Experience, Strengths, and Vision

Experience in the local Party

• Attended first Yakima Democrats meeting in February 2016
• Canvassed my precinct and parts of a couple others before the Precinct Caucus
• Was the Area Caucus Coordinator at Ridgeview Elementary for the March 26th Precinct Caucuses
• Volunteered for the Sanders campaign, t-shirt distribution, canvassing, phone banking, debate watch parties, went to a Seattle rally and volunteered at the Yakima rally
• Did not run for delegate, but attended the caucuses and conventions at every level – LD, CD, County Convention, State Convention
• Attended the 4^th CD Caucus, contacted LD delegates and alternates to make sure they could be there, and gave the “nominating speech” for Senator Sanders
• Served on the tally committee at both LD15 and CD4 caucuses
• Served on the Platform Committee prior to Yakima County Convention and helped draft our platform
• Was appointed to the State Convention Rules Committee which drafted the rules for the State Convention
• Chaired the Franklin D. Roosevelt Dinner Committee and planned and coordinated the Yakima Democrats annual FDR Dinner (with the help of many volunteers!)
• Volunteered for the Coordinated Campaign, registering voters at the Farmers Market and phone banking
• Volunteered on the planning committee for the Yakima Democrats booth at the Central WA State Fair and volunteered several shifts at the booth, registering voters and encouraging people to get involved in the political process
• Elected PCO for 140-LD15
• Co-administrator of the Yakima Democrats Facebook page and website

Strengths

• Calm, easy-going, good listener
• Detail oriented
• Critical thinker
• Committed to truth and justice
• Experience organizing both groups of people and physical spaces, events
• Experience building websites, newsletters (electronic and printed), compiling and using data, materials and marketing design, photography
• Proficient in Excel, Word, Publisher, NationBuilder, WordPress, Facebook, Twitter, and other social media and online tools

Vision and Goals

• Use the best available technology and tools to organize, communicate, and educate efficiently and excellently (many of these tools are free or low cost)
• Bring in the voices of more young people, people of color, native people, and other under-represented groups by creating regular, engaging, educational events that empower people to find their place in the local political process
• Boost PCO numbers. We currently have 11% of PCO seats filled compared to the Republicans’ 44%
• Encourage and assist PCOs to be truly active, effective PCOs, through education, training, resources, canvassing teams, etc.
  • PCOs and active members are the heart of the Democratic Party Organization
  • Through our votes, our leadership, and the issues we work on and engage our neighbors with, we help determine the future of our valley
  • When we participate in our local party and bring more new people in, we strengthen our party and increase our ability to act locally by supporting candidates and legislation, bringing issues before the City Council, etc. (remember, AJ Cooper won her primary race by 8 VOTES! Our efforts matter)
• Increase voter registration, turnout, and participation in the political process in Yakima County
• Fine tune our marketing and outreach to more effectively reach our community, including more Spanish language outreach and materials

And, last but definitely not least:

• Find and support candidates to run for local and statewide offices

Go back to my story.

Yakima County Chair Candidacy

“…if we do act, in however small a way, we don’t have to wait for some grand utopian future. The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory.” – Howard Zinn

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I am excited to announce that I am running for Chair of the Yakima County Democratic Central Committee.

Though I am relatively new to party politics, I’ve really enjoyed getting involved this year and have been energized by the gravity of these times to become even more involved in the political process. I feel that my skills and experience would be a good fit for the Yakima Democrats, as we continue to find ways to move forward and promote our Democratic values in our valley and beyond.

Read more about my experience, strengths, and vision, or read on to learn a little more about me, my background, and why I am running for Chair of the Yakima County Democratic Central Committee.

I was raised all over WA state, but mostly in Yakima, the oldest of eight children in a conservative, homeschooling family. Out of this unique upbringing, I ventured out into the world to attend college in West Virginia, to study Equine Business. In the academic world, I encountered many new ideas and perspectives, and began to develop my own progressive views. I became involved in student government, campus clubs, and was the Editor-in-Chief of the yearbook. After graduating in 2002 with a Bachelor of Science degree, I got married and lived in Texas for a couple years, teaching riding lessons and managing a small horse boarding facility. Eventually the Pacific Northwest called me back, and we moved to Bellingham, WA.

