43rd LD Reorganization - January 17, 2023
Our reorg for the 43rd LD Democrats is January 17, 2023. The reorg is when we choose our board to represent our membership. In the coming biennial, under the leadership of the new board, the 43rd will have the opportunity to influence the Seattle City Council elections, state & federal races, King County elections, and the Washington State legislative sessions.
Our reorg for the 43rd LD Democrats is January 17, 2023, and we’re inviting you to participate.
Register for the virtual meeting by clicking here.
What’s a “reorg”? Reorg is how we choose our board to represent our membership, and is mandated by state law every two years. In the coming biennial, the 43rd will have the opportunity to influence the Seattle City Council elections, state & federal races, King County elections, and the Washington State legislative sessions.
Click here for the agenda for the meeting.
Click here for the proposed rules for the meeting.
Click here for the list of candidates for board positions.
At our January reorg meeting, we’ll elect every board position (see descriptions here). Only PCOs elected in 2022 (those who either filed and were unopposed or won their election) can vote for the following board positions:
Chair
Vice-Chair
State Committee Members
King County Committee Members & alternates
All voting members can vote for the committee chairs and other positions. If you are an elected PCO or paid membership dues during 2022 and reside in the 43rd, you are a voting member for this reorg. These positions are:
Secretary
Chair—Communications committee
Chair—Elections committee
Chair—Fundraising committee
Chair—Meetings and Events committee
Chair—Membership committee
Chair—PCO committee
Chair—Policy and Advocacy committee
Chair—Technology committee
How you can participate
If you’re an elected PCO, or voting member, look for an email with instructions and your voting code.
Attend the meeting to vote for your board members!
For more information
Click here for the agenda for the meeting.
Click here for the proposed rules for the meeting.
Click here for the list of candidates for board positions.
If you have any questions, you can also reach out to the current Chair and Vice Chair
Chair, Paul Chapman: chair@43rddemocrats.org
Vice Chair, Tara Gallagher: vicechair@43rddemocrats.org
Come learn about social housing, lidding I-5, and ranked-choice voting!
In addition to our regular meeting this month, join us an hour early learn about Initiative 135 and Social Housing. This initiative seeks to create a public development organization that will create publicly owned, social housing for those making 0-120% of area median income. If you've got questions about how we can make Seattle more affordable, what social housing is, and how this initiative might help, join us!
Please join us on Tuesday, April 19, for our next General Meeting!
6PM: Learn About Initiative 135 - Social Housing
In addition to our regular meeting this month, join us an hour early learn about Initiative 135 and Social Housing. This initiative seeks to create a public development organization that will create publicly owned, social housing for those making 0-120% of area median income. If you've got questions about how we can make Seattle more affordable, what social housing is, and how this initiative might help, join us! You can send questions you might have in advance to advocacy@43rddemocrats.org.
7PM: General Meeting
Please keep in mind that we do try to be respectful of each other's volunteered time and so will try to keep ourselves and fellow members to the agenda's times!
This meeting includes several guest speakers: candidates for local races, from the Lid I-5 campaign, and on Ranked Choice Voting. Additionally, we'll vote on a Budget, and on a resolution to endorse the Social Housing Initiative 135.
You can review the agenda here, and the March 2022 Meeting Minutes here.
March Meeting and Voter-Listening
In addition to our regular meeting this month, join us an hour early to phonebank 43rd voters with your fellow 43rd members and PCOs! We'll be calling folks to hear their priorities for the Democratic Party, and encourage them to add their voices to our meetings. Our general meeting will otherwise begin at 7pm. We also have an external event and resource for ya…
6PM: Voter-Listening Calls
In addition to our regular meeting this month, join us an hour early to phonebank 43rd voters with your fellow 43rd members and PCOs! We'll be calling folks to hear their priorities for the Democratic Party, and encourage them to add their voices to our meetings. We'll also inform them of our legislative victories this session, made possible by our Democratic Majority in Olympia.
This is a great way to connect with voters and let them know the 43rd Democrats care about their priorities year-round—whether it’s election season or not! We’ll have numbers ready, along with a brief instruction before actually making calls.
7PM: General Meeting
Please keep in mind that we do try to be respectful of each other's volunteered time and so will try to keep ourselves and fellow members to the agenda's times!
This meeting includes guest speakers from Seattle municipal court and King County prosecutor candidates. We'll also hear a few updates from Rep. Adam Smith, and our state lawmakers.
We would, of course, be remiss to not mention the upcoming 43rd Caucus and Washington State Democrats Convention. Same goes for those dang LD boundaries!
The 43rd itself has some appointments to consider: Our Membership Chair, King County Democratic Central Committee Alternate, and Precinct Committee Officers (PCOs).
