Saturday was the San Juan County Democrats’ endorsement meeting for the upcoming August primary. Attendance was rather sparse. We endorsed a slate of Alex Ramel for state rep, Amy Vira for prosecuting attorney, and Patty Murray for US Senate.

In the race for our Congress person, we had about a half hour of Q and A with incumbent Rick Larsen and challenger Jason Call. We then had a heartfelt discussion about what is needed in the immediate future in order to combat all the serious problems we face. Jason’s answers to all our questions move us forward where we need to go, while Rick’s answers did not rise to this same level. Here is the language I sent to Congressman Larsen in telling him that he did not receive our endorsement:

“We acknowledge and appreciate the town halls you held early on in the pandemic and that you have helped our county in a variety of ways over the years. But we are feeling the urgency of the times we’re living in right now and the need for faster and more progressive solutions to the serious problems facing our country. We believe these times are calling for new energy, ideas and quality of leadership in our Congressional District.”

As you can probably tell, we chose to endorse Jason Call for Congress. And as I have stated before, while there is a good chance that Rick Larsen may be re-elected, if Jason Call can finish no lower than second in the primary, then we will have two Democrats on the November ballot, bringing on a healthy debate between the two candidates and hopefully moving Rick in a progressive direction if he is to continue to represent us.

The SJC Democrats met on Saturday, May 21. We plan to have a booth at the fair this year, which is August 17-20. Soon we will be asking for volunteers to staff the booth. We have two veterans who will train any of you who would like to help. Shaun Hubbard has volunteered to design the booth but has asked all of us to come up with ideas about: 1) Issues of importance to be displayed and talked about at the booth; 2) Brief slogans about the most important issues; and 3) Contents of the booth, such as voter registration forms, takeaways of our platform, lists of our endorsements, etc. Please submit suggestions in reply to this request.

The state Democrats convention this year will be on June 25. Our legislative district has submitted two resolutions. One encourages the national Democrats to break up the Build Back Better Act into its component parts so that perhaps some of these good proposals get passed, and it would also show the country what Democrats support and Republicans oppose. The other resolution calls for an enforcement mechanism for our platform so that elected officials are evaluated on their performance in following the platform; this would be carried out by the state party.

I reported on candidate filings. Most of our county races have only one candidate. That includes Amy Vira for prosecuting attorney and Jane Fuller for county councilor from Lopez/Shaw. The one county race with two candidates is sheriff, where incumbent Ron Krebs is being challenged by Eric Peter. Races that we will vote on in the August primary include Congress, where Jason Call is challenging Rick Larsen again along with 8 other candidates; US Senate, where Patty Murray is being challenged by 17 others; and WA Secretary of State, where recently appointed Steve Hobbs is being challenged by 7 others. In our LD, Debra Lekanoff has no opponent, Alex Ramel is being challenged in November by fellow Democrat Trevor Smith, while Sen. Lovelett finally gets to sit out an election after running several times since she was appointed.

Bill Appel suggested that we should be following and participating in the Tourist Management Plan process. Bill says, “You might want to alert everyone to sign on for information. Unfortunately, most of the public participation process is over, but people should sign up and participate in what opportunities are left: <https://www.sjctourism.com/>. People need to pile into this one.”

Bob prepared the following poster using info from Democrats 101. You are welcome to play around with this to try to improve it, if you like. We can post something like this in our fair booth.

IF YOU SHARE THESE IDEALS, YOU SHOULD BE A DEMOCRAT!

· All people are created equal (This is America’s fundamental ideal);

· America is a democracy, by and for the people, ruled by the Constitution, protected by the Bill of Rights, and inspired by the Declaration of Independence;

· These founding documents demand Freedom, Justice, and Opportunity for all Americans, in full and equal measure…regardless of who you are, what you believe, or where you live;

· The Duty of government is to strive endlessly to make the ideals of Freedom, Justice, and Opportunity a reality for all;

· The Purpose of government is to protect our nation, defend our democracy, and to endlessly promote the welfare of each and every one of us

Fighting for all of this is the whole purpose of the

DEMOCRATIC PARTY!

