AUGUST 2004 DEMOGRAM

The web site has also been useful in getting previously unidentified Lewis County Democrats actively involved in county party activities. Through our web site we have gotten volunteers to work in our office, recruited people to come to county caucuses and the county convention, and we are now receiving requests for Democrat candidates' yard signs daily. That's a really valuable payoff for us. And it's just the beginning. We're grateful to Connie for her work

Communications is critical in getting information to Democrat voters. That is especially true in a community like Lewis County where both the print and broadcast media are so politically conservative. You can access the web page by logging on to www.lewiscountydemocrats.net.

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Fair Booth Again Sponsored By Lewis County Dems

Susan Lamoreaux, 2nd Vice Chair for the LCDCC, is again coordinating the Democrat's booth at the Southwest Washington Fair running from August 17th through the 22nd. The theme for the fair, "This Fair's For You," will be carried forward in the decoration of the Democrats' booth again this year.

Make sure you stop by our booth under the grandstand while you are at the fair. Chances are excellent that when you do you will meet Democrats who are running for county, 20th District, state-wide and Congressional offices.

Candidates' Fund Reaches 56% Of Goal
By Norma Schanz, LCDCC Treasurer

For two years, we've been working toward the goal of raising $6,000 to contribute to the 2004 campaigns of candidates for Lewis County elective offices.

Now we have two strong candidates to support -- and nearly $3,400 raised for their campaigns. In the next few weeks, we face the challenge of raising another $2,600 to meet our goal.

Why don't we use some of the revenue from the Auction and Salmon BBQ? The Annual Auction, the Salmon Barbecue and other "exempt" fundraisers provide revenue for the "exempt" activities of the Central Committee: to promote the Democratic Party, recruit Democratic candidates, get out the vote, hold precinct caucuses and the county convention, publish the Demogram and operate Democratic Headquarters and the Central Committee.

Even if we had some of the "exempt" funds left over, campaign finance law won't let us use it for "non-exempt" political contributions. The law requires clear separation of how we raise, bank and spend these two kinds of funds.

So how do we raise money for candidates? Each year's budget includes a separate plan for raising and spending "non-exempt" revenue for our Candidates Fund. The precinct Committee Officers advise and approve this plan.

This plan is designed to accommodate just about anyone's ability to participate.

For example, a number of Democrats have been dropping pocket change into their Make Change Happen mason jars. So far, with only half of the jars returned, this fundraiser has added more than $607 to our Candidates Fund.

That's a hefty 22,000 pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters.

Your treasurer's grandkids, Sarah and Ben, can testify that other deposits to the Candidates Fund have been easier to carry into the bank.

Raffles raised $550. The dessert auction at the JJ Dinner brought in a sweet $650. Contributions from individual Democrats have added $1,563. (Won't you help add to these totals by filling out and sending the contribution form that's printed below along with your personal contribution today?)

Every activity has exceeded its goal except individual contributions. Now that Eric Johnson and John Penberth have announced their candidacies for County Commissioner, we hope folks will be inspired to send their checks in time for John and Eric to use our contributions effectively in their campaigns.

For your treasurer, a major motivation for counting all those pennies and promoting the Candidates Fund is this basic fact: Only in very rare circumstances have Democratic candidates for county offices received financial support from the District, State and National Democratic Committees.

Their Party support comes solely from us, the Lewis County Democratic Central Committee. Our candidates will get much more than a financial boost from knowing the Lewis County Democratic Party has done its best to support their campaigns.

On behalf of our two fine candidates for county-wide office this year, here's a warm thanks to each of you who have helped or who will help us reach our goal for the Candidates Fund.

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Ed Smethers, a "Real Hero"

One of our own, Ed Smethers, is being honored this year as a red Cross REAL HERO during their annual breakfast at 7:00am on Thursday, August 19th, at Centralia High School.

Ed, a longtime active Democrat, is certainly deserving of this honor. Lewis County Democrats are planning on having two tables of his dedicated fellow Democrats on hand for the celebration on the 19th.

If you would like to attend and are not already holding a seat at one of our tables, contact the Red Cross at 748-4607 to get your tickets.

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Staloch Campaign Kickoff a Huge Success

Congratulations to Joel Staloch, Democrat candidate for State Representative for the 20th Legislative District. Joel, who is running for the state legislature in Position 1, held his Lewis County campaign kickoff in Chehalis on August 5th.

Talk about a kickoff! More than 80 people joined Joel at a family pie and ice cream social at the V.R. Lee Building in Recreation Park, contributing approximately $1,700 for his campaign at the event.

Staloch is the first Democrat to run for the Position 1 seat since 1998. He is an articulate, strong and charismatic candidate who has exceptional credentials for serving as a legislator. His campaign presents an exciting opportunity for Democrats to regain a House seat in a district that hasn't sent a Democrat to Olympia for many years.

The response to his candidacy, as evidenced by his very well attended Lewis County Kickoff event, has been extremely positive, with many people expressing their gratitude to him for giving them a choice on the ballot this fall.

