Recent Events
See the Web Log for information about past events
Evening Phone Banking!
When: Friday, September 18, 2020 at 6 PM – 7:30 PM
Hosted by Committee to Elect Carly Coburn
Where: Online Event on Facebook
Join the Committee to Elect Carly Coburn for an evening phone banking session! No experience needed, as the candidate, Carly Coburn, will lead a training session at the beginning of the event. Stay as long or as little as you like!
The link to the zoom for training will be posted thirty minutes before the event begins, and will be deleted after the phone banking session is over.
Voter Education; Candidate Forum
When: Thursday, September 17, at 7 PM – 8:30 PM
Hosted by Power 99.1
Where: Online with Facebook Live
We will be speaking with candidates running for Benton & Franklin County Commissioner.
Invited to this conversation:
Benton County Commissioner Pos 1 — Raffa / Delvin
Franklin County Commissioners Pos 2 — Mullen / Peralta
We’re doing this every Thursday to October 29th* so if you don’t see a candidate it’s because they’ll probably be on the next live!
*Minus Oct 1
Please join State Senate candidate Danielle Garbe Reser Saturday September 12th at 1pm for our Super Saturday phone bank event!
We want to reach as many voters as possible – so please share this event with friends and family to help recruit volunteers!
No phone bank experience? No problem. After the event we will go straight into a phone bank training.
Please register for this event here: EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_09_12
Blue Lives Murder
Saturday, September 5, from 4-6 PM
Columbia Center Blvd.
Hosted by Luchadores por Cambio – Tri-Cities and Blackformation
Click or tap here for Facebook event info
Click or tap here for KEPR-TV article
From Unbound – Tri-Cities
Farmworkers support every social movement, in person or with their labor, so let’s make sure we have folks out doing the same!
Here’s a Facebook event that may be of interest.
Virtual Flights and Rights: School Safety
TUESDAY, AUGUST 18, 2020 AT 5 PM – 6:30 PM
https://www.facebook.com/events/618542955465425/
Flights & Rights is our regularly scheduled community series featuring important civil rights issues and great beer in the KEXP Studios Gathering Space. During this strange hiatus, we build community virtually, so grab your beverage of choice and meet us online or via phone.
All students have a right to education, and we are working for more effective approaches to help students and build positive school environments. As we examine the role of police in our daily lives, it’s time we also reevaluate the need for police in schools. Students who are Black, Native American, Pacific Islander, and Latinx, are disproportionately disciplined, suspended, and expelled from school. Students with disabilities are disproportionately excluded. Students who have been suspended are three times more likely to be in contact with the juvenile justice system within a year.
Youth Policy Director Kendrick Washington (ACLU-WA), Sadé Smith (Chair of School’s Out Washington), Damian Davis NoOneElse (Team Child) and Kai Koerber (Student Activist; survivor of the shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida) examine the measures that need to be taken to make children succeed and be safer in schools.
Moderated by Executive Director Michele Storms (ACLU-WA)
Democracy produces the best decisions when everyone votes. Please complete your ballot and turn it in. It’s postage-paid, so you can put it in a mailbox, but if you haven’t voted by Sunday, August 2nd, We recommend taking it to a ballot box because our mail goes to Spokane for processing.
If you haven’t registered yet, you can still do that. Monday, 7/27, is the deadline for online registration, and Election Day, Tuesday, 8/4, is the deadline for in-person registration.
Find ballot box locations and voter registration information on the county auditor’s websites.
Benton County Auditor – Current Election
Franklin County Auditor – Elections
Resources to learn about candidates include -the WA State Voter’s Pamphlet, (on auditor’s websites), –411vote.org, -The League of Women Voters’ Candidate Forum (produced this year with NWPB), (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Dxt3AWE24k , and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xX_tXGq2dnQ –Tumbleweird.org publishes a terrific voters’ guide that should come out this week.
There are some great candidates to support with your time, your wallet, and your vote!
