Supreme Court Refuses to Reinstate North Carolina's Move to Suppress Voting

A divided U.S. Supreme Court refused last Wednesday, August 31st, to reinstate a set of voter restrictions enacted by the Republican-controlled Legislature in the battleground state of North Carolina. Last month a federal appeals court invalidated the restrictions, declaring that they were deliberately targeted at making it more difficult for African-Americans to vote.

UA Local 598 Labor Day Picnic

Last Year's Labor Day Picnic in Columbia Park

Plumbers and Steamfitters Local 598 and other local unions will host a Labor Day Picnic in Columbia Park in Kennewick. The picnic is free to the public. Volunteers will man the barbecues while live music plays on Columbia Park's main stage. Food will be served between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. and the first 300 people get a free tee-shirt. There will be a bouncy house for the kids, and for grownups, a show and shine motorcycle and car show.

The picnic will bring together union members from all professions to celebrate the American worker, including food workers, nurses, firefighters, construction workers, the 15 building trades, and the plumbers and steamfitters.

Come out and get to know the union-affiliated members of our community.

Down to the Wire

Have you been planning to write that letter to the editor supporting Hillary Clinton for president, Patty Murray for senator, or Jennifer Goulet or Gary Downing for the 9th and 16th legislative district house seats, respectively? Maybe you've been squirreling over an opinion editorial on the need to support I-732 dealing with climate change, or I-735 on getting big money out of politics? Well, you'd better get those letters and op-eds in the mail, because we are getting down to the wire.

In Washington, Oct. 21st is the start of an 18-day voting period (through Election Day). Ballots are mailed out and Accessible Voting Units (AVUs) are available at voting centers.

Voting starts in less than six weeks, on Sept. 23 in Minnesota and South Dakota, the first of some 35 states and the District of Columbia that allow people to cast ballots at polling sites or by mail before Nov. 8. Iowa is expected to have ballots ready by the end of September, as are Illinois and two other states.

The electoral battlegrounds of Arizona and Ohio are to begin voting on Oct. 12, nearly four weeks before Election Day. The electoral battlegrounds of Arizona and Ohio are to begin voting on Oct. 12, nearly four weeks before Election Day. North Carolina and Florida will be underway before Halloween.

For PCOs, making personal contact with the people in your precincts is key to getting out the vote. There's no time like the present to do this. And in another 6 weeks or so, they'll be no time at all. If you haven't already done so, log into your Votebuilder account and print the names of your democratic precinct members, and a walking map of your precinct (if you need help doing this, contact John Christenson at 509-783-0282). Then go for a walk.

Trump in Everett, Washington

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is holding a rally at Everett’s Xfinity Arena beginning at 7 p.m tonight. Trump is also in town to gather cash at a fundraiser before the rally.

Let's use this event to spur donations to our own Democratic Party. Go to the Washington State Democratic Party website, or to the Hillary Victory Fund and show Donald Trump that our hearts and minds are with #loveNOThate.

Becky Voll Elected State Committee Woman

Becky Voll was elected to fill the remaining term for our Benton County Democrats Central Committee (BCDCC) State Committee Woman at the BCDCC meeting, Wednesday, August 17.

We have two people who represent the county party in the Washington State Central Committee, a woman and a man. They will serve in that position until we reorganize in January when we will hold elections for all officers. The duties of the state committee representatives are to participate in the business of the party at the state level and provide reports of those state activities to the local organization.

Becky became active in the party when she joined the Jay Clough campaign.  She served as Vice Chair of the party, frequently substituting for the previous chair.  She resigned as Vice Chair earlier in 2016 to spend more time with her grandchildren, but continued being an active member of the party.  She was an Area Caucus coordinator for her location in Kennewick and was a credentials co-chair at the county convention.  She also worked credentials at the 4th Congressional District caucus. More recently she served as the lead for organizing our booth at the 2016 Benton County Fair and Rodeo.

We appreciate the members of our party who, like Becky, step up to organize and act to help achieve our progressive platform.

WA 8th LD Democrats: Being David

We are reprising this excellent 2014 post by Kendall Miller. Worth reading again. 

WA 8th LD Democrats: Being David: With a hat tip to  Tom Sullivan , his articles got me to thinking. We are not the Goliath here in eastern Washington the way the Democrat...

Climate Change Matters in the 2016 Election

Presidential nominees Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump hold radically different views on climate change and how - if at all, in Trump’s case - the issue should be addressed. The Earth has had three record hot years in a row with deadly heat waves scorching cities, sea level rise swamping coastlines and diseases threatening public health. Government action can make a difference on climate issues, as evidenced by the Reagan-approved Montreal Protocol and George H.W. Bush’s campaign to reduce acid rain. For not just America but the world, climate change matters in this election. (AP)