News from the Skagit County Democrats

Skagit County Democrats Action Newsletter for December 21, 2020

DEMOCRATIC EVENTS

1. NEW – Washington State Democrats 2020 Coordinated Campaign has issued a Wrap-up Report
Click Here for the report. (Hint: To navigate the report, hover your mouse on the bottom-left of the report area for the forward and back buttons.)

2. The 39th Legislative District Democrats Reorganization Meeting is Sunday, Jan 3, 2021, 10:30am via Zoom
Click Here to register for this meeting.

3. The Skagit County Democrats Reorganization Meeting is scheduled for Saturday, Jan 9, 2021, 10:00am
Connection instructions will be forthcoming. Any paid member of Skagit County Democrats may run for an Executive Board position, although only elected Precinct Committee Officers may vote in those elections. Anyone interested in helping organize that meeting may contact Chair Lynn Campbell (chair@skagitdemocrats.org).

4. UPDATED – 40th Legislative District Democrats Reorganization Meeting, Sunday, Jan 10, 1:00pm (sign-in starts at 11:30am), via Zoom
“All positions are open. The Skagit Vice Chair, San Juan Vice Chair, Secretary, and Treasurer are all re-running again. The Chair and Whatcom Vice Chair are not running again and both the State Committee members haven’t decided, yet. The Vice Chairs are elected by PCOs who reside in each of the 3 Counties (for example: Skagit Vice Chair is elected by PCOs who reside in Skagit County).

We are now forming the rules and agenda and when they are finalized, we will send out to the PCOs, members, and interested candidates. We are encouraging all candidates to let the Chair, Trevor Smith (steelshanks@yahoo.com), or Skagit Vice Chair, Janet McKinney (cedarwaxwings@gmail.com), know if you are running at least 3 days before the meeting (January 7) – the more we know who is running, the better we can organize the meeting. Please let us know as soon as you can. If candidates cannot attend the reorganization meeting, they are required to let the chair know in writing (email is acceptable) at least one day before the meeting or by January 9. Also, the candidate needs to let us know who is nominating and speaking for you. If a person is nominated from the floor and has not notified the chair by Saturday, January 9, that they will accept the nomination and/or election, that person will be disqualified from accepting any position. Nominations can only be made by PCOs.

If you are interested in becoming a member, go to the 40th Website and click on AB (ActBlue) – https://40thdems.org/. You are not required to be a member to run.”

5. Skagit Democrats Fundraisers

• Political Collectibles for Purchase: These are the first of the political collectibles being offered for purchase. If you are interested in a listed item (or what else is available), please email staff (staff@skagitdemocrats.org); note the item of interest and include a phone number. Staff will contact you with information needed to proceed with the purchase (pay online or pay by cash or check at Headquarters at time of pick up by arrangement at the door). This is a fun project for staff. Provenance connected with some of the items has been very educational. Click Here for sample pictures. And as a matter of general interest, we wanted to share recent information about the memorabilia collection.
  • A Carl Maxey button was sent to Spokane Democrats. Carl was a prominent black attorney very active in the early civil rights movement. He ran against Henry M. Jackson as the anti-war candidate. His family still practices law in Spokane. Token value $20.
  • The Wing Luke museum in Seattle is researching our “Luke” button. He was the 1st Asian American to hold elected office in Washington. He served as Washington’s Assistant Attorney General in the Civil Rights Division.
  • One of our own has left us with a “Class Struggle” game. It came to us from the estate of Jerry Sommerseth. The game itself in perfect condition from 1978 can sell for upwards of $290. Ours is in fair condition, a 1978 edition and only a few pieces are missing. The game does sell in various venues online….we are going to ask $100.
  • The Kennedy pieces are up next for look ups, pricing and pictures. It is rewarding to see these historical pieces find their way back to their communities across the state.
  • Thank you for looking and considering a purchase of Democratic history to support Skagit Democrats.
• Coronavirus Face Mask Fundraiser: For a donation of $20 you will receive a hand-made face mask especially designed by an engineer/industrial designer at the request of the Medical Director of Pediatrics at Mission Hospital in California. The masks provide full coverage and are comfortable. Click Here or Here to see examples of the masks. If you would like to donate, Click Here. Under purpose on the donation, please indicate “Mask” and indicate which fabric you would like: #1 first on the left, #2 the middle, #3 on the right (for example: “Mask #3”).
  • New Face Masks! Christmas Special – Usually the masks are $20 but we are offering a Christmas special of $15.
• Greeting Card Fundraiser: Social distancing and staying safe makes it difficult for us to get out and look for cards to mark special occasions or just say hello. For a donation of $15.00 you will receive a box of 6 – 8 beautiful hand-made greeting cards. These are one-of-a-kind cards so no two boxes are the same and aren’t made to order. Let us choose your lovely card set. Pictured on the web site (Click Here or Here) are samples of the kinds of cards you will receive. If you would like to donate, Click Here. Under purpose on the donation, please indicate “Cards” and the number of boxes you want.

