September 2026 | Volume 15

We believe that every child should be free to be themselves, learn and grow, and feel safe at school. If you believe that too, vote NO on Initiative 001 and Initiative 638 this November to reject hate, bullying and harassment in Washington state.

• IL26-001 alters requirements for public schools reporting information about minors to their parents, putting children in abusive homes at risk of further harm. 
• IL26-638 requires only players on girls’ sports teams to provide “medical sex certification” in order to participate in sports, in the form of genital exams or expensive lab tests.

IP26-645 Repeals the Washington State Millionaires’ Tax. It cuts taxes only for those with earnings over $1 million. It doesn’t help 99 percent of Washingtonians because only 22,000 (less than 1 percent) of the wealthiest Washingtonians make enough to be subject to the Millionaires Tax.

The commission has five propositions on the upcoming ballot. Demi advocates a “NO” vote on all of them. 

• Proposition 1 essentially restates existing state-mandated funding obligations, prioritizing and codifying them with little leeway to respond to changing needs. 
• Proposition 2 segregates certain county funds to respond to emergencies and catastrophic events; it’s a good idea in principle, but it could have a negative effect on the county’s bond rating, which decreases financial stability. 
• Proposition 3 is characterized by Demi as a “Trojan Horse.” It converts all elected county offices to non-partisan offices, stripping away voters’ ability to easily identify the public policy platform supported by the candidate. Political affiliation is shorthand for a candidate’s values. 
• Proposition 4 proposes financial transparency to the county’s financial information, which is already available to the public, and ease of access through upgraded technology, which is an ongoing county project. 
• Proposition 5 requires a 4/5 supermajority council vote to increase taxes; votes to fund general operations supported by taxes would face a huge uphill battle.  

All the community-proposed amendments failed. These included: disclosing lobbyists’ financial contributions to elected officials; increasing the number of county commissioners for greater representation of citizens; and prohibiting elected officials from holding multiple elected offices.

Demi was one of four commission members who did not certify the five propositions to the county council.

ACTIONS:

• Raise awareness about the propositions on the ballot.
• Educate voters about the innocuous, “dressed up” language used to make the proposition appear palatable.
• Read more information about the charter review process from the League of Women Voters.
• Use your “power of being in the room” to make change happen.

Then the conversation moved to a discussion regarding anxieties about the upcoming elections. SCI Founder and Director Anita Dietrich asked, “How many people feel like ‘I just can’t do this anymore?’” A majority of hands went up.

There were suggestions about how to get re-energized and stay hopeful. Come out to rallies — bring friends and neighbors. Attend meetings and get to know people. Keep relentlessly looking for hope. Look at the current situation with optimism: the war, the corruption, the gas process, the economy is all waking people up; it gives us greater purpose. 

Anita shared another way to change our thinking, saying, “Remember that your brain is not your friend. It wants to keep you safe. It tells you something is not safe, too hard… but that should not stop us!” She added, “You can train your brain. Just tell it, ‘Thanks for trying to keep me safe. But I am trying to keep the country safe!’” See Anita’s ten Truths About Your Brain.

The meeting ended with a quote that reminds us we can get hope out of history — a quote first said by abolitionist minister Theodore Parker and echoed by Martin Luther King Jr. and President Barack Obama: “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”

Ordinance 26_030 — a proposed very small 0.1 percent sales tax increase, just one penny on a $10 taxable purchase — directs the revenue first to staffing the Sheriff’s Office, jail, prosecutors, public defense, clerk, District Court, and Superior Court.

The ordinance was passed by one vote. Anita sent her thanks to the SCI members who attended the meeting, saying, “We were seen and very much appreciated. I received personal thanks from Sheriff Susy Johnson, Prosecutor Jason Cummings, and Council Member Megan Dunn. Our presence there mattered, our voice mattered, we are a force and I hope you all are very proud of standing for our community! In my almost ten years, this stands out as one of the times, I believe, I have been most proud of the dedicated members of Snohomish County Indivisible.”

ACTION: Read Anita’s testimony here.

At a recent hearing of the County Council, 11 of the 13 people who spoke said they support the temporary ban on data centers currently in effect, if not a permanent one.

