March 2018 General Meeting Minutes
Meeting held on March 28, 2018
Guest Speaker
Ben Cornell—Tacoma based immigration attorney and expert on United States immigration laws. Mr. Cornell spoke for several minutes about his experiences working in the immigration system, and answered several member questions.
Adoption of Minutes
The minutes from the February 28 meeting were not available, due in part to the Secretary’s absence at that meeting. Adoption of the minutes from the February meeting was delayed until the next meeting on April 25.
Officers Reports
Chair
The Chair reminded the body of the Snohomish County Democratic Convention on April 22, which all members of the 21st LD are welcome to attend. He also mentioned that development of the county platform is in progress, and that meetings of the state convention committees had not yet been scheduled.
Secretary
The Secretary had nothing to report, however he did take a few moments to apologize that the February minutes had not been uploaded, and to thank the County Committeewoman for stepping in as substitute secretary.
Treasurer
The Treasurer read the balances of the organization’s accounts, which did not yet include the expenses incurred or the donations collected at the recent caucus—those cash flows will be reflected in the next Treasurer report. She also reminded the members to please pay their organization dues (or request a waiver) within the next 10 days.
State Committee Representatives
The State Committeewoman announced an upcoming training session on how to support candidates in other legislative districts, and reminded the body of the upcoming public appearance by Congressman Keith Ellison, who will be speaking at Kane Hall on the University of Washington Campus, April 6, starting at 6:00 PM.
The State Committeeman announced that he has been working as a member of the State Rules Committee for the presidential caucus in 2020; if members would like to provide any feedback based on their own caucus experience, they are encouraged to email him at statecommitteeman@21st.snocodems.org. He responded to a question from a member regarding using a primary election to select the state’s 2020 presidential candidate, which is also a part of the ongoing discussion
County Committee Representatives
The County Committeewoman made a report of what was discussed at the last county committee meeting. She reported that attendance at caucuses in the county was generally low this year. She informed the body that Congressman Rick Larsen would be appearing at the Lynnwood Heritage Park on March 29. She encouraged LD committee members to participate in the corresponding committee at the county level. She announced that the United Way of Snohomish County was seeking volunteers for its May 5 Wellness Fair, and reminded members that PCO filing would take place May 14 – 18.
The County Committeeman spoke on election strategy for the upcoming November election, and called upon the members to support Democratic candidates in other districts, even if those districts were expected to vote Republican.
PCO Coordinator
The PCO Coordinator informed the body that there are currently 55 PCOs in the district. He also reported that phone bank volunteers had made approximately 500 phone calls raising awareness of the caucus. He also asked for additional volunteers for upcoming canvasses and for the county party’s booth at the Evergreen State Fair.
Old Business
There was no old business.
New Business
A slate of resolutions was submitted to the body by the Education and Issues Committee, and voted on.
A resolution regarding single payer health care was proposed. This resolution would ask the State and Federal legislators representing the 21st LD to support single payer health care laws currently being considered. The resolution was debated, both for and against. The resolution was voted on, and passed.
A resolution regarding nuclear weapons was proposed. The resolution extended the thanks of the 21st LD Democrats to Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal and Senator Maria Cantwell for their efforts to restrict the spread of nuclear weapons. The resolution was voted on and passed unanimously.
There was a motion regarding the formation of an ad hoc Communications Committee, to help promote awareness of the 21st LD Democrats within the community. Ahamad Ceesay and Neil Shafer-Ross were proposed to be the members of this committee. The motion was approved by unanimous consent.