News from the Skagit County Democrats

Skagit County Democrats Newsletter for March 11, 2024

DEMOCRATIC EVENTS

GET THOSE BALLOTS IN, if you haven't already. TUESDAY IS YOUR LAST CHANCE!

1. Save The Date – Saturday, June 1 will be this year's Gala!

2. The Fidalgo Democrats meet Tuesday, Mar 12, 7:00pm, Anacortes Public Library, 1220 10th Street, Anacortes, for a presentation on the updating of the Anacortes Comprehensive Plan
"Cities are required to periodically update their Comprehensive Plans, which set goals and policies for zoning, housing, infrastructure, and environmental protection. Anacortes created its current Comprehensive Plan in 2016 and is required to update it by the end of June 2025. This time around we’ll be required to do new planning for low-income housing and to mitigate and adapt to climate change. John Coleman, The Anacortes Director of Planning, Community, and Economic Development, will provide an overview of the requirements for the update. City Council members Christine Cleland-McGarth and Ryan Walters will talk about their policy objectives. There will be time for questions. Call Barbara Cooper 360-770-3506 for more information."

3. fREADom Night & FAHRENHEIT 451 – Film & Speakers, Thursday, Mar 14, Doors open at 5:30pm, Program begins at 6:30pm, Film at 8:00pm, Lincoln Theatre, 712 South First Street, Mount Vernon
Sponsored by the 10th Legislative District Democrats and Young Democrats of Skagit County. "The national landscape of public and school libraries is becoming increasingly politically charged, due to challenges to beloved classics and new books by book banning campaigns. In Washington state, librarians, collection managers, and school boards are on the front lines, and innovatively meeting these challenges. Hear from public libraries’ collections services and local school boards’ perspectives. Be inspired by banned book and poetry readings by a diverse group of youth and performers. The dystopian world evoked by the classic film Fahrenheit 451 will provoke thoughtful reflection. Join us for an informative, fun, and inspiring evening celebrating diversity in thought, speech, and written word." Admission is free and open to all. Donations accepted.

4. The 39th Legislative District Democrats meets Tuesday, Mar 19, 7:00pm – 8:00pm, via Zoom
Click Here for the Zoom link.

5. NEW – This week's Legislative Committee Report
SINE DIE
The Legislative Session just wrapped up, and your impact was huge! Thanks to your letters, Democrats successfully passed key bills benefiting both our residents and the environment. Here are the bills we all supported through the Newsletter that passed.

• HB1241 – Addressing election worker harassment
• HB2039 – Modifying the appeals process for environmental and land use matters.
• HB2226 – Concerning collecting data on the H-2A worker program and from certain hand harvesters.
• HB2331 – An act relating to modifying requirements for public school instructional materials and supplemental instructional materials by prohibiting improper exclusions of certain materials, establishing complaint procedures, and promoting culturally and experientially representative materials.
• SB6007 – Concerning employment standards for grocery workers.
• SB6039 – Promoting the development of geothermal energy resources.

Stay tuned for more details on other bills passed and insights on efforts for next year. Your ongoing support is vital as we keep pushing for positive change. Great job everyone!

Editor’s Note: Sine Die is Latin for, “With no appointed date for resumption,” and is traditionally used to close the Legislative Session. Our thanks to the great work our Legislative Committee did this year in keeping us up to date!

6. Consider running to be a Delegate to the Washington State Democratic Party Convention, Saturday, Jun 22, Meydenbauer Center, 11100 Northeast 6th Street, Bellevue
Registration is now open to be a delegate to the 2024 Washington State Democrats State Convention! Registration is open until 5:00pm on Sunday, March 31, so please get your registration in soon! Delegates will be elected by members of their Legislative District Democratic Party on April 6, 2024. You can register here and see other candidates running for delegate in our directory page here. If you’re looking for more information please visit our Delegate Information Hub here, or join us for a virtual training on how to run!

This registration is only for people interested in running for state delegate. National Delegate registration will open after April 6th so please be on the lookout for that email if you are interested in running for national delegate. The State Convention will be held on June 22nd at the Meydenbauer Center in Bellevue Washington. If you have any questions, please reach out to Nathaniel Block at nathaniel.r.block@gmail.com and he will be happy to assist you in your run for delegate!

7. Washington State's Presidential Primary – BALLOTS ARE DUE TUESDAY!
The following is quoted from Shoreline Area News of February 16 (emphasis added by the Editor):
"Voters' pamphlets for the Washington Presidential Primary are arriving in mailboxes around the state. Ballots will be mailed out by February 23, 2024 and should be delivered by February 26. The election deadline is March 12 – all ballots must be received by that date.

The purpose of the primary is for the two political parties – Republicans and Democrats – to pick their candidates. For that reason, voters must declare their party status in order to have their vote counted. For this election only, you will need to check a political party declaration box and sign and date the declaration [on the envelope used to return the ballot]. Then your vote must be for a candidate in that party.

Because of the lead time needed to print and pamphlets and ballots, our information is already out of date. On the Democrat side, Marianne Williamson dropped out at the beginning of February. A candidate named Dean Phillips is still in the race, along with President Biden. On the Republican side, Chris Christie, Ron DeSantis, and Vivek Ramaswamy have dropped out, leaving Nikki Haley and Donald J. Trump.

Resources:

• The voters' pamphlet is online at the Secretary of State's website."
• Click Here for information about registering to vote.
• Click Here for a Sample Ballot.
• Click Here for Presidential Primary Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs).

Ballot Drop-Box Locations:
Boxes open for each election will be listed on the information wrap in your ballot packet. All locations that will be open for an election are open 20 days before Election Day and remain open 24 hours a day until 8:00PM Election Night. Click Here for a map of locations.

