@ THE YDWA ENDORSEMENT COMMITTEE

Last Saturday I served as an Alternate Delegate for the Pierce County Young Democrats (YD) at the Young Democrats Washington (YDWA) convention at the Hilton in Vancouver. The committee is charged with endorsing Democratic candidates for public office in both primary races and general elections.

Candidates from across the State flocked to Vancouver to secure our endorsement, not because YDWA – which represents Washington Democrats under the age of 35 – is a major source of campaign funds nor even votes (senior citizens and baby-boomers still dominate the electorate). Rather, an endorsement from the YDWA is important because we are the primary source of shoe-leather for aspiring candidates. We are the people who make the phone calls, canvass our communities, hand out leaflets, and update the websites. In short, we are the foot soldiers of the Democratic Party.

INCUMBENT DEMOCRATS WITHOUT PRIMARY OPPONENTS

All State Representatives, State Senators, Congressmen and Senators were unanimously endorsed by YDWA without debate or discussion.

I personally introduced a motion to postpone an immediate endorsement of Governor Gregoire on behalf of Tony Anderson, the newly elected chair of the Pierce County YD. Tony had previously introduced a motion to endorse former State Senator Dino Rossi as a protest against Governor Gregoire’s recent policies. Many Pierce County Democrats remain upset about the Governor’s defunct warrantless sobriety checks bill, whilst others remain frustrated by the Governor’s failure to act more boldly with her super majority or to work more aggressively for Washingtonians between the ages of 18-35.

Supported by Phil Munsterman, president of the UPS YD, my motion found a sympathetic ear among several members of the King County YD delegation. Nonetheless, when a motion to endorse Governor Gregoire was reintroduced two hours later, it was passed by unanimous consent. This was not surprising as we did not really expect to derail an endorsement for the highest-ranking Democrat in the State of Washington.

Still we in Pierce County continue to feel that – as the highest ranking Democrat in Washington State, and thus the most prominent representative of our organization – it was not inappropriate to request a postponement of endorsement until Governor Gregoire personally makes a point to attend our convention to remind us why she is worthy of our vote and our endorsement. She should have been expected to outline her accomplishments over the past four years – especially those accomplishments that have helped Democrats under the age of 35 – and then present her goals for the next four years. We did not feel this was an unreasonable, unappreciative or unwarranted request and more importantly it was demanded by multiple members of Democratic organizations across Pierce County whom we were duty bound to represent despite our personal opinions about the Governor.

Needless to say, there was some tension in the room before we affirmed our vote for an endorsement on behalf of Pierce County and UPS, respectively.

I have not personally endorsed any candidate for Governor and remain uncommitted and uncomfortable with my options.

NON-INCUMBENT DEMOCRATS WITH NO DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY OPPONENT (TO DATE)

The vote on the left reflects my personal vote, the vote on the right reflects the YDWA majority opinion.

Peter Goldmark, Washington State Land Commissioner (YAY – YDWA: YAY)
John Ladenburg, Washington State Attorney General (YAY – YDWA: YAY)
Mark Mays, U.S. House of Representatives, 5th CD (ABSTAIN – YDWA: YAY)
Darcy Burner, U.S. House of Representatives, 8th CD (YAY – YDWA: YAY)
Phyllis Huster, State Senator 5th LD (NAY – YDWA: YAY)
Jon Haugen, State Senator 18th LD (NAY – YDWA: YAY)
Fred Jarrett, State Senator 41stLD (TABLE – YDWA: TABLE)
John Driscoll, State Representative 6thLD (YAY – YDWA: YAY)
Patricia J Terry, State Representative 10thLD (TABLE – YDWA: TABLE)
Ann McDonald, State Representative 10th LD (TABLE – YDWA: TABLE)
Tim Probst, State Representative 17thLD (YAY – YDWA: YAY)
Vanessa Duplessie, State Representative 18thLD (ABSTAIN – YDWA: YAY)
Mike Rechner, State Representative 20thLD (ABSTAIN – YDWA: YAY)
Ron Weigelt, State Representative 31stLD (YAY – YDWA: YAY)
Marcie Maxwell, State Representative 41st LD (TABLE – YDWA: TABLE)

CANDIDATES IN CONTESTED DEMOCRATIC OR NON-PARTISAN PRIMARIES

Cheryl Crist VS Brian Baird, U.S. House of Representatives: 3rd CD

Crist is running against Democratic incumbent Brian Baird who reversed his position on the War in Iraq last summer, now representing Washington's 3rd Congressional District as a Democrat in support of the occupation. While many members of the YDWA Endorsement Committee empathized with Crist’s position, the general consensus was that more could be accomplished with a more experienced member of Congress like Brian Baird, whose political views are more in step with the more conservative 3rd District.

One YD representative from King County felt that it was inappropriate for Crist to label American foreign policy in Iraq as “Imperialistic.” I reminded the gentleman from King County that you can call shit “doo-doo” but it is what it is. My remark sparkd a controversy about how to record the committee's minutes but the consensus view of all involved was that the Democratic Party would be better off sticking with Brian Baird.

Richard Semler VS Terry Bergenson, State Superintendant of Public Schools

(TABLE – YDWA: TABLE)

Margarita Prentice, State Senator 11th LD

Prentice is the Chair of the Senate Ways and Means Committee, a position she earned after serving more than 20 years in the Legislature. We are very fortunate to have a senator whose candor is matched only by her competence. I thoroughly enjoyed interviewing Senator Prentice and was more enthusiastic about endorsing her than 99% of the rest.