Thank you for your continued support of the Skagit Democrats.

6. The Skagit County Democrats Headquarters, 300A South First Street, Mount Vernon, will be CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC for the time being effective immediately
As the pandemic continues to worsen, locally as well as nationally, Skagit County Democrats is committed to keeping all of our volunteers, members, and the public safe. Locally, we are at the highest peak ever with 758 COVID-19 cases reported in November and numbers continuing to grow. In compliance with Governor Inslee’s mandate, we are closing our Headquarters Office to the public. That does not mean we are folding up the tent. We continue the work of the party. Please help us during this time.

• Please pay for membership on our website (Click Here) or you can mail your checks to our Post Office Box – Skagit County Democrats, PO Box 761, Mount Vernon, WA 98273-0761.
• Staff will continue to check voicemails and emails. They will get back to you and will continue to perform the essential work.
• Memorabilia will continue to be sold on-line through our website or you can write to staff@skagitdemocrats.org to make arrangements if you want to purchase memorabilia. Click Here for sample pictures.
• Please take any food donations you wish to contribute directly to the foodbank.

7. #StandwithSpokaneDems
From the Washington State Democrats website: “On Wednesday, December 9, 2020, a man entered the Spokane County Democrats HQ in an attempt to bomb the building. He approached one of our volunteers with something he claimed was a “manifesto,” but they were able to evacuate before he caused any harm to our volunteers.

In the aftermath of this destruction of the Spokane Democrats HQ, we are working to support our Spokane Dems family as the details of this horrific event continues to unfold.

Thankfully, no one from our organization was hurt in the attack. However, the offices used to house the Spokane Dems will likely be a total loss. If you would like to send direct support to the Spokane Democrats as they work to rebuild, we’ve created a dedicated donation page where we will route the funds raised to them to offset expenses associated with recovering from this attack.

If you would like to send a supportive message directly to the Spokane Dems, you can leave a comment expressing your sympathies on their Facebook page here.”

8. NEW – A message from 1st Congressional District Representative Suzan DelBene
“This week, Congress passed the National Landslide Preparedness Act, legislation that I introduced after the 2014 Oso landslide to help save lives, protect communities, and improve emergency preparedness.

Over 6 years ago, the Oso landslide took the lives of 43 of our neighbors in less than 2 minutes. My heart still breaks for the families that lost loved ones that day and the communities of Darrington, Oso, and Arlington, which have been changed forever. This legislation cannot bring back those we lost, but it can help mitigate disasters in the future.

On average, landslides kill between 25 to 50 people and cause between $1.6 billion and $3.2 billion in damage in the U.S. annually. This legislation will make landslides a national priority, expand our early warning systems, and implement new mapping technology to help communities plan for future landslides.

Watch my speech on why this bill is so important to save lives and protect communities in the future. [Click Here for the video.]

The bill now heads to the desk of the president who is expected to sign it.

As always, I am here to help you. If you need assistance, please do not hesitate to contact my Kirkland office at (425) 485-0085. For more updates on what I’m doing for WA-01, you can follow me on social media at these links – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

Take care, Suzan”

9. NEW – Links of the Week
The Link of the Week provides in-depth pieces the Editor has found to be relevant, insightful, and thorough on important issues of the day.

• Vaccines Are Here. We Have to Talk About Side Effects
• What the Pandemic Christmas of 1918 Looked Like
• Was the Presidential Election Stolen? There was widespread fraud, especially in the swing state of Florida. We are talking, of course, about 1876.
• How to watch the Jupiter and Saturn ‘great conjunction’ of 2020

COMMUNITY EVENTS

1. NEW – Anacortes Animal Control‘s Holiday Pet Food Drive, Dec 14 – 24, Anacortes Police Department, 1218 24th Street, Anacortes
“Help provide food for the dogs, cats, horses and other domestic pets of Anacortes and throughout Skagit County! No empty bowls this winter. Drop off donations in the cardboard donation box in front of the Anacortes Police Department or monetary donations in the secure metal drop box in an envelope labeled “Pet Supply Drive”.