• Anacortes
  • Anacortes Public Library (behind library near drive-up book-drop), 1220 10th Street
  • Skyline Beach Club, 6041 Sands Way
• Bow Edison
  • Fire District 5 Fire Station, 14304 West Bow Hill Road
• Burlington
  • Burlington Parks and Recreation Building, (north side of Fairhaven Ave parking lot), 900 East Fairhaven Street
• Conway
  • Conway Fire Department, 21020 Greenfield Street
• Concrete
  • Skagit Upriver Services, 45770 Main South
• Hamilton
  • Fire District 8/Punkin Center Station, 34041 State Route 20
• La Conner
  • La Conner Library, 614 East Morris Street
• Mount Vernon
  • Mount Vernon Police Department, 1805 Continental Place
  • Skagit County Auditor's Office [Courthouse], (in U-shaped parking lot accessed from 3rd St. near Kincaid), 700 South 2nd Street
• Sauk-Suiattle
  • Last Chance Casino and Bingo, 6020 Mountain Goat Way, Darrington
• Sedro-Woolley
  • Sedro-Woolley Post Office, (in alley between Eastern Ave and Metcalf), 111 Woodworth Street
• Swinomish
  • Social Services Building, 17337 Reservation Road

Below is a timeline of activities for the March 12, Presidential Primary Election

• March 4 – Deadline to register or update existing registration online and by mail
• March 12 – Deadline for in-person registration and voter updates – Closes 8:00 PM
• March 12 – Special Election – Closes 8:00 PM           
• March 19 – Canvassing Board Meeting, Initial Review – 1:30 PM
• March 22 – Special Election Certification – 1:30 PM

8. NEW – Ken Winkes authored a Guest Commentary that was featured in the March 7 Skagit Valley Herald
Ken is a Skagit Democrat and a regular at our Headquarters Office. The title is: "Politics and the deadliest sin". Click Here to read the piece.

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

• The U.S. Health System’s Single Point of Failure
• Immigrants less likely to commit crimes than U.S.-born
• Inside A Secret Society Of Prominent Right-Wing Christian Men Prepping For A ‘National Divorce’
• Major US corporations threaten to return labor to ‘law of the jungle’
• The Science of Why We Don’t Believe Science

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COMMUNITY EVENTS

1. NEW – The 6th Dandy Daffodil Tweed Ride, Saturday, Mar 16, 10:00am, La Conner Swinomish Library, 520 Morris Street, La Conner
"Join us in La Conner, among the daffodil fields of Skagit Valley, for a dashing bicycle ride with a bit of style. It's a perfect place to be planted and a beautiful place to bloom" . . . "Their route takes them from the lovely town of La Conner, through the Skagit Valley fields where daffodils sprinkle the landscape in yellow."

2. NEW – The League of Women Voters of Skagit County present "News Literacy for an Election Year", Monday, Mar 18, 10:00am via Zoom
This session "will focus on news and information in our current political environment. Chelsey Cartwright, LWV US Program Manager for the Democracy Truth Project, will join us from the “other” Washington, where, in her work at the League, she strives to counter dis and misinformation and to advance a better public understanding of the democratic and electoral process. Chelsey works with Leagues Nationwide to develop and implement training sessions and events that advance this mission." This is part of the ACTviaZoom program of the Skagit LWV. Click Here to register for this event.

3. March is Women's History Month
Here are some resources for this event:

• Skagit Women's Alliance and Network (SWAN) (Website)
• Skagit Women's Alliance and Network (SWAN) (Facebook)
• Women's History Month
• National Women's History Museum
• National Women's History Alliance
• Wikipedia – Women's History Month
• Women’s History Month 2024 – History.com

4. Ramadan begins sundown on Sunday, Mar 10, and ends at sundown on Tuesday, Apr 9

5. Diaper Drive for United Way of Skagit County and the Diaper Bank of Skagit County – Support your local Chamber of Commerce by dropping off items until Friday, Mar 29
There is a challenge between the Mount Vernon, Burlington, and Sedro-Woolley Chambers of Commerce. Items needed include: Diapers (Unopened packages, opened packages, loose diapers), Wipes (Unopened packages), Baby Formula (Unopened packages), Adult Incontinence products (Unopened packages, opened packages, loose diapers).

6. The La Conner Daffodil Festival runs through the month of March
 

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ANNOUNCEMENTS

1. Coffee & Cards, Wednesdays, 10:00am – 12:00pm, Skagit County Democrats Headquarters, 2021 East College Way, Suite 104, Mount Vernon
Coffee and Cards meets on Wednesdays from 10:00am – 12:00pm. This is the group that was previously led by Carol Sullivan and is now led quite capably by Judy Farrar and Judith Chilcote. The group is a way for us to express ourselves about issues of importance to us all.  

We will write messages of encouragement and support to people who are making positive contributions as well as messages of concern and opposition to people who are negatively impacting our world. This includes legislators on the local, state, and federal level as well as CEOs of corporations and other people having a significant impact in our world. We will share ideas for people to write to and issues to address.  

Postcards and stamps will be provided, but we ask that people bring money to cover the cost of the postcard stamps which are currently $.51. Coffee will be provided or bring your own. As Carol always reminded us, “We are stronger together.” Our office is located at 2021 East College Way, Suite 104, Mount Vernon, 360-336-1555."

2. Anacortes Sunday Demonstrations
Progressive folks regularly demonstrate each Sunday, 12:00pm – 1:00pm at the corner of 12th Street and Commercial Avenue in Anacortes. While this is not an official Skagit County Democrats activity, turnout is encouraged.
 

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