League of Women Voters Forum for Kennewick City Council Candidates

The Benton-Franklin League of Women Voters (LWV) sponsored a forum for Kennewick City Council Candidates tonight at the Kennewick Library on Union St. in Kennewick. The library parking lot was full to overflowing. Many people, like myself, were forced to park in the adjoining Grange parking lot. My rough estimate is that 100-plus people attended the forum.

A large crowd attended the forum

Cameras were there

Leo Perales answers a question with a touch of humor

2017 Primary Candidate Forums

Seeking council seats on the Columbia

Ballots for the Aug. 1 primary election will be mailed next week in Benton and Franklin counties. These are nonpartisan races for city councils and school boards.

The League of Women Voters of Benton and Franklin Counties has scheduled three forums in July to offer people an opportunity to meet the “top-two” primary candidates.

The first forum for Richland City Council candidates will be held 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 11 at the HAPO Stage at John Dam Plaza in Richland. Candidates for four Richland City Council positions will be questioned by a LWV moderator, and if time allows, questions from the audience will be allowed as well.

The Kennewick City Council candidate forum will be 6:30 p.m. Monday, July 17 at the Mid-Columbia Library on Union Street in Kennewick. Candidates vying for two different city council positions will participate. As the Tri-Cities Herald has written, “Of particular interest will be a chance for people to see all six candidates running for the at-large post being vacated by Kennewick City Councilman Bob Parks."

The Pasco LWV forum will be 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 19 at the Pasco Police Regional Training Center, 204 Clark Street. It will feature candidates for two Pasco School Board and two Pasco City Council positions.

League of Women Voters Table Talk Features Presentation on Refugees in Our Community

The League of Women Voters March 7th Table Talk will feature a presentation about refugees in our community – how they got here, what help they are given and the challenges they face.  Guest speaker Carolyn Paxton, is a volunteer for World Relief and Amira Al Salami, a Refugee Program Specialist in the Richland office of World Relief, together with some Syrian families will educate us on what it’s like to be a refugee.

World Relief is a humanitarian organization and resettlement agency that helps refugees start a new life in the U.S. Amira Al Salami participates in various programs, including receiving refugees at the airport, getting their documents and applying for public assistance programs on their behalf, enrolling their children in school, interpreting, and setting up their medical and social appointments. From Iraq, Amira tries to bridge the gap between Islamic, Eastern, Arabic culture and the West.

The event is open to the public, so invite a friend or neighbor you think would be interested.

Where:  Ben-Franklin Transit Headquarters, 1000 Columbia Park Trail, Richland.  (at the Richland Wye)

For more information, please call Lora Rathbone 509-460-1223

Initiative 732 Forum

PCOs Richard Badalamente and Lora Rathbone were key players in arranging a forum on I-732, the initiative sponsored by CarbonWA designed to lower CO2 emissions in Washington State. The forum took place last Friday, September 30th, at WSU-Tri-Cities. An estimated 60 to 70 people turned out to hear panelists representing CarbonWA, Audubon-WA, Labor, and Latino Progress discuss the pros and cons of the initiative.

The Benton-Franklin League of Women Voters moderated the forum. The event was co-hosted by the WSU-Tri-Cities Environmental Club. The club's student president, Elinor Lake did yeoman's work arranging the venue, and assisting in the conduct of the forum. Northwest Public TV recorded the forum and will televise it soon.

A critical element of the ever increasing concentration of CO2 in the Earth's atmosphere is the unprecendated rate of change we're witnessing since the Industrial Revolution.

 I-732 is patterned after the proven and highly successful carbon tax in British Columbia and will:

1.  Establish a 25 dollar per ton tax on carbon emissions associated with fossil fuels.
2.  Reduce the sales tax by a full percent.
3.  Provide a Working Families Tax Rebate to provide up to $1,500 a year for 460,000 low-income households
4.  Lower the Business & Occupation tax on manufacturing to 0.001 percent of gross receipts, effectively eliminating the tax.


I-732 is designed to be revenue neutral, so that the money collected by the carbon tax is used to reduce other taxes. Government will not grow as a result, but CO2 will decline.

Benton County Democrats will discuss endorsing I-732 at the October monthly meeting.