**As of 3:30 PM 1/14, the following candidates have filed to run for leadership positions for our Jan. 18th meeting. To run for a position, send your candidate statement (500 words max) to tara.gallagher@43rddemocrats.org**
Statements can be submitted up to the day of the meeting, there will also be speaking opportunities for the candidates. Of note: The first meeting after new district maps are official and membership boundaries change, the PCOs will have an option to vote to have a new election for chair. This is not likely to happen, but be aware of the possibility.
Chair
This election follows the resignation of our previous Chair Scott Alspach so that he may better fulfill being a new parent! Only PCOs can vote for this election, which will be held during our Jan. 18, 2022 meeting.
Candidate Statements
Paul Chapman
I’m Paul Chapman, and I’m asking for your support for the opportunity to serve the remainder of Scott Alspach’s term. I’ve voted Democrat my entire life, despite being raised in a strict Republican household, except for our former secretary of state. After moving to Wallingford in 1998, I remember the excitement and confusion of my first Democrat caucus in the basement of the Fremont library for the 2000 election. In the wake of Trump, I looked for ways to get involved in shaping a better future for my kids and our community and found the 43rd Dems, starting like many of us with attending meetings to understand the issues that are bubbling up in the legislature and councils, and then finding more ways to engage and serve, ending up on the Policy Committee under Camille’s superb leadership.
I appreciate the diversity of our organization. I appreciate that we are a clear, progressive voice to our state, county, and city representatives and to other LDs. We created a PAC that got out the vote among a demographic that’s hard to reach through traditional door-knocking. We’ve created a policy committee to help us understand key issues at the state & city level, and to influence those policies. We’ve created a mutual aid committee to put our progressive values into material action. We’ve continued to be active in environmental thought leadership at the county and state level.
2022 is a pivotal year for the residents of our legislative district. In the midst of our third year under COVID, we’re facing mid-term congressional elections within the context of an ongoing attack on our democracy, a state & county election, state redistricting, a climate and transportation crisis, a homelessness & housing crisis, the need for basic healthcare, a continued lack of funding for education, a regressive state tax system that fuels out-of-control income inequality even as we more visibly see that our lowest-paid neighbors are critical to our social well-being.
Like you I worry about housing affordability. For many of you, “Can I afford to remain in Seattle?” in my case: will my kids will be able to live in their hometown? We see the lack of action on solutions for homelessness. We see now-routine smoke-filled summers and torrential winter floods.
As your chair I will work with you all to continue our LD’s leadership on these important issues, and we’ll look for additional opportunities to collaborate with our city, county, and state representatives. I’ll partner with the board to continue to build an inclusive leadership team and ensure a smooth transition in the 2023 reorganization with a refreshed platform. I’ll champion and expand the inclusiveness of our meetings under Covid, even as we hope to see an end to the pandemic. We’ll continue to bring in our representatives, other elected officials, and community leaders to educate us on important issues. I’ll encourage us to partner with other LD organizations on webinars that help us build coalitions on these issues.
43rd Rep to the King County Dems
Following the election of a new Vice Chair, Tara Gallagher, we now have an empty KC Dems Rep position. Only PCOs can vote for this election, which will be held during our Jan. 18, 2022 meeting. Per King County Democrats by-laws, this position is open to anyone who identifies as anything other than male (ie, female or non-binary). Please note that KCD meetings are expected to remain remote for 2022.