*Doug McKinley for Congress for the 4th Congressional District (https://www.dougmckinley2020.com)
*A place at the table with Shir for State House of Representatives 8th LD, Pos. 1 (https://www.atthetablewithshir.com/our-vision)
*Elect Danielle Garbe Reser for State Senate, 16th LD (https://garbereser.com)
*Elect Frances Chvatal for State House of Representatives, 16th LD, Pos. 1 (https://www.electfrances.com)
*Committee to Elect Carly Coburn for State House of Representatives, 16th LD, Pos. 2 (https://www.facebook.com/ElectCCoburn/)
*Elect Justin Raffa Benton County Commissioner for Benton County Commissioner District 1 (https://justinraffa.com)
Elect Kim Lehrman for Franklin County Commissioner District 1 (https://www.electkimlehrman.com)
Elect Ana Ruiz Peralta for Franklin County Commissioner District 2 (https://www.facebook.com/ElectAnaRuiz/)
*Endorsed by Benton County Democrats (Kim and Ana are great candidates in Franklin County!)
The Tri-Cities Womxn’s March has accepted an invitation to collaborate with Blackformation in an event that ensures the upliftment of womxn leaders within the Tri-Cities and surrounding areas.
As voting deadlines approach, our intent is to educate ourselves without bias as it relates our political social, and economic power!Come prepared to be inspired by local womxn leaders, politicians and activist of our time, in every shade of womxn, as we address Anti-Blackness in our community and the importance of solidarity between all black & brown people and our allys.
Following the event a resource fair will be provided in support of our community needs.
Be prepared to be educated, empowered, and elevated with knowledge and tools to take your civil rights to the next level.
Please bring your personal protest signs and masks as social distancing is still required!
Justicia para Vanessa Guillen & Breonna Taylor 
We look forward to keeping you up to date with local politics as we prepare to make an informed decision to fight oppression and rock the vote!
Friday, July 31, at 6:00 PM
Location: Cable Bridge
Sponsored by Black Lives Matter Coalition: Tri-Cities
Recently the injustices and police misconduct of the nation found its way once again to one of our own residents of the Tri-Cities. Joe (Mike) Thornton is a local business owner, organizer of a big brother program here in the Tri, and is working on a documentary to highlight “good” cops. He was picking up food and headed home in Kennewick when he was surrounded by police cars and officers who then pulled out their weapons on him. In a case of mistaken identity Joe acted as slowly as possible in fear of losing his life. His car was searched without a warrant, his rights not read to him until he was cuffed and in custody and no one even bothered to ask his name until after he had been detained. Just like many others in our nation this could have EASILY ended in tragedy. For a man that was just bringing food to his family. We have been organizing and fighting injustices here in the Tri-Cities under the premise that systemic racism happens to all of us and police brutality could happen to ANY of us. It did this week.
Not only did this unfortunate event happen to an AMAZING and upstanding member of this community it happened it the same city that used to have a sign up saying that “Blacks were not allowed in after dark”. A sundown town.
This Friday evening we will be having a silent march for Big bro Joe. We will march from Pasco to Kennewick over the cable bridge in honor of every one of the Black lives that came before us who were not allowed to cross that bridge. We will march because it is apparent that Kennewick still has the remnants of being a sundown town. We will march because this city belongs to ALL of us and we will not wait until the tides turn in another situation like this. We will not wait for someone to die unjustly.
Please meet on the Pasco side of the bridge, if you would like to park on the Kennewick side and carpool back to Pasco that would also be greatly encouraged.
This is a peaceful protest.
We will be crossing the bridge in COMPLETE silence.Please do not bring signs, we have very specific signs being made for this event.Hope to see you there.
Primary ballots are due back by August 4th! We will be spending the days leading up to Election Day reminding as many voters as possible to vote for Shir when they submit their primary ballot. We are lucky to be joined by Representative Tana Senn for a night of calls on July 30th. Rep. Senn represents Washington’s 41st Legislative District and is the current Chairperson of the House Committee on Human Services & Early Learning. Hear from her about the important work her committee does in Olympia and why Shir is the absolute best choice to represent our community.
Phone banking is an easy way to get voters to return their ballots and we will provide you all the training you need to make calls.
Zoom link and calling link will be provided with RSVP.
