Pacific County Democrats

Please join us for the Washington State Democrats Annual Crab Feed & Grassroots Forumon Feb. 20th – Presidents’ Day. The events are once again being held at St. Martin’s University in Lacey. Since our legislature is in session it’s an exciting time to be just miles from the Capitol.

The Grassroots Forum is from 10:00am – 4:00pm. The cost is $15 and includes lunch. Some of the sessions include Campaign Messaging, How to Become a Delegate, and Vote Builder Training. The full schedule will be out shortly at www.wa-democrats.org/crab.

The Crab Feed begins at 5:00pm. As always we’ll have live music and a great feast of crab, salmon, clams, a vegetarian main dish, side dishes along with cold beer and WA State wine. Our special guests include Governor Chris Gregoire, Senator Maria Cantwell and Democratic Elected Officials from around the State. We always have a great gathering of grassroots activists, candidates, supporters, party leaders, our friends in labor, and elected officials. Individual tickets are $50. 

To register go to http://www.actblue.com/page/12crabfeed. You can also mail in this form.

WHAT:    PACIFIC COUNTY DEMOCRATS GENERAL MEETING

WHERE:  South County Building, Long Beach, WA

WHEN:   Monday, January 9, 2012

TIME:    7 PM

The agenda will include the continuation of the discussion of I-502, the proposed initiative licensing and regulating marijuana.

The district lines for Pacific County Commissioners have been redrawn based on the 2010 census.  These maps are available now for review by clicking below:

District 1
District 2
District 3

Our former Congressman Brian Baird will be on 60 Minutes this Sunday, November 13 @ 7pm. Enjoy!

Congress insiders: Above the law?
The same insider trading that can land a regular citizen in jail is perfectly legal for members of Congress – Watch “60 Minutes” on Sunday, Nov. 13 at 7 p.m.

Katie Blinn, state co-director of elections, penned this helpful description of the proposed constitutional amendment dealing with voting residency for those taking part in presidential voting:

Senate Joint Resolution 8205 is the constitutional amendment regarding voting in Presidential elections.  Here is some additional information that may be helpful:

• Historically, the State Constitution required each voter to have lived:

o    in the state for one year;

o    in the county for 90 days; and

o    in the precinct for 30 days, in order to vote.

• A 1966 amendment to the State Constitution added a new paragraph that eased the requirement for voting in Presidential elections from one year to 60 days.
• In 1974, the original residency requirement for all elections was eased to 30 days.  This was due to a 1972 U.S. Supreme Court case, Dunn v. Blumstein, 405 U.S. 330 (1972), that addressed a residency requirement in Tennessee.  The 30 day requirement has been the rule for all elections since then.  However, the paragraph containing the 60 day requirement for Presidential elections was never repealed (removed) from the State Constitution.
• The constitutional amendment on the ballot this year, SJR 8205, finally repeals (removes) that old paragraph that has not been in effect for about 37 years.  The 30 day requirement remains.

Click HERE to read the story.

Reception to support the 19th District Delegation (Sen. Brian Hatfield, Rep. Brian Blake and Rep. Dean Takko) at the home of Dave & Maureen Nisbet, Bay Center, WA, Thursday, October 20, 5:30pm. For more info 360 432-3334 or email billd@taylorshellfish.com

The Washington State Redistricting Commission scheduled a special meeting for Friday, October 14 to narrow the number of draft legislative district plans from four to two. The special meeting will take place at 11:30 a.m., at the Redistricting Commission’s Office (next to the Children’s Museum), 1063 Capitol Way South, Conference Room 105.

The meeting is open to the public and will be webcast live by TVW. You can watch the meeting and submit public comment by visiting the “Get Involved” page of the Commission’s website. The final agenda has been posted and can be viewed by clicking the “Agenda” link on the home page.

People ask why the Democratic Party is not out on the streets with the Occupy Wall Street Movement.

Eugene Robinson has written a great editorial, which both captures the spirit of this movement, and articulates why it does not need the Democratic Party to align with it right now:

Already, after less than a month, commentators are asking whether the Occupy protests can be transformed into a coherent political force. For now, at least, I hope not.

We have no shortage of politicians in this country. What we need is more passion and energy in the service of justice. We need to be forced to answer questions that sound simplistic or naive — questions about ethics and values. Detailed policy positions can wait.

At some point, these protest encampments will disappear — and, since the nation and the world will not have changed, they’ll be judged a failure. But I’ve got a hunch that this likely judgment will be wrong. I think the seed of progressive activism in the Occupy protests may grow into something very big indeed.

To read the full article, copy this URL and paste to your browser window:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/occupy-wall-street-a-timely-call-for-justice/2011/10/10/gIQASKleaL_story.html