February 2010Notes from the Chair
| 02 February 2010
Last month we finally hammered out a policy on the use of personal information; you will see it in the membership form available at the next Central Committee meeting. Dues are due in February, so bring your checkbook or cash ($25) to the next meeting. That will save us the cost of mailing reminders.In another article Lynda Ring Erickson describes the difficulties she has encountered peripheral to her work as Mason county Commissioner, and her consideration of whether or not to resign. We in the party and in the public often criticize those elected officials who don't act exactly as we wish, and neglect to praise them for the hard and good work they do. All of our commissioners have done good work for the county. Commissioner Ring Erickson has shepherded the Oakland Bay Watershed project, Commissioner Sheldon has been working to bring a renewable-energy power plant and its associated jobs to the county, and Commissioner Gallagher has worked hard to bring fiber optic cable to Lynch Road. All three, with Norm Dick's help, brought in the federal funds to build the Belfair sewer and start the Hood Canal cleanup in earnest. Perhaps most remarkably, they put together the 2010 budget in the middle of the Great Recession that includes no job layoffs. They deserve our thanks.
If the Massachusetts Senatorial election can teach us anything, it's that good candidates and good campaigns matter. A lackluster candidate and lazy campaigning have resulted in substantial challenges for the president's agenda. Election season will soon be here in Mason County; let's not take anything, neither our candidates nor their opponents, for granted.
The next Executive Committee meeting is February 3; contact me for time and location. I'll see you all at the next Central Committee meeting, February 10, 7pm, at the PUD 3 meeting room.
2010 Resolutions & Platform Committee Seeks Input
| 02 February 2010
At the upcoming Mason Democrats’ County Convention, those who sign in as Democrats will have opportunity to vote on various items, including Resolutions. These are statements of political belief, often more fast-breaking than the Platform, which is a series of more enduring statements of who we are as Democrats.