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Updated
June 18, 2006
June 14th, 2006, Meeting
Official Minutes
Informal Notes and Photos
Agenda
Chair Ivan Weiss's Message for June
Official Minutes
June 14th Meeting
Click here for a copy of the minutes in Adobe Acrobat format (PDF - 39kb).
Minutes of the 34th District Democrats
Meeting of 14 June 2006
71. Chair Ivan Weiss called the meeting to order at 7:03PM. Second Vice-Chair
Tim Nuse led the members in the flag salute. The members approved the agenda and the
minutes of the May 10th meeting.
72. Chair Weiss' report:
72.1 The State Democratic Party Convention was held on June 2nd and 3rd in Yakima.
The 34th District had all 40 delegates present, the second highest number of delegates
for any district in the state. A number of other 34thmembers also attended.
72.2 In Yakima on Friday, June 2nd, several members of the 34th's executive board
met with several members from the 15th LD's Democratic organization, including 15th
Chair Wendell Hannigan and candidate for state senate Tomás Villanueva, plus Tania María
Rosario of the State Party's Latino Vote project and Gabriel Portugal, chairman of the Latino Caucus and
of the Franklin County Democrats. This is the beginning of our sister
district relationship with the 15th.
72.3 Weiss cautioned members not to take Larouche literature from organizers in the hall.
72.4 PCOs need to file for and run for election. The filing date is July 29th.
Bruce Stotler has forms.
72.5 Weiss thanked members who have been volunteers working at the White Center food bank.
They are glad for the help, and we can use more members to volunteer.
72.6 Weiss reminded members of the upcoming "clean and green" cleanup of the Cottage
Grove neighborhood and requested a good turnout of volunteers. Flyers were placed on
the chair or more information is on the website at
http://www.34dems.org/news_calendar.htm#cottage.
72.7 There are petitions to sign for I-937 Initiative 937, which will guarantee
that by 2020, 15% of the electricity from Washington's largest utilities comes from
plentiful and home-grown renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar. See Cherisse
Luxa.
72.8 The 34th's phone bank is at the Machinsts' Hall in S. Park tomorrow night
(June 15th). We need volunteers to help make the calls. See Outreach Chair Steve
Karbowski.
72.9 Weiss recognized elected officials attending tonight, including State Senator
Erik Poulsen, State Representative Ruth Kagi (D-32nd), County Councilmember
Dow Constantine. He also recognized the Chair of the King County Democrats, Susie
Sheary, and the Chair of the 47th District Democrats, Bryan Kesterson, who are visiting
tonight.
73. Transit Now. Weiss introduced Melanie Mayock of the Transportation
Choices coalition to speak about "Transit Now".
73.1 Transit Now proposes to add more frequent and faster bus service to the county's
busiest and most congested roads and highways. The proposal is intended to get more than
50,000 drivers a day out of their cars and onto buses.
73.2 County Executive Ron Sims transmitted a final proposal for review by the
Metropolitan King County Council on June 15th, with a recommendation that Transit
Now be placed on the November ballot.
73.3 When combined with current resources, Transit Now expands King County Metro
bus service by more than 20 percent with funding from a proposed 1/10th of one
percent sales tax increase. The proposal would only cost the average family about
$25 a year, less than a tank of gas. It would allow Metro to keep pace with regional
growth and use the final tenth of one percent sales tax authorized by the state
legislature after Initiative 695 cut transit funding statewide. I-695, proposed by
Tim Eyman and passed in 1999, cut Metro's budget $100 million.
73.4 For West Seattle, the proposal includes funding for "Bus Rapid Transit",
much improved services, Installation new buses and upgraded passenger waiting areas;
plus adding technology to synchronize traffic signals and operate real-time bus arrival
signs.
73.5 Website: www.metrokc.gov/kcdot/transitnow
74. Early Learning. Member Cheryl Ellsworth introduced Representative Ruth Kagi
Democrat of the 32nd District from Lake Forest Park. Kagi is a long-time early
learning advocate and chair of the House Children and Family Services Committee.
She sponsored a bill, HB 2964, which was passed in the latest legislative session and
was signed into law by Gov. Christine Gregoire. It creates a new state department of
early learning.
74.1 Washington's littlest learners will be the focus of this new state agency.
The cabinet-level Department of Early Learning will bring together child care and
preschool programs currently scattered among many state agencies.
