46th District Dems January News Roundup

Hello 46th District Democrats ­– 

It’s a new year, and a new beginning for our organization! Thank you to everyone who attended our Jan. 14 Biennial Reorganization Meeting, and to those who ran for a position. 

Please join us in welcoming our new and returning Executive Board Members:

• Chair - Hunter Brown
• Vice-Chair - Lisa Rivera Smith
• Secretary - Rachel Woodbrook
• State Committee Member - Tara Gallagher
• State Committee Member - Scott Forbes
• KCDCC Representative - Galaxy Marshall
• KCDCC Representative - Alex Phillips-White
• KCDCC Alternate - Rob Jenks
• KCDCC Alternate - Bryce Cannatelli
• Member-at-Large - Scott Alspach
• Member-at-Large - Marc Auerbach
• Member-at-Large - Kathy Bentson
• Member-at-Large - Debbie Carlsen
• Member-at-Large - Aidan Carroll
• Member-at-Large - Mario Falit-Baiamonte
• Member-at-Large - Sylvia Haven
• Member-at-Large – Erica Lee
• Member-at-Large - Melissa Taylor 
  
  

Getting right to work, our new Executive Board held its kickoff Eboard Meeting on Friday, Jan. 20. Click here to see the Agenda, and the meeting’s Minutes will be available after approval at the February Eboard Meeting. Our next Eboard Meeting will be held Wednesday, Feb. 1 at 7pm on Zoom. This meeting is open to all Members in good standing. Please register in advance for this meeting at https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwvcemuqTkqH92G_ZRfDvBYvKkwFsWes-Uh.

And mark you calendars for our February Membership Meeting, which will be held Wednesday, Feb. 15, at 7pm, on both on Zoom and in-person at Thornton Place in the Northgate neighborhood. More details and Zoom link will follow in the Call to Meeting email that will go out 10 days before the meeting.

⭐ Thank You to Our 2021-2022 Leadership

Thank you to our 2021-2022 Eboard Members! We greatly appreciate your dedication and leadership over the past two years. Thank you:

• Julie Anne Kempf, for guiding our LD through a coordinated GOP attack, a pandemic, and a hectic redistricting. 
• Andrjez Montano, for coordinating our PCOs across our LD and beyond. And congratulations on your new position as a Legislative Assistant to our Representative Darya Farivar. 
• Erika Krebs, for maintaining our website and continuing to aid with the transition and provide guidance and assistance to our incoming tech committee.
• Lori Shelden, for acting as Secretary in 2022 and as our Communication Chair for the last several years.
• Emily Anderson, for keeping our records in 2021.
• Zoe True, for putting together a great series of programs between 2019 and 2021.
• Marty Ross, for representing us as one of our State Committee Members and running tally and tech behind the scenes.
• Brian Berry, for keeping our membership rolls up to date and acting as Sergeant-of-Arms.
• Debbie Nissen, for her ongoing work on Rules and Bylaws.
• Matthew Lang, Jessica Trupin, Keelcy Perez-Woolley, and Lori Mahieu, who worked tirelessly behind the scenes to increase participation and inclusion and worked on a variety of ad hoc committees.
• Scott Alspach, Marc Auerbach, Tara Gallagher, and Hunter Brown, who will continue to serve the membership of the 46th Legislative Democrats

🗳️ GOTV Drive for I-135 

There is no better opportunity to address our region’s affordable housing crisis than I-135 - the Seattle Social Housing Initiative. That's why we endorsed the initiative at our September 2022 Membership Meeting.

Now is your chance to help it win at the ballot box!

Volunteer with King County Democrats' Get Out The Vote Drive for I-135, going on now through Election Day, Feb. 14th. This effort includes flexible opportunities for volunteers to canvass, text, or phone Democratic voters.

To help the I-135 team reach voters, please Click here to Sign Up

I-135 would create a public development authority with a mandate to develop permanently affordable, publicly owned, cross-class rental housing for Seattle residents earning from 0 to 120% of area median income. For more information on I-135, see: https://www.houseourneighbors.org/, or contact Member-at-Large, Marc Auerbach, at [email protected]

🌲 Vote Online for King Conservation District Supervisor

Also arriving in mailboxes across the county are postcards reminding voters of the online ballot for King Conservation District to elect a supervisor.

• Access your online ballot here.
• Read more about the candidates here.
• Watch the League of Women Voters candidate forum here.
  
  

Please make the time to vote in these elections and remind friends, family and neighbors to vote as well.

📢 More is in store!

