our Website
• Control your Demogram Subscription
• Online Demogram
• Our Blog
• Donate or pay your membership online!

A letter from Schoolsfirst!

March 2, 2010

Chad Lupkes
46th District Democrats
PO Box 15435
Seattle, WA 98115-0435

Dear Chad:

On behalf of the Board of Directors of Schools First, I’d like to thank you again for your generous contribution to Schools First and for supporting the recent Seattle schools levy campaign.

We ran a successful campaign despite tough economic times. With your help we raised the $181,000 needed to reach the voters in Seattle who aren’t supporters like you. Your contribution helped us purchase 1,000 yard signs that raised awareness about the Special Election and send over 205,000 pieces of mail explaining why the levies must be passed. It helped feed hundreds of hard-working volunteers who made nearly 13,000 phone calls, and it helped us communicate with a wider audience through blogs, Facebook. twitter, and YouTube.

The impact of your support speaks for itself:

Proposition 1, the Capitol Capital Levy, was approved by 73.5%
Proposition 2, the Operations Levy, was approved by 74.1%

Seattle voters continue to willingly tax themselves to support the children of Seattle who attend our pubic schools and invest in their future. Your support guarantees that our kids will get the learning materials they need for a basic education, and have safe & healthy schools in which to get that education. The passage of these levies will:

• Continue investments in health and safety improvements


• Continue seismic upgrades to keep up with changing State and City building codes


• Getting to work on the acknowledged backlog of building maintenance projects


• Continues the critical 6th period day in our high schools so those students can compete with other students in this state


• Replace inefficient fossil fuel heating systems with environmentally friendly ground source heat pumps


• Pay for teachers, librarians, bi-lingual and special education specialists and textbooks


• Upgrading technology systems and equipment that improves student learning


• ...AND MORE!

In three short years Seattle voters will again be asked to support their public schools, and Schools First will again be there leading the effort to renew the levies. I hope we can count on your continued support in 2013!

I thank you and the 46,000 students in Seattle schools thank you!

Betty Hoagland,

President, Schools First

Olympic View fund-raiser to offer huge selection of native plants

Olympic View Elementary School will be offering a huge selection of native plants and edibles for sale at its annual PTA Plant Sale April 23-25. The fund-raiser will include sales of: organic vegetable starts, hanging baskets, designer pottery, compost bins, Northwest natives plants, and stunning annuals. Kids activities will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m, Saturday, April 24. All proceeds from the event will directly benefit Olympic View students. Call (206) 252-5500 or visit the school Web site for more information.

Olympic View PTA Plant Sale
9 a.m. to 7 p.m., Friday, April 23
9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday, April 24
10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Sunday, April 25
Olympic View Elementary School
504 N.E. 95th St.

The 46th District Democrats has held our monthly meeting at Olympic View Elementary School since 2004. Please support their fundraiser!

Legislative Update from Rep. Phyllis Kenney

Government Reform

In Olympia all session, the focus has been on balancing the budget. Because the gap is in the billions, it’s easy for the press, legislators and others to focus only on the big numbers. But some of the most important work this year has been on reforming government and delivering vital services more efficiently.

Reform has been a focal point of my agenda for many years, and it has paid big dividends. Governing Magazine recently gave Washington State an A- for the way our state is managed. They said Washington is a “consistent leader in results-based governance” and is “ahead of nearly all other states in controlling spending by keeping track of where investments were and were not paying off.”

We are always looking for more ways to improve and the global economic crisis has given the state extra motivation to move quickly in a variety of areas. Some examples from this session are:


- Education changes to improve student learning

Last year legislation was signed into law making comprehensive changes to the way the state funds and delivers basic education (House Bill 2261). It was the first major look at how to better fund schools in 30 years. This year we followed up with legislation to update K-12 funding formulas (House Bill 2776) and a bill to improve our schools so we can compete for federal Race to the Top dollars (Senate Bill 6696).

- Transforming the critical GAU program into the Disability Lifeline

General Assistance Unemployable (GAU) helps people struggling with mental illness or addiction problems. Often those issues are the cause of many other issues – homelessness, arrests, emergency room stays, and more. This year GAU will become the Disability Lifeline, to reflect that often a small amount of assistance stops lives from spiraling out of control. House Bill 2782 also requires technology to be used to make the program more efficient, and prioritizes finding federal support for people in the program. It will save $25 million in the next 15 months.

