46th District Dems May News Roundup
Hello 46th District Democrats –
"Busy" doesn't even begin to describe the month of May for the 46th District Dems! Thanks to everyone who took part in the following meetings, tasks and events this month ~
⭐ 46th District Dems Candidate Forum
Under the leadership of our Elections Chair, Christy Wood, we held our 2023 Candidate Forum on May 14. Over two dozen candidates for public offices joined us to answer questions pre-submitted by our membership.
We were joined by:
- City of Seattle, Council District No. 4
- Ron Davis
- Ken Wilson
- Maritza Rivera
- City of Seattle, Council District No. 5
- Shane Macomber
- ChrisTiana ObeySumner
- Nilu Jenks
- Cathy Moore
- Tye Reed
- City of Seattle, Council District No. 6
- Dan Strauss
- Port of Seattle, Commissioner Position No. 5
- Jesse Tam
- Fred Felleman
- Todd Curtis
- Metropolitan King County, Council District No. 4
- Becka Johnson Poppe
- Jorge L. Barón
- Sarah Reyneveld
Our sincere thanks, once again, to all the candidate who joined us and helped us to be better informed for the Endorsement Meeting we held later this month.
⭐ May 16 Membership Meeting Recap
With approximately 164 members and guests in attendance, some highlights from the meeting were:
- We approved a Policy Committee Recommended Resolution:
- We received a Legislative Session Review from our Legislative Delegation, Rep. Darya Farivar, Rep. Gerry Pollet and Sen. Javier Valdez.
But the big news of the night is that we approved the appointment of 41 Uncontested PCOs and 17 Contested PCOs. Congratulations and thank you! We appreciate everyone's help in working to bring our PCO cohort up to full capacity.
Here is the current list of PCOs and precincts yet to be staffed: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1jSu-mRkA0Etyz5BRYmVn_23Fy9quL2fUWu000kpckAU/
PCO Chair, Marc Auerbach, will be in touch with our newly appointed PCOs shortly, with information about upcoming orientation and training opportunities. HUGE THANKS to all who stepped up to work for our district and help us elect democrats!!
See the May 16, 2023 Meeting Chat Links and Messages for the meeting Agenda and all your need-to-know info from the meeting.
And, once again, none of this could have been possible without our amazing crew of meeting volunteers. Thank you to everyone who helped out!
⭐ 46th District Dems Endorsement Meeting
With approximately 211 members and guests in attendance, we approved the following endorsements at our May 21 Endorsement Meeting:
- County Assessor: John Wilson
- King County Council - District 4: Sarah Reyneveld
- Port of Seattle Commission - Position 2: Sam Cho
- Port of Seattle Commission - Position 5: Fred Felleman
- Seattle City Council - District 4: Ron Davis
- Seattle City Council - District 5: Nilu Jenks
- Seattle City Council - District 6: Dan Strauss
See the Endorsement Meeting Chat Links and Messages for the meeting Agenda and all your need-to-know info from the meeting.
Congratulations to all our endorsed candidates! And don't forget to join us on June 20 for Regular Membership Meeting, where we'll carve out time to decide who to endorse in School Board and Judicial races. Register at https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIude6tqzgiHNMENl3XlsqbpyBPQmIa25hO
📢 Missed a Meeting?
No problem! You can watch recordings of many of our meetings on our 46th District Dems YouTube Channel (subscribe today!) And now that we're live streaming directly on YouTube, most recordings can be found under the "Live" tab.
State Committee Meeting Recap
The Washington State Democrats held its first business meeting of the 2023-2024 term here in Seattle, on Saturday, May 6, and our State Committee Members – Scott Forbes and Tara Gallagher – were in attendance to represent us throughout the day-long meeting.
Business covered included:
- Approval of the Delegate Selection and Affirmative Action Plan for 2024. The final approved version includes the equal allocation of delegates by legislative district, with five bonus delegates for LDs with high Democratic vote performance, and five or ten bonus delegates for LDs that achieve their Affirmative Action goals [overview of the approved plan can be found here]
- Bylaw amendments to allow for virtual meetings of the Central Committee [Passed]
- Resolution re-affirming the party platform's commitment to a public health-first approach to our drug crisis, in light of the forthcoming Blake special session [read the resolution here]
- The approval of our annual operating budget [Passed]
- A Democratic National Committee member election [Congratulations Sophia Danenberg,pictured below]
Also, a pre-meeting Welcome Reception was held the evening of Friday, May 5, at which Chair, Hunter Brown, and Vice Chair, Lisa Rivera Smith, had the honor of giving the Land Acknowledgment and Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and People acknowledgment.
🗳️ Filing Week 2023
It lasted just five short days, but from Monday, May 15 to Friday, May 19, we had 72 candidates, combined, file for Seattle City Council, King County, Seattle School Board, and Judicial races that will appear on 46th LD residents ballots this August. See the entire list on the King County Elections website.
🏛️ 46th Delegation Town Hall
You're invited to join our elected representatives at an in-person Town Hall, scheduled for Wednesday, June 28, 6:00-7:30 p.m. in the Nathan Hale High School auditorium.
State Senator, Javier Valdez, Representative, Gerry Pollet and Representative, Darya Farivar will be there to answer your questions and give you updates on how they're working to carry out our shared vision, in Olympia.
Also, get the latest news from each of them by signing up for their newsletters:
Sen. Javier Valdez: https://senatedemocrats.wa.gov/valdez/e-newsletter/
Rep. Gerry Pollet: https://housedemocrats.wa.gov/pollet/e-news/
Rep. Darya Farivar: https://housedemocrats.wa.gov/farivar/e-news/
⏰ Looking Ahead ….
June 13: 46th District Dems Environmental Caucus - held second Tuesdays of each month, 7-8pm on Zoom. Join here.
June 20: 46th District Democrats Regular Membership Meeting - held third Tuesdays of each month, 7-9pm on Zoom. Register here.
June 22: 46th District Dems Policy Committee Meeting - held third Thursdays of each month, 6-7:30pm on Zoom. Register here.
June 24: 46th District Dems Mutual Aid Soup Making - held Saturdays following Membership Meetings, 3-5pm at various locations. For June, join us at Kathy Sakahara's house. Email [email protected] for the address.
July 9: 46th District Dems Summer Picnic - Northgate Community Center, 2-4pm. Family-friendly; bring the kiddos.
📌 Last but not least ….
It’s (still) 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 such items as endorsing candidates, ballot measures and resolutions; electing some executive board positions like At-Large Members of the Executive Board; 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
Once again, THANK YOU to each and every member who participated this month, and every volunteer who made our meetings run so smoothly. You are truly the heart of our organization!
And we look forward to seeing all of you at our June 20 Regular Membership Meeting + Endorsement Meeting for School Board and Judicial races.
Hunter Brown and Lisa Rivera Smith
Chair and Vice-Chair
