Saturday was a very important meeting of our local Democrats. Our endorsement committee had done lots of research on candidates for the upcoming primary (and some for the general election), so the committee presented its report, then considerable discussion was had on a number of items related to endorsement. Finally, a vote was taken, and I am pleased to list the following candidates and measure endorsed by the San Juan County Democrats:
Governor – Jay Inslee (I – incumbent) Attorney General – Bob Ferguson (I)
Lieutenant Governor – Marko Liias Commissioner of Public Lands – Hilary Franz (I)
Secretary of State – Gael Tarleton Insurance Commissioner – Mike Kreidler (I)
Superintendent of Public Instruction – Chris Reykdal (I)
Congress – Dual Endorsement – Rep. Rick Larsen (I) and Jason Call [Note: Our party has a very progressive platform, which aligns much more closely to that of Jason Call. If you want progressive change, you will want to consider Jason. However, we recognize that Rep. Larsen has been a strong leader during the pandemic and has accomplished many good things during his career. Therefore, we are endorsing both candidates.]
State Representative – Debra Lekanoff (I and unopposed, will only be on November ballot)
State Representative – Alex Ramel (I, will only be on November ballot)
State Senator – Liz Lovelett (I, will only be on November ballot)
County Council – Orcas – Cindy Wolf County Council – San Juan Island – Ryan Palmateer
I-1776 – An initiative to stop discrimination in our state, which is still legal in many situations under a Tim Eyman initiative from more than 20 years ago. You may be asked to sign an online form in the next week and a half to help get this on the ballot for November.
We will do our best to publicize these endorsements.
If you are able to commit a little bit of time to phone banking for Democrats, here is information for you. Phone banks are Monday – Thursday evenings from 5pm – 8pm. Also, every Sunday evening from 5pm – 8pm we have a dialer system (it makes the calls for you and connects volunteers to voters after they have already picked up) that we run. We also have a voter texting program, plus several volunteer leader-led (often PCOs!) phone banks happening that we can set
up any day of the week and time based on the local leader’s desired schedule. Lastly, for those who cannot or prefer not to be part of a group, we have set up individual phone bankers (again, often PCOs) to make calls from their home any day and time that works best for them.
At the beginning of every group phone bank event, staff provide training and remain on for the whole event to offer one-on-one support to volunteers who need more help. We also have training webinars every other Saturday. a. Virtual Organizing Academy: https://secure.ngpvan.com/dkxLhVDufk-jJw11GMjj6g2
b. 5/16 Volunteer Tools Training: https://secure.ngpvan.com/d7e2QF1VAE2sjLjwKoeFPA2
c. The Regional Field Director for NW Washington is Savanna Steele, at savanna@wa-democrats.org . She can set up a time to talk to you 1:1 and give you plenty more detail.
We have two local Democrats who were elected to attend the National Democratic Convention in Milwaukee (or virtual) convention in August. Sharon Abreu was elected as a Bernie Sanders delegate, and Bob O’Connell was elected as a delegate at large. Congratulations!
We are looking for a person to manage our Facebook page. If you or someone you know would be interested, please have them contact me. There would be a small stipend involved.
Many of us have become very concerned over the last few weeks with the ongoing police brutality against black people in our country. This is a tragic part of the American that needs to be changed. In an effort to put together a resolution that might be used for a model around the country, Bob O’Connell did a lot of research, including from documents created with the input of numerous black people and organizations, and he submitted a proposed resolution. Over several weeks numerous members of our local group have given input, and Bob took all of that and re-crafted his proposal. With a little more fine-tuning at our meeting today, the resolution was passed by those in attendance. I will be passing it on to many different organizations, and hopefully it will become a model for others to use. Here is the language of the resolution.
