Upcoming Events

Electric Car Show for National Drive Electric Week

Sat. Sept. 17, 2016, 11:30 am - 4:30 pm

A variety of Electric cars to observe and discuss with their owners.
Richland Public Library
 955 Northgate Drive, Richland WA

Electric Auto Association

Strategy Meeting for Benton County/8th LD PCOs & Volunteers

Sat. Sept. 17, 2016, 2 pm

Plumbers & Steamfitters Local Union 598 1328 Road 28, Pasco

Contact: Tony Ramirez, (509) 790-8556

Washington State Democratic Central Committee Meeting

September 16, 2016 (All day) to September 17, 2016 (All day)

Yakima Convention Center
10 N. 8th St
Yakima, WA 981901

Contact: mackenzie@wa-democrats.org 

8th Legislative District Monthly Meeting, 6 pm to 7 pm, and

Benton County Democratic Central Committee Meeting, 7 pm to 8:30 pm

Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2016

Laborers' 348 Hall, 2505 Duportail St, Richland, WA

Benton County Democrats ANNUAL PICNIC 

Sept. 24th, 2016 from 1-4pm

Jefferson Park, 1400 George Washington Way, Richland

I-732 Carbon Tax Forum

Fri, Sept. 30, 2016, 7 pm

WSU-Tri-Cities East Auditorium

2710 Crimson Way, Richland, WA

The Clinton Foundation

According to a September 1 article in the Seattle Times, Charity Navigator gave the Clinton Foundation -- the former first family’s nonprofit -- high marks Thursday, after an evaluation prompted by heightened interest in the organization.

I recently wrote an opinion piece on the Clinton Foundation, which attempts to put the Republican-generated controversy over the charitable organization in context. My article points out that the feigned outrage over the Clinton Foundation by republican operatives, now given rude voice by Donald Trump, is the height of hypocrisy, but most people won’t realize this. You have to know something about Citizens United and McCutcheon vs FEC to understand just how hollow the Republican charges are.

PCOs and volunteers need to be knowledgeable about this issue in order to answer questions voters may have when they are contacted about voting in the 2016 General Election. You can start here.

Brunch with Governor Inslee

Meet with Governor Jay Inslee at the Allen Brecke Law Offices, 3360 West Clearwater Ave. in Kennewick on Sunday, September 18th, from 11:00 am - 12:30 pm.

RSVP to Seamus McKeon, Seamus@JayInslee.com, or (206) 328-4091


Co-Host $1,000 | Sponsor $500 | Friend $250 | Guest $100

Beautiful Day for the Union-Sponsored Labor Day Picnic

Labor Day Picnic, September 5, 2016

Union volunteers stayed busy grilling hamburgers and hot dogs for the Labor Day picnic in Columbia Park yesterday. Long lines of picnic-goers snaked through the park waiting to load up their plates. Kids made a beeline for the free ice cream and cotton candy, then headed to the bounce houses. Live music from the stage reverberated through the throngs of picnic goers. It was a perfect day to be among friends celebrating America and what union labor brings to our country.

UA Local 598

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.