A graduate of Onalaska High School, Staloch's roots in the 20th District go back many years. His first job was at the Safeway on Tower Street in Centralia, and his family once owned and operated the old Liberty Market grocery stores in Tenino and Bucoda. Today, Staloch and his wife, Marianne, live in rural Thurston County.

Staloch believes that the time has come for a change in leadership in the 20th. He said, "I believe we can do better. I am confident that by working together for the common good, we can foster greater quality in our own lives, our neighborhoods, our towns and our region...We owe it to our children and future generations to work together toward achieving and maintaining a rich quality of life for all."

For more information, contact Citizens for Joel W. Staloch, P.O. Box 67, East Olympia, WA 98549, or check out his web site at www.citizensforjoel.com.

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Penberth to Run Against Graham for County Commissioner

John Penberth has filed for and announced his candidacy to run for a seat on the Lewis County Commission representing the 2nd District. John, a resident of PeEll, provided the Demogram with the following information in announcing his candidacy.

In 1962, I packed up my bags and left Pennsylvania to go west and visit a friend of mine who had been in the Marine Corps with me. I arrived in Doty and soon had a job working in the woods down on the Lewis River. In fact, I stayed in the boarding house at Cougar during the Columbus Day storm. I worked in the logging industry for about 13 years and tried my hand at rigging, landing, power man and as a cutter.

During those years, I met and married Donna Zock and we had one daughter, Janice. She has given us two of the most beautiful granddaughters, Kendra and Nicole. We all live in PeEll where we also have an auction business called Auctions by Penberth.

Clocks tick and times passes and suddenly retirement arrives. I had 26 years with the PeEll Fire Department as a volunteer and 17 years of service with the Chehalis Police Department. I was Lewis County Coroner for two years. With lots of spare time and my political fires still burning, I ran and was elected Mayor of PeEll. There were major issues with the water and wastewater treatment plants and systems. I led the charge and was able to obtain funding through grant and loan packages to correct the problems. Now eight years later, our town has a new water system and a new treatment plant which gives us clean water to drink and stopped pollution from entering the Chehalis River.

I happened to get involved with the Chehalis Basin Partnership. My interest in water issues has always been strong and was amplified by sitting on this board. The Chinese have a saying, "Waste not what you have a lot of," and there are stories of the pioneers landing along the East Coast and being amazed by the Native Americans drinking from the streams. Both of these struck home with me. Water issues are currently of vital importance in Lewis County as well as on a global scale. As I write this, no one knows if we will have adequate resources for our future. We need to pay attention for growth and people.

I was also appointed to the Growth Management board by the county. What an eye-opening experience that was for me. I have worked with the Lewis County Senior Advisory board as well.

Lewis County is currently facing some large issues. Our high unemployment leads us to questioning our economic development. Flooding problems have been of great concern since George Washington settled in the Centralia area. I ask for your support this fall in my candidacy for Lewis County Commissioner. I am very familiar with the issues and feel my experience in Lewis County would make me well suited for the position. I believe that resolution of our issues could be answered by having a Democratic commissioner in office. Thank you for time and consideration.

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Chair's Corner
By Deanna M. Zieske, Chair, LCDCC

I want to use this time for three purposes. The first is to crow a bit about our involvement in our Central Committee activities. The second is to explain our policy regarding financial support of Democrats who are running for office. Third is about our next event, the annual Salmon BBQ.

So, let's brag first. When I first ran for election as County Chair four years ago only 13 Democrats ran for and were elected as Precinct Committee Officers (PCOs). Obviously with those meager numbers, building our cadre of PCOs became a high priority.

Our efforts have worked well. By the end of this biennium we had increased to 49 PCOs with interim appointments. Our goal is 50. This year 42 Democrats filed to run as PCOs in 39 precincts, with three of those precincts having contests for election. (That's 6 more D's filing than the R's had.)

The interest and enthusiasm of those 42 reflects a strong surge in Democrat involvement and pride in our county. Building on this can be a major factor in building a leadership pool for our party and electing Democrats to local elective office now and in the future.

That leads to my second point. Recently there has been considerable interest and discussion about how the LCDCC will be using the money we have raised over the past two years to help elect Democrats. Our Central Committee Executive Board, on the recommendation of the Finance Committee two years ago, set a budget goal for raising non-exempt funds for campaign donations.

In doing so the Central Committee, with ratification by PCOs at a regular Central Committee Meeting, made it clear that while we support Democrats running for elective office at all levels, we just don't have the means to be all things to everyone. So we set a priority on fund raising by the LCDCC to be used to support candidates for county-wide elective offices (i.e. County Commissioner this year and for other Courthouse elective offices in other years).

Right now we have approximately $3,400 available for helping those candidates. Each of them (right now that is Eric Johnson and John Penberth) is engaged in a vigorous campaign against well-financed opponents. The E-Board and PCO's have said it will be our policy to use non-exempt funds only for those county-wide offices until such time as we have met our $6,000 goal for raising non-exempt funds.

