Hello fellow Democrats and happy Friday! It’s campaign season - and time to start doorbelling and holding events - safely! I’m excited about all the hard work that local Democrats are doing across Washington in the 2021 local elections, and we have a TON of opportunities for training and support that we have available to help LPOs, PCOs, and candidates compete and win. 

Contest Every Race:In our Contest Every Race program, we identified more than 10,000 Democrats across Washington who told us they would consider running for office now or over the next few years. Another 6,000+ Democrats expressed an interest in volunteering with a local party organization or becoming a PCO. This is a deep bench of activists that we’re going to work with to grow our volunteer network and elect more Democrats in 2021 and beyond. 

Since most local races are nonpartisan, we’re still working to identify the Democratic candidates we should track in these races across Washington - many thanks to our LPOs and the Elections Committee of the State Committee for their efforts here! And, at the current count, 173 of our Contest Every Race recruits - folks who would NOT have run without this program - are on the ballot in 2021. If you or someone you know is running for office and should be on our radar, email organizing@wa-democrats.org to let us know. We’d love to get connected!

We’re identifying the most competitive races and candidates, especially where we can pick up new Democratic seats and elect a more diverse and representative class of elected officials. We’re planning a “spotlight” program for these races throughout the year, so again, send us your recommendations!

T3 - Train The Trainer: As part of our continuing commitment to ensure the best and most effective training for all of our Local Party Leaders, PCOs, and amazing volunteers, the Washington State Democrats are excited to announce that we’re partnering again with the Association of State Democratic Committee’s Best Practices Institute to launch Train the Trainer Volume 2 (T3 v.2)! T3 v.2 is a free, three-week, six-part, 100% virtual training course, which will provide thousands of grassroots leaders with the political skills they need to execute successful local electoral programs. 

During T3 v.1 this spring, Washington state led the nation with over 780 T3 participants and 311 certified graduates - more than any other state in both categories. Washington Democrats represented almost one-third of the entire national program! The T3 v.2 program will build upon the skills taught in the Spring T3 series. However, registrants are NOT required to have completed T3 v.1 to participate in the T3 v.2 program. Everyone interested in helping to elect Democrats is welcome to participate!

Click Here to Register(registration closes at 8:59 pm PT on Sunday, June 20, so don’t wait!)

Just like T3 v.1, the T3 v.2 program is designed to train thousands of people at your own pace over three weeks, beginning June 22nd.

2021 T3 v.2 Curriculum Calendar
Week	Session #	Date	Topic
Deadline	--	Sunday, June 20	Registration Deadline
1	1	Tuesday, June 22	Program Overview + Getting Started
2	Thursday, June 24	Fundraising
2	3	Tuesday, June 29	Communications + Messaging
4	Thursday, July 1	Organizing
3	5	Tuesday, July 6	Digital
6	Thursday, July 8	Building Coalitions
Deadlines	--	Sunday, July 18	Certification Deadline
--	Monday, August 2	Certification Delivery (subject to change)

This program will expand the skills of PCOs, party officers, and volunteers alike by ensuring that comprehensive training is free and accessible for Democrats working in every LD and county in Washington (and across the country!). 

T3 v.2 is an opportunity for those who missed the Spring T3 program to get up to speed - especially local candidates and campaigns - and for Spring T3 participants to expand their knowledge and skills to continue training others! Please take a moment to register yourself now, and then encourage three of your friends to sign up with you. We win when we train and organize together.

Juneteenth FB Live with Rep. Melanie Morgan: 

We’re excited to be hosting one of our Facebook Live forums next week with Rep. Melanie Morgan of the 29th Legislative District. We’ll be discussing the Juneteenth holiday and the work the legislature did in 2021 to address the needs and concerns of Black Washingtonians. The event will be on Thursday, June 17th at 11:00 AM. You can watch it live or a recording of the program at www.facebook.com/washdems/live.

Campaigning During COVID - It’s Time to Get Out There:As local Democratic campaigns ramp up activities leading up to the 2021 primary election, it’s important that we do so in a way that’s safe and responsible. While many of our candidates, staff, and volunteers may be fully vaccinated at this point, we need to recognize that our campaigns can and will interact with people who aren’t vaccinated due to access, medical conditions, or being too young; We need to protect them just as we protect ourselves. 

Political staff and activists are NOT public health experts and it’s important that we always defer to the guidance of our public health authorities and to err on the side of safety. Make sure to continuously stay up-to-date on the recommendations and guidance from the state’s Department of Health and your local county’s public health authority. While responsible and safe campaign practices may change as the COVID situation evolves, these are our current recommendations to local campaigns for how to operate under COVID. 

Save The Date - Rural Summit Coming Up:On July 25th, we’re hosting our Washington State Democratic Party Rural Summit. We know how important it is that we communicate with rural voters about the work that Democratic elected officials are doing on their behalf and organizing to build our party across Washington. We will be hosting a full day of workshops, trainings, and discussion of rural strategies, with a keynote session from Nebraska Democratic Party Chair Jane Kleeb. Save the date and stay tuned for more information about this important event!

Redistricting Outreach Meetings Continue: Washington’s Redistricting Commission has begun its initial process of collecting public comment on the redistricting process and goals. These events are all virtual at this point, focused on the communities of one Congressional District at a time. The list of outreach meetings and their dates and times can be found here: https://www.redistricting.wa.gov/outreach-meetings 

As a party, our role is to support our Democratic commissioners (chosen by the Senate and House Democratic leaders in the legislature) and provide input on maps that reflect the important communities of interest across the state - like our Native American Tribal partners. We must also provide the opportunity for Democratic voters to have our voices and influence fairly heard in our elections. Redistricting always involves tradeoffs, and no map will ever be “perfect,” but we can help support the commissioners as they work to draw and negotiate the most fair and equitable maps possible. 

It’s difficult to propose concrete redistricting plans or maps at this point because we still don’t have the final population data from the Census - that won’t happen until September. Still, at this point, we want to remind ALL the commissioners of the importance of listening to communities of interest. We also need to make sure that groups like Washington’s BIPOC voters can come together as a voice for needed change, so their geographic communities won’t get split up between multiple districts -- as was done to so many groups back in 2011.

Something to Read: I mentioned the Rural Summit we’re planning with Nebraska State Democratic Party Chair Jane Kleeb - make sure to check out her book as well! Titled Harvest The Vote, it’s an inspiring road map for how the Democratic Party can reconnect with rural voters on issues like climate change, corporate power and overreach, clean energy, and other ways that we can connect with a rural grassroots that can be too easily ignored from the coasts. Great Democratic leaders like FDR were elected with huge support from farmers and rural voters, and we should work to rebuild those alliances and grow our party in rural areas again. I seriously recommend you check it out from an independent, unionized bookstore. 

Thanks as always for reading and for your support for the party! Now let’s go forth and win these local elections we’ve been preparing for all year!

With gratitude, 

Tina Podlodowski