Upcoming External Event & Resource:
The Northwest Justice Project has made some housing and eviction resources and a subsequent social media kit to share them around!
Otherwise, House Our Neighbors! will have a March 10 listen-and-learn about social housing at 3:15pm. Sign up at the link in the previous sentence.
Hello, new LD members!
So that we can respect each other's time, please peruse the agenda beforehand. We have a pretty busy schedule! Hear statements from King County District Court judge candidates, learn about some upcoming event opportunities, vote for new executive board positions, find out what redistricting means for you and some new members, take action around the legislative priorities that survived this session's first and second cut-off dates. Join us Feb. 15th!
So that we can respect each other's time, please peruse the agenda beforehand. We have a pretty busy schedule!
Join us to
Hear statements from King County District Court judge candidates
Learn about some upcoming event opportunities
Vote for new executive board positions
Find out what redistricting means for you and some new members
Take action around the legislative priorities that survived this session's first and second cut-off dates
There is a proposed bylaws change to accept new members from other districts subsequent to redistricting.
Electing a New Chair, and more!
During our Jan. 18th, 7PM meeting, PCOs will elect a new Chair and King County Representative of the 43rd! All of the submitted statements for the positions can be viewed here. With all of the hullabaloo that happened with redistricting—which still has to be approved by the Legislature—we'll also cover what these changes might mean for each of us. Otherwise, the first day of this year's short legislative session began Jan. 10! Which means it's time to organize.
So that we can respect each other's time, please peruse the agenda beforehand. Can we count on you to join us?
During this meeting, PCOs will elect a new Chair and King County Representative of the 43rd! All submitted statements for the positions can be viewed here. With all of the hullabaloo that happened with redistricting—which still has to be approved by the Legislature—we'll also cover what these changes might mean for each of us. Otherwise, the first day of this year's short legislative session began Jan. 10! Which means it's time to organize. If you haven’t heard, we do already have legislative priorities.
So that we can respect each other's time, please peruse the agenda beforehand. We’ll meet Jan. 18th at 7PM.
Bittersweet News
While there’s no meeting this month, there’s still some 43rd news: Effective Dec. 7th, our current Chair, Scott Alspach, will step down to spend more time with a soon-to-be newborn! His announcement is below:
While there’s no meeting this month, there’s still some 43rd news: Effective Dec. 7th, our current Chair, Scott Alspach, will step down to spend more time with a soon-to-be newborn! His announcement is below:
As we near the end of election season (remember to vote "No" on the recall by Tuesday if you live in District 3!) and enjoy the holidays, I want to start by saying thank you for all of the work you have put in to building our organization and getting out the vote over the past year.
With the generous support of our 43rd PAC Founders, we started a Political Action Committee, and with the help of our PCOs and members, we sent 5,000 handwritten postcards to voters within two weeks. In addition, we hosted multiple canvasses for our endorsed candidates and had important conversations with voters about the future of our city. With your continued support, I believe that we will be able to dramatically scale up this work over the next few years.
Which brings me to the news I have to share: My wife and I are expecting our first child to arrive this month and I will be resigning as Chair of the 43rd on Tuesday, December 7th in order to spend more time with her and our new arrival. I'm excited to begin experiencing the adventures of parenthood but unfortunately will not have the time required to lead our organization in the way you all deserve.
Tara Gallagher was elected Vice Chair at our November meeting and will serve as acting Chair until our January 18th meeting when 43rd PCOs will elect a new chair. In addition, we will fill a few other board roles, including Tara's previous King County Democrats Representative position, at the January meeting. Please keep an eye on your inboxes for more on the open positions and how to run for them and reach out to Tara at tara.gallagher@43rddemocrats.org if you have any questions.
Serving on the board and as Chair of the 43rd District Democrats has been a true pleasure. I attended my first 43rd meeting, along with hundreds of others, in November of 2016 after the election of Donald Trump. While it is easy to be discouraged by the current challenges facing us, it is worth reflecting on the progress we have made in the past five years. In 2017, we flipped the Washington State Senate. In 2018, we took back the House. In 2019, we fought back against Amazon to elect a progressive City Council (resulting in the Jump Start tax and millions of dollars for affordable housing), and in 2020, we called in to other states to help elect President Joe Biden and deliver him unified Democratic control of Congress. None of this would have been possible without the work of thousands of Democratic Party volunteers like yourself. All of the calls, texts, post cards, and door knocking we've done have made a difference!
As you all know, our democracy is still under threat from the authoritarian Republican Party and their attempts to discredit our election system under the direction of Donald Trump. Our resolve will continue to be tested and I encourage you to take time this December to both rest, recuperate, and make plans for how you will defend our democracy in 2022.