If you would like to become involved in the protection of our democracy and the promotion of its ideals, contact the Democratic Party at _________________.

The San Juan County Democrats met Saturday, and our first item was a visit from Richard May, deputy mayor of Blaine and running for the legislative seat currently held by Sharon Shewmake, who is running for the state senate to replace the late Doug Ericksen.  Richard is a longtime progressive participating in the Democratic Party as well as environmental organizations.  He is in the 42nd LD rather than our 40^th LD, but if elected, he would be one more progressive in the legislature to help pass good legislation.  Please consider helping to put another progressive in the legislature by contributing to Richard’s campaign at https://secure.actblue.com/donate/elect-richard-may 

Former State Representative Jim Buck has been pursuing the issue of seismic safety in our schools.  A report had concluded that 93% of Washington schools examined could 

collapse in an earthquake, causing death, injury and entrapment for students and staff. 

[You can find this report at https://www.dnr.wa.gov/school-seismic-safety.]  The legislature unanimously passed Senate/House Bill 5933, “Establishing a School Seismic Safety Grant Program” which does the following: 

1. Sets the ground rules for OSPI to assist school districts in preparing seismic safety planning grants. 

2. Requires OSPI to combine school modernization and seismic retrofit programs to save money. 

3. Sets up the ground rules for OSPI to build a school seismic safety grant program for at-risk earthquake and tsunami endangered schools. 

4. The 5933 bill sets up the Seismic School Safety Account with the Treasurer to accept money from Senate Bill 5651. 

SB 5651, the Capital Budget, appropriated $100 million dollars to the 5933 Seismic School Safety Account to kick-start OSI’s new program.  Mr. Buck has asked locals like ours to put a plank in our platform supporting school seismic safety legislation, so we passed such a measure at our meeting. 

Sharon Abreu has been fearlessly leading the 40^th LD, and we now have delegates in place to attend the June 25 convention.  Delegates are meeting tomorrow.  Great thanks to Sharon for taking on this seemingly endless task. 

In candidate news, a quality progressive candidate for the Lopez/Shaw seat is very close to announcing their candidacy.  In addition, Sheriff Krebs has a challenger for the sheriff position from Sergeant Eric Peter.  Finally, Rep. Alex Ramel has a challenger for his seat in the legislature from union leader and former 40^th LD chair Trevor Smith.   

We are looking to have a booth at the fair this year, which will be in person.  If you are interested in being involved in this effort, please let me know. 

Remember, we will soon have new PCO positions available in the village area of Lopez and on Orcas on the west side and in town.  I am hoping that some of you will consider participating.  Please contact me with any questions. 

We would like to recruit some younger members to participate in our group.  We had quite a discussion today regarding the best way to do this.  We understand that younger folks can be too busy with jobs, family, and life in general, but this is a demographic that we would like to appeal to.  If you have suggestions, please send them my way.  And if you know people of a younger age that might be interested in what we do, please tell them about us. 

Movement Voter Project has a good event coming up that will include Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal.  If you remember, MVP funds local grass-roots organizations who encourage people to vote who might not otherwise participate in elections.  They helped win the senate races in Georgia, and they are continuing to work on these kinds of races.  Here is the information: 

Help us win the mid-terms and save our democracy. 

Join us on Sunday May 1st @ 1:00pm PT / 4:00pm ET for a virtual fundraising event. 

Combating Voter Suppression: A conversation with Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal and Congressman Jim McGovern 

Congressman Jim McGovern represents the 2nd Congressional District of MA. He serves as the Chair of the House Rules Committee, Chair of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, Co-Chair of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission and is a member of the House Agriculture’s Subcommittee on Nutrition and Oversight. Congressman McGovern is a strong defender of human rights, the environment, and our veterans. He is also a tireless advocate for ending world hunger. 

Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal represents Washington’s 7th Congressional District. She is the first South Asian American woman elected to the U.S. House and one of only 87 women of color to ever serve there. She is the Chair of the 96-member Congressional Progressive Caucus, and also serves on the House Judiciary, Education & Labor, and Budget Committees. She has spent over 20 years organizing and advocating for women’s and immigrant rights and racial and economic justice. 

To register for the event, click here.  https://www.mobilize.us/mvp/event/450180/ 

To donate in advance of the event, click here.  https://secure.actblue.com/donate/jayapal_mcgovern_05_01_2022?refcode=EMATeam 

To download a PDF version of the flyer with active links, click here 

https://mcusercontent.com/eee660f58aaa03eab667b28e4/files/f4ab72f3-4595-bcc3-8aef-401b5701b815/mvp_flyer_May_1_2022_PDF.pdf

To learn more about MVP, click here.  https://movement.vote/about/?refcode=EMATeam 

For information, email us at MVPEasternMA@gmail.com. 

Force Multiplier also has another upcoming event. 

Matt Cartwright, an “FDR Democrat from the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party,” knows how to repeatedly win in a Trump district in a battleground state. He’ll tell us how he does it. He needs our support to keep doing it. A Must-Win House Race. To hold the Democratic Majority,  

we need to win races like this one. 

Force Multiplier invites you to meet Matt Cartwright (PA-08) 

Thursday, April 21, 7:00 – 8:00pm, ET on Zoom 

REGISTER + DONATE  https://secure.actblue.com/donate/forcemultiplier2022cartwrightevent?refcode=MP_DTUR 

Suggested donation $100. Please be as generous as possible. 

Cartwright belongs to the Progressive Caucus + has won five terms…twice in a district that voted for Trump! Let’s find out how he does it. Cartwright is the Co-Chair of the Democratic Policy + Communications Committee! Let’s talk to him about messaging + how to tell the Democratic story to win. Cartwright has introduced the most pieces of bi-partisan legislation in the House! Let’s hear from him about leadership + working across the aisle to get things done. 

Let’s support Matt Cartwright + Reelect a Democratic House! 

Please pass this invite on to others in your world who might be interested. 

forcemultiplierus.org         Follow us + help spread the word! 

This Saturday, April 9 2022 the San Juan County Democrats will be meeting via Zoom.

The agenda includes a treasurer’s report, update from the 40th LD Democrats, offices open for election this fall, language about including seismic education in the county party platform, and redistricting three new precincts on Orcas and one on Lopez. These are depicted below; more information can be seen by clicking on the link:

We will also have a visit from a guest speaker – Richard May, candidate for rep in the 42nd Legislative District.

Hope to see you at 10.

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82609908448

David Turnoy
Chair, San Juan County Democrats
360-376-4165
davidgeri@rockisland.com

All three of our state legislators appeared at our meeting Saturday.  They told us of some of the highlights of legislation that was passed.  There will be more detailed presentations later on.  Below is the link to a recording of most of our meeting; it starts about a half hour into the meeting and just before the legislators arrive.  The main portion of interest would be from just after the start for about the first 45 minutes, as that is the time during which we had our state legislators presenting and answering questions.  Especially important to us is that there will be four new ferries coming out of the transportation package to go along with the one that was already funded, so that’s five ferries total to be added.  They are all hybrid diesel/electric, and we will get one of them.  There will also be a huge recruitment effort to fill the ferry job openings.  We can thank Senator Lovelett especially for advocating tirelessly for ferries. 

https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/play/K2KoyAbcU–pGA2R4bCqw1dDRn96fgR1qq0UjAF30dDcf_3wVhK9OYxUx89Dhf7fexSf01nV84nSDYiW.hMPR1C7usQaIeJfc?continueMode=true