(YAY – YDWA: YAY)

Mary Fairhurst, Washington State Supreme Court

Having served on the Washington State Supreme Court for the past six years, Fairhurst has never proved less than an exceptional member of the highest court in the land. Fair, balanced – but above-all rational – Fairhurst’s most historic contribution was probably having taken a lead role in writing the Court’s dissenting opinion in the 5:4 decision that found gay marriage unconstitutional in Washington State. When asked last Saturday if she believed that the currently defunct warrantless sobriety check bill is un-constitutional, she replied: “under the Federal Constitution, proving that warrantless sobriety checks are protected by the fourth amendment would be difficult. But if a challenge was brought against such a policy under Washington’s Constitution – which is less opaque in its protections than the Federals – I would not be surprised if the State Supreme Court ruled that it would indeed be unconstitutional.”

(YAY – YDWA: YAY)

Scott White, State Representative 46thLD

By all accounts White is the obvious choice. One King County representative referred to him as “the perfect candidate.” I was impressed with his résumé but disappointed that he failed to have an answer to my question: “who is your favorite Republican?”

As a member of the State Legislature it is inevitable that White will have to reach across the aisle repeatedly over the course of his political career. It would be nice to know who he is most likely to reach toward. Still, I was genuinely impressed by his résumé.

(YAY – YDWA: YAY)

Again, votes to the left record my vote, votes to the right record the collective majority of the committee

Charles Johnson, State Supreme Court
(YAY – YDWA: YAY)
Jim McIntire, State Treasurer
(TABLE – YDWA: TABLE)
ChangMook Sohn
(TABLE – YDWA: TABLE)
John Burbank, State Representative 36thLD
(TABLE – YDWA: TABLE)
Reuven Carlyle
(TABLE – YDWA: TABLE)

Daryl Daugs VS Fred Finn, State Representative 35thLD

Without a doubt the primary in the 35th is going to be the most exciting Washington State will witness this year. Whoever wins will almost certainly go on to secure this overwhelmingly Blue district.

In one corner is Daryl Daugs, a native son of the 35th where he has raised three biological children in addition to some 54 foster kids taken from broken homes and centers of abuse across the State. After having spent some 10 years in the business world, Daugs became a full-time philanthropist and assumed the position of director for the Families for Kids nonprofit. He is currently a Lead Organizer for the Washington Federation of State Employees in Olympia focusing on system reform of Child Protective Services. He also serves on the board of the Foster Parent Association of Washington State. Daugs has authored legislation to support system reform that has been sponsored by both Republicans and Democrats. The son of Lutheran pastor who marched with Martin Luther King as he advocated social justice and “getting your hands dirty,” Daugs shies away from attending benefit dinners and pledge drives in favor of getting to ground zero in a chemical suit if needed. Daugs has made four relief trips to New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina, though he has never held public office.

In the other corner stands Fred Finn, a noticeably older candidate who all but seems to assume the persona of an incumbent. Finn has already been endorsed by all the major players in the 35thLD and his experience is impressive. Nonetheless, his life story seemed less coherent than Daugs and thus proved less appealing. In the words of Finn’s campaign website:

“As one who spent 16 years in the other Washington I am not naïve about how difficult it is to accomplish change. But my personal history is to be part of the solution. 
My political involvement goes back to working for a civil rights group in the late sixties. I was a fund-raiser for Al Gore during his 1988 presidential race. I worked for the FCC and later appeared before committees of both the US House and Senate in Washington DC testifying for the rights of people living in rural areas so that they could have equal access to telecommunications. I am immediate past vice-chair of the 35th LD Democrats and current PCO. It is now time to bring to bear the experience I have gained in government, nonprofit, military and business, for the benefit of all the citizens of the 35th District.”

Impressive and yet somehow unsatisfying for me. Too much ambiguity and holes in the plot. For example, how does someone go from working for a civil rights group to an organization that is best known for censoring four-letter words like “piss” on college radio stations like The Melon @ 90.1 KUPS?

When a Clark County delegate asked Finn to explain the importance of a military background in forging the identity of a State Legislature, Finn responded that he had served for only a few years during the Vietnam War where he had “a lovely time” stationed in Germany and – short of a bar fight – saw no combat.

A delegate from the Bellingham area informed Finn that his opponent, Daugs, had said nothing but nice things about him but had distinguished himself from Finn as a candidate who had spent his life “getting his hands dirty.” The delegate asked Finn to offer an example when he himself had personally “leapt into the trenches of community service.” Finn responded by sharing a story about dressing up like Uncle Sam and leading a group of school children to a school board meeting to recite the pledge of allegiance as part of a ploy to manipulate the board into providing more money for a specific program….

Having just listened to Daugs stories of raising abused foster children and wading through the destruction of New Orleans, Finn's noble contribution to his community somehow seemed superficial – an unfair judgment the endorsement committee could not avoid making under the circumstances. After all, not everyone has to be a martyr to be a credit to their community.

The following debate on who to endorse was vigorous. Many felt Finn was the more “practical candidate” whilst Daugs would be better suited heading up an NGO. Others reported feeling a unique “glow” from Daugs who made them feel like he was more of a person than a politician. Everyone agreed that both were ultimately outstanding candidates and bemoaned the fact that they had to compete in the same district.

Since a 2/3rds majority is required for the committee to endorse, it was not thought Daugs – who was clearly the contested favorite – could secure our seal of approval before the general meeting. But when the votes were counted he won the day.

I voted for Daryl Daugs.

The Endorsement Committee will meet again in a month to resolve all tabled candidates. I am uncertain whether or not I will be asked or offered to represent Pierce County again.