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Joint Statement on KCGOP Chair Joshua Freed’s Failure to Reckon with Extremist Violence in WA GOP

January 11, 2021 by 26th Dems in 2020 Frontpage Announcements Frontpage Announcements - Top News

Joint Statement on KCGOP Chair Joshua Freed’s Failure to Reckon with Extremist Violence in WA GOP

WA Democratic Party Leaders Reject Meaningless Olive Branch Devoid of Accountability

 

For Immediate Release | January 11, 2020

SEATTLE — Prior to the attempted insurrection in Washington, D.C. last Wednesday, newly-elected King County Republicans Chair Joshua Freed committed to speaking at and advertised his upcoming appearance at a rally with the “Olympia Freedom Party” espousing similar rhetoric to the rioters who breached the Capitol building the following day. 

Following the violence in both our nation’s capitol and in Olympia last week, he failed to publicize his withdrawal from the event. When called out by his counterpart in the King County Democrats, Chair Shasti Conrad, for this failure of leadership he resorted to classic Republican whataboutism and attempted to divert attention from his complicity with this extremist violence by requesting a “sit down” with his Democratic counterparts. 

In response to this and what are sure to be many meaningless gestures from Republicans seeking to whitewash their reputations of supporting extremist factions within their party, King County Democrats Chair Shasti Conrad and Washington State Democrats Chair Tina Podlodowski issued the following statement:

“There can be no unity, no healing, and no ‘moving past’ the events of the last week without meaningful accountability from existing Republican leaders and elected officials for their role in promoting the extremist elements of their party responsible for this violence. There is no equivalence between isolated incidents of property crime — which Democratic leaders have and continue to condemn — committed during Black Lives Matter protests for racial justice and the violent insurrections by white militia members taking place across our country. 

“To even imply a moral equivalence between largely peaceful protests by communities of color and those standing in solidarity and the organized, militaristic mobilization of mobs seeking to lynch our elected officials by the sitting President of the United States is absurd on its face. We will not stand by and let Chairman Freed’s attempt to distract from his role elevating this extremist wing of his party go unchallenged. His ongoing failure to do so only further endangers the communities of color in King County that he allegedly wants to serve.

“We welcome any Republican leader or elected official sincerely interested in de-escalating this violence to join us in this work, which we have been engaged in for nearly two years as we worked to hold them accountable for enabling extremists like former Rep. Matt Shea. Chairman Freed has not even begun to do the work of dismantling the support he helped build for these extremists, as evidenced by his failure to publicly condemn the event from which he allegedly withdrew until challenged by his political opponents.

“To make this unmistakably clear to Chairman Freed, the public, and members of the press, we have identified a short list of actions he could take to demonstrate his good faith and sincere regret for his role in amplifying extremists within his party during his failed runs for governor and lieutenant governor last year:

  • Unequivocally denounce any violence at the Capitol in Olympia today as well as the violence in Washington, D.C. and Olympia last week;

  • Condemn Republican Representative Robert Sutherland’s “call to war” in response to President-elect Joe Biden’s democratic victory;

  • Condemn former Representative Matt Shea’s call to arms last week, and cease any pandering to such extremists in the Washington GOP as they have clearly have no respect for democracy;

  • Demonstrate his commitment to excising this anti-democratic cancer from his party by ceasing any professional association with his “best friend” who represented Shea during his clashes with the Public Disclosure Commission and also represented Freed during his refusal to respect the rule of law in Washington State;

  • Condemn former gubernatorial candidate Loren Culp’s call for his supporters to show up at Republican Secretary of State Kim Wyman’s office to object to certified election results who was subsequently the target of death threats;

  • Publicly retract his endorsement of Loren Culp’s gubernatorial campaign and commit to refraining from endorsing any campaign Culp launches for public office due to his refusal to accept Washington’s certified election results;

  • Call on fellow Republican elected officials and leaders to boycott rallies or protests held by groups who encourage members to openly carry firearms in the proximity of government offices or the Capitol in Olympia; and

  • Publicly acknowledge the legitimacy of President-elect Joe Biden’s victory and submit a binding resolution to his executive board to withhold endorsements and any material support for candidates who fail to do the same.

“Until Chairman Freed demonstrates through his actions — and not just empty rhetoric — that he is interested in the hard work of rebuilding our democracy in the wake of the devastation wrought by Trump and his enablers here in Washington State, we at the Democratic Party have no interest in providing political cover for his transparent attempt to rehabilitate his public image.”

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We Have a New E-Board!

December 8, 2020 by 26th Dems in 2020 Frontpage Frontpage Announcements - Top Uncategorized

On December 3rd, we held our reorganization meeting and the new E-Board was elected. Congratulations to all the new and returning members of E-Board for your election! And a special thanks to those that served in past E-Boards. We so appreciate all the work you’ve done to get us to where we are today.

Chair – Kara Aley

Vice Chair (Pierce County): Alex Davidson

Vice Chair (Kitsap County): Brenda McCormick

State Committee Member:
Joy Vartanian
Ray Shjerven

Secretary: Melissa Lund

Membership Chair: Angela Sisney

Treasurer: Carl Olson

PCO Chair: Luellen Lucid

At Large (Pierce County):
Catherine Jordan
Frank Dacca
Rick Offner
Nora Eckstein

At Large (Kitsap County)
Chris Kim
Dianna Eversole
Tom Slyter
Alison Sonntag

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2020: T-SHIRTS

2020: T-SHIRTS

November 17, 2020 by Constance Maytum in Membership Announcements PCO Announcements

ORDER T-SHIRTS NOW! We are still taking orders for T-shirts, though our printer is closed due to COVID-19. When they reopen we will get the t-shirts printed. Click the link below to order and pay online.

T-shirt order form

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Yardsigns!!!

September 4, 2020 by Constance Maytum in Uncategorized

ALL SIGNS HAVE BEEN PICKED UP!

THANK YOU FOR YOUR GENEROUSITY!

VOTE EARLY!

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We Support Our Healthcare Workers

We Support Our Healthcare Workers

May 27, 2020 by Jill Neumeister in Covid-19 Social Media Posts

HEALTHCARE WORKERS Thank you for your service and sacrifice

We may have taken our healthcare workers for granted in the past, but now their heroism is undeniable and obvious for all to admire and applaud. We are continually astonished by the dedication and bravery of our healthcare workers in the face of grueling, and devastating efforts to save our loved ones, our community, and our nation. We can never thank you enough, but we will never forget your efforts in the face of this crisis.

Let’s all join the millions of people across the US and the world who stand up in the evening and cheer the healthcare workers on their front porches, living rooms, backyards or balconies!

#AllofUs #COVID19 #COVID19Heroes #Team26WA #EssentialWorkers #EssentialServices #HereforYou #HealthcareWorkers

 

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