In Bellingham, I started a professional organizing business, helping people declutter and organize their homes and offices. (Now I do this work for clients in Yakima.) My business partner and I were also both involved with a small non-profit animal rescue, which we were both instrumental in helping to to rebuild over the course of several years. We created an organizational structure, mission statement, teams, programs, and events that the organization is still using to this day. I held nearly every team leader position and several Board positions including President.

I learned a lot from both those endeavors. It turns out that small organizations and small businesses are very similar. Both benefit from planning, having a clear mission statement, understanding their target market, and having a well designed structure and teams that work together to accomplish the organization’s goals.

After my marriage ended in 2010, I had the opportunity to apply my organizing skills to rebuilding my own life. I moved back to Yakima to regroup with my pet family of 2 dogs, 3 cats, and a rabbit. I volunteered for a pet rescue group here, as a way to meet people and begin to get involved in the community. I saw the same kinds of problems that I encountered in the pet rescue group in Bellingham – inadequate organizational structure and planning leading to ineffective programs and burned out volunteers (including myself).

I took a break from volunteering for a while, but still dabbled in many projects and ideas. Another issue I’m very passionate about is food, farming, and community gardens. I became involved with the Yakima Food Co-op, and a Community Garden group. I really wanted to do something to make a difference, to offer my skills where they could make the biggest impact. I’ve always been interested in politics, but I never realized that I could get involved in the political process. Government seemed distant, inaccessible, and unaccountable. I’ve always voted, but never believed my vote really mattered, or that my voice could be heard.

Then, Bernie Sanders ran for President. Here was someone talking, to a national audience, about so many things that had been on my mind and heart for years! But Bernie wasn’t just someone I could agree with; he got me thinking about politics in a way I never had before. When I heard Bernie say “when millions of people stand together, there’s nothing we can’t accomplish,” I asked myself, what does that really mean? Standing together. Does it mean giving money to a campaign? Perhaps, but that can’t be all. Does it mean posting things on Facebook? That’s fine, but I don’t think that’s it either. Does it mean voting? Of course, but… there must be more. It must mean something more concrete, actually getting together with other people and taking action.

So, I went to my very first political meeting, the Yakima Democrats meeting in February of 2016, right before the Precinct Caucuses. I was hooked! The more I learned about the structure and processes of the Democratic Party through hands-on involvement, reading everything I could, signing up and showing up, and networking with other activists around the state and nation, I realized THIS is what I’ve been looking for… this is the place for me. This is where I want to give my skills, experience, and passion.

In the Democratic Party organization, I see a beautiful structure that just needs more people to take on available positions. I see processes that allow people to advocate for the issues they care about, and make real changes. It’s not quick, or easy, but it’s possible, and as more of us join together, it becomes more possible.

The candidate I initially supported didn’t win, and that was disheartening, to say the least. Ultimately I decided to keep doing the work anyway, because that’s what we have to do no matter who wins. I remain committed to that work, even after the devastating election results. Now our voices and actions are needed more than ever! We must defend justice, equality, and opportunity for all, the basic dignity and human rights of every person, and the health of our planet.

In my opinion, involvement in the political process, and the Democratic Party specifically, is one of the best ways to move forward, even in these dark and difficult times. I look forward to networking with activists from many organizations, discovering where we have common ground and common cause, and working together to find creative ways to improve our community, bring in the voices of all our citizens, and build a government that works for all people.

Decisions are made every day by our government representatives that affect our lives directly. Activism means influencing the decision makers, and ultimately becoming the decision makers. There are so many people struggling right here in our valley who desperately need our advocacy, so many issues that need our attention. I want to listen to the opinions of the residents of our valley and find out what issues are important to them, then take action through the political process, and encourage more citizens to join us in that process. Through this process of engaging and activating, I believe we will find individuals who we can empower to become our decision makers in local, state, and national government.

Engage, activate, empower. Those words have meant a lot to me this year as I’ve become involved with the Yakima Democrats. I feel that the Democratic Party, or more specifically individuals in it (the Party is people, after all) have engaged, activated, and empowered me to be an activist for the people and the issues I care deeply about. Though I have lived and traveled all over our (already great!) United States, the Yakima Valley is home. I look forward to continuing to serve our community!

