Minutes of the 43rd District Democrats – March 21st, 2006

Meeting at University Baptist Church

Meeting called to order by Chair Richard Kelley at 7:36 p.m.


UPCOMING 43rd District SPRING PARTY – Julian Wheeler, Vice Chair

Julian invited people to sign up for the Spring Party. Saturday, May 20,
7-10 pm, Washington Pioneer Hall, 43rd District Democrats Spring Party.


Meeting called to order again at 7:40 p.m.


FINANCE REPORT – Tara Gallagher

Good news is we're on budget for expenditures, but not for projected
receipts.  The precinct caucus receipts don't cover expenses, even though
many attendees gave generously. Membership dues slowly coming in.



CHAIR'S REPORT - Richard Kelley, Chair

Precinct Caucuses: Total turnout was disappointing as it is a
non-Presidential election year, and was the same for other districts.
Fifteen hours of meetings for all the caucuses in our Platform Caucus
meetings.  Talking with WSDCC Chair Dwight Pelz about realistic
projections for attendees.

Legislative District Caucus: April 22nd, Saturday, at historic University
Theater, about four blocks away.  Facility sized based on actual elected
precinct delegates.

King County Convention: May 6th, all elected and appointed PCOs and
elected Legislative District delegates are automatically able to vote at
this convention. Suzie Sheary spoke, after giving Richard Kelley a present
on his leaving the Chair position.  Convention will be at 2 p.m.,
hopefully US Senator Maria Cantwell (D) will be speaking, as well as our
Washington State delegation.  Legislative Districts are invited to sell
refreshments, renting tables and keeping profits.  Will work hard.


ELECTION OF NEW DISTRICT CHAIR - Richard Kelley, Chair

Nominations are Derek Stanford and Lisa Steubing. Candidates spoke for
five (5) minutes.  Followed by questions of each candidate. Tally
committee of Janice van Kleeve, Robert Mahon, and someone else appointed.

Derek talked about Local Outreach, Getting Out The Vote, and Nuts and
Bolts. Talked about his record with increasing PCOs. Janice van Kleeve and
Katie Carter spoke on his behalf.

Lisa talked about Community, Outreach, and Communications.  Talked about
increasing membership, coffee hour before and greeters at the door, issues
based action committees, outreach to the organizations we all belong to,
dropping flyers in coffee shops, get acquainted sessions.  Need a shared
database.

Chair Richard Kelley noted that ex-chair Javier Valdez, our 7th
Congressional District WSDCC member, has been serving on our board even
though he no longer lives in our district.

