January 2018 General Meeting Minutes
Meeting held on January 31, 2018
Guest Speaker
Our guest speaker this month was David McDonald, Parliamentarian for the Washington State Democratic Party, and member of the Democratic National Convention’s Standing Committee on Rules. He spoke in detail on the nature of the DNC, the relationships between the DNC and other national, state, and local political organizations, and the changes being developed nationwide as a result of the 2016 election. This was followed by a period of questions and answers.
Adoption of Minutes
The minutes of the previous meeting, held on January 10, were approved without objection.
Officers Reports
State Committeeman
The State Committeeman recently attended a meeting of the Washington State Democratic Party, and provided the members of our organization with a summary of the business conducted at that meeting. Of note is that a new Environmental Caucus has been adopted, of which our own State Committeeman, Shaun Olsen, is Parliamentarian.
The State Committeeman also reminded the members of the organization to call their state representatives to ask for their support on upcoming legislation, such as House Bill 1026, and its counterpart Senate Bill 5701, which intend to guarantee health care for all residents of Washington State. He also called the members’ attention to a new carbon tax proposal by Governor Jay Inslee. Contact numbers for our representatives are: Congresswoman Lillian Ortiz-Self: (206) 708-6559; Congressman Strom Peterson: (206) 556-3194; Senator Marko Liias: (360) 786-7640.
County Committeewoman
The County Committeewoman informed the members of an upcoming county party meeting on February 3rd, at which a new Second Vice Chair for the county party would be elected.
The County Committeewoman also encouraged the members of the organization to file for election as Precinct Committee Officers by early May, and to pay both their LD and county party dues as soon as possible. The website www.Filepalooza.com can help members find offices that they may be able to run for in this year’s General Election. Treasurer
The treasurer read the current balances for the organization’s accounts. There were no new expenses since our last meeting on January 10, 2018.
There were no new developments to report regarding the organization’s recent PDC complaint.
Chair
The Chair reminded the members of the organization of the upcoming legislative district caucus on March 24, at which representatives from the LD will be elected to attend the Washington State Democratic Party Convention on June 15 and 16.
The Chair also spoke in detail about the Snohomish County Democratic Party’s plans for the Evergreen State Fair in Monroe, August 23 through September 3. The county party has asked for financial and volunteer support from the LDs. Sergeant at Arms
It was announced that the Sergeant at Arms, Ahamad Ceesay, has volunteered to run the 21st LD Democrats’ Twitter account. An option is being explored to allow members to submit content for publishing to Twitter, subject to approval.
The Sergeant at Arms reminded the members that our Twitter handle is @21dems.
(www.Twitter.com/21dems?lang=en).
Old Business
There was no old business.
New Business
Joel Weir made a motion authorizing the Executive Board to spend up to four hundred dollars of organization funds to cover the 21st LD’s share of the cost of a booth at the Evergreen State Fair. The motion passed.
Good of the Order
Al Apodaca, the PCO Recruitment Coordinator, reminded the members that we currently have fifty four official PCO’s in the LD. He also reminded the members that the deadline for filing for election as a PCO is in early May. Al is developing plans to recruit more PCOs in the LD, and to show appreciation to PCOs with special events. It was decided to give Al a 21dems.org email address, to make him easier for members to reach: PCOsupport@21dems.org.
Wil Wilcox suggested that we find a more centrally located venue for our meetings, since our current venue is inconveniently located for a large number of potential members of the organization. The Chair responded by asking members to submit suggestions for alternate venues to him for consideration by the members.
Shaun Olsen, in his capacity as a member of the Mukilteo School Board, reminded the members to vote “yes” in the February 13 special election to pass local school levies, without which the Edmonds and Mukilteo School Districts will face serious budget shortfalls.
Larry McIntosh informed the members that the ballot drop box at the McCollum Park Park & Ride has been moved, and is now harder to find, but is still located at the Park & Ride.
Joel Weir brought to the members’ attention an organization called Edmonds Neighborhood Action Coalition (information at www.Facebook.com/EdmondsNAC). He recommended that the members of our organization attend that organization’s events, which are made public on the above Facebook page.
Motion to Adjourn
A motion to adjourn was made and passed without objection. The Chair adjourned the meeting at 9:01 PM.