Experience in the local Party

• Attended first Yakima Democrats meeting in February 2016
• Canvassed my precinct and parts of a couple others before the Precinct Caucus
• Was the Area Caucus Coordinator at Ridgeview Elementary for the March 26th Precinct Caucuses
• Volunteered for the Sanders campaign, t-shirt distribution, canvassing, phone banking, debate watch parties, went to a Seattle rally and volunteered at the Yakima rally
• Did not run for delegate, but attended the caucuses and conventions at every level – LD, CD, County Convention, State Convention
• Attended the 4^th CD Caucus, contacted LD delegates and alternates to make sure they could be there, and gave the “nominating speech” for Senator Sanders
• Served on the tally committee at both LD15 and CD4 caucuses
• Served on the Platform Committee prior to Yakima County Convention and helped draft our platform
• Was appointed to the State Convention Rules Committee which drafted the rules for the State Convention
• Chaired the Franklin D. Roosevelt Dinner Committee and planned and coordinated the Yakima Democrats annual FDR Dinner (with the help of many volunteers!)
• Volunteered for the Coordinated Campaign, registering voters at the Farmers Market and phone banking
• Volunteered on the planning committee for the Yakima Democrats booth at the Central WA State Fair and volunteered several shifts at the booth, registering voters and encouraging people to get involved in the political process
• Elected PCO for 140-LD15
• Co-administrator of the Yakima Democrats Facebook page and website

Strengths

• Calm, easy-going, good listener
• Detail oriented
• Critical thinker
• Committed to truth and justice
• Experience organizing both groups of people and physical spaces, events
• Experience building websites, newsletters (electronic and printed), compiling and using data, materials and marketing design, photography
• Proficient in Excel, Word, Publisher, NationBuilder, WordPress, Facebook, Twitter, and other social media and online tools

Vision and Goals

• Use the best available technology and tools to organize, communicate, and educate efficiently and excellently (many of these tools are free or low cost)
• Bring in the voices of more young people, people of color, native people, and other under-represented groups by creating regular, engaging, educational events that empower people to find their place in the local political process
• Boost PCO numbers. We currently have 11% of PCO seats filled compared to the Republicans’ 44%
• Encourage and assist PCOs to be truly active, effective PCOs, through education, training, resources, canvassing teams, etc.
  • PCOs and active members are the heart of the Democratic Party Organization
  • Through our votes, our leadership, and the issues we work on and engage our neighbors with, we help determine the future of our valley
  • When we participate in our local party and bring more new people in, we strengthen our party and increase our ability to act locally by supporting candidates and legislation, bringing issues before the City Council, etc. (remember, AJ Cooper won her primary race by 8 VOTES! Our efforts matter)
• Increase voter registration, turnout, and participation in the political process in Yakima County
• Fine tune our marketing and outreach to more effectively reach our community, including more Spanish language outreach and materials

And, last but definitely not least:

• Find and support candidates to run for local and statewide offices

Thank you for taking the time to read my thoughts. If you are an elected Precinct Committee Officer in Yakima County, I humbly ask for your vote at our reorganization meeting on Dec. 3rd, 2016 at 11am.

If you are involved or want to be involved, I ask for your continued support, energy, and activism. Join with me in moving forward, together!

“I am committed to fighting for our values, our democracy, and the moral character of our nation. And I am committed to standing with the Democratic Party against bigotry and oppression for the next four years and beyond, no matter what form it takes.” – George Takei

 

Brian Cox on the Joe Rogan Experience

Almost 3 hours of awesome! We spent our date night tonight watching most of this…

The Known Universe

This short video zooms out from the Earth to the known universe, then zooms back in. It’s a trip.

 

That kind of facility…

My heart is heavy… I just read an article from a local news station about debate over whether to allow a homeless shelter in one of our neighborhoods.

“I don’t think it was zoned to have that kind of facility in the neighborhood because we want to be a neighborhood, we want to have our families there,” said one person.

(original article http://www.kimatv.com/news/local/Community-divided-over-homeless-shelter-in-SCC-zoned-district-298565491.html)

That kind of facility? What kind of facility would that be exactly? One that provides shelter? Like YOUR house, perhaps? Oh, heaven forbid people would be attracted to a place they could get food and shelter and a bed. They might come from miles around! The horror!!

You want to be a neighborhood, but only with the people you find acceptable or comfortable to be around? You want to have your family in your tidy safe little neighborhood, but what about these homeless people? They’re someone’s family too.

Where’s the compassion? I’m appalled when people talk about “the homeless” as if they’re a different species. They’re human beings, you guys!!! I get it, some homeless people are addicts, or dirty, or crazy, or very rarely, genuinely threatening. No one likes to be reminded of homelessness by seeing homeless people, but no one wants to do anything about it either. NIMBY.