Q&A: Q1. [Elley Duffield, PCO] Talk about GOTV and increasing PCOs. A.
Derek: Many methods, need volunteers, need buddy system for new PCOs. Area
Coordinators help with recruitment, voter file as leads, would focus on
enabling them. Lisa: PCOs come from neighborhoods, many of us decided
after a long time, outreach about issues and values works, voter file only
has a few people, but other sources.
Q2. [Carol Resnick, PCO] What have you done in your precincts for
recruiting, education, and success in your precinct. A. Lisa: Became PCO
the day walked in the door, opportunity to talk to neighbors, half of
people are renters and keep moving, invite people to come to meetings,
wore out rain boots walking in GOTV. Derek: PCO close to UW, ignore the
voter file since it's out of date, getting people involved from voter file
(but not much success). Precinct constantly changing and moving out.
Q3. [Neal Traven, PCO] We're old. What would you do to get younger people
involved? Maybe hip hop instead of jazz? A. Derek: Reaching out to Young
Democrats here personally. Outreach through issues people are passionate
about. Lisa: Issues connection and actually going to groups, teaching a
class on this in April (Traditionalists, Boomers, X Gen, Millenials) and
all act differently. Reaching out to four groups.
Q4. [Eleanor Owen] When people run for a specific job, focus on that, but
equally important is focus on big picture. What do you consider the
primary specific objective of the Democratic Party? A. Lisa: Front of the
ballot filled out, but people didn't know what to think on the back of the
ballot, in the Governor's recount.  Our values and beliefs matter.  But we
don't speak out about values, just issues. Need to speak out on this.
Derek: Party not one thing. Party includes people who don't agree.
Liberty, equality and community.
Q5. [Julian Wheeler] How will you reach out to religious progressives? A.
Derek: We have people in our district doing this.  Organizing on their
own. Outreach based on our shared values. Lisa: Not just church
organizations, but every organization we all belong to.  Need to be
broadly outreaching, and issues based action committees act as attractions
and source of plans on issues.
Q6. [Carl Slater, PCO, former 43rd Chair] Now that we are going to mail-in
ballots, will state want to continue PCOs, not sure we will get our names
on the ballot, what do you think of this? A. Lisa: PCO not just recruited
for poll workers, but are boots on the ground, connecting to neighbors and
friends.  If not elected, we still need people to do this. Don't need a
permit from the government to talk to my neighbors. Derek: Changes in
legal framework over years, resistance by parties to give legal rights to
them, automatic delegate status one reward. Party should go along with
what state wants.
Q7. [David Booth, PCO] Been in four Legislative Districts.  We used to be
the Fighting 43rd, but now not exciting.  How do you make it exciting, so
not just Big D Democrats at meetings? Have to light a fire ... A. Derek:
Think about what's been successful in past, debate on monorail,
endorsement meetings, focus more on local issues. Just changing meeting
format it can be more exciting, starting meeting with the program then a
break. Lisa: Want to drive local issues, not just talk about them.  Issues
based action committees, need to draw on the whole membership and the
knowledge and experience in this room.
Q8. [Jean Carlson, PCO] Project at state level to have a person in each
precinct to do outreach, but it's not the PCOs, by WSDCC. How would you
work with/around it? Washington Grassroots Democrats. A. Lisa: Goes back
to communications and outreach. Would start assuming about getting more
outreach, and not bad to have even more people. Derek: Started to keep
people who were already volunteering. Can have them help us with
volunteers, since from the campaigns (and Coordinated Campaign).


Ballots were collected.




PROGRAM – Report on the Legislative Session – Neal Traven, Vice Chair

We invited Sen. Pat Thibaudeau, Rep. Ed Murray, and Rep. Frank Chopp.
Only Sen. Pat Thibaudeau able to speak tonight.

Applauding Ed Murray's work. Congratulations to outgoing Chair Dick Kelley.

Democrats want to fix things. Top priorities were: Civil Rights Bill
(passed, thanks to a Republican Sen. Bill Finkbiener, but not Democrat
Sen. Tim Sheldon); Sen. Jim Hargrove worked on Sex Offenders and related
bills; Mental Health treatment and Drug Rehabilitation; Medical reform
won't create a single payer health care system (creating Five Year Plan on
this); Funding for community collaboratives (for health care).

What we need to do next year: need 542 new prison beds for sex offenders.
Each new jail term means more jail/prison beds.  6500 new BHP, 10000 new
children's slots, avian flu pandemic.  Talked about the WASL - Alternative
assessments added, created by Governor.

Next session: How to pay for Health Care.  Grave problems in DSHS and
children dying in CPS/DSHS care. Continue to deal with Defense of Marriage
Act (DOMA) fallout when State announces, restricting marriage in this
state.  Mental Health fights, but funding up this year finally. Housing
still an issue, especially for middle class young people.

Q&A: Q1. [Steve Hartholtz] Problem really is house prices going up and
people's salaries are going down – need to get jobs with good salaries so
we can afford the houses. A: SEIU taken on Health Union in state, service
industries don't pay enough. Q1A: Jobs needed in the USA, not exported.
Q1B: Alternative fuels for cars? A. By 2010(?) two percent of fuels need
to be biodiesel.
Q2. [Jean Carlson] SEIU concerned about WalMart, what happened? A. AFL/CIO
promoted initially. People not ready for it.  Created subsidized health
care for small employers. Would not have helped that much.
Q3. [Paul Pruitt] Health care – will Governor stick with original bill or
change? A. Governor will sign. Q3A. Blue ribbon committee not contentious
where Health Insurance Industry kills it. But this bill not dealing with
single payer like other states are. A. Americans always do the right thing
after they've exhausted every other possibility.
Q4. [Linda Clifton] On the WASL, one good thing was to give alternatives
to learn and show. For health care, any business recognition that this
hurts us since they have to pay for it? A. AWB still in denial.  Major US
corporations concerned.

