Chairman Ivan Weiss called the meeting to order at 7:00pm.
The flag salute was led by County Assessor Scott Noble.
The agenda, Treasurer's Report, and last month's minutes were moved, seconded, and approved by voice vote.
Chairman's Report
The Vashon Strawberry Festival is Saturday, July 14th. All are urged to join the parade.
A fundraiser, An Afternoon with Adam Smith, will be held at the West Seattle home of Doug Walsh and Kathy Blaine on July 21st. More information or RSVP at 253 572 6125. (Note: This event has since been cancelled).
Bruce Stotler said plans for the Garden Party on August 10th are underway and auction items are needed.
1st Vice Chair's Report
Tanya Aguilar announced two events: The Annual Diversity Democratic Dinner at Wapato on Saturday, July 21st (see Tanya for tickets) and Jubilee Days - Annual White Center Street Fair on July 21-22 (Tanya needs volunteers).
Credentials Report: There were 105 voting members present.
Endorsements
It was moved and seconded to endorse the following candidate block. King County Assessor: Scott Noble; County Council Position 8: Dow Constantine; County Council Position 6: Brad Larssen; Seattle City Council Position 1: Jean Godden; Seattle City Council Position 4: Ton Rasmussen; City Council Position 9: Sally Clark; Port Commission Position 5: Alec Fisken. The motion passed unanimously by a voice vote.
Seattle City Council Position 3
Venus Velasquez was endorsed. (58 for 16 opposed).
She was nominated by Tania Maria Rosario. There was no opposition.
Bruce Harrell was not endorsed. (24 for 39 opposed)
He was nominated by Laverne Lamoureux. She spoke in support and yielded time to the candidate. Bruce Stotler spoke to support. Barbara Schaad-Lamphere and Susan Harmon spoke against.
Al Runte was not endorsed. (20 for 41 opposed)
He was nominated by Wendell Sprigg. Wendell spoke to support. There was no opposition.
Seattle City Council Position 7
Tim Burgess was endorsed. (60 for 24 opposed)
He was nominated by State Representative Joe McDermott. Rep. McDermott and Ernestine Pearl-Rosendale spoke to support. Jack Block , Sr. and LaverneLamoureux spoke against.
David Della was not endorsed. (40 for 36 opposed)
He was nominated by State Representative Eileen Cody. Rep. Cody and Susan Harmon spoke to support. Dan Fievez and Russ Brubaker spoke against.
Seattle School District Position 1
Peter Maier was endorsed. (66 for 5 opposed)
He was nominated by Leslie Harris. Leslie spoke to support. There was no opposition.
Sally Soriano was not endorsed. (7 for 42 opposed)
She was nominated by Pat Agostino. Pat and Rebecca Wells spoke to support. Leslie Harris and Barbara Schaad-Lamphere spoke against.
Seattle School District Position 2
Darlene Flynn was not endorsed. (32 for 32 opposed)
She was nominated by Bill Schrier. Bill spoke to support. There was no opposition.
Sherry Carr was not endorsed. (37 for 21 opposed)
She was nominated by Barbara Schaad-Lamphere. Barbara and Claire Foster spoke to support. Tyler Smith spoke against.
Lisa Stuebing was not endorsed (26 for 28 opposed)
She was nominated by Dan Fievez. Dan spoke to support. There was no opposition.
Seattle School District Position 4
Steve Sundquist was endorsed. (48 for 19 opposed)
He was nominated by Linda Johnson. Linda and Walter Sive spoke to support. Tyler Smith and Leslie Harris spoke against.
Maria Ramirez was endorsed. (52 for 17 opposed)
She was nominated by Tanya Aguilar. Tanya and Tyler Smith voted to support. Walter Sive and Ann Martin spoke against.
King County Prosecutor
Bill Sherman was endorsed. (59 for 8 opposed)
He was nominated by State Representative Joe McDermott. Rep. Joe McDermott spoke to support. There was no opposition.
Keith Scully was not endorsed. (35 for 24 opposed)
He was nominated by Leslie Harris. Leslie spoke to support and yielded time to the candidate. Susan Harmon spoke against.
Seattle Port Commissioner Position 2
Jack Block, Jr. was not endorsed. (36 for 24 opposed)
Tanya spoke to support. Liz Giba spoke to support and yielded time to the candidate. Dan Fievez spoke against.
