King County Council Appointment Process Ramps Up - 32nd Dist Rep Cindy Ryu Steps Forward

Who will replace Bob Ferguson on King County Council?

UPDATE: Please note a correction below on location and time of the 46th LD meeting and candidate forum. December 13th at Olympic View Elementary School.

After Bob Ferguson won the Attorney General race decisively, the next question is who will replace him in his King County Council District #1seat. 

Thus far at least seven people have stepped forward expressing interest in the seat.  The position is non-partisan.

Rep Cindy Ryu currently represents the 32nd Legislative District as legislator and has now thrown her hat into the ring. Cindy also served as Mayor of Shoreline and City Councilmember and President of the Shoreline Chamber of Commerce. Her district includes Shoreline, and parts of North Seattle, Edmonds and Lynnwood. She submitted a statement and applied for the position. 



Also stepping forward are:

• Seattle lawyer, Rod Dembowski
• Shoreline Councilmember Will Hall
• Shoreline Planning Commissioner Keith Scully
• Kenmore Mayor Dave Baker
• Assistant King County Ombudsman Chuck Sloan
• Democratic State Committeewoman and Legislative Activist Sarajane Siegfriedt

King County Executive Dow Constantine has established a process to select the next King County Councilmember. His office will appoint an "advisory committee" to review the applicants and send three names to the King County Council. All applications must be submitted by Dec 3rd, 5pm. Questions about the process should be submitted to kcexec@kingcounty.gov.

The 32nd District Democrats voted to endorse three candidates at their last meeting; Cindy Ryu, Rod Dembowski, and Keith Scully and forwarded those names to the King County Executive. The 46th LD will hold a forum for the candidates on Dec 13th at their special meeting, which will be held at the Olympic View Elementary School at 7pm.

It's About Pride!

Yesterday the Pride Came Out Big Time in Seattle!

Governor Chris Gregoire was Grand Marshall
of the Seattle Gay Pride Parade.
She became a champion this year when
she came out for Gay Marriage and
signed it into law

Thousands of enthusiastic supporters of Gay Pride lined Fourth Avenue and cheered the many participants in the annual parade. Many elected officials and candidates joined them.

Excellent weather! Great participation and a banner year for Gay Rights.

Kathleen Drew is an enthusiastic supporter of civil rights
for all people. She is running for Secretary of State and
is the only Democratic woman running for statewide office.

KC Councilmember Bob Ferguson is running
for Attorney General and is a supporter of
Marriage for All.

Democrats were out in force!
Sen Maria Cantwell joined forces with the 2012
Obama Campaign. President Obama
recently declared his support for
Gay Marriage.

The Parade showcased the many faces of "Pride" including:

• US Military celebrating the end of DADT (Don't Ask, Don't Tell).

All Branches of the Military represented including
Veterans for Peace

• "Washington Bus", which is a Coaliton representing all aspects of the voting populace

   and which seeks to elect progressive candidates 

• PFLAG supports Lesbian and Gays Family members

Major Corporations! Even Microsoft and Boeing were there in force!

Microsoft had a big contingent!

There were so many groups represented, including  Labor, Non-profits, City, County, School District and so many corporate sponsors for this major event. The organizers of Seattle Gay Pride are to be congratulated for an extremely well planned effort.

Humour and creativity all day long

Chief Diaz and Seattle Police marched and kept the
parade moving along efficiently.  The Chief recently
recorded a public service announcement for the
"It Gets Better Campaign."

Rat City Rollers!

Seattle City Council and many city departments participated

An amazing array of people and sights
showing pride

It was a day for Seattle to be Proud!

KC Councilmember Bob Ferguson Supports "Marriage Equality"

KC Councilmember and AG Candidate Bob Ferguson announces this morning, he will support the Marriage Equality efforts being supported today by Governor Gregoire. 

KC Councilmember Bob Ferguson talking to
supporter

In an email announcement from his campaign he states:

On Monday, the King County Council will vote on whether to support efforts to make gay marriage legal in Washington State.  Both my opponent and I will have to choose a side on this important issue.

But I don’t need to wait for the vote to tell you that I support marriage equality.

I supported gay marriage during my first campaign for office in 2003, and I will vote to support it again on Monday.  To me, marriage equality is the defining civil rights issue of our time. Any State that denies a committed couple the freedom to marry stands on the wrong side of history.

When marriage equality becomes law in Washington State, the Attorney General will defend it in the courts.

 http://electbobferguson.com/index.php

Publicola has the story this morning -

Governor Gregoire is making an announcement this morning, coming out in support of the Marriage Equality proposals to be before the legislature this session.

Redistricting - It May Happen Right Here

Councilmember Bob Ferguson sent out a notice on the "Redistricting" meeting coming up Wednesday, June 29th. 

Shoreline is now the bulk of the 1st Council District. Bob Ferguson is our Councilmember. 
Changes are already proposed and available here. Redistricting of the Council District is just one piece of the possible puzzle changes afoot. The Congressional and Legislative Districts may also change. 


