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 Updated June 13, 2013
34th Dems Endorsement Meeting
Chair Marcee Stone-Vekich ran a tight endorsement meeting on June 12th and we endorsed a number of candidates and ballot measures. We had 149 eligible members at the Hall at Fauntleroy, and probably over 200 people attending. The major race was, of course, Seattle Mayor, and we gave Senator Ed Murray a rousing 70% of the vote on the second ballot.(Photo above right shows Senator Sharon Nelson introducing Murray while Representative Eileen Cody looks on. Click on it to see a larger version)
Besides Murray, Bruce Harrell, Kate Martin, Mayor Mike McGinn and Peter Steinbreuck were nominated. The top two on the first ballot were McGinn and Murray.
 [Photo at left: the Tally Committee counts votes - click on it to see a larger version.]
We endorsed a "block" of candidates who were either unopposed or the sole Democrat in a race - see that full list here. We also had contested races for Port of Seattle Commissioner Postition 3, a Burien City Council position and two City of Seattle Council positions. We gave a dual endorsement to Stefani Bowman and Michael Wolfe for the Port Commission, and sole endorsements to Lauren Berkowitz for Burien Council Position 1, and to Richard Conlin and Mike O'Brien for the contested City of Seattle positions. The full list of endorsements is below.
As a next step, we may endorse in at least one other race (Burien Council Position 5) at our July meeting. And our PCOs will start walking their precincts giving lists of our endorsed candidates to potential primary voters.
See also detailed coverage and video of the meeting on the West Seattle Blog, a report from the West Seattle Herald, and articles by Jim Brunner in the Seattle Times, Joel Connelly in the Seattle PI and in Publicola.
Photo below is our endorsement meeting - click on it to see a larger version.
 Updated June 13, 2013
The 34th District Endorses!
The 34th District Democrats, meeting on June 12th, proudly endorse and recommend the following candidates and issues for the primary election on August 6th and the General Election in November:
• Seattle Mayor: Ed Murray
• Seattle City Council Pos 2: Richard Conlin
• Seattle City Council Pos 4: Sally Bagshaw
• Seattle City Council Pos 6: Nick Licata
• Seattle City Council Pos 8: Mike O'Brien
• Seattle City Attorney: Pete Holmes
• King County Sheriff: John W. Urquhart
• Burien City Council Pos 1: Lauren Berkowitz
• Burien City Council Pos 3: Joan McGilton
• Burien City Council Pos 5: none yet
• Burien City Council Pos 7: Joe Martinez
• SW Suburban Sewer District: Bill Tracey
• Port of Seattle Commissioner Pos. 1: John Creighton
• Port of Seattle Commissioner Pos. 2: Courtney Gregoire
• Port of Seattle Commissioner Pos. 3: DUAL
Stefanie Bowman and Michael Wolfe
• King County Council District 5: Dave Upthegrove
• King County Prop 1 Parks Levy: YES
• I-522 Labeling of GMO Foods: YES
 Updated May 28, 2013
Chair Marcee Stone-Vekich's Message for June
Your attendance is required because our June 12th endorsement meeting is coming up and you don't want to miss it. Remember, if you were a member of the 34th last year, you can renew up through the June 12th endorsement meeting and vote. The requested donation for membership is $34 and can be made on the website here. Don't wait till the last minute. We don't want to hold up the start time of our endorsement meeting while people are renewing their membership.
We are one of the last 2 districts in the county to be holding our endorsement meeting. Most of the districts ... ... continued on Chair's message page ...
 Updated May 9, 2013
May 8th District Meeting was a Candidates' Forum
Our regular meeting of May 8th was a Candidates' Forum for all offices contested in the August 6th Primary except Seattle Mayor. We had candidates Richard Conlin, Sally Bagshaw, Mike O'Brien and Albert Shen (Seattle City
Council - click on the photo below to enlarge), Joan McGilton, Rose Clark, Joey Martinez and Lauren Berkowitz for Burien City Council. Sheriff John Urquhart, City Attorney Pete Holmes and other candidates also made appearances.  The meeting started with an update from Rep. Eileen Cody and Senator Sharon Nelson on the recently concluded regular legislative session and the upcoming special session.
