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Category: News

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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LD 26 Democrats Unanimously Endorse the Peninsula School Bond

December 17, 2018 by 26th Dems in Press Release

——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

26thDemocrats@gmail.com

Download Press Release

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John Patrick Kelly Removed From Chair Position

November 2, 2018 by 26th Dems in Press Release

——–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

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Fraudulent Nathan Schlicher Mailers

October 22, 2018 by 26th Dems in Candidate News

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

 

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Local Party Leader Censured for Personal Misconduct

October 16, 2018 by 26th Dems in News Press Release

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 

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