How to Support Melissa for State Senator!

After a rousing and historic campaign for Congress that earned over 90,000 votes,

we have another chance to get our community’s voice into office!

There is an upcoming vacancy for State Senator from the 33rd LD. Our champion, Melissa Chaudhry, would take office in January, but in Olympia instead of DC, where she’ll work to strengthen Washington, serve our communities, and protect us from an anti-immigrant national government. 

The 33rd LD covers much of Congressional District 9 where we’ve been organizing, including Seatac, Tukwila, and Kent, as well as Burien, Des Moines, and Normandy Park.

There are actions you can take to help get Melissa appointed no matter where in King County you live!

Here’s an overview of the process:

• On Monday, November 18th, the 33rd LD Democrats will hold their monthly meeting to prepare for this appointment process. Melissa will be there, and needs supporters! - DONE!!
  
• On Saturday, November 23rd, the 33rd LD will be holding a candidate forum open to the public. Melissa will be speaking as a candidate, and the more supporters she has in the crowd, the better! - DONE!!
  
• On Saturday, December 7th, the 33rd LD will make their top 3 selections for who will fill this vacant seat. Those selections get sent to the King County Council. - DONE - Melissa is one of the 3 Senate candidates!
  
• On Tuesday, December 10th, the King County Council will meet and select one candidate to appoint to the State Legislature! The successful candidate will be sworn in then and there. 

To find out if you live in the 33rd LD, put your address in this form. It will tell you which “State District” you’re in - a State District is the same as an LD.

         If you don’t live in the 33rd, but do live in King County, use the form at the bottom of this page to check which King County District you’re in, to learn which Councilmember you should call!

Here’s what you can do:

Letters/Emails

• If you live in the 33rd LD, write to the Chair of the 33rd LD Democrats. Tell her you’re a constituent of the 33rd and let her know that you want Melissa to represent you in the State Legislature! We’ve created an easy email template that you can customize as you wish. Click here to customize your email to Jackie - be sure to include your name and address, and fill in the blanks!!
  
• If you live elsewhere in King County, write to the King County Council and encourage them to appoint Melissa. Here’s a pre-filled email you can edit!
  • Note: if you represent or are affiliated with an organization, please mention that! It creates a much stronger impression in the Council’s minds. 

For all letters, you may choose to include your address (no problem, if you don’t!) so that your letter will be routed to the appropriate representative on the Council or within the 33rd LD. Also, please indicate if you’d like to be contacted to continue the conversation!

Calls

• Find out which King County Councilmember represents you, and give them a call, voicemail, text, AND EMAIL to let them know you support Melissa’s candidacy for the vacant State House seat in 33rd. Here’s where you can take a look at the map of the Districts (there are 9), and here’s a link to look up your address exactly and view full contact information for every Councilmember:
  
  • District 1: Rod Dembowski
    +1 (206) 471-1001
    rod.dembowski@kingcounty.gov
    
  • District 2: Girmay Zahilay
    +1 (206) 471-1002
    girmay.zahilay@kingcounty.gov
    
  • District 3: Sarah Perry
    +1 (206) 471-1003
    sarah.perry@kingcounty.gov
    
  • District 4: Jorge Baron
    +1 (206) 471-1004
    jorge.baron@kingcounty.gov
    
  • District 5: Dave Upthegrove
    +1 (206) 471-1005
    dave.upthegrove@kingcounty.gov
    
  • District 6: Claudia Balducci
    +1 (206) 471-1006
    claudia.balducci@kingcounty.gov
    
  • District 7: Pete von Reichbauer
    +1 (206) 471-1007
    pete.vonreichbauer@kingcounty.gov
    
  • District 8: Teresa Mosqueda
    +1 (206) 471-1008
    teresa.mosqueda@kingcounty.gov
    
  • District 8: Reagan Dunn
    +1 (206) 471-1009
    reagan.dunn@kingcounty.gov
    

Meetings

• We encourage you to attend any (or all!) of the the 4 meetings where Melissa’s candidacy will be considered:
  
  • November 18th, 6pm: 33rd LD Democrats Meeting
    • In Person Location: 19415 International Blvd, SeaTac, WA 98188
      • Meeting hall is entered from the north side, behind the building
    • Zoom link
      
  • November 23rd, time TENTATIVE 2pm: Candidate Forum
    • In Person Location: LiUNA Local 242 - 22323 Pacific Hwy S, Des Moines, WA 98198
    • Zoom link: TBD
      
  • December 7th, time TBD: 33rd LD Democrats Candidate Selection Meeting
    • In Person Location: 19415 International Blvd, SeaTac, WA 98188
    • Zoom link
      
  • December 10th, time 1:30pm: King County Council Appointment Meeting
    • In Person Location: 516 3rd Ave, Seattle, WA 98104, 10th Floor, Suite 1001
    • Zoom link: TBD

Talking Points:

Here’s a copy of the letter Melissa sent to the PCOs - you can draw from this!

Here are main points to cover:

• Over 90,000 people have voted for Melissa to represent them!
• She brings in more people to the democratic process (registering and inspiring new voters, educating about becoming PCO, etc), especially in marginalized and disenfranchised communities. 
• She’s demonstrated that she can raise money and effectively campaign at the federal level, so she’s a strong choice for holding onto this seat in an open, contested election next time around.
• She has beaten out two powerful Republican candidates (fully supported by King County Republicans and Washington State Republicans) in the primary congressional election, already! If Melissa is appointed, the seat will remain in safe and strong Democratic hands because she has already proven that she can defend it.
• She’s from a BIPOC household with lived experience of massive, systemic discrimination. No other candidate’s family has paid a higher price or has more on the line, for the past 25 years or going forward in Trump’s America, than hers.
• She’s a champion for working families and communities of color who will work to strengthen Washington, improve our resilience (climate, economy, etc), and protect our communities from increasing authoritarianism at the national level. 

Let's build a better future together!