Hello San Juan County Democrats,
We just had our monthly meeting in Friday Harbor this past Saturday, July 8. A lot of news was shared, therefore I am putting this notice out so you are in the loop.
First, this coming Wednesday, July 12, Lt. Gov. Habib and Sen. Ranker will appear at the Orcas Senior Center at 3:00, then they will appear at an affordable housing rally on the Village Green at 5:00. Dinner is available at the latter event for $5.
On Friday, July 28, at 7:00 at Orcas Center, Orcas Currents is presenting Hedrick Smith and Sarah Stillman on the future of journalism in a “post-truth” environment, a conversation moderated by Floyd McKay. Admission is free but donations are welcome.
The county fair is coming up Aug. 16-19 at the fairgrounds in Friday Harbor. The Democrats will have a double booth there, which is open to other progressives as well. We still have some time slots that need a volunteer or two. Here are times where there is already one volunteer, but another would be nice:
Aug. 16: 10-12, 12-2, 2-4, 4-6, 6-9
Aug. 17: 10-12, 12-2, 2-4, 4-6
Aug. 18: 10-12, 2-4
Aug. 19: 2-4. 4-6, 6-9
Here are times where there are no volunteers yet:
Aug. 17: 6-9
Aug. 18: 12-2, 4-6, 6-9
Aug. 19: 12-2
To sign up to work at the fair, please go towww.signupgenius.com/go/5080F4BA5A62BA6FB6-COUNTY
If you have any questions, contact Walt Cooter atwalter@rockisland.com or Cindy Wolf atCwolf@seanet.com. Also, if you would like to speak on a topic at the fair, let Cindy or Walt know about this. Even if you can’t work at the fair, please come by the booth, and send others over to the booth. We will have speakers, and we will have postcards available to fill out to send.
Keep in mind that we will be taking a busload of folks down to the 45th senate district near Seattle in early September to do some campaigning for Manka Dhingra. We are hoping to have Kevin Ranker leading us. Remember, if we can help carry Manka to victory, we can turn the senate blue and have control of both houses of the legislature, so be on the lookout for my notice about this later in August. In addition, we may have an opportunity for those who would like to call voters in that district from their own homes. Finally, if there are any of you who live in the islands part-time but live in Manka’s district at other times (from Kirkland on the west, to Duvall on the east, and Sammamish on the south; includes Redmond and Kirkland), please let us know who you are, as you could be a big help.
Thanks to all who gathered signatures and/or simply signed the petition to protect our undocumented residents from fear of being asked their documentation status if not relevant. This is a matter of public safety, as all of us need to feel safe in calling for help if we need it. The number of signatures gathered was 1,000 more than required, so you will see the proposed ordinance on the ballot this November.
For those who have been wondering what is happening with the move to change our nominating procedure where we have a whole bunch of people try to cram into a caucus room as opposed to using a primary, our State Committeewoman Natasha Frey reports that the State Democrats’ Rules Committee will be meeting this weekend, and one of the main items of business will be this topic. We are hoping to have the primary become the vehicle for determining how many delegates each candidate receives, then have those who are interested attend a caucus to determine the delegates and possibly work on the platform. Natasha will be attending and will update us afterward. If you have any comments about this, please get them to me this week so I can forward them to Natasha, or email her at freyn2@wwu.edu.
If anyone is interested in participating in establishing a national bank to fund infrastructure projects, please contact me. We are hoping to get one of our Washington State Congresspeople to introduce legislation for this.
PCO and Orcas Deputy Vice Chair Cindy Wolf has been elected vice chair of our county Democratic Party. That opens up Cindy’s deputy vice chair position. Keara Axelrod is very interested in filling this position, and she will do so unless anyone else from Orcas contacts me that s/he would like to be considered.
Our Platform Committee has not met in a few years, and it is time to update our county platform. If youhaven’t read this document, it is well worth taking the time to do so, as it is a very progressive document. Find it at http://sjdemocrats.org/platform/. If you would like to be part of this committee, please contact me or let me know at the next meeting in September.
Due to our participation in the fair in August and the fact that lots of people take vacations that month, we will not have a regular monthly meeting in August. Our next meeting will most likely be on Sept. 16. I will send out a notice when we get closer to the time.
Thanks for reading!
David Turnoy
Chair, San Juan County Democrats
Tel. 376-4165
davidgeri@centurylink.net