MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR
It’s THURSDAY, Washington Democrats!
TOMORROW – May Day Action
It’s all happening tomorrow, friends. The next major action since the No Kings rally where – across the state and nation – we, the people, will be marching in solidarity and committing to “No School, No Work, No Shopping.” Our demands are simple: ICE out of our communities, tax the rich to ensure our families and not their fortunes come first, and expand our democracy to defend fair elections. Please commit to these actions here. We can’t wait to see you out in the streets tomorrow! Please also consider sending us pictures of the rallies in your area to press@wa-democrats.org. Find a march in your area here.
And if you still have energy on Saturday, Washington Democrats are launching canvasses in Tacoma, Kent, and Sedro-Wooley. We’re also conducting a statewide virtual phonebank in the evening. We hope to see you there!
- Saturday, May 2 – WA Dems May Day Deep Canvass Launch, Tacoma, 10AM-2PM. Sign up here.
- Saturday, May 2 – WA Dems May Day Deep Canvass Launch, Kent, 11AM-2PM. Sign up here.
- Saturday, May 2 – WA Dems May Day Deep Canvass Launch, Sedro-Wooley, 2PM-5PM. Sign up here.
- Saturday, May 2 – WA Dems Weekend of Action: Statewide Virtual Phonebank, 4PM-7PM. Sign up here.
Working for Washington
Filing week starts on MONDAY! Please consider strengthening our party by becoming a Precinct Committee Officer. Precinct Committee Officers or PCOs are the on-the-ground neighborhood party officials who help us contact voters and vote on endorsements in their Legislative Districts and County Parties. They can even help appoint legislators when there’s a vacancy. Even if your precinct already has a PCO, you can serve as an acting or appointed PCO for a nearby precinct that doesn’t have one. When filing week begins, you file to run for PCO here.
This week, I was in Southwest Washington for events with Clark County Democrats. It was great to see the on-the-ground passion and excitement from grassroots Democrats who are working tirelessly to expand our state legislative majorities and help Democrats take back the U.S. House of Representatives. I want to thank Clark County Chair Tim Probst for putting together a tremendous evening where we discussed strategies and tactics to move our state and nation forward.
I also want to thank the producers of the 3 Questions Podcast for having me on to discuss Washington Democrats, the DNC, and how we’re working to win up and down the ballot this election. I’ll be sure to post the link to the podcast when it airs on social media and in this newsletter. Stay tuned…
Washington Democrats mourn the passing of Fmr. State Senator Sam Hunt. Sam was a party stalwart who served every corner of Washington state. Before his election, he was a teacher and City Councilor in Pasco and held numerous positions in state government. Senator Hunt always fought for students, teachers, and ensuring our elections were accessible and secure. He truly loved the Democratic Party, having served as a local party Chair and National Delegate. Our hearts break for his family and loved ones who will miss his charm and deep commitment to our community.
At the end of this year’s legislative session, 24th LD Rep. Steve Tharinger announced his retirement. For 16 years in Olympia, Rep. Tharinger worked to strengthen health care, invest in infrastructure, and support jobs and communities across Washington’s peninsula communities. Rep. Tharinger’s leadership, rooted in decades of public service, has left a lasting impact on WA.Thank you, Rep. Steve Tharinger, for your years of service and dedication to the North Olympic Peninsula.
Zoom Webinar Vulnerability
If you or your organization conducts webinar training via Zoom, please be aware that there is a website scraping Zoom webinars for content. The site uses AI to record them and shares those recordings with the public. WebinarTV scrapes public webinar links and uses AI tools to record them and post data on the speakers and what is discussed. This is generally done without the host’s permission and often they have no knowledge that this is even being done.
Here’s an article that explains what’s happening. For those of us who work with vulnerable communities, this is obviously very concerning. Here are steps you can take to protect your webinars:
- When creating webinars, make registration mandatory so you can see who is sitting in your audience.
- Check your webinar registrations and set your webinar up to require approval on all participants from someone on your staff. This way you can reject any user that looks suspicious.
- If you are hosting a webinar with particularly sensitive content don’t post it publicly on the web. Instead use your trusted channels like your email and text lists.
- Please go to https://webinartv.us/ and search for your affiliate and important partners.
- Please share this information with your partners, especially if they do work with vulnerable communities.
How to ask WebinarTV to remove a video
- Find the exact WebinarTV page for the video.
Copy the full web address for every video you want removed. - Check whether your organization got an email from WebinarTV about the video. You can search your inbox for @webinartv.us. If you did, look for the removal link in that email. WebinarTV says removal is supposed to be “1 click easy,” so try this link first.
- If you do not see an email from WebinarTV send a written removal request to support@WebinarTV.us.
WebinarTV’s Terms of Service say hosts can withdraw permission for WebinarTV to use their webinar content by sending a written request to that address. - In the email, clearly say:
- your organization name
- the video URL or URLs
- that the video contains private information
- that the people shown are vulnerable community members
- that you are asking for removal as the host, organizer, or rights holder
- Ask them to remove all copies and stop further distribution.
Their Terms say they will remove the content from the platform and cease further distribution within a reasonable timeframe after a written request. - Save a copy of what you sent. Keep the sent email, screenshots, and the list of links.
- If you do not hear back quickly, send a follow-up.