A RESOLUTION
WHEREAS this country has never healed after the wound it caused itself by the institution of human slavery, and
WHEREAS, down through the decades and the centuries, this failure to heal has led to continued human suffering, in the form of outward violence and insidious discrimination against Black people, and
WHEREAS, this continued circumstance leads to the degradation of us all, whether we are victims, perpetrators, or allegedly innocent bystanders, and
WHEREAS, the most visible sign of this racial hatred and discrimination descended from slavery is found embedded in our law enforcement agencies and is manifested by the brutal and frequently deadly treatment of Black people;
THEREFORE, in support
The killing and mistreatment of Black people, including harassment, arbitrary arrests, injury, and physical abuse at the hands of law enforcement, must stop now,
People of good intent everywhere should stand in implacable opposition to the mistreatment and killing of Black people at the hands of law enforcement,
To bring an end to this heart-breaking violence, we must at a minimum do the following, without hesitation:
(1) Establish a separate unit of the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice which, in the absence of swift and just action by state or local authorities, will be tasked solely with the investigation and criminal prosecution of any law enforcement personnel found to have deprived a Black person of their civil rights through violence, including violence resulting in death. This division would also be charged with the investigation and prosecution of any person found to have deprived any law enforcement agent of their civil rights through violence, including violence resulting in death,
(2) Establish in every community in this country which has a police department or other law enforcement agency a Citizens’ Advisory Council on Law Enforcement and the Community. In addition to its broad responsibility to advise government and law enforcement agencies, this Council would conduct an ongoing, periodic Public Forum on Law Enforcement and the Community. Any of the Council’s recommendations not adopted by the law enforcement agency would be sent to the community’s executive and to its legislative body for their action,
(3) Appropriate federal funds to sponsor the retraining of all law enforcement agents on Non-Violence in Interactions with the Public,
(4) Conduct psychological testing of all prospective employees of law enforcement agencies, aimed at identifying and rejecting as candidates any active racist, white nationalist, or other persons who could pose an unnecessary threat of violence, particularly to Black people
(5) End “qualified immunity” for law enforcement,
(6) Re-imagine law enforcement, with rearranged budgeting, which would include: a) a significant reduction of the number of armed, sworn, uniformed officers to reflect the fact that they would only be assigned to calls where armed persons were presenting a threat to other members of the community, b) hiring of other unarmed Community Safety Officers who are experts educated in resolution of problems regarding mental health, substance abuse, family altercations, homelessness, and the apparent commission of non-violent felonies and misdemeanors. Some of law enforcement’s former budget would be redirected to addressing many of those issues which cause members of the community to commit crimes in the first place, and
(7) Condition Federal funding of law enforcement agencies upon the adoption and enforcement of the following policies a) the termination of officers found to be guilty of serious, unnecessary violence, b) banning of chokeholds and other moves resulting in the blocking of airways, c) banning of “no-knock” searches, with or without warrants, and d) cooperation, through the supplying of information, with a new Federal registry of police misconduct and use
of force. This would include the refusal to hire anyone who appears on that registry for misconduct or is otherwise found to have such a record.
BE IT RESOLVED that the principles set forth here and the actions demanded are principles basic to the Democratic Party. As such, they ought to be formally adopted by this body, and by the national Democratic party and by the Democratic Parties of every state and county in the United States.
Adopted by the San Juan County, Washington Democratic Party, this 20th Day of June, 2020.
Note: Many of the ideas contained in this Resolution are taken from the letter to Congressional Leadership from The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, and its hundreds of organizational and individual signatories, dated June 1, 2020.
The following is from Rep. Debra Lekanoff’s office:
As a way to stay connected as a community while we stay home and stay healthy, we’re hosting Terrific Tuesdays with Debra Lekanoff and local leaders to discuss the issues that are at the top of our minds.
The next one will focus on education! Grab some lunch, bring your questions, and join us on Facebook Live at 3:00PM on Tuesday, June 30! It will be streamed onto Facebook live, but there will be an option to watch without Facebook as well.
Thank you!
Makenzie
—
Makenzie Graham, MPH (she/her)
Schedule Coordinator
Re-Elect Debra Lekanoff
(651) 247-5306 www.debralekanoff.com
Fyi, Debra’s Facebook link is https://www.facebook.com/votedebralekanoff/ .
Thanks for reading,
David Turnoy, Chair