Gael Tarleton was not endorsed. (41 for 23 opposed)
She was nominated by Ernestine Pearl-Rosendale. Ernestine and Beth Grieser spoke to support. Jeff Upthegrove and Dave Coffman spoke against.
Burien City Council Position 2
Lucy Krakowiak was endorsed. (26 for 10 opposed)
She was nominated by Bruce Stotler. Bruce and Walter Sive spoke to support and both yielded time to the candidate. Cherisse Luxa spoke against.
Burien City Council Position 4
Stephen Lamphear was endorsed. (38 for 2 opposed)
He was nominated by Cherisse Luxa. She and Ed Dupras spoke to support and both yielded time to the candidate. John Jovanovich spoke against.
Burien City Council Position 6
Kathy Keene was endorsed. (28 for 0 opposed)
She was nominated by Stephen Lamphear. Liz Giba spoke to support. There was no opposition.
Highline School District Position 1
Fiasili Savusa was endorsed. (36 for 0 opposed)
She was nominated by Cherisse Luxa. Cherisse spoke to support and yielded time to the candidate. There was no opposition.
SW Suburban Sewer District Position 2
Bill Tracy was endorsed. (35 for 1 opposed)
He was nominated by Cherisse Luxa. Cherisse spoke to support and yielded time to the candidate. There was no opposition.
Washington Referendum 67 - Endorsed (40 for 0 opposed)
Leslie Harris spoke to support. There was no opposition.
Parks and Trails Levy - Endorsed (39 for 0 opposed)
Russ Brubaker spoke to support. No opposition.
Appointment of PCO's
There were 2 new Precinct Committee Officers appointed: Maria Ramirez - SEA34-1248 and Michael Ninburg - SEA34-1471,
Good of the Order
Leslie Harris announced a School Board Candidates Forum at Pathfinder Alternative School on August 6th.
Informal Notes and Photos
Click any photo to enlarge it.
Left: C
34th District Democrats Annual Picnic Lincoln Park Shelter site #3
Monday, July 9th, 6:00 PM to ??.
For directions to the picnic shelter, see the Seattle Parks website.
Come join us for an evening of grilling and politics. Meats and grills provided, but please bring drinks (non-alcoholic) and potluck dishes to share. All members, elected officials and candidates are welcome and encouraged to attend, but NO SPEECHES!
Agenda Meeting of Wednesday, July 11, 2007
The Hall at Fauntleroy
9131 California Avenue S.W.,
West Seattle, Washington
34TH DISTRICT DEMOCRATS
"All The Democracy You Can Handle"
Introduction
• 6:30 PM - Social - drinks provided, please bring potluck food to share
• 7:00 PM - Call to order, by Chair Ivan Weiss, Flag Salute
• 7:03 PM - Adoption of agenda, minutes of June meeting, treasurer's report
• 7:05 PM - Chairman’s report
• 7:08 PM - First Vice Chair’s report
Program - Endorsements Meeting
Races and Endorsement Rules Click here to download a document
showing all known races and candidates in the 34th District. Note: See
endorsement rules by which this meeting will be conducted, below on this page . Who Can Vote
If you were a dues-paying member in 2006 but have not yet paid your 2007 dues,
you can pay them at the beginning of this meeting and vote. (See
by-laws change below.) Candidates
A candidate's name on this agenda is no guarantee of that candidate's attendance.
This agenda is likely to change to accommodate candidates' scheduling conflicts, right
up to the date of the meeting. It is not likely that the meeting will run as long as the
agenda provides for.
Endorsements Program
• 7:10 PM - Endorsements: Opening remarks
• 7:15 PM - Endorsements: King County Assessor: Scott Noble; County Council Position 8: Dow Constantine; City Council Position 1: Jean Godden; Seattle City Council Position 4: Tom Rasmussen; City Council Position 9: Sally Clark; Port Commission Position 5: Alec Fisken.