- Focusing the state’s Department of Commerce on jobs

Last year the Community, Trade and Economic Development Department was renamed the Department of Commerce. This year, House Bill 2658 reorganized the department to allow for a heightened focus on jobs, while protecting the community programs and strengthening the economic programs.

- Rethinking technology services in state government

House Bill 3178 attempts to bring about systematic change to how we inventory, assess, manage and oversee our $2 billion a biennium in technology spending, which could save close to $30 million.

- First steps to retooling the state’s management program

Last year we passed HB 2049 which required an in-depth report on the Washington Management Service, which has grown from a few hundred to a few thousand. As a follow-up to that report, House Bill 2998 froze bonuses to WMS managers and other state employees and legislators are continuing work to reduce the number of WMS employees.

Those are a few of the important moves the state has made this year to rethink the way government works. Right now the state has fewer resources coming in, but the demand in public schools, health clinics, and other social services has increased.

Cuts need to be made, and under the current proposals being looked at, $4.40 worth of cuts will be made of every dollar of new revenue. Over 3,000 state employee positions have been eliminated under the current budget.

I’ll be continuing to work with my colleagues in the House on new ways to save state dollars and examine how we can make our tax system more equitable. This year’s budget challenges will extend into the next budget and beyond.

If you have questions about these reform efforts, or suggestions for other ways the state could be doing better, please contact me. I would appreciate your help in reforming state government.

Rep. Phyllis G. Kenney

Legislative Update from Rep. Phyllis Kenney

Washington didn’t cause this crisis

Our state is feeling the effect of a worldwide recession. Wall Street CEOs and the housing collapse caused serious damage to our economy which will take years to make up. Last session, we closed our $9 billion budget shortfall with an all-cuts budget, even as 29 other states raised revenue. The budget hole we’re working to solve didn’t start here, and the problem doesn’t end here – every country and every state is struggling with the recession.

While businesses lose customers during tough economic times, the demand for services like public schools, health care, emergency assistance, job training, and state financial aid increase – just when our ability to pay for them decreases.

Washington has seen a dramatic upswing in “caseload” – those who depend on state services. Parents are moving their children back into public schools, more students are seeking financial aid for college, people who have lost their jobs are asking for retraining opportunities. More seniors are finding their investments have been depleted due to the financial crisis that hit Wall Street and they need state assistance to pay for their long-term care. The housing crash is still forcing people out of their homes.

Although there are many signs that the economy is beginning to recover, experts believe Washington will continue to feel the effects of the Great Recession for months, if not a couple years.

We balanced the budget by shrinking government

There are less than two weeks to go in the 2010 Legislative session, and all eyes are on the supplemental operating budget. Both the House and the Senate released proposals last week, and both make a substantial number of cuts – on top of the $3.2 billion already cut from the current budget – and both depend upon some new sources of revenue.

We in the House have not yet decided on a revenue plan. Instead, we have been concentrating on finding more cuts and more reforms.

As we discussed last week, there were serious reductions made last year. The Legislature has already cut $3.3 billion from the current budget. Additionally, the first three bills signed into law this year were all devoted to making additional cuts and efficiencies.

In fact, for the first time since 1949, the 2009-11 biennial budget is smaller than the 2007-09 budget.

That’s right – for the first time in 60 years, we produced a two-year budget that was less than the one before!

Over a billion dollars less, in fact. Here’s a sample of the cuts already made:

Area	Budget cuts
K-12/Public Schools	$795 million
Higher Education	$504 million
Early Learning	$12 million
Health Care	$780 million
Long-term Care, DD, Mental Health	$197 million
Other Human Services	$227 million
Corrections and Criminal Justice	$157 million
Natural Resources	$93 million
Other government costs	$99 million

A statement of our values

The state operating budget isn’t just a table of numbers. It is a statement of our values and priorities; it is our vision of Washington’s future. We know those numbers represent families and communities, businesses and schools.

The budget decisions we make today not only directly affect the current needs of students, seniors, foster children, the unemployed and people with disabilities, but they also shape our future. So we have to ask ourselves some very hard questions:

How will additional cuts to our schools and colleges affect the employment opportunities of the next generation? Will they be well-trained for the jobs in the changing economy?

Can we afford to eliminate health care coverage for even more people, forcing the expense onto community hospitals and emergency rooms?

Is a particular tax exemption or legal form of tax evasion more important than making sure our seniors have safe nursing homes and well-trained caregivers?

How will an increase in taxes affect our businesses and families?

