June 8: Bridge To Bridge Dinner & Auction
Program: The 26th LD Democrats invite you to Dine For Democrats at our Bridges To Bridges Dinner & Auction
Date: Saturday, June 8th 2019
Time: 6:00pm
Speakers Derek Kilmer, House Congressional District 6, Hilary Franz, WA Commioner of Public Lands,
Features: Taco Bar – Silent Auction
Location: Sehmel Homestead Park Pavilion
Address: 10123 – 78th Ave. NW & Sehmel Dr. NW Gig Harbor, WA, 98335
June 6: Panel on Social/Criminal Justice Reform
Program: Join us at our June General Meeting to hear from a panel of subject matter experts as they discuss the very important issue of Social/Criminal Justice Reform
Date: Thursday, June 6, 2019
Meeting Time: 6:30 – 8:30 NEW TIME!!
Social & Light Potluck Time: 6:00-6:30pm
Place: Givens Community Center – Kitsap Room
Address: 1026 Sidney Road Port Orchard 98366
General Meeting Day: Monthly on First Thursdays
PANELISTS:
Tarra Simmons, the Executive Director of Civil Survival and Seattle University Law graduate who won a long fight to simply take the bar exam after being incarcerated.
Drew Hansen, State Representative from the 23rd District.
Tracy Flood, a local civil rights lawyer and President of the Bremerton chapter of the NAACP.
Chad Enright, the Kitsap County Prosecutor, and Danielle Armbruster of the Department of Corrections.
Danielle Armbruster, Assistant Secretary of Corrections,
Adison Richards, moderator
PROGRAM:
Our nation incarcerates people at the highest rate of any nation in the world. Washington State’s prison population has gone from about 3,500 in 1980 to over 18,000 today. Of that population, Washington State incarcerates almost six people of color for every white person, one of the highest rates in the country. Federal, State, and county budgets are eaten up by the costs of incarceration. Recidivism, or the rate that people return to prison, remains stubbornly high. Why? Is our criminal justice system working to reduce crime? How does incarceration impact a person’s life? Are there things we do that increase the likelihood someone will go to jail? How do we balance public safety with personal responsibility, while not punishing everybody for life for the worst thing that they have done? Can the goals of public safety and changing our methods of accountability work in common? What can we do about it?
June 26 & 27: IMAX Democratic Presidential Candidates Debate
Program: Watch both nights of the 2019 Democratic Presidential Candidate Debates with your friends and neighbors on a giant 70 ft x 40 ft screen at the Gig Harbor Galaxy Uptown IMAX Theater.
Dates: Wednesday, June 26, & Thursday, June 27, 2019
Time: 6pm start. Doors open at 5:15pm
Location: IMAX THEATER – Galaxy Uptown Luxury+ Theatre
Address: 4649 Point Fosdick Dr NW, Gig Harbor, WA 98335
MC: Derek Young, Pierce County Council Member
Cohosts: 26th Legislative District Democrats, Pierce County Democratic Central Committee, Kitsap County Democratic Central Committee
LD 26 Democrats Unanimously Endorse the Peninsula School Bond
——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