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Message from the Chair This is the week for filing for elected office. While most people running for office have already filed, it is the position of Precinct Committee Officer (PCO) that can go unfilled. This position is integral to the good and proper functioning of the local party. PCOs are the ones who vote for the people who hold the offices of chair, vice-chair, treasurer, deputy treasurer, state committee persons (2) plus other positions as designated by the LD like the representatives from the various school districts. Below are the specific duties of PCOs according to the LD bylaws:
Since this is an election year for partisan offices, it means that the elected offices of the LD are also up for election. It is also the time that any proposed bylaws changes are put forth for consideration and adoption. Being a PCO is an important job and one way that you can support the LD in doing its work. Have a good rest of your week, Val In Memory: Phil Rockefeller
From a Friend Senator Phil Rockefeller passed away on April 15, 2026, after a long struggle with chronic renal failure. He was 87 years old. Phil grew up in the Hudson River Valley and graduated from Yale in 1960 and Harvard Law in 1963. After serving in the Air Force, he spent a brief time in Washington D.C. as a legislative aide before moving to Tacoma to work for Weyerhaeuser's legal team. He left corporate law for a position in the Department of Health, Education and Welfare in Seattle. He then became Regional Commissioner of the U.S. Office of Education and an education policy advisor to Gov. John Spellman. He eventually settled on Bainbridge Island, where he lived until his death. He was elected State Representative from the 23rd district in 1998 and then State Senator, serving from 2005 to July 2011. During his tenure he was assistant floor leader for the Senate Democrats, chair of the Senate Environment, Water & Energy Committee, and a member of the Senate K-12 Education and Ways & Means committees. His final State Senate term ended early when Governor Christine Gregoire appointed him to serve as one of Washington State's representative members on the Northwest Power and Conservation Council. He served 5 years there, including 1 year as Chair of the Council. While chair, he presided over the development and completion of the 2014 Columbia River Basin Fish and Wildlife Program and the Seventh Northwest Power Plan, which commited the council to meeting all or nearly all new demand for electricity in the Northwest with zero-carbon, low-cost energy efficiency. He was deeply committed to clean energy and environmental stewardship. He is survived by his wife of 51 years, Anita, and their three daughters. I had the pleasure of knowing Phil and Anita for many years, including travels to Europe, Cuba and Vietnam. He was boundlessly good-humored (except for that terrible night in 2016 when Trump got elected!). He had always loved music and dancing (skilled at the Lindy Hop when he was a teenager) and one of my fondest memories is of him salsa dancing in Cuba to a red-hot house band. He was a devoted husband and father, a great friend and the definition of a great public servant. He will be sorely missed. They broke the mold. Stephen Hubbard |
Devotion to Democracy: Turning the Tide Saturday June 27, 2026 |
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