$4.40 in real cuts for each $1.00 in proposed revenue

As of this week, the Governor, the Senate, and the House have all recommended filling a small portion of the remaining budget gap with new revenue. We will also take even deeper cuts in state services, lay off more workers, and enforce new government reforms and efficiencies.

How much of the gap are we looking to fill with taxes? About 10% of the 2-year total.

Budget cuts
Original 2009-11 cuts	$3.2 billion
2010 proposal	$0.65 billion
Total	$3.85 billion	44%

Federal assistance
Original 2009-11	$1.9 billion
2010 expected	$0.65 billion
Total	$2.57 billion	30%

Transfers (including Rainy Day fund)
Original 2009-11	$0.96 billion
2010 proposal	$0.47 billion
Total	$1.43 billion	16%

Revenue increases
Original 2009-11	$0.00
2010 proposal	$0.86 billion
Total	$0.86 billion	10%

As you can see, we are considering $4.40 in real cuts for each $1.00 in proposed revenue.

Final decisions will be made during the next two weeks. Please feel free to contact me with any questions, concerns, or suggestions. I welcome your comments.

For more information on the proposed House supplemental budget: http://leap.leg.wa.gov/leap/budget/detail/2010/ho2010p.asp

March Demogram

I’ll be blunt. Frustration is rising. As we move further into this election year, people are looking at Washington DC and seeing Congress blocked from doing anything to help us because just a few voices are so opposed to making a positive difference that they are willing to do anything to stop our progress. This cannot stand. But while I know that you understand who is on our side, too many people just look at the entire political system and throw up their hands.

We need to give people a reason not to give up. We, the members of the Democratic Party at a local, state and national level, need to present a vision for what our country can be if we listen to each other, learn from the past, plan for the future and keep in the front of our minds that we are all in this together. As a country and as a world we will only survive, succeed and thrive if we all work together.

What drives people away from the political process? I think it has more to do with their concerns not getting addressed than anything else. We are of course limited on what we can do from a small geographical area in the Northern part of a single city. But we need to maximize our impact by encouraging each other to speak out.

At the Legislative District Town Hall on February 20th my son came up with a question all on his own. “What is Washington State doing to get electric cars on our roads?” This from an 11-year-old boy who listens to my wife and I talk about the news and knows that we have the ability to protect his future if we just get on the right track.

Our LD Caucus is on Sunday, March 14th at Ingraham High School. I would love to see a few hundred active people, wanting to get the business done and ready to engage in a discussion of how we can put our country on the right track. Our Draft Platform is on our website ready for your review. The agenda and rules are posted. I hope to see you there!

Read more in our March Demogram!

Letter to Governor Gregoire about TransAlta

At our February Meeting, we had a presentation by Doug Howell of the Sierra Club about what we can do immediately here in Washington State to make a significant step towards our goal of reducing our CO2 emissions. The membership of the district agreed to sign on to a letter to Gov. Gregoire to encourage her to do the right thing when it comes to both our environment and the jobs in Centralia, Washington where the TransAlta Coal Plant is located. The following is the letter that was sent of today:

February 27, 2010

The Hon. Chris Gregoire
Governor, State of Washington
P.O. Box 40002
Olympia, WA 98504-0002

Re: The State’s negotiation with TransAlta Centralia Generation L.L.C.

Dear Governor Gregoire:
This letter is a follow-up to conversations with your office regarding the ongoing negotiations with TransAlta Centralia Generation L.L.C. (“TransAlta”) on the future of its coal-fired power plant in Centralia, Washington. We applaud your leadership on many significant climate protection initiatives, including the Energy Independence Act (I-937), the emissions performance standard, statutory goals for greenhouse gas reductions, clean car standards and stronger building codes. We are confident that the final agreement with TransAlta on its coal plant will reflect the same commitment to public protection that has been your touchstone.
The TransAlta coal plant is the state’s dirtiest single source of pollution and No. 1 emitter of greenhouse gases, toxic mercury and nitrogen oxides. The mercury and climate emissions damage Puget Sound, and the air pollution places a substantial disease burden on our state. In fact, TransAlta is the second-worst coal plant in the country in terms of creating haze in national parks and wilderness areas.

While the State’s entire settlement proposal has not been made available to the public, the following details have been disclosed:

By 2012, TransAlta will increase on-site natural gas output by 250 average megawatts (aMW) and reduce the output from one of its coal-fired boilers by an equal amount.
By 2018, TransAlta will develop 700 megawatts of renewable energy and retire one of its two coal-fired boilers.
By 2025, TransAlta will retire the other coal-fired boiler and starts operating a new 700- to 900-megawatt natural gas electricity generation unit.
The State will seek policy changes to facilitate a market for TransAlta's products.

