1/20 Week in Review

Yesterday marked the passage of one year since Donald Trump was sworn in as the President of the United States, and today marks the one-year anniversary of the Women’s March in which millions of people marched in cities around the world. Americans have organized rallies across the country this weekend to mark the occasion. Here in Washington, there were events across the state yesterday, and even more today.

Chair Tina Podlodowski spoke at the march in Seattle, where activists gathered at Cal Anderson Park to hear from a lineup of speakers that concluded with Tina and Attorney General Bob Ferguson.

Hundreds of activists marched in Yakima, and many joined us for a canvass afterward. There were also events in other cities in Washington, like Walla Walla and Omak. Some cities, like Spokane, will be holding their marches today.

Today we are holding One Year Later: Rise & Organize events and canvasses in Auburn, Issaquah, and Wenatchee.

The backdrop for the women’s marches and rallies is stark. Because Republicans refused to protect the hundreds of thousands of DREAMers whose lives Donald Trump upended when he rescinded DACA, they have brought the federal government to a grinding halt.

Republicans have control of both houses of Congress as well as the White House. They could have passed a clean CHIP funding renewal at any time. Instead, they have chosen to attach provisos and conditions to CHIP funding, and hold hostage the health care of 9,000,000 American children. That’s downright cowardly.

Unlike Republicans in Washington DC, Democrats here in Washington State understand that, when they hold a majority in each legislative body, they have a responsibility to act for the good of all their constituents.

Here in our Washington, the state legislature has made huge progress on a range of issues after only two weeks of session.

The legislature has passed a capital budget after coming to an agreement on Hirst and allocating funds for construction projects around the state.

The state House has passed the Equal Pay Opportunity Act, a bill aimed at ensuring that women are paid as much as men in Washington State for doing the same work.

On the voting rights front, the state Senate has voted to enact same-day voter registration, and has passed the Washington Voting Rights Act, which aims to remove electoral barriers and ensure equal access to voting rights.

As the other Washington falls into gridlock and chaos under a total Republican majority, our Washington is thriving as Democratic elected officials in Olympia show the rest of the country how it’s done.

As Cathy McMorris Rodgers was playing political games with the healthcare of 9,000,000 American children and the futures of 800,000 DACA recipients, the people in her district were hard at work, organizing to retire McMorris Rodgers and elect Democrat Lisa Brown in her place.

We had 61 engaged volunteers join us at the start of our Flip the 5th Organizing Academy in Chewelah on Friday evening. Having 61 volunteers turn out for an event is a feat in itself. But in Chewelah, 61 people represents a little over 2% of the entire town’s population. During the middle of the training session, a passerby wandered in because “the windows were steamed up and all the seats were taken so I wanted to see what all the fuss was about.” That passerby stayed for the training. That’s 62 people in Chewelah ready to paint the town–and the district–blue.

Click here to find an Organizing Academy near you. More will be added to the list soon! In addition to our One Year Later events today, we’ll also be holding a Flip the 5th Organizing Academy in Pullman this afternoon!

The WSDCC Crab Feed will be held this year on February 25h in Lakewood. Guests will enjoy a locally-sourced seafood buffet, live music, and a speaking program featuring some our Democratic elected officials! We have specially priced Early Bird tickets available until February 1st.