MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR
Happy Friday, Washington Democrats!
Updates from the Last Week
Last Friday, WA Dems hosted an electric Town Hall at Spokane Community College with U.S. Representative Emily Randall from the 6th Congressional District. We were in town to show Republican Rep. Michael Baumgartner what real representation looks like. The Town Hall featured a welcome from Spokane Mayor Lisa Brown, and my fellow panelists Spokane City Councilmember Zack Zappone, Spokane School Board Member Jenny Slagle, and U.S. Navy Veteran and Spokane County Democratic Party Chair Naida Spencer. We were joined by more than 200 enthusiastic attendees. After the event, Chair Spencer spoke to Republican voters who attended. They told her they were never sure what Democrats stood for, but after our Town Hall, they realized they might not be Republicans anymore – showing why these Town Halls are more important than ever! The Democratic National Committee also featured our People’s Town Hall – read about it here.
Spokane to host Democratic town hall with city mayor
KHQ
Rep. Emily Randall, state and local Democrats address Spokane in “People’s Town Hall”
The Spokesman-Review
Randall y líderes demócratas sostienen foro en Spokane: “La democracia depende de todos nosotros”
Latino Herald
Today’s headlines: Democrats to host Spokane Town Hall
Spokane Public Radio
Couldn’t make the Town Hall? Read RANGE Media’s live-posting on Bluesky here!
DNC Chair Ken Martin in Seattle
DNC Chair Ken Martin joined staff and supporters in our Seattle HQ this week! Ken is traveling the entire country to build support for the DNC’s efforts to organize everywhere and organize all the time. If you want weekly updates on what the DNC is doing to win everywhere and implement policy that helps Americans, please subscribe to The Blue Print, the DNC’s new substack newsletter here.
Click the picture above or right here to see a special message from DNC Chair Ken Martin.
Democrats Fighting Back
Last week, Representative Suzan DelBene introduced legislation to help Washington families support infants by raising the maximum child care credit from $1,200 to $4,000 for one child or $8,000 for two or more children.
Representative Adam Smith is calling Trump’s refusal to abide by Supreme Court orders what it is: a constitutional crisis.
Senator Murray and her Senate colleagues have identified $430 billion in federal funding that Trump has illegally frozen, ensuring there is some oversight of this lawless administration.
Updates from Olympia
Last week was also the end of the legislative session in Olympia. This was a tough session made all the harder by the economic chaos injected into our state by the Trump administration’s lawless cuts. But we had significant victories on rent stabilization, expanded background checks and firearm permitting, and $100 million to promote public safety. There is still a lot of work to be done, but I am so thankful Washington Democrats stood strong and fought back against the all-cuts budget that Republicans were pushing.
We also have had several major losses in our community, putting a fine point on how important it is to take care of ourselves and each other while in this work.
Former Speaker of the House Frank Chopp’s Public Memorial will be held on June 1 at the Meydenbauer Center in Bellevue. More information can be found here: https://everloved.com/life-of/frank-chopp/funeral/
Call to Action
- Rally, Protest, and Gather
- Saturday May 3 – Fuse Opposition Summit from 1PM-3PM in downtown Seattle. RSVP here.
- Saturday May 3 – Say It Saturday from 3PM-5PM in Spokane. RSVP here.
- Wednesday May 7 – Time to Act! Virtual event with Rep. Pramila Jayapal to take action to defend democracy. Sign up 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
- Follow us on social media for up-to-the-minute updates and actions that can benefit your communities:
- BlueSky
- Threads
- TikTok
Storybanking–Send Us Your Stories
This week’s storybanking video features an interview between Director of Communications Stephen Reed and Yakima resident Anita Osterhaug. Anita is semi-retired and would like to be fully retired, but Trump’s economy is making that impossible. Click the image above or right here to hear Anita’s story. Thank you, Anita, for sharing your story with us!
The best way to persuade people about the horrible impacts of Trump’s chaos is to share real stories from real people in their communities. If you are interested in sharing your story of the direct impacts of Trump 2.0 on your life, please send an email to press@wa-democrats.org that includes your name, contact information, which Washington community you reside in, the story you would like to share, and permission to share your story with the public.
Our Communications team will be in touch within a few business days after you have reached out to help collect your story.
May is Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month and Washington Democrats are celebrating! Please join us on May 10 at Seattle Harbor Restaurant (formerly China Harbor) to celebrate the power, leadership, and excellence of our state’s AANHPI Democratic family. Special guests are being lined up – I think you’ll be really excited when we announce them next week! RSVP here!
Republicans Behaving Badly
How Trump’s tariffs can cause a recession
Axios
“If you were a president of the United States and wanted to engineer a recession by summer, at least one economist says a very effective way of doing that would be to announce sweeping ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs in April.”
Trump’s (second) first 100 days
Axios
If it feels like the last 100 days lasted 300 days, you are not alone. This timeline provides a clear picture of the constant chaos manufactured by Trump and his cronies.
Democrats in the News
With symbolic vote, WA Democrats say wealth-tax fight is not over
The Seattle Times
Cap on rent hikes passes in Olympia, heads to WA governor
The Seattle Times
The 2025 legislative session has adjourned. Here are some defining moments
Yakima Herald (originally published in Tacoma News Tribune)
What I’m Watching and Reading
Tariff tit-for-tat has Seattle waiting for the ships to come in
The Seattle Times
Our ports are bracing for a long-term outlook that sees declining container ships connecting Washington’s farmers and manufacturers with the rest of the world. This is going to cause a lot of pain for our state, which is the most trade-dependent in the country.
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