Here is the meeting notice for the Council Redistricting talks:

Dear Shoreline Neighbor:

The King County Districting Committee recently released four alternative plans for redrawing County Council districts. Two of the four plans would change how Shoreline is represented at the King County Council by splitting the city between two districts. The plans are posted on the Committee's website at www.kingcounty.gov/districting.

The Districting Committee is hosting a public hearing in Shoreline to discuss the plans and gather input from the community:

Wednesday, June 29 6:30-8:30 p.m.

Shoreline City Hall Council Chambers 17500 Midvale Ave N Shoreline, WA 98133

Following community input and further study by the Districting Committee, the draft plans may be revised. A final district planmust be approved by the Committee by January 15, 2012.

If you have any questions or want more information, I encourage you to visit the King County Districting Committee's website at http://www.kingcounty.gov/districting.

As always, please feel free to contact me at (206) 296-1001 or bob.ferguson@kingcounty.gov. You can also find me on Facebook.

Sincerely,

Bob

Bob Ferguson Fundraiser Last Night Hosted by Dow Constantine

The Summer Solstice at the Historic Coleman House in West Seattle was a lovely setting last night for a fundraiser for Attorney General Candidate Bob Ferguson, hosted by Dow Constantine at the home of environmental benefactor Maryann Tagney-Jones. 

Bob Ferguson visits with supporters 

Bob enjoyed the wonderful ambience of the site for the event and spoke with supporters. About forty-five supporters attended.

Rep Joe Fitzgibbon enjoys the wonderful spread

King County Executive Dow Constantine introduced Bob, as a fellow supporter of environment, justice and transportation.

Dow Constantine introduced Bob Ferguson and
guests and talked about Bob's record on
the environment and law and justice

Bob Ferguson talked about his time on the King County Council, his past campaigns where he famously doorbelled two entire districts to win. He now represents the 1st Council District which includes Shoreline, Lake Forest Park, part of North Seattle, Kenmore and beyond.

Councilmember Bob Ferguson,
Candidate for WA Attorney General

Bob spoke about his support for the new Transit Bill now before the Council, against Rob McKenna's lawsuit against the Health Care Act, his fight for Consumer Protection and support for environmental sustainability.

His recently announced opponent for Attorney General is Reagan Dunn who represents a district on the eastside of King County.

Fireplace Mantle and Painting in Livingroom

The house where the event was held is a wonderful story too. Environmental Advocate Marayanne Tagney-Jones and her husband David Jones, have been restoring this historic building for the last year. It is the home of Laurence Coleman, built by architect Arthur Lovelace in 1922. His Father, James Coleman,  built the Coleman Dock and the Puget Sound Navigation Company at the wharf on Elliot Bay and for whom the Coleman Pool was named.

foyer of the Colman House

Maryanne and David are carefully restoring the home and beautiful gardens.  Period furnishings and an eclectic collection of art and curios can be seen.  The event was beautifully catered and very enjoyable.

Lovely table decoration

Bob Ferguson is off to a good start on his campaign. I was pleased to be there as one of his constituents.

Janet Way visits with Clmbr Bob Ferguson

Cindy Ryu Campaign Kick-off - A Rousing Success

Over 140 guests packed Cindy' Ryu's Legislative Campaign Kick-off event this past Thursday,

and supporters raised over $12,000.  The event was held at the 

United Presbyterian Gym in Edmonds.

Cindy Speaking to Supporters

photo credit/copyright - Matthew Benuska

Former Mayor Ryu spoke about her backround and work as Mayor of Shoreline.

She emphasized her strong belief in strong families, quality education, the need for quality transportation choices, and helping small businesses succeed for Washington State.

Sen Paul Shin and former Fed Way Mayor and current Councilmember, Michael Park joining Cindy

photo credit/copyright - Matthew Benuska

Cindy was proud to welcome many elected officials and distinguished guests from all over the 32nd District. In addition to many local Democrats, labor leaders and members of the extensive Korean community also attended. Local Electeds attending included - Sen Paul Shin, Rep Maralyn Chase, Rep Marko Liias, KC Council Chair Bob Ferguson, Hon Donn Charnley, Hon Nancy and Dr. Dick Rust, and Luis Moscoso (1st Dist Leg Candidate) and many others.

KC Council Chair Bob Ferguson, Cory Murata 

and John Foy and many others

Exciting entertainment was provided by local a Korean dance and drumming troupe called,  "Morning Star Korean Cultural Center" (http://www.morningstarkcc.org/);.  It was an exciting evening and great food was provided by volunteers, including local grilled tuna, by Jesse Salomon.

  

Korean Dance and Drum Troupe,

 "Morning Star Korean Cultural Center"

 

    Rep Maralyn Chase and Korean Consul General, Haryong Lee.

 Rep Marko Liias, Rep Chase, Luis Moscoso and Dan Mann

     

Honorable Nancy Rust and Dr Dick Rust

Cindy Ryu served as a Shoreline Councilmember and was elected by the Council as the First Korean- American, Woman Mayor in America.  She and her family have lived in the Shoreline area for over 20 years. Cindy holds an MBA from Univ of WA and also served as President of the Shoreline Chamber of Commerce.