Minutes of Regular Monthly Meeting, January 9, 2019

Email: info@32democrats.org

Thanks to Rosamaria Graziani and the volunteer crew who prepared food and drink. There was good conversation for all. At 6:45 p.m. there were 15 minutes of "open mic" time for any and all to briefly their express views, concerns, and announcements. The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. by District Chair Alan Charnley.

After opening with the Pledge of Allegiance, M/S/C (Moved/Seconded/Carried) to adopt the agenda as proposed. M/S/C to approve the minutes of our last meeting, December 12, 2018. Alan then recognized various current and former elected officials in attendance.

1. Civic Engagement Teams

Jenna Nand, 2nd Vice-Chair

The new executive board is interested in engaging in activism at all levels—public utility districts, school boards, city councils, county councils, state Legislature and Congress. "Civic Engagement Teams" can create 'calls for action' when any of these bodies are facing important votes. We'd like one person to be a point-person. So far we have two volunteers: Gray Petersen, gray.petersen@32democrats.org - Lynnwood and Janet Way, janetway@yahoo.com - Shoreline. If you would like to be a point-person, please contact Jenna: jenna.nand@32democrats.org

2. 32nd LD State Legislative Priorities

Alan Charnley, Chair, alan.charnley@32democrats.org

The following legislative priorities were debated and voted on at our November LD meeting. As 2019 begins we're now ready to start the dialogue with elected officials, our neighbors and friends, so that these priorities will be legislated. Full version at: https://32democrats.gitlab.io/state-legislative-agenda/— edited version below:

1. Repeal of sales tax on non-prescription medication & hygiene products
2. Protection of salmon and orcas by removal of barriers to fish passage
3. Creation of a publicly-owned state bank
4. Protection of good jobs and vote-approved Sound Transit 3 projects
5. Lower the threshold for passage of school bonds to a simple majority
6. Creation of a Single Payer Health Care system in WA State
7. Find solutions to end the housing crisis
8. Repeal the state sales tax and replace it with income tax
9. Reduce green house gases in 12 years or less

Our 32nd LD state elected officials were invited to discuss their legislative agendas at tonight's meeting but were unable to attend due to schedule conflicts. The committee assignments for 2019:

• Rep. Lauren Davis, Lauren.Davis@leg.wa.gov
  Public Safety (Vice-Chair); Capital Budget; Health Care and Wellness; Rules
• Rep. Cindy Ryu, Cindy.Ryu@leg.wa.gov
  Housing, Community Development and Veterans (Chair); Appropriations; Consumer Protections and Business
• Sen. Jesse Salomon, Jesse.Salomon@leg.wa.gov
  Agriculture, Water, Natural Resources and Parks (Vice Chair); Local Government (Vice Chair); Early Learning and K-12 Education; Law and Justice

Alan asked those in attendance: What legislation do you think is most important for 2019?

• Mark Weiss: the State Bank legislation that Senator Hasegawa will be moving forward.
• Carin Chase, Edmonds School Board Member, chaseca@edmonds.wednet.edu: Education funding needs some fixes, particularly special ed, funding since McCleary did not fully fund K-12 education.
• Deborah Kilgore, Edmonds School Board, kilgored952@edmonds.wednet.edu: OSPI (Office of Superintendent of Public Education) requests increased special ed funding. Edmonds spends $33.5 million for special ed whereas federal government sends only $1.4 million for special ed. So the state has to fix this funding gap. Please visit Madrona School, on January 15th at 5:45 p.m. (20420 68th Avenue West, Lynnwood, WA 98036). Madrona houses deaf and hard of hearing programs and you will be able to talk with special ed teachers.
• David Johnson: Get rid of the sales tax and implement a state income tax. This would help everybody and we must have more affordable housing—it's a crisis.
• Gray Petersen: We must achieve a Single Payer Health Care bill, not a public option bill which would contract with private providers. We support Single Payer as in HR 676 and won't accept substitutes.
• Brent McFarlane: We need more housing for renters below the poverty line, which is defined by below 50% of the area median income.
• Michael Bachety: rent stabilization, rights for tenants, energy self sufficiency
• Jenna Nand: Average people are being forced to move out of the way for development. The problem is gentrification. How do elected officials stand up to the developers and to Jeff Bezos? How can people live with dignity? Furthermore, we must have rest stops with showers, bathrooms, and washing machines available for un-housed persons.
• Rosamaria Graziani: I lived in a high-rise apartment with units that were affordable to very poor tenants. It worked well. It was a magnificent community!
• Jean Thomas: We need a State Bank because we're sending far too much money out of our state instead of using it for our needs here. Half the population rents and we need to figure out how to sustain a better mix for the viability of both renting and owning property.

