We had two outstanding guests appear at our meeting this past Saturday. State Senator Patty Kuderer is a trial lawyer who has been in the legislature for nine sessions, including the last seven years in the state senate. She has been a consumer advocate throughout her tenure, championing causes that need addressing. Patty has been trying to introduce single payer universal healthcare, but she has been told repeatedly that there needs to be a like-minded person in the position of State Insurance Commissioner to make this happen. As a result, Patty is running to be the Insurance Commissioner. We were extremely impressed with Patty and will look very closely at endorsing her when the time comes later in the spring. Patty’s campaign website is www.pattykuderer.com.
Our second guest was Patrick DePoe. Patrick currently works in an executive position with the Department of Natural Resources (DNR), and the current director, Hilary Franz, has given her sole endorsement to Patrick to replace her as Commissioner of Public Lands. Patrick has great experience in the field and in meeting rooms in working with natural resource issues, and as a Macah Indian he brings a Native American perspective to his work in addition to his scientific training. Patrick is very level-headed and not afraid to speak boldly when necessary. We will also look closely at endorsing him later this spring. Patrick’s campaign website is https://www.depoeforwashington.com.
As you know, this is a very important election year. Therefore, we established our endorsements committee for this year with five members from three different islands. They will be working on getting information on candidates once the candidate filing period closes in May, and they will present their report to the whole group, at which point we will vote on endorsements. If you would like to be able to vote on our endorsements, you need to be a member, which merely requires that you have attended two meetings within the past year. The committee will repeat the process after the August primary in preparation for the general election in November.
We look at making endorsements as one of our main reasons for existing as a county political party. It is our charge to research candidates and initiatives so that we can provide you with recommendations, which we do through our election postcard. As I have mentioned before, costs keep going up, and it now runs us over $4,000 to print and mail postcards to the voters in the county. In addition, we need to have a booth at the fair this year to get the word out about the importance of voting Democratic to try to preserve our democracy against the authoritarian threats being leveled at it. Therefore, I am once again asking for financial support from anyone who can afford it. We now have about ten members who contribute small monthly amounts, and every once in a while we receive a larger contribution from a very few donors. If you are able to make a significant contribution to support our efforts this year (no more than $500 due to our reporting status), we would welcome a check made out to the San Juan County Democrats and mailed to PO Box 1007, Friday Harbor, WA 98250. If you would be able to start a small monthly contribution through Act Blue, go to secure.actblue.com/donate/sjcountydems. Many thanks to those of you who have recently contributed. Unfortunately, democracy isn’t necessarily free.
As you may remember, we have endorsed Bob Ferguson for governor. His campaign is seeking individual endorsements in addition to organizational endorsements. Geri and I have endorsed him, and any of you who would like to do the same are welcome to do so at https://secure.ngpvan.com/-WrB_3hyxUehIbVDJ_4oAA2.
Next meeting will be March 9. Guest will be Nick Brown, candidate for state attorney general and endorsed by Governor Inslee.
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Sharon Abreu is sharing the following:
The JFK Peace Speech Committee
and The Community Church of Boston
invite you to attend
A Film Showing, Discussion and Q&A
IF YOU LOVE THIS PLANET
. . . Listen to President John Kennedy
via ZOOM*
with Dr. Helen Caldicott
moderated by Martin Sheen
MONDAY
(President’s Day)
Feb. 19, 2024 • 4:00 – 5:30 pm PT
*REGISTER HERE:
The first hour of our Program, moderated by acclaimed actor Martin Sheen, will feature an award-winning film in which Dr. Caldicott discusses the danger of nuclear weapons. We will view the screening of President Kennedy’s American University address followed by remarks from Dr. Caldicott on the relevance JFK’s speech has for us today. During the final half hour of our program, Dr. Caldicott will take questions from the audience.
Dr. Caldicott is an Australian pediatrician and a founder of Women’s Action for Nuclear Disarmament (WAND). She has appeared in numerous documentaries and has authored several books including Nuclear Madness: What You Can Do and Sleepwalking to Armageddon. In 1992, she received the Peace Abbey Courage of Conscience Award at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston for her leadership in the worldwide disarmament movement.
Ramon Antonio Gerardo Estevez, known professionally as Martin Sheen, is an American actor whose career spans six decades. Sheen portrayed President Kennedy in a 1983 American-British five-hour miniseries. Over the years Sheen has been active in countless nonviolent acts of civil disobedience and has been arrested more than 60 times standing up for peace and justice.
Join us for a rare and memorable live event with two outstanding peace activists. Please REGISTER today!
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CONTACT: Martin Schotz
Coordinator, JFK Peace Speech Committee
eli.schotz@gmail.com
Folks, please note that the time given in the graphic is East Coast time. The event will take place at 4 pm Pacific time.