See the agenda page, the May newsletter, and Marcee Stone-Vekich's message below for more information. .
 Updated April 17, 2013
Garden Party Auction Items Needed!
Our annual garden party is Friday August 16th. This year's theme is Fiesta! Carol Frillman is again chairing the event (her contact information at right). We need high quality auction items now to make this event a success. Here's the auction donation form, and more information on the garden party is here.
Updated April 30, 2013
Mayors' Forum was Monday, April 29th
 The 11th, 34th and 37th Legislative District Democratic Party organizations sponsored a Super South Seattle Mayor's Forum moderated by KCPQ TV's C. R. Douglas. Over 200 people attended to a standing-room-only crowd. The event was live tweeted here and covered by the the 34th Dems Web Editor Bill Schrier, West Seattle Blog, Crosscut, Publicola, Seattle Times, and multiple TV stations. This article will be updated as articles appear.
 Updated April 13, 2013
"We Love a Parade" - Volunteer to Help
The 34th District Democrats are the largest political organization in West Seattle, Vashon and Burien. We make our presence known - and get our messages out - by participating and supporting many other community organizations in the parades, street fairs and other events which occur over the summer.  Steve Butts chairs our Outreach Committee and coordinates participation, but we need volunteers to march in parades, staff booths, and just attend events like Spring clean-ups. Steve has compiled a list of events this year, and what our role might be. Download it here and then give him a call to help and volutneer.
 Updated April 2, 2013
April Meeting: Districts Now, Public Campaign Financing and More
At our regular meeting of April 10 we passed resolutions opposing the commercial sale of Democratic voter databases, supporting public financing of campaigns in Seattle and opposing the use of chained CPI in Social security. We also heard from James Bush supporting the election of Seattle City council members by district, and James Street opposing it. (The photo above shows member Susan Harmon asking them a question - click on the photo to see a larger version.) The meeting was live-tweeted under the hashtag #34thDems here. Chair Marcee Stone-Vekich also announced the retirement of newsletter editor Jackie Dupras after 12 years of service - Jackie received a standing ovation - read more from Jackie in the April newsletter is online here. Our next meeting is on May 8th, which will be a candidates' forum. A separate forum will be held on April 29th for Seattle Mayor.
 Updated March 15, 2013
March Meeting: Dow Constantine Endorsement, GMO Resolution Passed
At our March 13th meeting the 34th District Democrats unanimously endorsed Dow Constantine's re-election as King County Executive and further voted to contribute $1034 to his campaign. We also head a discussion of I-522 about labeling genetically modified organisms/food (GMOs), and passed a resolution endorsing I-522 which you can view here.
 Updated February 24, 2013
February 13 District Meeting: Carbon, Support for Dow and more
At our February District meeting we passed a resolution supporting King County Executive Dow Constantine
in his re-election campaign this year. We also passed resolutions supporting voter pre-registration, censuring Senators Rodney Tom and Tim Sheldon, and opposing MAP testing in Seattle Schools. We discussed and passed a budget for 2013. We appointed two new Precinct Committee Officers. And we also heard from Yoram Bauman, Ph.D., also known as the "stand up economist", discussing the topic of carbon taxes. He told us British Columbia has a carbon tax and emissions have dropped relative to the rest of Canada. Our next meeting is March 13, 2013.
 Updated February 27, 2013
King County Conservation District Elections March 16th
Five candidates for the open seat on the King Conservation District (King CD) board of supervisors have been announced for the district-wide election that is
scheduled for Tuesday, March 16. Candidates for the position include Mary Embleton, Seattle; Mara Heiman, Auburn; Teri Herrera, Redmond; Kirk Prindle, Seattle
and Max Prinsen, Renton. To be included on the ballot, the candidates completed a nomination petition form and gathered at least 25 signatures from registered voters residing within the district. Read more in the news release here or on the website here.
