April 2011 Volume 9, Issue 4 11th LD Democratic Organization Chair Martha Koester April 2011 Chair’s Report Martha Koester We’ve had quite a busy time in March and early April with many actions in Olympia promoting closing tax loop- holes over cutting essential services. A grand time was had by all on Larry Grubb’s birthday at Mick Kelly’s; thanks so much, Larry, for the great jazz music! The weather is warming up, and it’s time to get serious about voter registration and fundraising. Look for some calls during the month for phone banking and canvassing days. We’ve got early endorsements coming up at our April meeting. After the filing deadline new candidates Pam Linder (for Mayor of Renton) and Dian Ferguson (for Seattle City Council) will be requesting endorsements. I hear so many gripes about not having enough good candidates for state and federal office; we really must pay attention to these local races to get more good people in the pipeline. Burien City Council Member and Water Commissioner Kathy Keene is finalizing her plans for retiring to Florida. Does she realize that wildlife there includes some very large cockroaches? Doesn’t matter—she’s leaving anyway, for our loss and Florida’s gain. Now taking bets on how long she can stay out of local politics there. Stay tuned for word about a going away party. Robin Guevarra has just gotten out of the hospital after treatment for a number of medical issues, and is recover- ing nicely at home. Being in the hospital did not, of course, stop her from organizing transportation by cell phone to the We Are One rally in Olympia on April 8th and arranging speakers for the South King County Alliance of Re- tired Americans. Upcoming programs ***11th Legislative District Democrats General Membership meeting April 19, 2011 – 7:00pm at Carpen- ters Hall, 231 Burnett Ave N, Renton, WA 98057. DINNER SERVED AT 6:30PM. We had some feedback that waiting until the 8pm break was too late for many people. Lemon glazed chicken and Punjabi side dishes for just $6.00. Service starts at 6:30PM. On the side we’ll have Carrots and Potatoes Biryani and salad with tamarind dressing (plus some oil and vinegar for those who don’t feel like experimenting)> During the business meeting we will have a presentation by Dr. Bobby Virk on how dentistry for low income adults is affected by pennywise and pound foolish budget cuts. He will be running for state legislature from the 47th LD to try to change this. Lloyd Hara has asked for an early endorsement. A representative from Bruce Harrell’s office will discuss a resolu- tion in favor of requiring shoulder cameras for police. I will present two resolutions against attacks on Social Secu- rity and Medicare by our current Congress. Jim Flynn will describe some proposals by George Summers for some issue-themed events later this year. Meeting after the meeting Does the break seem too short to finish conversations with people you meet? People who don’t have to get up early and don’t have other places to be right away adjourn to The Rock Restaurant at the Renton Landing to knock back a few. To get to 830 N 10th St, just go north on Burnett Ave, turn left on 4th St and then right onto Logan Ave. Turn right at 10th St, and the restaurant is on the left side of the street. GO DEMS!! Martha Koester Chair, 11th Legislative District Democrats PAGE 2 THE 11TH DISTRICT JOURNAL APRIL 2011 VOLUME 9, ISSUE 4 Welcome to the 11th Legislative Democratic Organization You are Invited to attend the Monthly Meetings and engage in democracy in action! Your dues enable you to receive the district newsletter, help us defer our meeting expenses, and support our efforts on behalf of Democratic candidates. We provide or participate actively in fun and informative opportunities to reach out to Democrats and other voters in the 11th District. Your volunteer efforts will further our goal of active members in all of the 11th District precincts. We welcome you! 2009— 2011 11th Legislative District Democratic Organization Executive Board Officers Chair Martha Koester 206-491-4542 [email protected] Vice-Chair Marvin Rosete 425-255-2009 [email protected] Treasurer Shirley Gaunt-Smith 425-255-1303 [email protected] Deputy Treasurer Chuck Laney 425-260-5824 [email protected] Secretary James Flynn 425-221-0883 [email protected] WSDCC - Male Azziem Underwood 425-430-2652 [email protected] WSDCC - Female Kate Kruller 206-853-9330 [email protected] KCDCC – Male James Flynn 425-221-0883 [email protected] KCDCC - Female Rosemary Quesenberry 425-271-4396 [email protected] KCDCC - M Alt Roger Pence 206-276-5668 [email protected] KCDCC - F Alt Eimly Willoughby 206-241-5885 [email protected] KCDCC - LAC Don Bennett 206-242-9113 [email protected] Appointments Programs Parliamentarian Brendan Donckers [email protected] Raffle Azziem Underwood 425-430-2652 [email protected] Membership Retention George Summers 206-244-0632 [email protected] Webmaster Robert Kangas 206-554-1691 [email protected] PCO Activities Grubb Larry 206-243-3199 [email protected] Newsletter Editor Young Virginia 206-650-0240 [email protected] PAGE 3 THE 11TH DISTRICT JO URNAL APRIL 2011 VOLUME WWW.11THLDDEMS.ORG 9, ISSUE 4 TREASURER Please Send in Your 2010 Membership Dues Now (Make checks payable to the 11th District Democrats) Memberships: ____ Regular Membership $15.00 ____ Family Membership $27.00 ____ Captain Membership $50.00 ____ Living Lightly $6.00 ____ Liberty Membership $100.00 ____ Silver Membership $250.00 ____ Family Sponsorship $100.00 ____ Gold Membership $500.00 ____ Platinum Membership $1,000.00 NAME________________________________________________________________________________ (Please list all household names joining if membership is for Family or Sponsor) Telephone: _____________________ E-Mail: ________________________________________________ Address: ______________________________________________________________________________ City: ______________________________________________ State: _____________________________ Zip Code: __________________________ Employer______________________________________________________________________________ City:__________________________________________ State:___________________________________ Occupation_____________________________________________________________________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Payment by Credit Card Master Card______ Visa Card_______ Name on Credit Card_____________________________________________________________________ Card Number________________________________________________________Exp. Date___________ Signature______________________________________________________________________________ PAGE 4 THE 11TH DISTRICT JO URNAL APRIL 2011 VOLUME 9, 11th Legislative District Democratic Organization Monthly Meeting Tuesday March 15, 2011 March Meeting Minutes – James Flynn, Secretary Outline by Robert Kangas Our secretary wasn’t able to make it. (We have backups for most of our key roles. Anyone interested in volunteering to be the backup secretary?) Cindy Cole and John Repp spoke to us on the condition of the State Bank of Washington. We approved the 2011 budget for the district with a ceiling of $8500. We don’t have to spend it all, but we need to start getting on the phones and asking people for money. Presentation of a resolution by Gabriela Quintana on requiring mandatory sick leave for employees in the city of Seattle. Presentation of a resolution by John Fox to maintain the number of apartments for very low income families in the Yesler Terrace redevelopment. Ivan Weiss spoke on King County Democrats voter outreach Joe McDermott (King County Council and 11th LD Representative Zack Hudgins spoke about county and state budget issues. th March 11 LD Meeting John Repp talks about what a state bank could do for the State of Washington. PAGE 5 THE 11TH DISTRICT JO URNAL APRIL 2011 VOLUME 9, WSDCC State Committee Woman – Kate Kruller Last month I shared with you that the WSDCC Rules Committee and the Affirmative Action Committee would be meeting in Seattle on March 26 and 27 to develop their proposals to lay before the Washington State Democratic Central Committee on April 30. At that meeting in Wenatchee, the Washington State Democratic Central Committee will approve the Delegate Selection Plan for Delegates to the 2012 DNC Convention in North Carolina. That means we will be deciding whether to use Precinct Caucuses again in 2012. As a member of the Rules Committee I represented you in the process of reviewing and updating the 2008 rules used last time we made delegate selections to the national convention. The default set of rules we worked on were for a caucus-based selection process. As a matter of process it is better (and easier) to for- mulate the caucus rules early and then convert it to rules for the primary process if the vote goes against the proposal. New Business: What is at stake with the caucus vs. primary national delegate selection decision? This year there have been proposals made in Olympia this year to cancel the Presidential Primary for 2012 in order to save the State $10 million. WSDCC Chair Dwight Pelz asked the Legislature to postpone this decision until 2012, stating that the next State Central Committee meeting in April will decide whether to use the Caucuses or the Primary. If the Democrats and the Republicans decide to go with Caucuses, it seemed the Legislature would have ample time next January to cancel the 2012 Presidential Primary and save the $10 million. With recent budget shortfall projections, everything is on the table for devastating cuts, and it is hard to argue for pri- maries in a funding competition with social programs. Dwight Pelz explained the caucus situation in this way: ―In 2008, we had the largest Precinct Caucuses in our history.