The other very important thing our legislators spoke of today is the upcoming campaign.  Debra Lekanoff, Alex Ramel, and Liz Lovelett are all wonderful legislators who advocate for all the things we want, and they are likely to be re-elected fairly easily.  But they can only accomplish what they do if they have a solid Democratic majority in both houses of the legislature.  To that end, a number of their Democratic colleagues have challenging races coming up this fall, and all three of our legislators want to do everything they can to assure re-election of their vulnerable colleagues.  To that end, they are asking us to donate whatever we can to help in this manner.  They know who needs the extra campaign boost, so they are asking us to donate to them, and they will redirect that money to their Democratic colleagues.  Here are the links to use: 

Rep. Debra Lekanoff – https://debralekanoff.com/donate/ 

Rep. Alex Ramel – https://www.alexramel.com/donate 

Senator Liz Lovelett – https://secure.actblue.com/donate/liz-lovelett-for-state-senate-1 

New Chair of the 40^th Sharon Abreu spoke to us about the LD caucus on Saturday, March 26, at 10:00.  This event will be used to elect delegates to the state convention that takes place June 24-26 in Tacoma.  However, it will also be on Zoom, so you don’t have to travel to Tacoma to participate.  Please think about running for delegate to attend the convention.   

David Dehlendorf presented our budget for this year.  Most of our spending will be focused on the fall election. 

Amy Vira, who has been attending our meetings and who heads up our Facebook presence, spoke to us about the role of the prosecuting attorney.  The PA prosecutes crimes, acts as the coroner, and gives civil advice.  The latter included defending the county, doing the legal end of the county’s business, and advising elected officials and county departments.  Her office takes a victim-focused approach.  This was very educational, as the role of the PA is not widely understood.  By the way, you may have heard that current PA Randy Gaylord is retiring, and Amy is running to take over upon his retirement. 

This Saturday, March 12 there will be a virtual meeting of the San Juan County Democrats via Zoom from 10am to 12pm at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84477562317
Meeting ID: 844 7756 2317       Passcode: Ea0v5c

Rep. Lekanoff, Rep. Ramel, and Senator Lovelett will visit us between 10:30 and 11:00.  They will just have finished their legislative session the night before, and will be answering questions from our group.

We will also be considering and possibly voting on a new Treasurer and Secretary, hearing about progress at the 40th LD Democrats, the state committee, upcoming county elections, and holding a town hall to attract younger members.

I hope to see you at our meeting Saturday. 

David Turnoy
Chair, San Juan County Democrats
360-376-4165
davidgeri@rockisland.com

Big news for our group with our officer openings. Two of our stalwart volunteers, Peggy Rhoads and Alison Longley, have stepped up to take on the secretary and treasurer jobs respectively on a trial basis. I am hoping this will work out well for each of them. We also know we need to recruit more folks, especially younger folks, as many of our volunteers may age out soon, and others already have. I welcome any of you who get these messages but don’t attend our meetings to start joining us. We are a very friendly, progressive, welcoming group of people who want to help make positive change, and the more hands we have on deck, the better. We will look to start making more recruitment efforts at our next meeting.

We have learned that the chair of the 40th LD is resigning because he has gone to work for Rick Larsen’s campaign. Therefore, the 40th LD chair position is open. One of our members may be interested in running for that spot, but I want to let everyone know of the opening. If you have any question as to what this would entail, feel free to call me.

We passed a resolution that is worth telling you about. The Fossil Free Finance Act would require the Federal Reserve (Fed) to mandate that major banks and other Systemically Important Financial Institutions (SIFIs) reduce and stop the financing of projects and activities that emit greenhouse gas emissions – S. 3167 introduced by Senators Markey and Merkley; also in the House. See https://www.markey.senate.gov/news/press-releases/senators-markey-and-merkley-announce-legislation-to-get-big-banks-to-stop-financing-fossil-fuel-projects#:~:text=today%20introduced%20the%20Fossil%20Free,that%20emit%20greenhouse%20gas%20emissions. I encourage you to write to our senators to encourage them to pass this bill. One of the best ways to bring the fossil fuel era to a close is to end the ability of those companies to get financing for fossil fuel projects.

