February General Meeting

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Register to attend

Register, and you’ll later receive a video call link and your voting code. Remember, being able to vote also requires making sure you've renewed your membership for 2021! To check your membership status, email Bryce Kolton at membership@43rddemocrats.org. There’s also a Facebook event for this upcoming meeting where we’ll post periodic reminders on each agenda item!

Agenda

You may find the agenda here, which includes the following:

• a resolution on the Washington Strong green bonds proposal

• a resolution endorsing the Kshama Solidarity campaign

• a resolution in support of a restorative gender justice policy

• proposed standing debate rules; and

• proposed bylaws amendments.

Additional items to consider before the February General Meeting:

We are currently accepting candidate statements (250 words max) for the to-be-created Policy Committee Chair. Please send your statements to secretary@43rddemocrats.org.  

You can view current Policy Committee Chair candidate statements here.

Each of our members also have a forthcoming opportunity to sign up as a Precinct Committee Officer (PCO) for the 43rd District Democrats!

2021 Democracy Vouchers are here!

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The following blog post is adapted directly from City of Seattle resources, including the ‘About the Program’ and ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ guides to the Democracy Voucher program.

What are Democracy vouchers?

Democracy vouchers are certificates that Seattle residents — not just registered voters! — can use to help fund the campaigns of candidates they support. They apply to all City elections. This year, that means candidates for Mayor, City Council, and City Attorney who agree to stay under spending limits (between $150 and $800k, depending on the race).

How do they work?

By February 9th, 2021 every registered voter will be mailed four vouchers, each worth $25. If you’re registered to vote, this will happen automatically.

Once you get your vouchers, you can decide to do nothing with your vouchers (allowable but not recommended, in the opinion of this party organization), give all of your vouchers to one City candidate, or give them to up to four different City candidates of your choice. Any combination is allowable, but you can’t split vouchers into increments smaller than $25.

If you’re not a registered voter, but are (a) 18 years old, (b) a Seattle resident, and (c) a lawful resident of the United States, you can still receive vouchers by filling out this form.

How can I help my candidate qualify to receive vouchers?

In order to qualify to receive Democracy vouchers, candidates for office must collect a certain number of donations of $10 or more, and a certain number of signatures. For the Mayor, it’s 600 donations and 600 signatures. For City Attorney and at-large Council seats, it’s 400 and 400. And for district Council seats, it’s 150 and 150 (75 of which have to come from in-district). You can find a list of qualified candidates here (it will be continuously updated).

If you want to help your preferred candidate qualify for vouchers, check their website or social media to see if they’re still looking for signatures and qualifying donations. Again, not all candidates participate in the program, but most do. Even if your candidate isn’t trying to qualify to receive vouchers, they’ll no doubt still appreciate your donation.

Yeah, but how do I actually give a voucher to a candidate?

You have options. One way is to use the online portal — which will be available once vouchers are mailed.  Another is to sign the voucher and hand it to the candidate or someone from their campaign. They’ll take care of the rest. You can also use the prepaid envelope that will be included with your vouchers to return them directly to the City of Seattle Ethics & Elections Commission (P.O. Box 35196, Seattle, WA 98124-5196).

Can I give my voucher to someone else? Can I sell my voucher?

To the first question, no. To the second question, really no. It’s illegal.

What can candidates use the vouchers for?

Vouchers can be used for anything candidates can use regular campaign contributions for, like hiring staff, printing campaign literature, and advertising. They can’t be used to make cash payments, reimburse contributors for contributions, pay the candidate a salary, cover personal expenses, support a campaign for a different office, make contributions to other candidates or political committees; or make payments to family members. 

Will the candidate I give my voucher to be public record?

Yep. Like all campaign contributions to candidate campaigns, voucher assignments are public information. Your name and the candidate you give your vouchers to will be published on this page. The upside? This is a good way to screen potential first dates. 

I’m incredibly interested in very specific details about this program not covered in this guide and want more information. Where can I find it?

Try various City of Seattle resources, including the ‘About the Program’ and ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ guides. That’s where all the info in this guide comes from. Email us at elections@43rddemocrats.org if you have any other questions and we’ll point you in the right direction!

New Executive Board Elected

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At our January 19th Reorganization Meeting, the 43rd District Democrats elected the following board members to two year terms. Congratulations to all of our new and returning board members and thank you for the work you do for our community and the 43rd District Democrats!

[Following the February 16th General Meeting and the addition of a new Committee and its Chair, that information has been added at the bottom of this post.]

Chair - Scott Alspach

Vice Chair - Maddy Vonhoff

Secretary - Ellen Eades

Treasurer - Brad Bell

State Committee Members- Amy Madden and Shaun Scott

King County Democrats Representatives - Tara Gallagher and Efrain Hudnell

King County Alternates - Anquida Adams and Charlotte Amoureux

Meetings and Events Committee Chair - Morgan McMurray

Elections Committee Chair - Sam McVeety

Communications Committee Chair - Kelsey Hamlin

Membership Committee Chair - Bryce Kolton

PCO Committee Chair - Cody Olsen

Fundraising Committee Chair - Dawn Dailey

Technology Committee Chair - Annabelle Backman

(New) Policy & Advocacy Committee Chair - Camille Gix

Board Calls on Congressional Delegation to Remove President Trump

Earlier this morning, the 43rd District Democrats Board sent a letter to Senator Patty Murray, Senator Maria Cantwell, Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, and Congressman Adam Smith expressing our gratitude for their safety after Wednesday’s horrific attack on the nation’s capitol and calling on them to immediately remove President Trump from office. Additionally, the letter calls on them to support Representative Cori Bush’s resolution to hold the other instigators of sedition accountable by expelling them from Congress and to call for the resignation of Senators Josh Hawley and Ted Cruz who encouraged the mob through their reckless attempts to overturn the results of the election.