Given our climate crisis and the public health and visibility issues associated with this coal plant, we continue to oppose the State’s proposal to TransAlta for a 2025 transition off of coal. We remain concerned that alternatives – including increased use of available clean energy resources – have not been adequately explored. We are confident that the state can facilitate a more rapid transition for TransAlta that requires less use of natural gas than has been proposed.

Analyzing all alternatives and scenarios – with emphasis on timing, interim pollution reductions and replacement energy -- is fundamental to the State’s obligations to protect Washington’s citizens and to exercise due diligence on important decisions. The public needs to be informed and included throughout the development of this agreement.

Analyze options

We strongly recommend that the State analyze earlier alternative transition dates than 2025, including the year 2015. Our own preliminary analysis finds no compelling evidence that a 2015 transition cannot be achieved or that 2025 is the best option to protect the public health and welfare. With climate scientists and physicians urging the fastest possible transition to a clean energy economy, it is appropriate for the State to examine the feasibility of a quicker transition.

The State has said it is willing to support TransAlta’s full 2025 transition by helping to explore financing options for a large gas plant, by lining up government buyers for a new TransAlta energy resources, and by changing the State’s emissions performance standard. We urge the State to explore similarly creative ideas to make full transition by 2015 a reality. The solutions must maintain grid stability and reliability, provide just transitions for coal-plant workers, and create clean energy development opportunities for Lewis County.

The complex set of compliance obligations the TransAlta coal plant will soon confront must be addressed in a holistic rather than piecemeal fashion. The fact that the current negotiations resulted from the Climate Change Executive Order should not preclude a comprehensive dialogue on the issues. Concern for public health and the environment may well drive new federal standards for fine particulates, sulfur dioxide, coal combustion waste and coal mining waste. New federal standards on hazardous air pollutants such as hydrochloric acid are expected next year. All of these regulations may apply to TransAlta and should be a part of this conversation.
Inform the public

The past year has featured many large public gatherings across the state addressing climate change and the need for action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (EPA endangerment hearings, 350 events, etc.). The public is engaged and seeking solutions. We believe more transparent discussion of options with TransAlta will strengthen the State's negotiating position and help build momentum for a timely resolution.

Given the statewide impact of the coal plant’s pollution, we recommend a set of public hearings across Washington and specifically in Seattle, Vancouver and Spokane.
We are confident that with your leadership we can transition TransAlta off of coal as early as 2015; we can protect the health of our citizens and our natural resources; we can ensure energy reliability and we can support displaced workers while clean energy alternatives create even more jobs. Such a result will be consistent with the Governor’s climate leadership and will inspire the nation. But to make this powerful vision a reality, the State needs to fully analyze the options and engage the public as soon as possible.

We look forward to working with your office toward such a positive outcome -- for the sake of our climate, public health and tomorrow’s clean energy jobs.
Sincerely,

Doug Howell, Senior Representative, Beyond Coal Campaign
Sierra Club

Sean Smith, Regional Policy Director
National Parks Conservation Association

Mark Riskedahl, Executive Director
Northwest Environmental Defense Center

LeeAnne Beres, Executive Director
Earth Mnistry

Cara H. Dolan, Environmental Associate
Environment Washington

Barb Gottlieb, Deputy Director, Health & Environment Program
Physicians for Social Responsibility

Chad Lupkes, Chair
46th Legislative Districts Democrats

Gerald Pollet, Executive Director
Heart of America Northwest

Sara Patton, Executive Director
NW Energy Coalition

General Assistance-Unemployable (GAU)

The Senate budget cuts $90 million from General Assistance-Unemployable (GAU) recipients. The "reforms" assume that with professional assistance, people can document their disability sufficiently to qualify for Social Security within 18 months, instead of the two to three years it takes now, with appeals. It cuts the stipend from a measly $339 to $50 and ties that to accepting shelter or housing, mental health or chemical dependency treatment.

Meanwhile, mental health treatment is cut 2% across the board (in both budgets) and I cannot find any increase in chemical dependency treatment. What happens when people relapse, or are kicked out of treatment? They lose their housing, too? We know that most people need multiple chances to get clean and sober, yet we don't provide enough treatment slots, especially residential beds, for long enough to establish new friends, new habits, new places and jobs.