Cindy Wolf reminded us that for any of you who may want to apply for the volunteer positions for the advisory environmental committee, you need to get that in by Tuesday, Feb. 15.

Ande Finley of Lopez had recommended a book called Democrats 101: A Primer For Us. It does a wonderful job of explaining who we are, from centrist to progressive. Here is a summary I have composed:

The Democratic Party starts with FDR in 1933. He stood for the idea that the American government exists to help the people, a radical concept for the time. And following on this idea, the Democratic Party exists to better people’s lives, that we are not just out to hold office but to make America a better country to live in. The Common Thread we possess is the natural human impulse toward fairness and justice. The author says we still talk the talk, but the party doesn’t walk the walk, have lost touch with our base, which he says is made up of farmers, labor, and Black Americans. He sees an arrogance and elitism, a smugness that everyone knows we are the good guys, a complacency that led to Hillary’s defeat.

Modern politics isn’t about facts, logic, policies or positions, it is about emotional perception. People vote on emotion, not ideas. Also, the vast majority of Americans don’t have time in their

lives to follow politics closely. We need to be the ones that these people trust, and we do that by good messaging based on our values, as our core beliefs excite people; equal rights for women, a livable minimum wage, clean air and water, affordable health insurance, an end to racism. You don’t become the majority party by being ahead of your time, you do it by being in your time. Our core values and the beliefs they inspire are our moral compass.

Our core values:

Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, which translates as justice, freedom, and opportunity.

Justice – Everyone is respected and safe, a just society.

Freedom – Democracy, safe and free elections.

Opportunity – A fair chance, putting education first over special interests, universal access to acceptable medical care, access to a decent job and a way to support your family, an end to racism.

Our declaration has to be devoid of politics, these are the things we stand for, not ideology or the way we will accomplish these goals. We need to be about pragmatism, getting things done, as most Americans believe in this. It’s time for us to reconnect with the American public.

We will always have moderates and progressives, realists and idealists, establishment and activists – But we don’t need to choose one or the other, we need to be us. Our identity as a party needs to be about our basic values and how we present them. Our basic values are American values. Our central message has to be about all of us (all races) and coming from all of us, not separate messages for different races. Us. America must be a truly just society for everyone.

This book, no longer than a pamphlet, is a Common Sense for our time. It takes about two hours to read, and it gives us all a common grounding in what it means to be a Democrat. My wife and I have both read it and found it very helpful. I have ordered 20 copies for our party, and I will pass them around first to those who attend our meetings, but I will encourage them to be passed on to others when done. The book can also be ordered from bookstores and online both in paper or as an online read. See https://www.jmpurvis.org/democrats-101

Our January 8 meeting consisted of visits by Congressman Rick Larsen and challenger Jason Call. As you may know, Rick is an eleven-term incumbent. Rick spoke to us for a half hour, giving a brief presentation about things he is working on, stressing the importance of getting rid of the filibuster in order to pass the Build Back Better Act and the Voting Rights Act, two very significant pieces of legislation that he helped pass in the House. He then answered questions that were put to him live. While Rick didn’t have time to get into all the questions submitted by all of you, I am expecting written answers from his office that I will post once I receive them. Rick spent a half hour with us before he had to leave for a meeting with the Skagit Democrats. He stressed the importance of Democrats winning wherever possible this year, that it is important to keep his district blue, and that his campaign for re-election is going well.

Jason Call spent an hour and a half with us, generously answering all questions put to him and giving us an opportunity to truly get to know him. Jason is a long-time political activist who is not afraid to speak up for what he thinks is right. His policy positions are progressive all the way down the line, supporting Medicare for All, a Green New Deal, a more peaceful foreign policy and reducing Pentagon spending, really fighting climate change, and so on. Jason takes no corporate PAC money and likens himself to members of “The Squad” in Congress. He stressed that our Congressional district is safely Democratic, that Rick wins his elections over Republican candidates by a 2 to 1 margin, that whether the candidate is Rick or Jason, the Democrat will win. He has had good success with fundraising for his campaign.