Join Actress, Author and Activist Jane Fonda; Representative Deb Haaland (Congresswoman, New Mexico-D1); Executive Director of 350.org Tamara Toles O’Laughlin; Naina Agrawal-Hardin, National Spokesperson for Sunrise; and DNC Climate Council Chair Michelle Deatrick for a lively, insightful conversation about why it’s the right, the good and the smart thing for Democrats to run on climate.
Defying Gravity
A VIRTUAL FUNDRAISER FOR TWO CANDIDATES WHO ARE DEFYING EXPECTATIONS
THURSDAY, JULY 16 FROM 5:00-6:30 PM
WITH SPECIAL GUEST, FORMER ASTRONAUT
JULIE METCALF-LINDENBURGER
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY (CONTACT-FREE)
Time for “Operation: Primary Door Hanger” for Justin Raffa for Benton County Commissioner District 1.
Randy Slovic and her husband Bob did yeoman’s work to get us maps and lists of precincts that we’re targeting so the Democrats remember to vote for us in the Primary. Those lists are at Justin’s house and ready for distribution to volunteers with specific houses to hit in each precinct. It’s easy and fun! We are hitting “friendly” houses who are established Democratic voters for this first door hanger approach.
There are 62 precincts in Richland and 22 in West Richland. Precincts range in size from 2 to 207 households, so volunteers can pick and choose what works best for them. We’re looking for about 20-25 total volunteers to share the workload.
Volunteers are asked to hole punch and rubber band their own cards, although some have been made up as needed. Cards are bundled in quantities of 50 for ease of distribution. We can provide hole punchers and rubber bands as needed.
Target timeline for getting these out is close to ballots dropping on Friday July 17. We are recommending that folks not start hanging before the July 4 holiday.
If you can help by walking a district or two, please contact Justin Raffa and take a look at the lists. This is the first time Justin is actively engaging our volunteer base, so please reach out to your friends/family who have been asking you for weeks how they can help support the campaign!
Join Saundra Hill (former Pasco School District Superintendent), Rebecca Francik (former Pasco City Councilmember), Jean Ryckman (Port of Pasco Commissioner), Ana Ruiz Peralta (Franklin County Commissioner candidate) and Frances Chvatal (16th LD House of Representative candidate) on July 15th at 6pm.Tickets start at $10 and can be purchased below. We hope to see you there!
In conjunction with the Second Harvest Tri-Cities Mobile Market drive-thru event happening at the Toyota Center, BFT will be holding FOUR food distribution events just for transit riders at our transit centers in Tri-Cities and Prosser on the same day.SAFETY REMINDER:
Face coverings are REQUIRED in all public spaces, including our BFT vehicles and transit centers.
————————————–FOOD DISTRIBUTION OPTIONS:
Date: Wednesday, July 15
Time: 11am (while supplies last)Ride the bus or take BFT CONNECT for FREE and head to any of our transit centers below:• Three Rivers Transit Center (Kennewick)
• 22nd Ave Transit Center (Pasco)
• Knight Street Transit Center (Richland)
• Stacy Avenue Transit Center (Prosser, starting at 11:15am)The food will be packaged in a box with handles so you can take it on the bus. However, we encourage people to bring a hand cart or something to help carry the boxes and make traveling a little easier.——————————–IF YOU NEED HELP BOOKING YOUR TRIP BY BUS:
• Use the Transit trip planner app to determine the best bus route available in your area
• Check out www.bft.org for route schedules
• Call Customer Service at 509.735.5100 and our team members can help map out your tripOR, WITH BFT CONNECT:
• Check out www.bft.org/ConnectOnDemand to learn how to use our new on-demand ride service
• Use the Via app or call BFT CONNECT Customer Service at 509.204.4189 to request a ride
July Candidate Forum
Online with the Tri-City Democrats
Time: July 10, 2020 06:00 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
Primary ballots will drop around July 18, so in the interest of informing voters, we’ll host as many candidates as we can who we believe will be of interest to our voters. This is an open-door event and we encourage Democrats, Democrat- friendly and Democrat-curious folks to attend.