The Senate limits GAU medical coupons to 12 months in any 24-month period. Can we think of any justification? Since 44% of GAU recipients have a mental illness, this will cause them to go off their meds, which will likely put many back in the streets after a short period. This sounds like a prescription for "homeless musical chairs" while some people get to take turns with others for housing and medical treatment.

The House budget fully funds GAU. The reform bill renames it the Disability Lifeline. We support the House budget for Disability Lifeline (GAU) and ask you to ask your legislators to do the same.

Sarajane Siegfriedt

Organizing for America coming to North Seattle

Organizing for America‘s Organizing Committee Meetings are a chance for OFA staff to talk with volunteers across our state about OFA’s legislative and electoral plan for 2010. As an organization, we have come a long way in the past year. We have lessons to learn from the budget pledge drive, health insurance reform and the Massachusetts Senate Race.

The Strategy Sessions are a time to bring those lessons together and look to the future. Staff will talk through national strategy and simultaneously gather feedback from our supporters for our plan to lead OFA forward in 2010.

The North Seattle Organizing Committee will be on Thursday, February 25th starting at 6pm at the University Heights Community Center located at 5031 University Way NE.

If you have any questions or would like to RSVP, please contact Priscilla at (206) 295-2126 or minp@dnc.org.

Please download this flyer and spread the word about this meeting!

Our LegActionTeam in the news!

Seattle Times' columnist Lance Dickie wrote about efforts in this Legislative session to clean up Puget Sound. He included one of the King County Democrats' legislative priorities, the safe medicine return bill:

"One smart bill that did not survive legislative deadlines was a medicine-return program that created a statewide system for environmentally safe disposal of opiates, prescription drugs and over-the-counter products. It was a sane option to flushing pills down the toilet or having them filched by prescription-drug abusers of all ages. It had broad support — law enforcement, drugstores and successful programs in Snohomish and Clark counties — but could not overcome Big Pharma."

This is a bill that one of our members worked hard on. We agree that the bill and its key lobbyist 46th member Margaret Shield are plenty smart, but the massed forces of Big Pharma were too much for a very broad-based coalition of youth and drug prevention advocates, law enforcement and municipalities.

Click over to the Seattle Times article for more about efforts to clean up Puget Sound:

The Seattle Times Company:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2011121836_lance19.html

Originally published Thursday, February 18, 2010 at 4:03 PM

Lance Dickie / Seattle Times editorial columnist

Legislative Update from Rep. Scott White

Dear Friends,

It’s hard to believe we are already half-way through the short 60-day session.

There is still not much solid news to report. Gov. Gregoire recently signed the first three new laws of 2010. All three were devoted to paring state expenses with modest steps such as freezing new government hiring and reducing travel and equipment costs. But the real budget battles are still ahead.

That is one reason why I am writing. We need our 46th District families and businesses to have a strong voice when the major budget and legislative decisions of 2010 are made over the next several weeks. That is why I recently sent out a district-wide survey of citizen priorities, and why the entire 46th District legislative team is holding a Town Hall Meeting on Saturday morning.

46th District survey—still time to respond

It’s not too late to share your priorities and thoughts on my district survey. If you or a member of your household would like another copy of the survey, all you need to do is click the 2010 survey link to download a copy. Then it is just a matter of printing it out and mailing it back to me.

By the way, I’ve told House leaders that citizens should have an easy way to fill out surveys online—because it is faster, more convenient, more environmentally-friendly, and also less expensive, since there are no mailing costs. We are working to create an online survey system now, but it is still in the pilot phase and probably won’t be fully ready until next year. I’ll keep you posted on progress.

Town Hall Meeting just days away

I hope you can find some time to join our Town Hall Meeting at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday morning at the Meadowbrook Community Center. Because of the recession, we face some extremely difficult choices concerning budget and revenue issues. My job is to represent you and our neighbors as these decisions are made, and I’d like to hear a full range of views as we prepare for the major budget, revenue and policy decisions that will literally be made in the next four weeks.

Our community Town Hall will also give me a chance to update you on the progress of the 2010 legislation I’ve proposed. I’m happy to report that a number of the measures I’ve proposed recently passed the House of Representatives with overwhelming support from both Democratic and Republican lawmakers. I’ll be sharing details at the Town Hall.

Let’s keep in touch!

If you can’t attend the Town Hall, please remember that you can always get a message to me quickly by email, phone or regular mail. Representing you is a pleasure as well as an honor, so don’t hesitate to call or write with your advice or questions. I will never forget that you are the reason why I’m here.

Scott