I recorded almost all of the meeting (started a little way into Rick’s time), so if you would like to see Rick Larsen and Jason Call in action answering questions, go to the following: https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/jYkPzunKdOemaK0L_2yJ6oshdt4ClPAcRKmvqEizf6KLiNIaOvnb-QS7UJuyEex_.4ijCcQs7dmj3G2Ml
Passcode: 6Vm6F7?c

New Friday Harbor Port Commissioner Victoria Compton was going to address our meeting, but the Congressional discussion lasted the whole meeting, and Victoria had to leave for another meeting. She asked us to let you all know about the commission’s meeting coming up this week. “Please come to (or Zoom into) the next Port of FH meeting on Wednesday, 1/12 at noon. The agenda will be posted here next Tuesday a.m.: https://www.portfridayharbor.org/about-the-port/commissioners/agendas/ “

Local member Alexandra Gayek is the only active member in the Mt. Baker Sierra Club group from our county. She is asking that if you have any environmental information you would like presented to the Sierra Club, please let her know. She can be contacted at gayek07@hotmail.com.

Hello San Juan County Democrats,

I want to remind you that we will hold our first meeting of 2022 on Saturday, January 8, at 10:00.  You will have the opportunity to hear from both Congressman Rick Larsen and from challenger Jason Call.  Rick will speak and answer questions from 10:05 until 10:30, whereas Jason will attend our whole meeting and speak after Rick.  You might remember that Jason is a longtime Democratic activist and teacher who challenged Rick in 2020, coming within one percentage point of finishing second in the primary, which would have qualified him for the general election in November.  It is the hope of many in our party that Jason will finish at least second in the primary this next time around, which will provide an opportunity to have some serious debate about the issues that matter to us during the general election campaign.  Our district has become much more blue during the 21 years Rick has been in office, and whether Jason wins or not, many of us would like to see our Congressman move in a more progressive direction.  Instead of Rick running against a Republican in the general election, running against a progressive Democrat like Jason will provide the impetus to have a constructive discussion.  Please attend this meeting and ask the questions you have been waiting to have answered.

Here is the information you need to attend the meeting:

David Turnoy is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Time: Jan 8, 2022 10:00 AM Pacific Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85433525771
Let me know if you need alternate connection details

_________________________________________________________________________An election in February?  That’s right, if you live on San Juan Island.  The following is from our county elections department: 2022 February 8 Special Election
Think Local and Be Vocal: Register and vote in every election. Your vote is your voice and together we can make a difference in our community.
Local Ballot Measures:

SJI School District No. 149 – Replacement Educational Programs and Operations Levy

SJC Hospital District No. 1– Renewal of Six-Year Emergency Medical Services Property Tax Levy

Only registered voters on San Juan Island will receive ballots for this election. San Juan Island voters will vote on two levies.
San Juan Island School District is renewing a four-year levy for educational programs and operational expenses not funded by the State. San Juan County Hospital District is renewing a six-year emergency medical services property tax levy.                     

Key Dates
Jan 7       Military and overseas ballots mailed
Jan 18    Ballots mailed to domestic voters (in the United States)
Jan 21    Special Election 18-day voting period begins.
Jan 31    Deadline for online and mail-in voter registrations and transfers
Feb 8      Election Day!
• 8:00 PM Deadline for in-person registration
• 8:00 PM Deadline to return February 8 Special Election ballots. Ballots must be postmarked no later than Election Day or placed in an official ballot drop box by 8:00 PM on Election night.
Feb 18    February 8 Special Election certified by Canvassing Board
We recommend dropping your ballot in the ballot box or mail by the Friday before Election Day to make sure it gets postmarked in time to be counted.

Mailed ballots must be postmarked by February 8.

Online voters’ guide available now
sanjuanco.com/elections             
Register to vote at VoteWA.gov

That’s all for today.

