Wow!! What an education it was to attend the State Conventin in Spokane this past week-end. I hurried home late Saturday night for the Multi-Cultural Arts Festival/Diversity Day in the park yesterdau, so I'm still catching my breath.
The convention was a wonderful experience. There were hospitality suites for both candidtaes, with lots of cross-pollination - it's amazing how effective partying together is at breaking down bariers! There were also opportunites to meet with other Movement for Cahnge folks from across the state, which was really great. The down-ticket candidates were there and it was so nice to spend a few days with people who were all like-minded. Also, our very own Kathy Amarasinghe made it to the final voting for At Large delegate. There were several hundred candidates and only 7 women were chosen to go, so it was a great honor and a wonderful reflection on Kathy to make it that far!
We have lots of work ahead of us this summer and fall, but I think we have put Walla Walla on the state party map. Dwight Pelz, chairman of the state party, has said that he would come down for a visit and Kath A reports that we may have a visit from Governor Gregoire as well. In addition, the woman who is chairing the Coordinated Campaign for Washington state is from Milton-Freewater, so she is very excited about working with us, as well.
In the short-term, we have the Change for Unity event on the 28th at Margie's house. Please reach out to any Hillary supporters, independents and Republicans you know who might be willing to come. It is just a "getting to know oor candidate and one another" dessert and should be lots of fun. Also, don't forget to put the 4th of July in the Park on your calendar. We'll have a booth there again.
Here's a link to a YouTube video taken at the end of the Movement for Change rally held at the convention at lunchtime on Saturday - enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q93Gsg6WCg8
Wow! It has been quite a ride these past few weeks! We are busy getting ready for the State Democratic Convention in Spokane this weekend and starting our efforts for the general election.
There is a great base of supporters and volunteers here in Walla Walla. Thank you to all who has signed up on the list serv. We will be sending out information as things develop. One of the things we'll want to know is what strengths we have in the group, so be thinking about how you feel you can best contribute toward ensuring that Barack Obama is our next President!
We have 'Walla Walla for OBAMA' buttons that will be available for $1 each at the Diversity Day event, as well as other upcoming community functions. The Democratic office will open downtown (where we had the rally in April) next month. Until then, Beth Call has supplies from the Obama store at her house. More will become available as we move into the summer. If there is interest, we will do another printing of the Wallla Walla for Obama yard signs. So, let me know if you are interested.
It's going to be a great year! I'll have updates to post after the convention.
Wow !! We just got back from seeing Barack at the Town Hall in Pendleton, OR. It is amazing that he had any energy left for us after the huge rally in Portland, but he did not disappoint us!
Eastern Oregon and Washington are VERY red and very rural. As such, we have been written off by Democratic campaigns for decades. What a gift this was to us!!
Several of us were just back from our Congressional District caucus in Spokane on Saturday. What a weekend! Another delegate and I were even interviewed while we waited for the doors to open in Pendleton. We got our 5 seconds of fame on the nightly news broadcast for KNDU in Richland, Washington. :-)
Here are some pictures from the event:
http://flickr.com/photos/26706989@N03/sets/72157605135996023/
http://flickr.com/photos/26706989@N03/sets/72157605140120226/