74.2 By creating a unified Department of Early Learning, we affirm our state's
commitment to helping parents give their children the best possible start in life.
These programs will help give Washington's children a better chance to start kindergarten
ready to succeed in school.
74.3 The new Department of Early Learning will partner with a high-powered group
of private sector supporters of early learning that includes the Bill & Melinda Gates
Foundation, Boeing, Lockheed and the Talaris Research Institute. All have agreed to make
major investments in early learning programs and research, and to coordinate investments
and policies with the new department. But the department will control and manage the
programs, not the private and non-profit investors.
74.4 Young children and parents will be the beneficiaries of an unprecedented commitment
from the state and philanthropic organizations to work together through this new
partnership. The Gates Foundation has already committed $90 million over the next ten
years. This would not be possible without the new Department of Early Learning to serve
as a single point of partnership with the state.
74.5 The new agency will direct programs and functions such as the Working
Connections Child Care program, child care licensing, the Head Start Collaborative
Office, and the Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program.
75. Head Start. Kagi introduced, John Bancroft, the executive director of Puget
Sound Head Start and president of Building Better Futures, a community partnership
to increase social services in South King County.
75.1 There is considerable research that shows Head Start is effective in getting
low-income children ready for school and helping their parents become economically
self-sufficient. We work continuously to improve our services, assisted by the increased
funding we received in the '90s.
75.2 Head Start serves 1,800 children in King and Pierce counties. But it has
funding to serve only 30 percent of the eligible 3- and 4-year-old children and less
than 2 percent of the infants and toddlers eligible for Early Head Start. That leaves
almost 25,000 eligible young children languishing on waiting lists.
75.3 Within Highline School District are 1568 three and four year old children at
or below the Federal Poverty level and therefore eligible for Head Start. A new "making
connections" initiative in White Center hopes to stitch together a number of early
learning and family support programs in White Center. See www.mcskc.org .
76. Darcy Burner. Chair Weiss introduced Darcy Burner, candidate for the 8th
Congressional District. We need to take 15 seats from Republicans to win control of
the U.S. House of Representatives in 2006. The 8th District voted for John Kerry and
has elected a number of Democratic state legislators. It is quite winnable, and Darcy
Burner has done a phenomenal job of campaigning and fund raising for this race.
76.1 Darcy grew up in a military family. She worked hard in school, graduated at the
top of her class and put herself through Harvard. After graduation, Darcy worked for
12 years in the high tech sector - including as an executive at Microsoft.
76.2 Darcy comes from a hard working family. Her dad spent a career in the Air Force
and after his retirement worked as a public school teacher. Her oldest brother is a
janitor in Olympia. Her other brother serves in the Army's 101st Airborne and has served
one tour of duty in Iraq. Her sister just got her nursing degree. And her youngest
brother does his public service, delivering beer for the Miller Brewing Company.
76.3 Darcy is convinced - along with most Democrats - that the Bush Administration has
abysmally failed at the war in Iraq, on Homeland and Port Security, in healthcare,
education, energy and at almost everything else. Her opponent, Dave Reichert said
recently that we should just "trust the President," and has voted 93% of the time with
the right-wing Republican leadership in Congress.
76.4 Burner believes she can take this country in a new direction by: Helping families
who work hard and play by the rules get ahead through investments in education,
healthcare, and training our workers for new jobs with good wages; Holding our
government accountable by requiring that it be open and honest with the American
people it serves; Achieving real energy independence and breaking our addiction to
oil by making investments to make us a world leader in the growing market of next
generation energy; Committing to a strong, intelligent, far-sighted national defense
which uses our military strength wisely and shares the international burdens of power
in smarter ways through diplomacy, alliances and international investment.
76.5 Members asked questions about why she has no position papers posted on her website
(because Reichert's staff uses them to direct his future token votes on some measures),
whether she supports "net neutrality" (she does) and other topics.
77. There was no Old Business.
78. New Business:
78.1 PCO Appointments. Two members applied for appointment as precinct committee officers,
Michael Taylor for Seattle Precinct 1493 and Sharon Henderson for Seattle Precinct 1465.
Both stated they are Democrats and were unanimously appointed by the membership.