Many of our newly elected officers ran on a platform of effective board meetings, giving power back to the membership, and prioritizing accessibility and inclusion in our organization. With those in mind, our Executive Board is ramping up efforts to establish committee leadership and membership. Our committees are the lifeblood of our organization and we intend on making sure everyone who wants to participate is included. We’re especially focusing on:

• Establishing an ad hoc Effective Meetings Committee – 

This committee will be headed by KCDCC Alternate, Bryce Cannatelli, with the goal of developing and implementing strategies to create efficient, accessible, and constructive meetings that work for all of our members. Please reach out to Bryce at [email protected] if you’d like to join the committee, or just to offer your feedback about past meetings, and ideas for how you think meetings could be run better. 

• Updating our Rules and Bylaws – 

Part of giving power back to our membership will mean updating our organization’s Rules and Bylaws. Committee Co-Chairs (and State Committee Members), Scott Forbes and Tara Gallegher, will be leading this effort and invite you to join them, Tuesday, Feb. 7 at 7pm on Zoom. Register at https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwrcOiprj0sGdCXwxv2HzBkdr9vtY1DLAIb. With your help, a proposed draft of our Rules and Bylaws will be presented to the membership for approval at our March Meeting. For more information, email Scott at [email protected] or Tara at [email protected].

And there are 14 other committees to choose from!

See what the choices are, and let us know if you’re interested, at https://forms.gle/PkQmt8kPJPrRR6xx6

👥 Alternatives needed for the KCDCC Endorsement Committee

The KCDems Endorsement Committee needs us to select up to three alternatives to represent our LD’s voice, on the committee. Along with KCDCC Delegate, Galaxy Marshall, the alternatives (if called upon) will be responsible for recommending Candidate Questionnaires to the KCDems Executive Board for adoption, as well as for interviewing candidates and making recommendations for endorsement. The Candidate Questionnaires will be voted on at the committee’s Tuesday, Feb. 28 meeting.

One of the most important goals is to make sure that voices from our legislative district are heard and well represented throughout the endorsement process, especially when revising the questionnaire. if you’re considering volunteering for one of these alternative positions, here is additional information you should consider:

• All meetings will be held via Zoom
• Meetings typically run 1-3 hours, usually weekday evenings or weekends
• Appointees and/or alternatives are responsible for gathering input from their district and representing their district, both in questionnaire development and in making recommendations on candidates
• Family members, staff and key volunteers of active candidates must disclose involvement in advance and recuse themselves from related decisions
• Only 1 person from our LD will have vote and voice in any given meeting
• KCD encourages appointments of people with lived experiences that have not been historically represented in our political system
  
  

If this sounds like a job for you, please contact Chair Hunter Brown to express interest, at [email protected]

SCMs Attend State Party Reorg in Olympia

State Committee Members, Scott Forbes and Tara Gallagher represented us at the Washington State Democrats reorganization meeting (pictured above), Jan. 27 and 28, in Olympia. The first in-person state party reorg meetings since 2019, the two-day event included caucus meetings, networking with SCMs from around the state, and culminated on Saturday with the election of State Party Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary, and Treasure. Join us in congratulating:

• State Party Chair: Shasti Conrad (pictured below)
  
• Vice Chair: David Green
• Secretary: Rob Dolin
• Treasure: David Kim

State Central Committee Members from the 10 Congressional Districts also elected one member (per CD) to serve on the Executive Committee for the 2023-2024 term. For the 7th Congressional District (which includes the 46th LD), SMCs elected Amy Madden (43rd LD SCM), pictured below.

Vice-Chair, Lisa Rivera Smith, and KCDCC Representative, Galaxy Marshall, also attended, and while there, Lisa was elected Western Vice-Chair of the Latino Caucus.

📌 Last but not least ….

It’s never too late to renew your membership! (or start a new one)

Dues support the costs associated with running the 46th Legislative District, and give you voting power at Membership Meetings, for items such as endorsing candidates, ballot measures and resolutions; electing some Executive Board positions like At-Large Members and Secretary; and adopting and amending our budget.

We have several contribution levels:

• Student / Limited Income ($10)
• Individual ($30)
• Couple/Family ($46)
• 4600 Club ($100)
• Friend of the 46th ($146)
• Supporter of the 46th ($246)
• Benefactor of the 46th ($546)

Join at https://www.46dems.org/become_a_member_today

More than anything, we want to thank you, the members, for being a part of the great work that we’ve already done and that we are going to do in the months ahead.

– Hunter Brown and Lisa Rivera Smith
Chair and Vice-Chair
46th District Democrats

https://www.46dems.org/