Event Notice - DFSC Endorsed Candidates

Friends,
A couple of event reminders for DFSC endorsed candidates:

Tonight! Tuesday, July 24th, Jackie Minchew, Charlene Rawson, and Brian Sullivan will be participating in a candidate’s forum hosted by the newly formed “Sustainable Snohomish County Coalition.” The forum will feature candidates for Everett City Council, Positions 4 (Charlene) and 7 (Jackie); and the two Democratic Primary candidates for Snohomish County Council, District 2 (Brian Sullivan and Jean Berkey). The forum will be held at the Everett PUD Building (California Street) beginning at 7:00PM. This will probably be your last chance to see and hear these candidates prior to the August 21st Primary (certainly before the ballots are mailed out)

Saturday! On July 28th the Washington Conservation Voters will be conducting their “Day of Action.” WCV volunteers will be doorbelling in support of WCV endorsed candidates. In Everett this will include all three of DFSC's endorsed candidates, Brian Sullivan, Charlene Rawson and Jackie Minchew! Please show your support for these fine environmentally friendly candidates by meeting at Sullivan Campaign HQ (On the corner of Broadway and Hewitt – Across from the Everett Events Center) just before 10AM on Saturday morning for coffee and doughnuts before heading out for a few hours of doorbelling. The candidates will be walking together as they show their unity in support of responsible environmental policies and the desire for a strong working relationship between the city and the county. Please let me know if you will be attending this event so that we can accomodate with literature and walking lists.

I hope to see many of you at one or both of these important events.

Peace,

Chad Shue
Vice-Chair,
Democracy for Snohomish County

Minuteman Follow-up

Originally Posted Here

Back on June 30th, citzensteve posted "MADness in Everett" about the impending visit to Everett by Minutemen founder, Jim Gilchrist. The keynote speaker for an event billed as an "Illegal Immigration Summit", Gilchrist was invited to speak by "something called "the Reagan Wing" and a MAD woman named Shawna Forde who's trying to take her insanity to the Everett City Council." Others in attendance at the "Summit" included former 2nd CD Republican Congressional Candidate, Doug Roulstone and current Snohomish County Sheriff's candidate, Tom Greene (whom I had previously written about here.)

After the event was reported in the Everett Herald, local educator and human rights activist Ed Glazer wrote the following letter to the editor bemoaning the silence of local leaders:

"Published:
Sunday, July 8, 2007


MINUTEMAN RALLY


Why didn't leaders denounce group?

With the recent gathering of the right wing, anti-immigration, racist group here "in River City" (July 1 article, "Minuteman rally draws 100"), I find it most interesting, and yet par for the course, that apparently not a single local elected official has one word to say about this group and what they represent.

Does their overpowering silence indicate acquiescence?

Does their "commitment" to a multicultural/pluralistic society only come out every January when they spout "... keep the dream alive ... "?

I am disappointed and disgusted in the supposed "leaders" of our community.

For, to quote Pastor Martin Niemoller: "First they came for the Jews and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew. Then they came for the Communists and I did not speak out because I was not a Communist. Then they came for the trade unionists and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak out for me."

School board members, mayors, city council members, the county executive and county council members and county officials - your silence is deafening!

Ed Glazer

Everett"

While the Everett Herald has not seen fit to print my response to Mr. Glazer, I offer it for you below.

"I share the sentiments of Ed Glazer when he bemoans the silence of our elected officials before, during, and since the arrival of the racist vigilante Minuteman gang to our city. I would add a couple of personal observations. Inside the Elks Lodge; embracing Mr. Gilchrist, were two candidates for local elective office. One is a candidate for Everett City Council; the other a candidate for Snohomish County Sheriff. It is the latter that most concerns me.

While it is the duty of all law enforcement personnel to protect and defend the rights - both legal and civil - of all the citizens they serve, in Tom Greene we find a man who publicly embraces the likes of nationally recognized anti-gay activist, Rev. Ken Hutcherson (keynote speaker for Greene's campaign kick-off breakfast) as well as noted vigilante leader Jim Gilchrist. This is not a matter of defending "gay rights" or "illegal immigrants" but, rather a case of maintaining a perception of "equal protection under the law" while enforcing the law equally toward all. What message would be sent to the members of our minority communities if Mr. Greene moves beyond the primary ballot in August? What leadership message would be sent to the officers of the Sheriff's Department about defending the rights of all the citizens they serve? More importantly, what picture of our diverse Snohomish County would be painted with the election of Tom Greene to the position of Sheriff?

Finally, while there was also a city council candidate inside the Elks Lodge, it should be noted that there was one candidate joining the group outside the event. Jackie Minchew, candidate for Everett City Council, stood proudly with those who denounce the welcoming of Jim Gilchrist and his ilk into our town."

Peace,

Chad (The Left) Shue

Tom Greene: Meet My Posse

Originally Posted Here

When the 38th LD Democrats sent questionnaires out to prospective candidates who might be seeking our endorsement one of the first to respond was Tom Greene, candidate for Snohomish County Sheriff. At that time Greene was in a two person race with Rob Beidler. Both gentlemen are currently serving in different areas of the Sheriff's department and, with the departure of Rick Bart due to term limits; they are seeking the top spot there. On paper, Greene's credentials are tremendous with many years of service in law enforcement in California and in Snohomish County. His list of endorsements reads like a who's who of law enforcement. Beidler offers himself as the "trooper's trooper" and wears his endorsement from the rank and file as a badge as shiny as the one on his uniform. Unfortunately for both of these gentlemen, their endorsement prospects from the 38th (as well as any Democratic organization in the county) were doomed from the start by "the elephant in the room" which was the expected (and now realized) announcement of candidacy from 44th LD Democrat, John Lovick. In the end, the 38th confirmed the endorsement committee's recommendation of "No Endorsement at this Time" for the Sheriff's position at our Tuesday night meeting. While I am not very comfortable with withholding an endorsement because we are waiting for someone else to decide what they are going to do, last night I received an email that made me feel much better about our decision not to endorse Tom Greene.

It seems Greene will be having a "Breakfast Kick-off" on Tuesday morning, May 15th at the Holiday Inn in Everett. Because that is a workday for me and the start time is listed as 7:00am, I was simply going to respectfully decline due to the time conflict. However there was a flyer attached to the email and, as the flyer was created in jpg form, part of it became obvious to me while I was reading the email. A photo of someone whom I recognized was coming onto my viewing screen. There under the heading "Tom Greene for Sheriff Breakfast May 15th" was the next line:


"Featuring former Seattle Seahawk, Ken Hutcherson, Pastor of Antioch Bible Church in Kirkland, WA"

My reply to Tom Greene's email took a somewhat different slant. I explained to him that, while I do not believe anyone should be judged on their own personal beliefs, I felt that bringing someone with Hutcherson's notoriety into the political arena was simply unacceptable - especially when he, Greene, is seeking election to a position where he will be responsible for protecting the rights - legal and civil - of all the citizens. It is inconceivable to me that he would be unaware of Hutcherson's opposition to the recognition of equal rights and protections for all of our citizens. In my email I told him that, even though our meeting was brief, my impression was that he is a personable and sincere man and that it would be difficult to believe him guilty of such political naiveté.

I almost wish that I did not have a workday conflict now. The Holiday Inn in Everett is where we held our "Un-welcome Wagon" for Dead-Eye Dick Cheney last year. I wouldn't be surprised if someone wanted to host a similar event for Pastor Hutcherson on Tuesday, May 15th.

Peace,

Chad (The Left) Shue