78.2 July meeting. Weiss asked for discussion about whether to hold a July business
meeting. There are no significant primary campaigns or endorsements required this year.
Bruce Stotler moved the organization not conduct a business meeting in July, but rather
just hold the usual July summer picnic in Lincoln Park. This motion was seconded and
passed unanimously.
78.3 Energy Forum. We are sponsoring this forum on Saturday, July 15th at Madison
Middle School. Second Vice-Chair Tim Nuse has been organizing it. State Senator Erik
Poulsen will moderate it and U. S. Representative Jay Inslee will keynote. Tim can use
help organizing and preparing for the event. The organizing committee meets every other
Monday night - see calendar at www.34dems.org for meeting nights. The complete program
is also on the website at www.34dems.org/energy.htm .
79. Good of the Order
79.1 Vashon Democrats' meeting. Roger Fulton, chair of the Vashon Democrats
invited members to the next Vashon Democrats' meeting on Saturday, June 17th. They
will show the new Robert Greenwald film "The Big Buy: Tom DeLay's Stolen Congress"
(www.tomdelaymovie.com ). This event is a fundraiser for Washington Public Campaigns
(www.washclean.org), whose representative, Islander Terry Sullivan, will update us about
public campaign financing after the film.
79.2 Pathfinder School. Leslie Harris, our State Committeewoman,
talked about West
Seattle's only alternative school, Pathfinder School, and the plan to move it to Boren Middle
School as part of the upcoming school closures and other changes proposed by the Seattle
School District. Boren is in quite poor shape, and will actually increase the school
district's costs. Leslie encouraged members to attend upcoming hearings on the changes,
scheduled from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Interested speakers may sign up by calling the
School Board office at (206) 252-0040. Public testimony will be limited to three minutes
per speaker, and should focus on the school at which the hearing is being held.
Locations:
79.2.1 June 26 - Fairmount Park Elementary Cafeteria, 3800 SW Findlay St.
79.2.2 June 28 - Genesee Hill (Pathfinder) Cafeteria, 5012 SW Genesee St.
79.3 Dina Johnson announced an auction and set of performances to benefit
U.S. Rep. Jim McDermott. The performance is entitled "Uncaged Cabaraet, is produced
by Dina Lydia, and will take place at the historic Columbia City Theater,
4918 Rainier Ave. S., Seattle. See details
on Dina's webpage .
80. We adjourned at 8:45 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Bill Schrier, Secretary
Informal Notes and Photos
Click any photo to enlarge it.
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Left: Darcy Burner speaks to the 34th.
Right: New PCO's Michael Taylor and Sharon Henderson |
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Left: John Bancroft and Rep. Ruth Kagi (D-32nd)
Right: Rep. Ruth Kagi, Ivan Weiss and Tim Nuse |
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Left: Melanie Maycock
Right: Bryan Kesterman, Darcy Burner, Susan Sheary |
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Darcy Burner addresses the 34th District
Agenda
Meeting of Wednesday June 14th
The Hall at Fauntleroy
9131 California Avenue S.W.,
West Seattle, Washington
34TH DISTRICT DEMOCRATS
"All The Democracy You Can Handle"
• 6:30 PM - Social - drinks provided, please bring potluck
food to share
• 7:00 p.m. - Call to Order
• Flag Salute
• Approval of Agenda
• Approval of Minutes (May meeting)
• 7:05 p.m. - Chair's Report
• Note: Other reports from State Committeepersons, County
Committeepersons, Treasurer,
Outreach Committee, etc. will
not be rendered in person at the meeting. See the newsletter for
these reports, or click on the links to go to a page on the website
with the latest reports.
7:30 p.m. - Program:
Darcy Burner
• Darcy is the Democratic Candidate for the 8th Congressional District.
Electing Darcy is key to taking Democratic control of the U.S. Congress this year.
More details to be posted soon or see www.darcyburner.com.
• More details: see the Chair's
message.
Transit Now
Melanie Mayock of Transportation Choices will give a brief explanation of the "Transit Now" plan, and will have informational material for us.
Rep. Ruth Kagi
Co-Sponsor of the new state Department of Early Learning, will describe the functions and bright new future of this department.
