34th District Democrats: New leadership; election endorsement

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Thanks to the 34th District Democrats for sharing that shot of their new Executive Board: left to right, 2nd vice chair David Ginsberg, state committeeman Chris Porter, state committeewoman Marcee Stone, district chair Tim Nuse, alternate county committeeman Robin Hess, county committeewoman Lisa Plymate, first vice chair Kim Becklund, treasurer Stu Yarfitz, county committeeman Ivan Weiss, secretary Miki Meahan (and, not pictured, alternate county committeewoman Asha Mohamed). They’ve moved into those roles after the 34th DDs’ reorganization meeting last night at The Hall at Fauntleroy, a lively gathering as is the tradition for our area’s largest political group; here’s a video crowd shot:

(video no longer available due to blip.tv shutdown)

Now, one more group with leadership responsibilities — the committee chairs:

Left to right, it’s Jackie Dupras (newsletter), Greg Doss (legislative action), Beth Grieser, Brian Earl (bylaws), Les Treall (outreach), Jeff Upthegrove (membership), and Walter Sive (finance).

Another headline from the meeting:

The 34th DDs endorsed Sherril Huff in the February 3rd special election for county elections director, now an elected position, with a mail-in ballot on its way to your mailbox right now (she’s one of six candidates on the ballot).

While at the 34th DDs’ meeting, we also got the chance to talk Viaduct/Tunnel with Pete Spalding, one of West Seattle’s two reps on the Stakeholder Advisory Committee that reviewed options throughout the decisionmaking process (we talked with the other SAC member, Vlad Oustimovitch, after the tunnel announcement on Tuesday). Spalding says it’s vital to realize the replacement isn’t really “only” a tunnel – there’s more in the plan for West Seattleites:

Remember, whatever you think about the Viaduct/Tunnel proposal, it’s now in the hands of the state Legislature, and your lawmakers (listed here) are among the decisionmakers.

* January 15, 2009 (11:12 am)

I appreciate all of the hard work done by Beth Grieser, not only for the 34th Dems but also for the West Seattle Democratic Women’s group. She tries to take the ‘high road’ even when ‘politics’ become unpleasant.

Mickymse January 15, 2009 (5:45 pm)

I’ll reiterate again that I love both Pete and Vlad and all the hard work they do for West Seattle and the city in general… BUT I just don’t see how this is a “win” for West Seattle:
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1) We’re spending perhaps an additional $1 billion or more for a highway that carries less capacity than the existing Viaduct
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2) There are NO Downtown exits. You get on and off by the stadiums or by Thomas St. up near South Lake Union – unless you take the surface
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3) Transit MAY continue to take 99 and exit by the stadiums, or it may go across Spokane St
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4) There is no longer any access to Uptown or points NW – unless you take the surface
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5) Belltown and other areas better start identifying the land they want to leave open or buildings to tear down in order to put in the ventilation shafts and emergency egress that a deep-bore tunnel will allow
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6) There is no guarantee we will see any transit or surface improvements, since NONE of them are currently funded in this proposal and the tunnel will be built FIRST
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*SIGH*

Betty Goldiamond January 17, 2009 (12:33 pm)

As the mother of Lisa Plymate, I couldn’t be prouder than I am at this moment. She’s undertaken a lot of formidable tasks in her life, and she’s always done them well.

From Hyde Park in Chicago, the home of Barack Obama, I congratulate her, and I congratulate the 34th District Democrats on their wise choice. You have a tough job ahead. Go to it!

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