I want to extend a special thanks to past and present members of the 43rd's Executive Board, I wouldn't have made it as Chair without their hard work and support. I'm excited and confident about the continued growth of our organization under their leadership.
It has been a true pleasure getting to know and work with each of you and I look forward to continuing to do so in my capacity as a PCO.
Reflect And Plan with Us!
We’ll look back over this past election and look forward to the upcoming Legislative session. So that we can stay on time, please peruse the agenda beforehand. There are no resolutions to vote on for this meeting. As always, remember to RSVP so that you have the Zoom link handy!
Try to keep warm as we see colder weather, and join us to look back over this past election and look forward to the upcoming Legislative session. So that we can stay on time, please peruse the agenda beforehand.
There are no resolutions to vote on for this meeting.
As always, remember to RSVP so that you have the Zoom link handy!
Cozy up And Log on to Our Meeting!
RSVP to receive a link before the meeting!
We suggest taking a peak at the agenda beforehand so that we can all be respectful of each others’ time. We expect this one to be short and sweet!
RSVP to receive a link before the meeting!
We suggest taking a peak at the agenda beforehand so that we can all be respectful of each others’ time. We expect this one to be short and sweet!
You’ll hear about our GOTV efforts (check our endorsements here), information on the Seattle Solidarity Budget, and vote on a proposed resolution in support of the Duwamish Tribe's Federal Recognition.
Beyond Meetings
Help our endorsed candidates and support Kshama Sawant! (We oppose the recall campaign.) Recall efforts aim to take down on of Seattle’s most progressive and outspoken Councilmembers in a December ballot. Sawant won her seat in office via democratic election, we have a responsibility to keep her there. Fill out their volunteer form today: https://KshamaSolidarity.org/volunteer
There’s always more you can do!
Against Charter Amendment 29 (Compassion Seattle)
We passed a resolution against CA 29—in agreement with House Our Neighbors—but they need your help spreading the truth! Volunteer ASAP: HouseOurNeighbors.NationBuilder.com
Help our endorsed candidates!
Teresa Mosqueda, Seattle Council Pos. 8 — http://TeamTeresa.org/volunteer/
Toshiko Hasegawa, Port Commissioner Pos. 4 — HasegawaForPort.com/get-involved
Hamdi Mohamed, Port Commissioner Pos. 3 — http://HamdiForPort.com/volunteers
Michelle Sarju, Seattle School board D-5 — http://SarjuForSeattleSchools.com/join-us
Vivian Song Maritz Seattle School Board D — https://vivian.school/
In Support of Kshama Sawant
(Since we oppose the recall campaign.) Recall efforts aim to take down on of Seattle’s most progressive and outspoken Councilmembers through this upcoming ballot in a December ballot. Sawant won her seat in office via democratic election, we have a responsibility to keep her there.
Fill out their volunteer form today: https://KshamaSolidarity.org/volunteer
Join us for our July Meeting!
We’ll elect some new chairs, cast votes for endorsements and resolutions, and discuss changes for our own PAC!
![[Alt Text] Dark background with an artistic laptop at center left under a single-lightbulb light; the laptop displays the 43rd's logo. At center right, there's font saying "Join us for July!" with the Zoom logo by it and moving cursor](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a3993300abd04ae23f41290/1626289580571-DZYBJ8L5OBXSW0P5WVZH/43rd+July+Meeting.gif)
[Alt Text] Dark background with an artistic laptop at center left under a single-lightbulb light; the laptop displays the 43rd's logo. At center right, there's font saying "Join us for July!" with the Zoom logo by it and moving cursor
Electing a new Meetings and Events Chair
At this meeting we will be electing a new Meetings & Events Chair to serve on our board and help us run our virtual and in person meetings. You can visit our website to learn more and please email our chair at chair@43rddemocrats.org if you are interested or with any questions that you have!
Endorsement Votes And Resolutions
The list of resolutions to be considered:
Resolution to Endorse House Our Neighbors (Endorsement of a “no” position on Seattle Charter Amendment 29)
Resolution to Support the #PayUp Campaign for Washington’s Gig Workers
Our Own Political Action Committee
At our July meeting we'll also consider bylaws and rules changes necessary for our organization to open a Political Action Committee and print endorsement sheets for the general election. If we approve the rules changes, we will also consider a budget for the PAC. If you have any questions about the proposed changes please email chair@43rddemocrats.org
Proposed Bylaws Changes
Proposed PAC Standing Rules
Proposed 43rd PAC Budget
The last date to become an eligible voting member in time for this meeting is July 10th.