The full letter can be read on the 43rd District Democrats website here.

Reorganization Meeting January 19th

The biennial reorganization meeting of the 43rd District Democrats will be held online at 7:00 pm on Tuesday January 19th. In order to attend the meeting, please register via Action Network here.

At our reorganization meeting we will elect new officers to serve two-year terms. We will also consider potential bylaws amendments, appoint new PCOs, and discuss our plans for the 2021 cycle.

Please see our reorganization page for more information on the agenda and how to run for a position on the 43rd’s board.

Registered attendees will receive information on how to join and vote at the meeting. All 2020 members and PCOs will be eligible to vote at reorganization. New members must join by January 9th to vote.

Holiday Party - Tuesday, Dec 15

Join us on Tuesday, December 15th at 6:00 p.m. for a virtual holiday party! While we can't celebrate as we normally would, we're excited to see everyone and recognize all the amazing work our LD has done in 2020.
Event highlights:

• Ugly Sweater Contest — The tradition lives on! Don your most festive apparel for a chance to win prizes.

• Holiday-Themed Games — It wouldn't be a party without them.

• Connect With 43rd Members — We'll open the floor for conversation and hear from 43rd board members and representatives.

RSVP here to receive virtual event details. Feel free to come and go as your schedule allows.
We hope to see you there!

November 17 General Meeting

Find links for items discussed at this meeting here

Congratulations on all of your hard work on our hard fought victories this election cycle. We are excited by the election of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris and for the many Democratic wins here in Washington State and look forward to celebrating them at our virtual November meeting at 7:00 pm on Tuesday November 17th.

The meeting will be a great opportunity to discuss both the election results and what is next for progressive policy here in Washington State and for the 43rd District Democrats. Join us for the following agenda items:

• Breakout groups to discuss the November election results and our goals for the future

• Important updates on reorganization meetings for the King County Democrats and 43rd District Democrats

• Hear from our 43rd legislators on the upcoming legislative session.

Please register for the meeting in order to receive the virtual meeting details.

We look forward to seeing you Tuesday!

Virtual Election Night Party

Join us on November 3rd for a virtual election night party! Even though we can’t get together in person, let’s still celebrate the amazing work everyone has done to get out the vote in our LD and in Washington state.
The event will open at 6:30 p.m. with activities beginning at 7:00 p.m. Please register to attend in order to receive the virtual meeting details.

Event highlights:

• Pub trivia (without the pub) — We’ll utilize Zoom’s breakout room feature to divide into teams and answer fun trivia questions about local and national politics.

• Live results — We’ll keep you updated as election results come in, and live stream news coverage throughout.

• Connect with 43rd members — We’ll open the floor for conversation and commentary from 43rd members and representatives.

Festive outfits and Zoom backgrounds are encouraged! Feel free to come and go as your schedule allows.
We hope to see you there!

October 20th Meeting

Our Tuesday, October 20th meeting will be held online.  Please join us for the following agenda items and register for the meeting here to receive updates and information on how to join.

• An update on the "Get Out The Vote" work we are doing as a district and that you all are doing individually. You can sign up for the coordinated campaign phonebanks we are doing here.

• Update on the Seattle City Budget process

• Resolution in Support of a Solidarity Budget in Seattle

FULL AGENDA HERE

WHEN: October 20th, 2020, 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM. We will open up the meeting at 6:30 for anyone who wants to join early in order to test out the meeting software.

WHERE: Online! Registration is required, please do so here.

ACCESSIBILITY: Please reply to this email or contact chair@43rddemocrats.org if you need any assistance joining or participating in an online meeting. Voting will be much easier on a personal computer or tablet than it is over the phone. If you plan to join the meeting by phone please let us know so we can assist you in ensuring you are able to vote

Eligibility to vote: In order to be eligible to vote new members must join by Saturday October 10th. 2019 members have until the begging of the meeting to renew their membership and be eligible but we STRONGLY recommend renewing as early as possible to ensure you are eligible to vote and to ease the burden on our credentials and tally committee. Sign up to join the 43rd District Democrats here.

Voting: Each eligible voter will be sent a Voter ID that they will use to vote during the meeting. Expect to receive your code over the coming week along with more information about the voting process. Please let us know if you have any questions about the process before the meeting. We expect a large number of our members to attend this meeting and it will help things go much smoother if we are able to help you out with questions or technical difficulties before the meeting begins. Please send an email to tally@43rddemocrats.org if you have questions about the voting process.

Endorsements Finalized for November 2020 General Election

At our September 15th meeting we finalized our general election endorsements by endorsing the following candidates and ballot measures in addition to our primary endorsements. To view all of our endorsements for the general election, including those made in the primary election, please visit our endorsements page.

Candidates

• State Auditor: Pat McCarthy

• State Representative, 43rd LD, Pos. 2: Frank Chopp

Ballot Measures

• Referendum 90 - APPROVE

• King County Charter Amendments - YES ON ALL

  • Charter Amendment No. 1 -- Inquests

  • Charter Amendment No. 2 -- Disposition of Real Property for Affordable Housing

  • Charter Amendment No. 3 -- References to Citizens

  • Charter Amendment No. 4 -- Office of Law Enforcement Oversight - Subpoena Authority

  • Charter Amendment No. 5 -- Making the King County Sheriff an Appointed Position

  • Charter Amendment No. 6 -- Structure and Duties of the Department of Public Safety

  • Charter Amendment No. 7 -- Prohibiting Discrimination on the Basis of Family Caregiver, Military or Veteran Status

• King County Proposition No. 1 -- Harborview Medical Center Health and Safety Improvement Bonds

• Seattle Proposition 1 - Seattle Transportation Benefit District - YES