Homeless people are first and foremost people. People who are homeless. That’s it. I’ve interacted with lots and lots of people who are homeless in lots of cities and I have yet to feel threatened by any of them. In fact, most of the time I find they have something to teach me, about how we’re all a lot more similar than we are different, about courage, and optimism, and good ol’ grit.

If you feel like you have to raise your family in a neighborhood where homelessness is conveniently invisible, maybe you need to check your privilege.

Hopefully this is or isn’t true…

I hear people say that a lot when sharing something, either good or bad… Bill Gates is giving everyone a dollar who shares this meme? “Sharing just in case.” Some conspiracy theory flavored post catch your eye? “Oh dear god I hope this isn’t true…” Well, is it? Or isn’t it? You are aware that we don’t have to hope or wonder, we can find out, right? Or at least find some information to bump us up a notch on the certainty scale from “hope”. Sadly, I think we’ve gotten to the point in our culture where “I heard it somewhere” counts as a verified source. All sources are put on a level playing field despite past reliability. And if – heaven forbid – some smartass points out that the link you just posted is listed on Snopes as false, three years ago – well, it MUST be true then, because obviously it’s a conspiracy. Snopes is probably on “their” payroll anyway. I mean, “they” (whoever they are) are challenging what my cousin told me and she’s never wrong!!

Sloppy thinking annoys the hell out of me, but what’s even worse is complete refusal to take responsibility for what comes out of one’s mouth, or keyboard. Why don’t you just look it up??? Is it possible to find out for sure one way or the other? Not necessarily, but at least it’s a place to start. Better than “I hope…”

And this goes both ways. The thing about skepticism is you have to be skeptical of everything, even sources or ideas you generally trust. Just because it sounds right doesn’t mean it’s true. Maybe it is. If so, there will be plenty of evidence for you to discover, so get to it!

Lately my husband and I have been on a quote verifying spree, trying to verify quotes we see posted online. Quotes are pretty hard to verify, especially if people (supposedly) said them prior to the information age. But often you can at least find out if someone definitely DIDN’T say something, or if there’s no actual evidence either way. I picture it like a continuum from completely false to definitely true. Pieces of information are streaming at us all the time, from social media to advertising all around us, things our friends say, ideas we get about the world. They all fit on that scale somewhere. How you decide where they fit is a process of investigation and discovery. It starts with a simple question. “Is that true? How do we know?”

So after my recent quote-sourcing spree, I decided to investigate one of my favorite quotes, “Believe nothing, no matter where you read it or who has said it, not even if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense.” Attributed to the Buddha. It’s on a magnet on my fridge. It sounds so nice and open minded and reasonable. I hope it’s true!! Oh wait… if it is true, I’m supposed to verify it, right? You can guess where this is headed. Turns out there is no actual support for the idea that the Buddha actually said this. It’s still a nice idea, in fact, it’s a superb idea! And I’ll show my support for it by being skeptical, even of this idea itself.

Now, if you were really going to “vet” every idea and quote and statistic you come across, it would be exhausting and you’d probably lose your job and never sleep again. Sometimes we just have to let it go. But at least realize that there’s the possibility of finding out more information. Don’t claim certainty – either way – when you haven’t done at least a tiny amount of research. Just a quick google search, a quick check on snopes. We’re incredibly fortunate to live in this age of free information. Critical thinking should be skyrocketing! Why isn’t it? Must investigate…

If you really get into this, you’ll start questioning your own ways of thinking, your own worldview. Yes, it’s a slippery slope, but at the bottom is the solid ground of intellectual honesty.

Car update, and more silver linings?

Sometimes, one of those silver linings goes dark. The fix was not easy or inexpensive. My $60 in savings will not cover it. And, I spent half my day off, and Erik’s dad had to spend half his day, helping us try to figure this out, so I have not gotten my Quickbooks updated like I was supposed to. And now of course I have to write, so… (what’s that? you’re supposed to stop digging when you’re in a hole? hmm)

The van is in the shop, and our best guess is it’s the starter in some form. They probably won’t be able to get it finished today, and I’ll have to borrow money to pay the bill. Thank goodness that’s even an option, because otherwise I’d get to be learning the wonderful lessons brought to you by “riding the bus”! As it is, I’ll probably have to spend a couple extra hours getting to and from work tomorrow. But, I’m still glad I had the day off today, and I have to give a shout out to my insurance company… FINALLY something pays off. Getting a tow was incredibly easy, they bill insurance directly, not a penny out of my pocket. Nice!

