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——FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE——-
LD 26 Democrats Unanimously Endorse the Peninsula School Bond
Gig Harbor, Washington December 15, 2018 – At their General Meeting December 6, the 26th Legislative District Democrats unanimously endorsed the Peninsula School Bond on the ballot in February and voted to make a significant financial contribution to the school bond campaign. The school bond will fund the construction of two additional elementary schools, one on the Harbor Hills North site and a second on a site to be determined. It will also cover the cost of replacing the current structures for two existing schools, Evergreen, located on the Key Peninsula, and Artondale, located in Gig Harbor.
“This bond is critical to the Peninsula School District,” stated newly elected 26th LD Chair, Luellen Lucid. “The schools have reached maximum capacity. No new schools have been built for 26 years. It is clearly time to build new schools to accommodate this area’s growth in population as well as to rebuild and modernize two of our oldest elementary schools.”
The bond requires a 60% supermajority to pass. The last bond was on the ballot in April 2018 and fell short by only 1%, despite a strong bipartisan campaign effort organized by Stand Up for Peninsula Schools (SUP).
“Many members of the Democratic Party in this district will be actively involved in talking to district residents through a door-to-door campaign, phone calling, and postcard writing,” Lucid commented. “I am calling on all PSD residents – Democrats, Independents, and Republicans – to support this bond. It is also my hope that all our local legislators will actively support this bond measure. Senator-Elect Emily Randall (D) was a strong advocate for our schools throughout her campaign and is already supporting the bond.”
Press contact:
Luellen Lucid – Chair, 26th LD Democrats
John Patrick Kelly Removed From Chair Position
——–FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE——-
Port Orchard, Washington November 1, 2018
JOHN KELLY REMOVED FROM CHAIR POSITION OF 26TH LD DEMOCRATS AT SPECIAL MEETING
John Patrick Kelly was removed from the position of Chair of the 26th LD Democrats tonight at a special meeting called for this purpose. A vote was taken by signed ballot of Precinct Committee Officers (PCOs), elected and appointed, who reside in their precinct. A majority of all eligible PCOs is required to remove a District Chair. The vote tonight was unanimous, with 70% of eligible PCOs attending the meeting.
Kelly was censured at the LD 26 Democrats meeting in October, citing “behavior perceived to be harassing, abusive or disrespectful” and his “failure to avoid profane, prejudicial, exclusionary, abusive or sexualized language.” The censure noted that Mr. Kelly had repeatedly reverted to “disruptive behavior” in the face of several months of advice, coaching and counseling by party leaders and colleagues. Kelly was also censured for threatening to endorse a Republican opponent.
During a presentation of charges made at the beginning of tonight’s meeting, evidence was presented of Kelly’s endorsement of a Republican legislative opponent through mailers and television advertisements. Kelly was provided an opportunity to respond to the charges. However, he left after the presentation of charges.
“26th District Democrats continue to support our three Democratic candidates for the Legislature,” stated District Vice Chair Luellen Lucid. “Connie FitzPatrick, Joy Stanford, and Emily Randall will provide strong, ethical leadership for our community, our state, and our democracy.”
Acting per local bylaws and state Democratic Party rules, the District’s Executive Board has been leading the district party’s activities and will continue to do so until December, when district party organizations across the state reorganize and elect new leadership.
The Executive Board has communicated to Kelly his removal from office and revocation of membership and notified him that he cannot use the title of Chair in any future public communications, including advertisements and mailers for an opposition candidate.
Background info: 26th Legislative district runs “bridge to bridge” – from the Narrows bridge up to the Warren Avenue bridge in Bremerton. The district includes the Gig Harbor, Fox Island, and Key Peninsula communities in Pierce County and the Olalla, South Kitsap, Port Orchard, McCormick Woods, and downtown Bremerton communities in Kitsap County.
Press contact:
Luellen Lucid – 26th Legislative District, Vice Chair
818-259-0461
Fraudulent Nathan Schlicher Mailers
Dear LD26 Democrat Friends:
You may have received a very confusing mailer that tells you to write-in Nathan Schlicher instead of voting for Connie Fitzpatrick. This is a serious DIRTY TRICKS mailer that Glen Morgan and Mulkiteo’s Peter Zieve (he donated $1M to Trump and is famously anti-Muslim racist) have sent to voters in LD26.
It is part of a string of MISLEADING and straight up FRAUDULENT mailers sent to progressive voters in Washington State (see attached photo of the of the mailer). These mailers encourage people to write in another candidate rather than voting for the established progressive/Democratic candidate, without the write-in’s knowledge, and claim to be from progressive groups like Fuse Washington and Planned Parenthood. The mailers are not from these groups, but are instead funded by a Republican PAC run by Glen Morgan. They are meant specifically to confuse and divide the Democratic voters in this state, and are convincing looking enough that they may succeed in doing so. This is VOTER SUPRESSION at the extreme.
Pass this message on to friends and colleagues. And remind them that John Kelly does not speak for the LD 26 Dems when he endorses the Republican candidate.
Connie FitzPatrick, Joy Stanford and Emily Randall.
More information:
Response from Nathan Schlicher:
https://www.facebook.com/1666474468/posts/10216052587181922/
Response from Fuse Washington:
https://fusewashington.org/news/fuse-response-dirty-and-deceptive-mail-pieces
Response from Planned Parenthood:
https://www.plannedparenthoodaction.org/planned-parenthood-votes-northwest-and-hawaii/press-releases/planned-parenthood-votes-condemns-new-deceitful-mail-pieces-by-republicans
Local Party Leader Censured for Personal Misconduct
26th Legislative District Democrats, Washington State
PO Box 1693 Port Orchard, WA 98366
——–FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE——-
Gig Harbor, Washington October 14, 2018
LOCAL PARTY LEADER CENSURED FOR PERSONAL MISCONDUCT
Voting in a recent meeting, the general membership of the 26th Legislative District Democrats have censured their chairman, John Patrick Kelly.
Citing “behavior perceived to be harassing, abusive or disrespectful” and his “failure to avoid profane, prejudicial, exclusionary, abusive or sexualized language,” the October 4th censure noted that Mr. Kelly had repeatedly reverted to “disruptive behavior” in the face of several months of advice, coaching and counseling by party leaders and colleagues.
Among the several concerns leading to the censure action was Mr. Kelly’s history of responding to counseling by threatening to support Republican candidates opposing his own Democratic candidates running for the Legislature. It now appears that he had begun active cooperation with one of the Republican campaigns well before the censure action.
“26th District Democrats continue to support our three Democratic candidates for the Legislature,” stated District Vice Chair Luellen Lucid. “Connie FitzPatrick, Joy Stanford, and Emily Randall are ready now with strong, ethical leadership for our community, our state, and our democracy.”
Acting per local bylaws and state Democratic Party rules, the District’s Executive Board will lead the local party’s activities through the election. Following state law, local party organizations across the state reorganize and elect new leadership in December.
“Ballots arrive this weekend,” reminded Ms. Lucid. “We urge voters to mark their ballots and mail them back right away – no postage needed. Voters can put the ballot in the mail.”
Background info: 26th Legislative district runs “bridge to bridge” – from the Narrows bridge up to the Warren Avenue bridge in Bremerton. The district includes the Gig Harbor, Fox Island, and Key Peninsula communities in Pierce County and the Olalla, South Kitsap, Port Orchard, McCormick Woods, and downtown Bremerton communities in Kitsap County.
Press contact:
Luellen Lucid – 26th Legislative District, Vice Chair
818-259-0461
26thDemocrats@gmail.com