Updated January 10, 2013
34th Dems Elect New Officers
The 34th District Democratic Organization met on January, 9, 2013, and reorganized - elected new officers and appointed new committee chairs for 2013-2014.
 Click the photo above to see a larger version with names and titles. The officers pictured above are (seated), Marcee Stone-Vekich, Chair; Ted Barker, First Vice-Chair; Tamsen Spengler,
Second Vice-Chair and Chair of the Legislative Action Committee; Marlene Allbright, Secretary; Karen Chilcutt, Treasurer. Standing in back are Steve Butts, Outreach; Brian Earl, By-Laws; Lisa Plymate, State Committeewoman; Phil Tavel, Communications; Layne Bautista, King County Committeewoman Alternate; Les Treall, PCOs; Maria Ramirez, King County Committeewoman; Jackie Dupras,
Newsletter Editor; Chris Porter, State Committeeman; Aileen Sison, Diversity; Jimmy Haun, King County Committeeman Alternate and Parliamentarian; Carol Frillman, Fund-raising; Michael Heavey, Hospitality;
and partially hidden behind him Michael Arnold, King County Committeeman; Joy Pakulak, Membership and Walter Sive, Finance. Not pictured are Barb Parker, Sergeant-at-Arms; Steve Karbowski, co-Chair of the Program Committee;
and the photographer, Bill Schrier, who is also the web editor and tweeter at www.twitter.com/34dems.
Updated January 10, 2013
School Levy Endorsements, PCOs Appointed at the Reorganization Meeting
In addition to electing new officers and appointing new committee chairs at our January 9th meeting (see above), we also endorsed a YES vote on both the capital and operating levies for the Seattle School District, which are on the ballot on February 12th. More information about those levies is on the Schools First website here. We also appointed eight new Precinct Committee Officers,
Ben Skwiercz - SEA 34-1457; Michael Arnold - SEA 34-1467; Allan Munro - SEA 34-1412; Natasha Savage - SEA 34-1464; Heather Woodruff - Seaview;
Carol Zeigler - SEA 34-1251; Chris Jansen - SEA 34-1506; Arun Jhaveri - BUR 34-0295 who are shown below (click on the photo to see a larger version).
... continued on the Chair's message page ...
Updated December 31, 2012
2012 District Awards Winners
 At our annual holiday party on December 12th, we also presented awards for outstanding members of the year. Click on the photo above to see a larger version with all the names.
Front Row, from left to right: Ben Skwiercz, Rising Star; Steve Butts, Member of the Year; Martha Koester, PCO of the Year; Bruce Stotler, Cherisse Luxa Lifetime Achievement Award; Carol Frillman, Chair of Fundraising, the Committee of the Year; Tim Nuse, Executive Board Member of the Year. Those without awards in front of them are either executive board members or elected officials.
 Updated November 10, 2012
Forward! Democrats Victorious!
What a blowout week for the 34th District Democrats, Progressives and Democrats in Washington State, and Democrats nationwide!
Almost every one of our 34th District endorsements below resulted in a true victory, and the few races or measures we did not win outright are close and still undecided. Come rejoice and celebrate at our regular District meeting on November 14th.  But we'll also be talking about all the difficulties of governing in difficult times. The hard decisions facing President Obama and Governor-elect Inslee. The great gaps between the wealthy and the middle class. How we address the problems in education and in the next legislative session and the looming draconian cuts in the Federal government. But, for now, it is also joy and celebration. The Agenda is online here and the November newsletter is here..
