2013 is all about local elections, and we have already seen some great candidates step forward to run. Candidates for County Council, City Councils and Port of Bellingham Commissioner have until Friday, May 17th to file for office. Our endorsement meeting takes place on May 23d, directly following filing week. Enjoy dinner at 6 PM before the main program begins at 7 PM. Candidates will have time to make a brief statement, and we will allow for a short round of questions for each group (County, Port, City). Our rules require 2/3 support for a candidate to receive our endorsement. When more than 1 candidate is seeking our support, it is possible for us to endorse neither, 1 or both.

Inside this issue you will find statements from candidates seeking your endorsement vote. Please take the time to read these and find out more on their websites. Our endorsement meeting will move quickly, so it's best to do your homework. Members will also vote on the GMO Labeling Initiative, I-522 at this meeting.
 

To view the statements of the candidates vying for our vote at the May 23d meeting, follow this link.

Our next monthly meeting will be held on Monday, May 13th at New York Pizza (902 North State Street) beginning at 11:30.  Lunch is available for $8.99 and up.  Rosalinda Guillen, from Community to Community, will be talking to talk to us about the Dignity Campaign.  Also, some of the candidates for Bellingham City Council or Whatcom County Council will be speaking.    Everyone is welcome to join us!  For more information call Linda Pace at 734-1697.  

Our annual plant sale is coming soon. Mark your calendars for June 7th, 8th and 9th, and the best plant sale ever. It will be held at 2920 Eldridge Avenue, from 9 AM to 2 PM. We still need need your plants!  Potting parties will be happening at Ronalee's house and plants can be dropped off at any time at 2920 Eldridge, where there is a special area set up in the front yard.  

Call us at 647-7661 if you have plants to donate and need help digging them up.  
 

The 42nd District Democrats and the NW Washington Central Labor Council, AFL- CIO stepped up to help the Friends of the Ferndale Library campaign to pass the $550,000 bond to raise the final funding needed to build a new library in Ferndale.

by Anne Mosness

by Natalie McClendon

Initiative 522: "The People's Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act" will require all sellers of non-GMO food to document their products to prove it doesn't contain even a speck of genetically engineered material. Retailers can be fined up to $1,000 a day if they sell food that is "mis-labeled" by not disclosing that it is "partially produced with genetic engineering" or, vaguely, "may be partially produced with genetic engineering."

Bellingham’s annual Ski to Sea Parade takes place May 25th, and the Whatcom Democrats’ parade entry has been accepted by the Ski to Sea officials. Outreach Chair Daydre Phillips has an exciting concept for our group. We will showcase the open and welcoming nature of our party by marching under “the big tent”. We want to have Democrats from all walks of life and professions, walking together under a colorful, light-weight tent held up by bamboo poles.

With one of our long-time volunteers moving to Portland and another volunteer taking a job as a campaign manager, we are SERIOUSLY short of volunteers to staff the office. We are looking for two people to cover the office Monday and Wednesday afternoon (12:00 noon – 2:00 PM) shifts. Additionally, we need “temporary” volunteers to cover “occasional” vacancies created due to planned vacations, illness, etc.

Thursday, May 23, 2013, 7 PM
St. Luke’s Community Health Education Center
3333 Squalicum Parkway (near St. Joseph’s Hospital)
Bellingham WA

Speaker: Marcia Stedman of Health Care for All Washington, Chair of the Writers Team and Convener of the HCFA-WA Sno-King Action Team.

The presentation outlines how feasible it is to get to single payer healthcare for all residents in the state of Washington while we wait for Congress to pass an Improved and Expanded Medicare for All. Sponsored by United for National Healthcare.