• 7:20 PM - City Council Position 3: Bruce Harrell, John Manning, Al Runte, Venus Velasquez
• 7:35 PM - City Council Position 7: Tim Burgess, David Della
• 7:45 PM - Seattle School District Position 1: Peter Maier, Sally Soriano
• 7:55 PM - Seattle School District Position 2: Sherry Carr, Darlene Flynn, Lisa Stuebing
• 8:05 PM - Seattle School District Position 4: Maria Ramirez, Steve Sundquist
• 8:20 PM - King County Prosecutor: Keith Scully, Bill Sherman
• 8:30 PM - Seattle Port Commission Position 2: Jack Block Jr., Bob Edwards, Gael Tarleton
• 8:40 PM - Burien City Council Position 2: Lucy Krakowiak
• 8:50 PM - Burien City Council Position 4: J. Fulop, Stephen Lamphear
• 9:00 PM - Burien City Council Position 6: Ed Dacy, Kathy Keene
• 9:05 PM - Highline School District Position 1: Fiasili Savusa
• 9:10 PM - Highline School District Position 4: Bernie Dorsey
• 9:15 PM - SW Suburban Sewer District Position 2: John Jovanovich, Bill Tracy
• 9:20 PM - Washington Referendum 67 (see info below)
• 9:30 PM - King County Parks and Trails Levy
• 9:40 PM - Appointment of PCOs, old business new business, good of the order
• 9:50 PM - Adjourn to Elliott Bay Brewery
Next Meetings:
• August 10: Garden party Auction
• No August regular meeting
• September 12: endorsements for General Election
Endorsement Rules for 2007 Primary and General Elections
Adopted at the June, 2007, meeting. See also the 34th District by-laws, Section VII, elsewhere on this website.
To view/print these rules as a PDF document, click here. To be considered for endorsement, candidates must comply with both these rules and all sections of our bylaws that pertain to endorsements.
1. Eligibility to Vote or to Speak at an Endorsement Meeting
To be eligible to vote, or to speak at an endorsement meeting, you must be a member of the 34th District Democrats who votes in the 34th District by the close of the previous month’s meeting. Membership in the 34th District Democrats is determined either by payment of annual dues or by being an elected, appointed, or acting Precinct Committee Officer (PCO).
2. Endorsement Voting Requirements and Ballots
Endorsements require a vote of 2/3 of the eligible voters present and voting. Abstentions are not considered votes, and will not be counted in determining the number of votes cast. Voting will be by a show of credentials issued to eligible voters before the vote.
3. Endorsement Procedures - Candidates
3.1. Block Nominations
3.1.1. To expedite the endorsement process, motions will be entertained to endorse a block of candidates where it is expected that the endorsement of such candidates is assured, such as candidates who have secured Democratic support in the past and are currently running unopposed, or who have insignificant opposition.
3.2. Nominations
3.2.1. The chair will entertain nominations and seconds for all races that apply to all or a portion of 34th District voters. A motion for sole endorsement or a motion to close nominations shall be out of order. A motion for "no endorsement" is admissible.
3.2.2. For each motion to endorse, a nomination speech of no more than two minutes and a seconding speech of not more than two minutes will be allowed, as will be two speeches of no more than two minutes duration against the motion. Speakers shall identify themselves before speaking on behalf of or in opposition to any candidate or ballot measure. Eligible voters may cede their time to candidates, but may NOT cede their time to anyone ineligible to vote at the meeting, such as nonresident, nonmember representatives of candidates or for or against ballot measures.
3.3. Voting
3.3.1. Each eligible voter will vote by show of credentials for or against one nominated candidate or "No endorsement." If any nominated candidate or "No endorsement" receives 2/3, then that vote passes. If a candidate fails to get 2/3 of the vote, there is no endorsement.
4. Endorsement Procedures - Ballot Measures
4.1. Nominations
4.1.1. Ballot Measures include all initiatives, referenda, levies, and other races without candidates. A Ballot Measure may be nominated for consideration only in the form it would appear on the ballot.
4.1.2. For each motion to consider a Ballot Measure, a speech of no more than two minutes and a seconding speech of not more than two minutes will be allowed for each of three positions: "Support," "Reject," and "Take no position." Eligible voters may NOT cede their time to anyone ineligible to vote at the meeting.
4.2. Voting
4.2.1. Each eligible voter will vote for "Support," "Reject" or "Take no position." If any of the three choices receives 2/3, then that vote passes. If no choice receives 2/3, there is no action.
5. Primary Endorsement Meeting
The general membership meeting held on July 11, 2007 will consider endorsements for:
5.1. Races and ballot measures on the August 2007 Primary Election Ballot, and
5.2. Ballot measures on the November 2007 General Election Ballot.
6. General Election Endorsement Meeting
The general membership meeting held on September 12, 2007 will consider endorsements for races and ballot measures on the November 2007 General Election Ballot.
