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  • 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

    Download Press Release Here

  • 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.

    It is more important than ever that we support our LD 26 candidates:
    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

    Download Press Release