RESULTS OF CHAIR'S ELECTION – outgoing Chair Richard Kelley

Lisa Steubing 34 votes, Derek Stanford 26 votes, new chair is Lisa
Steubing.

New chair Lisa Steubing presented our outgoing Chair.

Should we have an April meeting since April 22nd is 43rd Caucus.


MARK WILSON, US Senate Candidate (D) – www.votemark.org, mark@votemark.org

Challenging for US Senate seat, traveled the state.  Not just the war that
was based solely on lies, or votes for Condi Rice, voting for the USA
Patriot Act, or Death Squad John Negroponte, or Bush Energy Bill, and not
letting stand the filibuster of nominated Supreme Court Justice Sam Alito.

Was a marine, like my father before, and our enemies today are the
domestic enemies who are in the White House now.  We need an actual voice
of opposition to stand up to them.  Interested in labor issues,
outsourcing of family wage jobs, NAFTA and CAFTA which opponent supports,
using US taxes to assist in this and US forces in the Gulf.

Recommending we take half of the money spent on weapons systems to replace
the aging coal and nuclear energy with more modern US energy sources,
which will create good-paying family wage jobs at home. Using large
weapons systems to stop religious fanatics with box cutters, which isn't
effective.

Founding member of Veterans for Peace chapter here. Come from a family of
activists, wife worked against Apartheid, sons and relatives serving in US
military. As a meteorologist I know which way the wind blows.

Right now we have two multi-millionaires running, while middle class
issues are left behind, two people who agree on the war.

Not one person has been convicted on the USA Patriot Act.

Q&A: Q1. Where are you on censuring President Bush? A. Support the
censure. 100 Democrats who are military Veterans are running this year.
Need to show courage.
Q2. PDC standing? A. It was the FEC, and there was a mistake on their
behalf.
Q3. Republicans about Borrow and Spend, 224 years until 2000, borrowed
$1.2 trillion – since 2000, Bush and his cronies borrowed $1.2 trillion
 from foreign countries. What do you propose to end this? A. Without a
majority in Congress, we can't do anything. Administration operating it as
a family business, like Arbusto. Fiscal responsibility critical, debt
ceiling now $8.5 trillion, concerned that five year olds now owe a lot in
debt.  Global Warming and Peak Oil both happening at the same time and
need to be dealt with, including plug-in electric hybrids.
Q4. In the past you've run as a Green and a Libertarian? What did you have
against Sen. Patty Murray and Rep. Jay Inslee? A. Could have used
third-party votes in Governor's race, and Ralph Nader asked people to vote
for Maria Cantwell, which gave her the margin.  Had nothing against
opponents, but am against the War in Iraq.  Running against US Rep. Jay
Inslee helped push him on this issue.  Need to stand up to this illegal
and corrupt government


RESOLUTIONS -

RESOLUTION: KEY ARENA & THE SONICS

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that we the voters demand our elected
officials to set a national example for responsible use of the public
treasury and deny taxpayer subsidies for the Seattle SuperSonics sports
franchise and venue, and all other for-profit professional sports
franchises and venues.

* M/S/ [suspended due to following Motion To Table]

* M/S/Pass To Table The Resolution To The Next Meeting in May









GOOD OF THE ORDER



1. Kevin Raymond, running for King Conservation District, which handles
water conservation for salmon preservation and farms.  Kevin was the Chief
of Staff for former King County Executive Gary Locke.  Only four polling
places in King County, only from 11:30 am to 7 pm, closest polling place
is Seattle City Hall, on March 28th, no ballots will be sent in the mail.
Incumbent also running, part of the Farm Bureau.

2. Young Democrats have a convention, preceded by an Awards Banquet at
which Darcy Burner will speak.  Will have over 200 paying members
attending, have about 1000 getting the Young Democrats newsletter.


MEETING ADJOURNED