Washington State Referendum 67
The "Insurance Fair Conduct Act" was passed by the legislature and signed into law this year.
This Referendum calls for a vote of the people on whether or not the law should continue in force.
The "Insurance Fair Conduct Act" provides a cause of action against an insurer that "unreasonably" denies coverage or benefits to a "first party claimant" or violates certain claims handling regulations. Although this standard of liability is not appreciably different than under preexisting law, the new statute expands the scope of available remedies to include treble damages without limitation, as well as attorney’s fees and costs. An award of treble damages is not mandatory, but no additional showing is expressly required. The full text of the statute as enacted is posted online here. .
Article VII: Endorsements, Section 5.a. presently reads:
"Only members in good standing by the end of the prior month’s meeting may vote."
This provision was put in place to prevent candidates from packing the meeting with new members and receiving an
endorsement that they otherwise might not have received. This is not a hypothetical situation. This has happened in the past. Unfortunately this has also prevented some of our more forgetful members from voting at our endorsement meetings. Sometimes circumstances affect even our less forgetful members.
This year we had an endorsement in February concerning the Viaduct. This meant that members who paid their dues after January 15, which is normally considered early for Democrats, were ineligible to vote.
In order to allow all members to vote, the Executive Board has proposed and the membership, in June 2007, adopted the following wording:
"Only members in good standing by the end of the prior month's meeting may vote, except that any member who had paid dues in the previous calendar year may vote if the membership is renewed at or before the meeting where the endorsement takes place."
Message From the Chair, July, 2007:
Endorsements and the "Pachyderm Principle"
From all over King County, candidates for both partisan and nonpartisan races praised the 34th District Democrats' candidate forum held June 13. We asked some pointed, substantive questions, some of which we considered "hardball," and the candidates were up to answering them.
Now we'll see if those answers were good enough or not, at our endorsement meeting July 11.
The endorsement rules, and the sections of our bylaws that pertain to endorsements, are posted on our Web site, and will be available to members and guests in hard copy form at the July meeting. The membership approved them at the June meeting, so they are not negotiable. If candidates have not complied with all of these provisions by the call to order for the July meeting, motions to endorse them will be ruled out of order.
The Executive Board and I take endorsements and our endorsement process very seriously, and we hope that you do, too.
We have tried to make an endorsement by the 34th District Democrats something to be sought, and not gained automatically, nor without effort. Candidates will have one, and only one, opportunity to be endorsed at the July meeting. There will be no second or third ballots - just one. Candidates who fall short of a two-thirds vote will not be endorsed. Those who are endorsed will have worked for it, just like we want them to. A "D" besides your name is NOT all it takes.
Most candidates get this They expend the effort to campaign in our District as a result, and respect our process.
But some don't, and here's an example from this year's campaign. These are not hypothetical cases.
We have in the 34th District two present candidates for re-election to different positions, both members of our organization. Both are unopposed. Candidate A has been all over the place campaigning for votes, citing the need to keep campaigning and facing the voters, even without opposition. Candidate B, on the other hand, declined to participate in the candidate forum or in the endorsement process, without even offering an explanation or citing any previous commitment
To Candidate A, clearly our endorsement means something. Clearly WE mean something. Candidate B, to whom our endorsement and our support apparently are not worth bothering with, will learn that many of us practice the Pachyderm Principle of Politics: We have hides like a rhinoceros and memories like an elephant.
Candidates will have one shot at most of our membership before the endorsement meeting - at our District Picnic, Monday, July 9, 6 PM at Lincoln Park, at which there will be good food and drink (no alcohol, remember - it's a city park), good company, and NO SPEECHES!
And before the primary, candidates can campaign for votes among our membership at the 34th District Democrats' 12th Annual Garden Party, Friday, August 10 at West Seattle Nursery, 6 PM.
Candidates who survive the primary but who have not yet been endorsed can try us again for the general election at our September meeting.
Is that all the democracy you can handle? Come and see us on the 11th, and let's make this one hell of a Democratic year.
Ivan Weiss
Chairman, 34th District Democrats
PO Box 860
Vashon WA 98070
206-463-4647
"When they're working, we're working
When they're sleeping, we're working."
Website Copyright
2006 34th District Democratic Organization
Send comments or questions to the Webmaster.