Reply to the same email thread, repeat the URLs, and note that the videos expose private information. - If the situation is urgent, say that clearly in the subject line.
Example: “Urgent removal request: private information about vulnerable community members.”
Democrats Fight Back
Attorney General Nick Brown is leading a lawsuit against Albertsons (which owns Safeway and Haggen) over allegations it has been overcharging customers for years with buy one, get one free offers. The state alleges customers were overcharged on at least 3.1 million transactions between October 2019 and May 2024. Albertsons has already settled similar lawsuits in Oregon and with Washington consumers who brought their own lawsuit. Thank you, AG Brown for championing affordability and protecting Washington consumers. State oversight will be increasingly important as the Trump-Vance admin continues to gut consumer protections at the federal level.
Governor Bob Ferguson and AG Nick Brown have also teamed up to sue the Northwest ICE Detention Facility in Tacoma where health inspectors have been blocked from entering despite state law and a federal judge’s order. Detainees have raised concerns about food, medical care, and religious accommodations – documenting more than 2,000 complaints from people in detention. We cannot allow human rights abuses to occur in our state and this lawsuit is an important defense of the constitutional rights everyone in our country is entitled to.
The Seattle Times ran the numbers on Trump’s disastrous SAVE America Act that would cripple vote-by-mail across the country and found that Republican voters would likely be the most impacted by this boneheaded policy. Voters in the central, rural stretch of our state would be forced to travel farther than others to cast their ballots. The legislation would also require voters to present proof of citizenship – a passport, birth certificate, or naturalization documents – to register to vote. People would also need to photocopy government issued IDs to even cast a ballot. Every Washington Democrat in Congress opposes this unconstitutional poll tax. Strikingly, it’s the two Republican House members, whose own constituents would be the hardest hit by the legislation, who support it.
Governor Bob Ferguson announced a partnership with the Department of Commerce and the Department of Children, Youth, and Families to distribute $56 million in grants for new construction and renovation projects in 40 cities and 17 counties across Washington. These grants are expected to create 2,000 additional child care slots. Just another example of Democrats delivering for our state!
- Rally, Protest, and Gather
- Anytime – Sign up to receive ICE Mobilization Alerts for communities in Washington state. Sign up here.
- Friday, May 1 – Seattle May Day 2026. SeattleMayDay.org for more details.
- Friday, May 1 – May Day General Strike. No work, no school, no shopping in WA. Learn more here.
- Saturday, May 2 – WA Dems May Day Deep Canvass Launch, Tacoma, 10AM-2PM. Sign up here.
- Saturday, May 2 – WA Dems May Day Deep Canvass Launch, Kent, 11AM-2PM. Sign up here.
- Saturday, May 2 – WA Dems May Day Deep Canvass Launch, Sedro-Wooley, 2PM-5PM. Sign up here.
- Saturday, May 2 – WA Dems Weekend of Action: Statewide Virtual Phonebank, 4PM-7PM. Sign up here.
- Thursday, May 14 – Protecting Rights, Defending Democracy: An Evening with Stacey Abrams, 5:30PM-7:30PM, Town Hall Seattle. Purchase tickets here.
- Send us details on rallies and protests in your communities
- Email details to press@wa-democrats.org
- Donate
- If you would like to see less Washington D.C. and more Washington state in your community, please DONATE to The Real Washington Fund – our rapid response account to counter MAGA’s chaos with real organizing, real solutions, and real results. We can’t do the work of holding Republicans accountable without your support.
- Follow us on social media
DEMOCRATS IN THE NEWS
WA politicians react to shooting at White House Correspondents’ Dinner,
The Seattle Times
Northwest lawmakers welcome King Charles to Capitol as British monarch touts U.S.-U.K. alliance,
The Spokesman-Review
Washington asks courts to open Tacoma ICE facility to state health inspections,
KUOW
‘That’s just wrong’: AG Nick Brown responds to document dump fueling questions over WA ‘millionaires’ tax,
MyNorthwest
Nearly half of WA sheriffs face misconduct complaints, according to key agency,
The Spokesman-Review
FEMA funds some WA flood mitigation, denies statewide funds,
The Seattle Times
Controversial ex-WA lawmaker attempts comeback for Republican-held seat,
Washington State Standard
WHAT I’M WATCHING
U.S. Mint buys drug cartel gold and sells it as ‘American,’The New York Times
This week, The New York Times published a harrowing look at the complete lack of guardrails for how the U.S. Mint sources its gold. American law requires gold to be produced in America, but for years it has been purchasing gold from terrorist organizations, cartels, and violent militias from around the world. As Trump hawks gold coins to commemorate our nation’s 250th anniversary, it’s highly likely the gold in those coins was sourced from mines violating human rights and environmental laws.
Thanks for all you do,
Chair Shasti Conrad
Washington State Democratic Party
In 2024, Washington Democrats led the nation with sweeping electoral victories. Now, we’re fighting to elect a supermajority in Olympia, protect our swing seats in the House, and stand up to MAGA extremism across the country.
WA Dems empowers grassroots organizing and elects Democrats up and down the ballot. Your support fuels our fight to stop Trump and defend our democracy.
We sincerely thank you for your help and support.
Washington State Democrats PO Box 4027 Seattle, WA 98194 United States