Thanks for reading,David Turnoy
Chair, San Juan County Democrats
360-376-4165
davidgeri@rockisland.com

The SJC Democrats had their most recent meeting on Saturday, Nov. 13, at 10:00 AM.  We still are in need of someone to take care of the secretary’s duties, which simply involve taking notes at our meetings.  Once again, Sharon Abreu stepped into the breach to do this for us.  But we can’t ask Sharon to do this permanently.  First, she is already involved in way too many causes and meetings, plus she already has two official positions with our group as PCO and state committee woman; our bylaws don’t allow more than two positions.  We need to spread the load, so I hope someone will step up.

One of the exciting developments taking place within the state party is the evolution of the Advocacy Committee.  Bob O’Connell, our state committeeman, is one of the participants on this committee.  The purpose is to advocate for our platform, to attempt to get our elected representatives to honor and follow the platform.  While our 40^th LD elected representatives are right in tune with our state and county platforms, our national representatives often are not.  Hopefully the Advocacy Committee will find a way to bring more adherence to our platforms.

We discussed the results of the recent election.  As you may already know, our endorsed candidate Victoria Compton won her race for Port Commissioner by a landslide.  Our other endorsed candidate, Dwight Colley, is still slightly ahead in his race for Fire Commissioner.  We haven’t traditionally weighed in too often in nonpartisan races; there seems to be a strain of belief among many in the county that political parties should stay out of nonpartisan elections.  But we are seeing throughout the country how the other side is politicizing school boards and other nonpartisan bodies, and it may be necessary for us to weigh in more frequently in such elections.

The Charter Amendments were a mixed electoral bag.  The first amendment, dealing with acknowledgment of the land, ended up passing.  The amendments on term limits and nondiscrimination also passed.  While the voter initiative amendment did not pass, the effort to lower the threshold for initiative signature requirements from 15% to 8% will be reintroduced next year as a separate amendment.

The Mullis Center election continues to generate controversy.  The ballot counting on Friday morning was being broadcast on Zoom, but some bad actors “bombed” it with racist, sexist, and pornographic content, and the ballot counting was temporarily shut down.  The incident was reported to law enforcement, and counting will resume next week.

Three important local positions will be voted on next November, and it is not too early to start organizing for this.  Our current Auditor is retiring, and it is really important that we find a candidate with the requisite accounting skills as well as the proper disposition to remain completely neutral politically.  According to Dave Zeretzke, here are some more of the important skills and traits needed:  The auditor must be someone who can work with folks of all stripes to accurately account for the dollars and to communicate with the public and elected officials.  CPA preferable and demonstrated skill with public entity accounting.  (Private CPA’s usually grossly underestimate the complexity of county bookkeeping, software and reporting requirements.    Some have even suggested Quickbooks as the chosen software–impossibly naive and unseasoned by true experience with complex clients who suffer state audits annually, public audits).  The auditor needs political sensibility and good common skills regarding the press, the public and the other elected officials and key appointed officials.  There are lots of stakeholders.   SJC has 11 elected officials, all of whom want influence with the Auditor and control over their own expenses.  Then there’s the County Manager and critical Department Heads.  The Auditor needs strength of character and integrity.  The Auditor has to take the heat for many honest evaluations/opinions/trends/problems.  As the overseer of Elections and supervisor of the Elections Clerk, it is critical that the person in this role can make sound and legal decisions but still face constant criticism for them.  Sounds like a challenging position, so it is really important we find qualified candidates.

The second important local position up for election is the Prosecuting Attorney.  Again, the incumbent is retiring, so this is an open seat.  Dave’s advice here is to identify a capable attorney who can refrain from trying to control political issues regularly.  The Prosecuting Attorney is there to give legal advice but to let the political process work without interfering.  We expect a current deputy prosecutor to run for this position.