3. Shoreline City Council Issues

Shoreline Councilmember Keith Scully, kscully@shorelinewa.gov

Several things going on in Shoreline:

1. The swimming pool at the Spartan Center is near the end of its life. I want to hear from your recommendations about our options. If we replace it, the cost will be $80 million, that's between $400-500 hundred dollars per household. Considerations are what the school district needs (a pool with lanes); and that the school district helps pay for a new pool. Should it stay at its current location? I'm not sure how I will vote on this issue.
2. Speaker Chopp will introduce legislation to close down Fircrest. The Shoreline City Council would have to agree to up-zone this property for affordable housing. Shoreline needs more housing than Ronald Commons provides.
3. Nothing is happening on the Council on the issue of tree protection. I couldn't even get a second to introduce legislation on this issue.

32nd LD member response to Council Member Scully's issues:

• We really need more housing for renters below the poverty line, which is defined as income below 50% of the area median.
• I'm concerned about where the proposed new housing would be located at Fircrest given the issue of toxicity from the lab located nearby. Potentially putting poor people in harms way.
• Who is looking out for the people living at Fircrest now? What voice will they have in the City Council and State's decisions?
• I suggested you a look at the tree protection legislation in Lynnwood (people are only allowed to cut down two trees per year), also checkout the Lynnwood pool as it is very popular and you might consider building the new pool on the Fircrest property.
• I'm shocked that no one would second your motion on tree protection. We'll be ready to help you next time it comes up. We've fought hard to save Fircrest and the Council needs to listen to Fircrest advocates.
• I'm concerned about how the Council spends money as it spent $20 million for 62 units of affordable housing ($322,580.00 per unit) when backyard cottages would cost only $60,000 each. We also need rent stabilization, rights for tenants and energy self-sufficiency.
• In Vienna, Austria, 62% of the population is in public housing. We could finance it through city bonding.
• Most people I graduated from high school with have had to leave this area because they can't afford to live here.

Council Member Scully: We need to stop subsidizing big business. People with high salaries are moving here and housing prices are now unaffordable for our own community. We must invest in those who make 30% below the median income.

4. Edmonds City Council Issues

Adrienne Fraley-Monillas, Edmonds City Council Member, adrienne.monillas@edmondswa.gov

What's going on in Edmonds:

1. Housing Affordability: It's clear, you have to make $70,000 dollars a year to get into affordable housing in Edmonds.
2. Fircrest: I spent 33 years working at Fircrest. The pool there was closed because it was built in the 1950s and cost $1 million a year to run. Fircrest is full of wonderful trees. The lab does handle dangerous materials such as anthrax and it's well known that it could be a target for terrorism. While there is a lot of extra space at Fircrest, but the current Shoreline master plan would deny living space to many clients.
3. Edmonds City Council Seats: We have four council members up for election this year. The Council did give $1 million on a 3 to 4 vote to the Edmonds wetlands. That was good environmental work.
4. Recent Murders in Edmonds: We are experiencing the same issues of gun violence as other cities. The murder and attempted murder/suicide involved people from outside of Edmonds — very tragic. I encourage you to talk to your city council members about gun ordinances. People brought guns into Edmonds. We may be having less violence than other cities but we've still had to put police officers into all of our high schools.
5. Edmonds will be 100% renewable by the end of 2019: We are purchasing clean energy and are encouraging other cities to go 100% renewable as well.
   - Sierra Club Press Release: https://www.sierraclub.org/ready-for-100/commitments

Q&A:

• Q: When is Edmonds going to get a tree ordinance?
  A: When we have more voices on the council.
• Q: What's the council's response to the neo-Nazi pamphlets all over Edmonds?
  A: We rallied against it and we are not going to tolerate it. People were at the rally from surrounding cities. If you follow this issue, you will see that cities as far south as Texas have had similar pamphlets spread through their communities.
• Q: What is the state of the homeless population in Edmonds? What about rest stops (showers, bathrooms and laundry facilities)?
  A: We hired a consultant who came in and interviewed people. Many homeless people hide in obscure places in Edmonds. We have to have enough affordable housing.