8:20 p.m. - New Business
• PCO Appointments
8:55 p.m. - Old Business, Good of the Order, Adjourn
Next Meetings:
• July 12th - annual picnic, probably at Lincoln Park
Message From the Chair, June, 2006:
Yes, WE can take back our Congress! We! Us!
We need 15 seats to retake the House, folks.
One of them is right here, right now. It's not one of our Districts, It's the Eighth, right next door, right across the lake. The Eighth has never elected a Democratic House member. But this is the year it happens. And the 34th District Democrats can be a big part of it.
Our Democratic candidate in the Eighth District, Darcy Burner, will be the principal speaker at our June 14 meeting, two days before George W. Bush flies into town to raise money for the incumbent, Dave Reichert, at a supporter's $10.3 million mansion.
Darcy is coming to us for help because she knows the 34th is a "can-do" District. Her campaign is well aware of our turnout for, and support for, Jim McDermott and Adam Smith. She will be asking us to volunteer in her campaign - to go east and south into the Eighth District and bang the doors, wave the signs, and man the phone banks.
And write her a check. Did I say write her a check? I'll say it again. Write her a check. And make it a fat one. There is no better investment, right here and right now, that will give us more bang for our political buck in Washington State in 2006.
The Eighth is winnable. It voted for John Kerry. It voted for Al Gore. It voted for Patty Murray. In Darcy Burner, we have a candidate who has raised unprecedented amounts of campaign contributions in a shorter time by far than any Eighth District Democratic candidate. And it wasn't from any clique of corporate suits, either. Most of it was raised by rank-and-file Democratic activists, nationwide but mostly here, using online donations and spreading the word with the help of dedicated bloggers.
That support got Darcy a "netroots endorsement" from the influential MyDD blog, and a whole lot more grass-roots money. It also earned her the active support of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Usually the DCCC ("D-Triple-C," or "D-Trip") recruits candidates for a District. But in this case, we did their job for them, as we should be doing everywhere. Rank and file Democrats decided that Darcy had what it took to win this seat, and because the initial support was so great, the DCCC recognized that her candidacy was legitimate.
 That DCCC support was on hand Tuesday, May 30, at a rally for Darcy at the Community Center at Mercer View on Mercer Island, where 150-175 people packed a room smaller than our hall to hear DCCC Chairman Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-IL), urge support for Darcy. Washington State Democratic Party Chairman Dwight Pelz spoke, as did State Rep. Rodney Tom (formerly R-48, now D-48). People were there from all over WA-8, including the Pierce County part of the District, but there were a lot of Seattle people, too. PCO Cheryl Banks and I represented the 34th.
The energy in the room was contagious, but that was a familiar feeling. We experience it every month at our own District meetings. Let's do it again! Let's welcome Darcy Burner to the 34th on June 14th with the same outpouring of support that we show to Jim McDermott and Adam Smith. Let's help her win this election. Let's send Dave Reichert, George W. Bush, and the whole GOP a message. Let's show them where the power lies.
And if that wasn't enough . . .
Whatever the future of Highway 99, 34th District residents will be scrambling for better ways to get around Town. County Executive Ron Sims has proposed his "Transit Now" bus plan to help meet our needs. If the County Council approves this plan, it would be on the November ballot. Melanie Mayock of Transportation Choices will give a brief explanation of the "Transit Now" plan, and will have informational material for us.
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 We are further privileged to welcome to the 34th District Rep. Ruth Kagi (D-32), who will inform us of an important accomplishment of the recent Legislative session - establishment of the state-level Department of Early Learning. Rep. Kagi, from Lake Forest Park, was the prime sponsor of the enabling legislation, HB 2964.
The new agency will direct programs and functions such as the Working Connections Child Care program, child care licensing, the Head Start Collaborative Office, and the Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program.
The new Department of Early Learning will partner with a high-powered group of private sector supporters of early learning that includes the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Boeing, Lockheed, and the Talaris Research Institute. All have agreed to make major investments in early learning programs and research, and to coordinate investments and policies with the new department.
Several such efforts will be in the 34th District, and we hope to tell you where they are. It is another prime example of why we are Democrats: The Bush Administration has put our children and grandchildren into debt. We Democrats are working to give them the education, starting with child care, Head Start, and preschool, to help them overcome it.
Truly we WILL overcome.
See you June 14 for "all the democracy you can handle."
Ivan Weiss, Chair, 34th District Democrats
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