LIVE from Renton: The August 2015 King County Democrats Endorsement Meeting

Good evening from Renton. Tonight, the King County Democrats are meeting to consider taking endorsement action in several contests, which will be decided by voters this November. This post will offer a running chronology of the meeting proceedings, including endorsement votes.

• 7 PM: Chair Rich Erwin is calling the meeting to order.
• 7:09 PM: We’ve said the pledge, dealt with housekeeping matters and adoption of the agenda and minutes, and are now getting updates from our priority campaigns (Carol Gregory, NO on I-1366, Zack Hudgins, Claudia Balducci) as well as Democratic elected leaders like Congressman Adam Smith.
• 7:30 PM: We are now hearing a presentation from the Center for Multicultural Health.
• 7:40 PM: Seattle City Councilmember Tim Burgess has stopped by to tell us about implementation of Seattle’s preschool initiative and other recent legislative taken by the Seattle City Council.
• 7:52 PM: We have just finished the Chair’s Report, heard several points of personal privilege, and are moving on to committee reports (which will include endorsement proceedings).
• 8 PM: We have adopted an amendment to our bylaws adding the Committee on DisAbilities as a standing committee.
• 8:03 PM: We have adopted a resolution urging protection of pollinators from misapplication of herbicides.
• 8:25 PM: We have adopted a resolution condemning the votes of Senators Cantwell and Murray, as well as Representatives Larsen, DelBene, and Kilmer, to fast-track the Trans Pacific Partnership.
• 8:40 PM: We have adopted the ground rules and endorsement procedures specific to this meeting.
• 8:43 PM: We have voted to endorse Hira Singh Bhullar for Kent City Council Position #1, Jeff Sanderson for Mercer Island City Council Position #4, and David Cogan for Northshore School District Position #3 (these three candidates constitute tonight’s final slate). The vote was unanimous.
• 8:45 PM: Moving on to Seattle City Council, District #3. We had previously endorsed Rod Hearne in this race, but he did not survive the Top Two election.
  • The Endorsement Committee has recommended Pamela Banks. By a vote of twenty-five to nineteen, the executive board voted to reject the recommendation
  • No further endorsement action can be taken in this race because there are no alternative candidates to endorse.
• 9:00 PM:  Moving on to Seattle City Council, District #4.
  • The Endorsements Committee has recommended Michael Maddux. By a vote of thirty-four to eight, Michael is endorsed.
  • We then considered a motion from the floor to endorse Rob Johnson. By a vote of fourteen to twenty-one, the motion was rejected.
• 9:10 PM: Moving on to Seattle School District, Director #6. We have already endorsed Leslie Harris; we considered a motion from the floor to endorse incumbent Marty McLaren. This motion was rejected by a vote of sixteen to twenty-two.
• 9:17 PM: Moving on to Issaquah City Council, Position #6. We considered a motion from the floor to endorse Christopher Reh. By a vote of thirty-eight to three, Christopher is endorsed.
• 9:21 PM: Moving on to Pacific City Council, Position #6.  We considered a motion from the floor to endorse David Storaasli. By a vote of thirty-eight to zero, David is endorsed.
• 9:25 PM: Moving on to Burien City Council, Position #2. We considered a motion from the floor to endorse Holi Giffin. By a vote of thirty-seven to zero, Holi is endorsed.
• 9:29 PM: Moving on to Mayor of Redmond. We considered a motion to endorse Steve Fields. By a vote of thirty-five to zero, Steve is endorsed.
• 9:30 PM: Moving on to Medina City Council, Position #6. We considered a motion to endorse Sheree Wen. By a vote of thirty-eight to zero, Sheree is endorsed.
• 9:40 PM: Returning to Issaquah City Council, Position #6, we considered a motion from the floor to endorse Paul Winterstein. This motion was rejected by a vote of thirteen to twenty-three.

Our endorsement proceedings for this evening are now concluded. We have a few more committee reports to get through, and then we will be adjourned.