5. McCleary, Fircrest, Fair State Tax

State Senator Maralyn Chase, maralynchase@gmail.com

McCleary/Article 9: The McCleary education lawsuit pertained only to Article 9 in the State Constitution, which requires fully funding K-12 education for all children. The outcome of the McCleary lawsuit was that education received more funding, but not enough. Special education was not funded. The Legislature did a levy swap, and the state took over local funding. Now the state will probably allow local school boards to raise the cap on their levies. So, once again wealthy school districts will benefit, poor school districts will lose out. The systemic problem is that we don't have a large enough tax base.

Fircrest/Article 13: There's a larger picture here related to Fircrest. In June, 2018, the Feds decertified Western State Hospital for failing to comply with standards and withdrew 20% of their operating budget. Then in December Inslee settled a lawsuit brought by Disability Washington against the state on behalf of incarcerated mentally ill people. Inslee offered a settlement and the judge agreed to build about a dozen community hospitals to provide services and beds for individuals referred by the courts (Article 13-safety net funding). The question for the future of Fircrest is if it is closed down, where is the state going to find inexpensive property to build? Fircrest serves vulnerable, fragile people, and there is currently a concentration of services around Fircrest. We can't just move the Fircrest residents out to Arlington or Smokey Point, for example, because there aren't the complex services there. It is one thing to say we want community-based services but another thing to really deliver these services.

Creating a Fair State Tax System/Article 7: All this comes down to Article 7. We need a fair taxation system in this state, and every income group needs to pay its fair share. Keep in mind that there are currently $50.3 billion in tax exemptions at the state level and $55.5 billion at the local level.Ask the legislature to remove state tax exemptions. This will give us the broad tax base we need to fairly pay for quality education and quality habilitation centers like Fircrest.

6. City of Lynnwood Issues

Ted Hikel, former Lynnwood City Council Member, councilmantedhikel@hotmail.com

What's going on in Lynnwood:

1. Lynnwood City Council has four seats up for election this year. We have two Democrats on the Council now — Shirley Sutton and George Hurst.
2. Regional Fire Authority will be voted on in the April election.
3. On repealing the state sales tax: I suggest we repeal of all sales taxes, period. Lynnwood has the highest sales tax in the state. If you buy a $10,000 car in Lynnwood, you pay a sales tax of $1,000. Who would want to shop in Lynnwood?

7. Resolutions

1. Resolution supporting the Plan for a Green New Deal and creation of the select committee for the green new deal

   Introduced by Gray Petersen, gray.petersen@32democrats.org

   Green New Deal (GND) is a bold proposal to solve both the climate crisis and the economic crisis that we are facing. The GND is an umbrella term for a set of policies that will transition our country off of fossil fuels to a 100% renewable energy future. All of this will create of 10s of millions of good paying jobs that will help to eliminate poverty. This is a great socio-economic project which rivals some of the greatest economic projects this country has ever initiated. It will mitigate climate catastrophe and align with the latest UN climate science and recommended protocol.

   Q&A:

   Q: What will the funding structure look like?
   A: It doesn't have a finance section yet. The committee would determine this. It also has to be voted on by the U.S. House and U.S. Senate. Somehow Congress finds a way to give tax cuts to the rich and fund a huge military budget. I'm sure, with far-thinking members of Congress we'll be able to fund such an important socio-economic project. Also, I think the carbon tax gets in the way, rather than taxing emissions, we need to get Exxon out of government.

   Comment: The whole purpose is to change the paradigm and to not put the burden on poor people. The transition away from fossil fuel currently scares people. However, a massive push for full employment and livable wages can move us away from climate catastrophe toward a 100% renewable energy future. This will inspire everyone to support the Green New Deal.