That is not to say that we will ignore candidates for 20th Legislative District and state-wide offices, or for the U.S. Congress. The LCDCC offers in-kind services and donations, including use of our office, bulk mail permit, telephones, etc. to any Democratic candidate who approaches us and enters into an in-kind services agreement. That agreement assures us that the LCDCC is in compliance with state campaign finance laws.

So far we have been asked to donate funds to Joel Staloch's campaign for the State House of Representatives. This week several E-Board members and others dipped into their own wallets, giving $545 to Joel's campaign, allowing us to save the LCDCC exempt funds for their intended use of supporting county candidates.

There is another group within the structure of the State Democratic Party -- the 20th Legislative District Democratic Committee, chaired by Bob Guenther--that has as its primary purpose recruiting and supporting candidates for office at the Legislative District level. Joel Staloch and Chuck Bojarski will be working with the 20th District Democrats. And we will certainly cooperate with them, too.

But the LCDCC must and will focus first on our local elections, as no other entity does that.

Finally, mark your calendar and get your tickets now for our Annual Salmon BBQ. Word has it that the Salmon BBQ has been a regular feature of our annual calendar since the 1960's. This year the Salmon BBQ will take place on the second Saturday in September (September 11th) at my home. Join us for energizing political talk and savor delicious food eaten in the company of great Democrats. You'll be glad you did. Mail your check and we will send you your tickets. (Click here for ticket request.)

In addition to food and mingling with Democrats, we expect a number of D's who are running for local and state-wide office to be present. You will also have an opportunity to meet and talk with Judge Merle Krouse and Judge R.W. Buzzard, the two candidates for Judge of the Lewis County District Court.

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Editorial
By Lew Zieske, Demogram Editor

While reading the Chronicle on August 9th, I ran across an article headlined "Republicans regretting choice for state auditor." The article had to do with the moaning, groaning and squirming being done by the Washington State Republicans after certifying a fellow named Will Baker as the Republican candidate for State Auditor because no one had filed for the position by the filing deadline.

Seems as though Will Baker had a criminal record for often disrupting Tacoma City Council meetings and had spent some time in jail as a result. Baker is apparently a gadfly whose mischief would not ordinarily have made him a credible candidate as either an R or a D.

My initial reaction was to smile and say, "Serves 'em right." But then my better angels said to me, "Lew, there but for the grace of God go the Lewis County Democrats."

"How's that?" I thought. Then I realized that up until Joel Staloch, Chuck Bojarski and John Penberth declared their candidacies, we were worrying about again not having a candidate to run for the state legislature or one of the open County Commission seats. Over the past year I've heard more than one person saying, "Who can we get to run?"

So let's not be too hard on those R's for anointing Will Baker as their candidate for State Auditor. We were under some similar pressure ourselves to nominate someone, anyone, here in Lewis County. But we managed to escape it this time.

Fortunately, we didn't succumb to the pressure of an "anyone will do" mentality. And we were able to generate four excellent candidates for Lewis County and 20th Legislative District offices.

We need to support Eric Johnson and John Penberth for the County Commission. We need to back Joel Staloch for the State House of Representatives. And we need to give Chuck Bojarski our wholehearted support for the State Senate. These four offer an opportunity to secure Democratic majorities in the three legislative bodies that have the most direct impact upon each of our lives.

But it must not stop there. We all need to work together, blending our unique skills to elect Democrats to all elective offices that are being contested this year. That means that if--or where--they may exist, we need to set aside petty intramural differences and rivalries we may have and UNITE behind our candidates.

This is a powerful year for us to do that. The energy behind Democrats' motivation to dislodge George Bush and elect Democrats elsewhere has been tangible. We need to capitalize on that.

We need to elect John Kerry and John Edwards.

We need to elect Patty Murray and Brian Baird

We need to elect a Democrat as Governor and for each of the State-wide offices.

We need to send Chuck Bojarski and Joel Staloch to the State Legislature.

We need to send Eric Johnson back as County Commissioner and give him someone he can work with in John Penberth.

But these outcomes are only possible if we work together.

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Quotes

"I am often troubled as I try hard here to create a new sense of common purpose...we oftentimes get so caught up in the battle of the moment, the heat of the moment...that sometimes we forget that we are all in this because we are seeking a good that helps all Americans." -- William Jefferson Clinton, 42nd President of the United States

"We must especially be aware of that small group of selfish men who would clip the wings of the American eagle in order to feather their own nests." -- Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 32nd President of the United States

"Slanders, lies, character assassination -- these things are a threat to every single citizen everywhere in this country. When even one American who has done nothing wrong is forced by fear to shut his mind and close his mouth, then all Americans are in peril. It is the job of every American who loves his country and his freedom, to rise up and put a stop to this terrible business." -- Harry S. Truman, 33rd President of the United States