Kittitas County Democrats
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Kittitas County Democrats
We believe in a better, fairer, and brighter future for every American and are working together to empower voices of equity and justice from the cities and towns of Kittitas County, to Washington State and the White House.
Democrats believe health care is a right, diversity is a strength, the economy should work for everyone, and facts and truth matter. Here is where we stand on key issues. View our platform statement for a comparison to the Kittitas County Republican Party.
We believe corporations should be regulated to serve the public interest. The economic history of the last century establishes the absolute necessity of a strong middle class in maintaining a healthy county, state and country. We support the elimination of the “Citizen’s United” U.S. Supreme Court decision by reversal or legislation. We strongly support a living wage for all workers. We encourage the expansion of tax credits, low interest loans and nonprofit micro lending for small businesses. We call for tax credits and incentives to be adjusted appropriately according to business size to reduce burdens and protect non-corporate businesses. We call for an adoption of a fair and progressive tax system. Corporations should be taxed on a fair assessment keyed to corporate income levels and use of infrastructure and effects on the environment. We support regulations limiting lobbying and contributions to government officials in order to create separation between corporations and government. We support protection and expansion of social security benefits. We support national and state single-payer health insurance including Medicare for all. We call for an increase in funding for the development of affordable and low-income housing in Kittitas county and Washington state, and increased funding and services to eliminate homelessness. We support fair trade agreements that acknowledge human rights and protect the environment. We support the establishment of a port district for Kittitas County. We support the elimination of exemption from insider trading laws for Members of Congress. We support equal access to technology for all Americans and investment in the infrastructure to make this a reality and to make us more globally competitive.
We support full government funding for comprehensive public schooling, from early childhood through a bachelor’s degree or certification, at no cost to students. Schools shall provide a safe and healthy environment for all students, including members of sexual minorities. Schools shall provide access to a variety of programs to meet the wants and needs of their students including basic, gifted, English Language Learning, special eduction, vocational and technical education. We support adequate consistent funding to provide for the full implementation and funding of the State Board of Health 52009 rule revision “Health and Safety Standards for Primary and Secondary Schools” (WAC 246-366). We expect school districts to raise awareness about the struggles of minority groups and other historically marginalized groups in the past and in the present. We support full inclusion of people with disabilities in all school activities and seek to implement programs to further encourage interaction among all students. We call for an increase in academic freedom for school districts to implement programs and assessments using best practices to reduce dropout rates, increase graduation rates and raise student achievement. We oppose public funding of charter schools. We support educational research and pilot programs that utilize well resourced information to improve teaching and learning. We oppose the arming of faculty, staff or any other non-constabulary person to implement any so-called “safety program” as a counter effort to school shootings or any other on campus threat.
We support movement toward an affordable single-payer system that includes all aspects of physical and mental health care for all citizens. Our goal is affordable accessible health care for all Washingtonians. We support expansion of Medicare and Medicaid. We support removal of the income cap on Social Security Tax. We strive to ensure that women and families can receive family planning consultation from professional health care providers.
We oppose discrimination in employment, housing, public accommodations, political participation and education based on race, religion, age, gender, or gender identification, sexual orientation disability, national origin, or marital status. We respect rights and conditions established in treaties between the United States and of Native American Tribes of Washington and all other States and territories. We support comprehensive immigration reform that provides a pathway to citizenship for undocumented workers and a plan for guest workers. We support the Dream Act. We recognize privacy as a right and support phasing out of the Patriot Act and any other legislation or executive orders that permit infringement on citizens rights to free, unmonitored communication. We believe that women have the right to determine whether and when they will bear children and that all decisions regarding a woman’s reproductive medical care are private matters between the individual woman and her health care providers. We must improve the service to our veterans by providing full compensation, educational benefits, rehabilitation and treatment for their injuries, both physical and psychological, as well as support for their families. We support legislation that provides asylum to citizens from other countries who, for political or cultural reasons, live in fear for their lives and well being. We respect the rights of senior citizens and individuals with disabilities to direct their own lives. The State has the responsibility to help provide adequate housing, extended education, employment supervision, nutrition and medical care to those who cannot provide such services for themselves. We believe in the separation of church and state and we oppose prayer in public meetings and in publicly funded and charter-like schools. We are in favor of religious liberty as stated in the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. We support the adoption of legislation that allows asylum for citizens from other countries who for political or cultural reasons live in fear for their lives and well-being.
We call for fair and living wage jobs with portable and secured health, retirement and pension benefits, with hourly wages indexed to the cost of living. All workplaces must be safe and healthy environments. We expect equal pay for work of comparable worth, overtime pay, and due process in workplaces free of discrimination and harassment. We insist on equal pay for women. We encourage the protection of all workers’ rights to organize, strike or use collective bargaining and arbitration when necessary. The National Labor Relations Board and state-run worker compensation programs are crucial parts of a fair economy. We call for the repeal, and for challenges to any resistance to repeal, — any and all anti-labor laws. We stand against any efforts to implement local or state-wide so-called right to work laws. We support a fair and just guest worker policy.
We expect actions to be taken to implement:
Washington has been a vote-by-mail state for decades. Ballots are mailed to voters about three weeks before Election day. No postage is required to mail them back, and they must be postmarked by 8 pm on Election Day. Many voters choose to return their ballots to secure ballot drop boxes maintained by the County Auditor’s Office — this saves the county money and ensures ballots will be received directly by the county for counting on Election Day.
Our headquarters at 416 N. Main Street in Ellensburg is closed during Covid, but feel free to email us or come to a monthly meeting via Zoom.
Join us on the 4th Thursday of every month except November and December. For more information, sign up for our newsletter or follow our Facebook page.
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