   Comment in Support: Working people are not going to buy into solving global pollution if their choice is between that and feeding their families. This resolution is about creating an economy that doesn't chew up the planet — no more consume, consume, consume.

   Comment in Opposition: I'm in support of the concept but it's over two pages long and will not be accepted at King County Democrats.

   Comment for clarification: Yes, length does matter with state resolutions but we're early in the process. Right now we want to give readers as much information as possible.

   M/S/C - Passes unanimously

2. Resolution in Support of I-1000

   Introduced by Carin Chase, carin.chase@32democrats.org

   In our September 12th, 2018 meeting we passed a resolution supporting signature gathering for I-1000. Senator Chase urged us to sign this"Initiative to the Legislature" intended to rescind Initiative 200. The measure was enacted several years ago to prohibit using affirmative action to redress pass racial injustice. The 32nd LD turned in over 30 petitions for I-1000. On January 4th I-1000 organizers submitted over 367,000 signatures to the Secretary of State. The Legislature now has 3 options:

   1. Pass the Initiative, which makes I-1000 state law; OR
   2. Pass an alternative bill which would go on the November, 2019 ballot right next to I-1000, as I-1000 (B); **OR **
   3. Do nothing (meaning no vote) and simply allow I-1000 to go to the November, 2019 ballot by itself.

   The 32nd LD supports #1, the Legislature passing Initiative 1000 to make it state law.

   M/S/C - Passes unanimously

3. Resolution Supporting a Legislative Requirement that Presidential and Vice Presidential Candidates Disclose Eight Years of Tax Returns in Order to Appear on Washington's Primary Election Ballot

   Introduced by Janet Way, janetway@yahoo.com

   Janet: Carl and Paula Larson are from the 1st LD and are part of the group working on this resolution.

   Carl: This resolution says presidential candidates and vice-presidential candidates must submit their tax returns before being included on our state's primary ballot. SB 5078 will be introduced by Patty Kuderer (48th-D) in the State Senate and Rep. Derek Stanford (1st-D) will introduce a similar bill in the State House. If this resolution is approved tonight, the State Democratic Central Committee can consider it at their meeting on January 28th & 29th. Similar resolutions have passed in six other Legislative Districts.

   Q&A:

   • Q: This resolution applies only to the primary, why was the general left out?
     A: It was left out because of technical issues of our State Constitutional issue.
   • Q: Has it been passed into law in other states?
     A: Both California and New Jersey legislatures passed it but it was vetoed by both governors. It has been reintroduced in California and is expected to be signed by Gov. Newsom. It is being introduced in 20 other states. We have a local working group if you would like to join us. There are about 22 people involved and we meet once a month. Contact Janet: janetway@yahoo.com

   M/S/C - Passes unanimously

8. Treasurer's Report - Eric Valpey, Treasurer

We now have $2,960 in the bank and have no debt! The takeaways for the year are: we've had $9,500 in contributions; had healthy contributions from members — $6,000 came from membership and $3,000 from fundraisers (dinners, raffles). Most of our funds were spent on food. We did however have some legal expenses, similar to the other LDs. We had fewer printing expenses this year than last year. eric.valpey@32democrats.org

9. New Business and Good of the Order

• Rosamaria Graziani: Next month the Masonic Hall kitchen construction will be finished and we're looking forward to cooking a wonderful Valentine's Day dinner for everyone — a big red evening! rosamaria.graziani@32democrats.org
• Cathy Baylor, Vice-President, WSFDW: The Washington State Federation of Democratic Women will be meeting this Sunday, January 13th at the Mount Lake Terrace Library, 1:30 p.m. - 3 p.m., everyone is invited. We are Democratic women working on Democratic issues. Carol McMahon is President, carol.mcmahon@32democrats.org
• Michael Brunson: If you have a small appliance that is not working, there is a group of dedicated volunteers who are concerned about not filling up landfills with broken small appliances by offering to fix them. Contact the NE Seattle Tool Lending Library for more information: http://neseattletoollibrary.org

M/S/C Meeting adjourned at 9:10 p.m.

Prepared and submitted by Sally Soriano, LD32 Secretary, sally.soriano@32democrats.org