“It’s always something”… these $200 expenses every few months eat up any savings I manage to accumulate. I feel like a failure for not having more money set aside. It’s easy to look back and see where I could have saved $5 or $10 here and there. If we never went out or bought beer or got a redbox movie, yes, we would have a little more money to set aside. But not that much. How long do you deny yourself any enjoyment in life, just to set aside $50? I struggle with this. Most people would probably say having a modest recreational budget is ok, necessary even. And I feel like, if I said no to everything and saved up a few hundred dollars, it still wouldn’t be enough, so what’s the point? Something, that inevitable something, would come up. (It’s like they know, don’t they?! Our pets, our vehicles, our appliances… they have such great timing.) So I still wouldn’t have any savings, and I’d also be passing up opportunities to enjoy life in small ways, and I do mean small. We rarely eat out or go to the movies. I think I’ve gotten starbucks once in the past 2 years. We go to concerts, yes, but thanks to our obscure tastes, tickets are usually under $15. Gas is the real kicker, but we often carpool with friends, so it works out. (And it’s not like I never say no… I do, a lot, because there isn’t any money or I know we can’t afford it… so I’m not a total hedonist here.)

I guess that’s my trade off. If I want to justify spending money on concerts and booze, I have to live with the insecurity of not having a nest egg. I have to be willing to accept help. And I guess I have to re-evaluate if I want to be in this situation again, and if I don’t, what I’m willing to do differently.

It’s a Mixed Bag

It’s a mixed bag, most days.

Today I did almost all my Christmas shopping, very carefully and with much planning, for under $50 at a craft store, and got a $10 gift card for spending that much (surprise!). Then, I went in search of a $20 tree, because that’s all the room I was able to find in the budget this year. Even that feels excessive to me, but… I had to try. It may seem strange for an atheist somewhat-freegan non-consumer type person to want a Christmas tree, but… I do.

I found one, a 3 foot noble fir, super cute (apparently this is a “table top tree”… do you know anyone who actually puts a little tree on their table? I think it’s just a lower middle class tree… the smallest tree you can buy… probably the top of a bigger tree that got chopped, Mr. Willowby’s Christmas Tree style). Anyway, I found the perfect adorable tree, and the clerk, with a smile and a genuine “Merry Christmas!” gave me a discount (who knew you need a club card at RiteAid?) bringing my grand total to $11.

By then I was feeling pretty accomplished… until the van wouldn’t start. The battery’s been weak for a while now, since it first got really cold, but I’ve been putting off getting a new one, because $50 is a lot, especially this time of year. And Erik wasn’t with me for all this, because his tires are flat and we can’t afford new tubes for a couple days. Whatever economic bracket I’m in, it’s the one where your life is constantly defined by $10 or $20, day after day after day.

I’m really not trying to complain or look for sympathy points. I know these are first world problems. I’m sure lots of people can relate. I wonder if some people can’t relate though… because there’s this sentiment in our society that “why don’t the poor just get it together… it can’t be that hard. If they would just stop wasting money, wasting time, making bad choices, whatever…” I feel like they must have no idea what it’s like, the people who think that. And I want to tell them, THIS is what it’s like… not so you’ll feel sorry for me, but just so you’ll know.

My problems are small, but I’m grateful for them. They help me understand the lives of so many of my fellow human beings, in a very real way. Like many Americans, we live pretty much day to day, earning just enough for the next expense, warding off next bill that’s pushing the limit of the grace period. There’s always enough, somehow, but it’s usually just barely in time.  And sometimes there’s not enough, and you lose your vehicle, or your home, or you have to sell things, or you skip meals, or you don’t go to the dentist when you really need to, or you don’t go anywhere because you can’t afford gas, or your phone gets turned off. First world problems, perhaps, but still problems.

But back to why it’s a mixed bag. Amidst all these irritating little setbacks, sacrifices that aren’t fun to make, and sometimes real losses, there are always bright silver linings, if you look for them. For me, today… the fact that the van’s battery died when I was a few blocks from home, not in Seattle. The fact that it’s not snowing, or 2am outside a bar. I have tomorrow off. All the friends who stepped up to help, and even the well meaning stranger who may or may not have known how to jump a car. The fact that I had $60 in savings that I forgot about, and that’s just enough to get a battery. The fact that I even HAVE a car, and that the fix is simple.

And I found a Christmas tree! For $11!!