2. Drive-through COVID-19 testing is Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, 10:00am TO 4:00pm and Tuesdays and Thursdays 12:00pm – 7:00pm, Skagit County Fairgrounds, South Gate Entrance, 501 Taylor Street, Mount Vernon
Use of the Drive-Thru testing site will be limited to those who live in or work in Skagit County. Those who do not live in or work in Skagit County should seek testing in their own communities or through their medical provider. If you have had a known or probable exposure to COVID-19, you cannot get tested right away. You must wait 8 days before being tested. COVID-19 has a relatively long incubation period, so being tested before 8 days has passed could result in a false negative. If you have questions about this, or any other questions related to COVID-19, please call Public Health at 360-416-1500. Skagit County Public Health is encouraging anyone who fits into the following guidelines to get tested:

• Those who are essential workers
• Anyone with any COVID-19 symptoms
• Anyone whose physician recommended they be tested
• Anyone who lives or works in a congregate setting
• Pregnant women
• Anyone who is a close contact or has a known exposure to COVID-19

Click Here for more information.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

1. Listen to We Do the Work, Tuesdays, 5:00pm, and Sundays, 5:30pm at KSVR, 91.7 FM or KSVU, 90.1 FM
A weekly local worker radio program that features news, interviews, music, and comments, “We Do the Work” believes American workers are at the heart of our economy and culture, deserving dignity, respect, and a decent family wage. To hear our other shows, go to We Do The Work Archives. Questions about interviews? Email – ksvrwedothework@gmail.com.

NEW – We Do The Work’s program for Tuesday, Dec 22, 5:00pm and Sunday, Dec 27, 5:30 – Larry Brown, President of the Washington State Labor Council (WSLC), and Union Songs
Union Songs: International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers’ UnionNation Band’s ‘Let’s Go Help Somebody’ and ‘Workin Overtime’ and Gary Kanter’s ‘We’ve Marched Down This Road Before’.
For more information, go to https://unionation.com/, http://garykanter.com/, http://www.wslc.org/, or http://www.thestand.org.

We Do The Work Comments:

• A worker whose job was shipped overseas has a message.
• There is a scary ‘goblin’ in the room called socialism.
• #LaborRadioPod

2. Listen to Speak Up! Speak Out! Radio
Listen to Speak Up! Speak Out! – a half hour weekly radio show committed to community, peace, justice, and non-violence issues. The show airs on Community Radio stations (times subject to change) – KSVR 91.7 FM (Skagit Valley College), Wednesdays 5:00pm, rebroadcast Sundays 8:00pm; KSVU 90.1 FM, Hamilton, Sundays 8:00pm and Thursdays 8:00am; KMRE 102.3 FM, Bellingham, Sundays 11:00am and Wednesdays 7:30am. Our shows are available online. Stream or download a show at http://speakupspeakoutradio.org/ anytime.

NEW – SUSO this week is the Annual Holiday Special
Short stories and some music celebrating Christmas and calling to question the way it is celebrated.

REVIEW – DACA Information following Supreme Court ruling – Speak up! Speak Out – Dec 16 – Update on DACA
Seattle and Mount Vernon, WA immigration attorney Carol Edward provides us with an update on DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) after the recent Supreme Court ruled to reinstate it so new people are now able to apply. Trump tried to end DACA completely a few years ago, but courts ruled that those with DACA should be able to continue to renew, but the renewals were for one year rather than two. Now immigrant children who meet the original criteria, may apply even if they never had. They had to arrive before age 16 and have lived in the United States continuously since June 15, 2007.

3. UPDATED – Coffee ‘n No Cards
Coffee ‘n Cards is going on hiatus, with a record of 19,037 postcards this year when postcards in support of local candidates and cards to encourage Democratic turnout in Georgia are included. That makes a grand total of 27,191 postcards over the past 3 1/2 years.

“Coffee ‘n Cards came into being as a way to have our voices heard in Trump’s administration. It turned into a way to learn about how our government functions, how legislation made its way thru the legislative process, and a safe place to express our opinions on many issues. It gave us a way to thank many others and to chastise a few. In the spirit of hope for more emphasis on “we” instead of “us vs them”, C’nC will move under the non-partisan umbrella of the LWV of Washington. That doesn’t mean our Democratic values are sacrificed. Turns out League positions, while not partisan, are the human values we can feel comfortable working towards. There are also great resources for folks wanting to be active citizen lobbyists during the upcoming WA State Legislative session.  To find out more, please contact carolosully@yahoo.com. The new group is open to both league and non-league equally.

Tomorrow morning’s 10:00am session via Zoom will show us citizen lobbyists how to navigate the WA State Legislative website to easily contact legislators and to see what resources are available through LWV WA website. The following week, Dec 28, will be a presentation on how public banking can benefit Washington state. The Jan 4, 2020 guest will be Heather Trim, Director, Zero Waste Washington, discussing consumer oriented environmental legislative priorities.

Here’s the Meeting ID for future sessions: 728 6695 7807.”