 Updated September 8, 2012
34th District Well Represented at the Democratic National Convention
A number of Democrats attended the DNC in Charlotte, and they gathered a lot of press, soo. Those attending included Vice-Chair Marcee Stone, Zack Barker, Karl de Jong,
Robert Fuentes, Ann Martin, Dr. Lisa Plymate, Chris Porter, State Rep. Joe Fitzgibbon, Lorin Walker, and Lorena Gonzalez. The West Seattle Blog posted this article on
our local delegation. The photo above right is an image capture from the Sept. 8th front page of the Daily Kos showing Marcee Stone - it is a link to a very moving video of Gabrielle Giffords reciting the pledge of allegience.  Click the image for a larger version and view the video here.
The photo at left is an image capture from NBC News online - click it to see a larger version. Other articles are below on this page and feature Joe Fitzgibbon and Lisa Plymate.
 Updated September 8, 2012
34th District Democrats' Annual Garden Party Stunning Success on
August 17, 2012
The 34th District's annual Garden Party was Friday, August 17, 2012 at the West Seattle Nursery. See more information and acknowledgements on the Garden Party page. The West Seattle Blog has a great set of photos and more coverage here. Photo above from the West Seattle Blog.
 Updated September 8, 2012
Ada Hallberg Passes
Ada Hallberg was a long-time member of the 34th District Democrats, but she was unable to come to meetings
and was not involved in the 34th District Democrats for several years. But she was part of our
history as 34th District Democrats. This memorial is from her daughter, Tia Hallberg:
Ada Hallberg, a devoted Democrat and civic activist died peacefully on June 22, 2012 at the age of 87. She
helped to grow the 34th District Democrats and participated in the West Seattle
Democratic Women until 2007.
Ada believed in acting on her values and always found a way to bring her friends,
neighbors and family into the political process whenever she could. Whether through
grass roots organizing, community groups, civil protest, doorbelling or a social visit, she
was committed to bringing the community's attention to the issues and candidates for
whom she worked.
Friends and family who visited her were met with a cup of tea and rarely left before signing the latest petition,
taking a bundle of campaign brochures to deliver or a yard sign to display.
The strong and important work that Ada did included her contribution to many political campaigns. She helped
people open their minds to different ideas and gave youth hope when helping them understand a particular
political issue and making a candidate more accessible to them. To help to empower them she gave them her
belief in their ability and confidence to take action.
Interested in issues of social and economic justice since the 1950s, by the 1960s Ada was engaged with the
civil rights and Open Housing activities and the peace movement. As an unfaltering peace activist she was a
founding member of the Alki Neighbors for Peace and then joined West Seattle Neighbors for Peace. She stood
in vigil with the Women in Black, helped young men understand their civil rights as a conscientious objector
during Vietnam, and as recently as 2003 she returned to the schools to help stop military recruitment of public
school youth. Her passion for peace kept her busy walking with the West Seattle Neighbors for Peace in the
Junction every Sunday until recent years.
A memorial service to celebrate Ada's life and community spirit will be held at Alki Congregational Church on
September 16 at 2 PM. The reception will include community information tables that represent some of Ada's
causes and activities, including the 34th District Democrats.
 Updated September 4, 2012
Joe Fitzgibbon on Obama's Accomplishments
Joe Fitzgibbon was interviewed by the CBC at the Democratic National Convention regarding President Obama's accomplishments: "The rhetorical magic has played itself, but I'd rather we get excited about the president for what he's gotten done and what he's going to get done," said Joe Fitzgibbon, a member of the rules committee for Seattle. The full article is online here.
 Updated August 30, 2012
The 34th's Own Lisa Plymate is at the Republican National Convention
From Jerry Large of the Seattle Times: "Dr. Lisa Plymate is setting down her stethoscope to hit the streets with other doctors who believe their patients need more from them than a good examination.
A small group of doctors from around the country is going to the Republican National Convention this week and the Democratic National Convention next week to advocate for affordable health care.
The doctors believe their voices can take some of the partisanship out of health-care debates.
'People need health care, no matter what party you're in,' Plymate told me Tuesday between patients." Read Jerry's complete column here.
Click here to see an Archive of slightly older news.
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