The third important position to be elected is County Councilor. We understand that Jamie Stephens will be retiring as County Councilor from Lopez and Shaw.  It is crucial that we elect a candidate to this seat who will join Cindy Wolf in forming a progressive council majority.  If you know potential candidates, please chat with them, and feel free to suggest that they give me a call.
_________________________________________________________________________

Here are a couple of events you may want to attend:

1. From Sharon A – This Tuesday evening, Nov. 16 at 7 pm Pacific time, the Washington State Progressive Caucus is hosting an online presentation by the Climate Crisis & Militarism Project of Veterans for Peace. I encourage you to tune in!

You can tune in at this private Youtube link:
https://youtu.be/w-8NmF9t0xI

Here is the agenda for the meeting:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ocHcRYWTE_OBlewP-oEJ8hKQEL6XQ0OeEX6-EiMErkc/edit

For more info, please visit:
https://www.veteransforpeace.org/take-action/climatecrisis
and https://waprogressives.org

2. The next Force Multiplier event- Join Force Multiplier on Zoom on Wednesday, December 1^st to welcome the nation’s first Latina senator, Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada who will be introduced by none other than Amy Klobuchar!

_________________________________________________________________________
As promised, here are the actions.  RootsAction is an outfit I have received emails from for quite a while, and they have started to put out actions that we progressives can take.  I am pasting in two emails from them, and if you feel so motivated, please take some or all of the actions.

Last week’s election results continue to reverberate. One of the more obscene outcomes is the New York Times demanding that Democrats not challenge oligarchy, and instead find a way to productively make nice with Republicans, if at all possible. Note: it is not possible. But we can appreciate a close reading with our guides Norman Solomon and Jeff Cohen.

All of the stories below highlight important news and analysis that the mainstream routinely fails to provide. We’re confident that reading them will enhance your understanding of our world. That said, as activists have long known, the point isn’t to just understand the world, but to change it. So, each of these stories is accompanied by a quick action opportunity.

It’s Time to Rein in the Pentagon’s Yearly Blank Check
Pentagon funding seems to be just about the only thing that Congress is always in agreement on. Changing course would mean real reform and genuine accountability, starting with serious cuts to a budget for which “bloated” is far too kind an adjective.

Despite Failure in Afghanistan, the Pentagon Gets a Bigger Budget
The defeat in Afghanistan offers a chance to rethink America’s war machine, but Congress is on the verge of raising Pentagon spending to $740 billion.

Israel Using Facial Recognition Tech on Palestinians in West Bank
Israeli soldiers have been involved in an organized effort to take photos of Palestinian residents of the West Bank town of Hebron and have even competed with one another to provide the photos for a facial recognition database being used to monitor Palestinians.

Supreme Court Refuses to Protect Your Right to Record Cops
The Supreme Court chose not to take on a pivotal case to protect your right to record police, leaving six states with fewer constitutional rights. For anyone who believes that Black Lives Matter, this is a big deal. Now that cops in six states can get away with blocking your right to film them, we can expect more of this behavior. A chilling reminder that even with the right to film firmly established, police continue to kill unarmed Black people at alarming rates.

The Democrats’ Big Tent Collapses — and Fundraising Drives the Divide
As the dust settles after a bruising election night for Democrats, recriminations are already flying between the progressive and “moderate” wings of the party. While corporate so-called moderates are laying the blame on progressive resistance to passing the bipartisan infrastructure bill without Build Back Better, progressives are pointing out that, again, Democrats have not delivered wins on their most popular policy items.

Thank you for tuning in this week. And before you click to take action, please know that we’re looking to expand the roster of sources we use to compile our stories. We’re especially interested in smaller progressive sources that we might have missed — including those from outside the United States. Got one to share with us? Email us directly.

Sincerely,
The Progressive Hub Team at RootsAction

And here is another message:  Please be aware that this is not an antisemitic action, it is an action against an oppressive regime.  As I am sure I have mentioned in the past, I am Jewish, but I cannot support the actions of what has become an apartheid regime in Israel.  So please do not misinterpret this message as an antisemitic diatribe.  Thank you.
 

www.RootsAction.org
 

Thanks for reading,David Turnoy
Chair, San Juan County Democrats
360-376-4165
davidgeri@rockisland.com