“They require much and they give us back very little,” resident Karrie Wilson said, citing the amounts of water, electricity, and land required to support large data centers. The largest centers take up more than 1 million square feet and need up to 5 million gallons of water per day to cool the AI electronic servers, according to multiple sources. 

The Council in June unanimously approved a six-month ban on construction of any new data centers in the county. The moratorium was proposed by Councilmember Nate Nehring, a Republican who represents the northern part of the county, in response to rumors of a possible data center being proposed. 

No new data centers are currently planned in the county, Council Chair Megan Dunn said. Nehring said council staff is working on a permanent ordinance to regulate any new centers and that the temporary ban could be extended by six months in December. Comments may be sent to the county at [email protected].

The council's bipartisan concern reflects of the mood of the nation, with around 70 percent of people opposing construction of data centers in their communities.

ACTION:  Learn more about how states are reacting to data centers in these articles from the National Conference of State Legislatures:

• Which states are competing for data centers
• Which states are banning data centers

Ida’s impressive employment history includes work within non-profits and at the Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF.) At the DCYF, Ida began working as a social worker, and over time, earned a leadership role based on her abilities. She has also served on many public facing boards
 
Ida’s work advocating for Washington families has created valuable connections in Olympia. A quick glance at her endorsements shows that Ida has forged strong relationships with respected leaders, and has established credibility at multiple levels of government. Her leadership experience has taught her to make tough decisions while supporting the rights and privacy of all. Throughout her life, Ida has established a unique ability to turn ideas into action.
 
Ida disdains the binary thinking that has led to the political division that we currently experience. Her life has given her multiple opportunities to successfully work with individuals and groups from all sides of the political spectrum. 
 
In accordance with her impressive experience, accomplishments, and guiding beliefs, Ida Keeley has earned the endorsement of Snohomish County Indivisible. If there’s ever a time to flip the 39th district to the benefit of all voters, it is now. 
 
ACTION: Indivisible members are invited to actively support Ida’s campaign . Sign up to get involved.
 
PHOTO ABOVE: Candidate Ida Keeley poses with SCI newsletter writer/interviewer Brian Saulsman.

Communities have real concerns about data centers. Janet would consider the size and scale of proposals and potential benefits to the community and consult with the community. If approved, she would insist on operational guardrails such as limiting power usage. 

Janet promises to lead with transparency as she has done as an Island County Commissioner. She approaches public policy issues with curiosity and research: “Not that I know all the answers, but that I have many questions.” She wants to understand what is important to the community, so she creates spaces where people are heard.
 
ACTIONS:
Learn more about Janet St. Clair and support her by:

• Hosting a “Meet & Greet”
• Knocking on doors
• Making phone calls
• Writing letters to the editor
• Donating to her campaign

He found he had a lot of free time on his hands so he did some phone calling for presidential candidate Kamala Harris, but her defeat left him disillusioned about the effectiveness of that kind of volunteering.

He turned his attention to the local political scene and SCI. What he discovered was a greater sense of enthusiasm by those who worked on influencing local matters. He found himself in the midst of like-minded people eager to have an impact on what happens in their community. And the results of their work was easier to discern.

Mark describes himself as “not an extrovert,” but volunteering for activities he feels passionately about — like participating in Shadow Day with the state legislature in Olympia, volunteering at No Kings demonstrations, and helping to plan LGBTQIA+ Pride events — has brought him great satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment to his life.

The team has also been continuing to raise awareness on LifeWise Academy’s misleading messages to school administrators and harmful indoctrination practices in our public schools. They’ve partnered with Respect Public Schools Washington on outreach to school districts across the state, as well as tabled at the Edmonds School District Back to School Resource Fair in August to talk directly with community members.

Just as SCI members finished writing an impressive 5,000 postcards for the Reclaim Our Vote campaign, there is a new postcarding opportunity in play to support candidates for the Washington State Supreme Court.

The new postcard effort addresses the Supreme Court seats and Brian Heywood's toxic initiatives, and is also a “get out the vote” reminder. A total of 3,000 cards will be available for members to pick up at SCI meetings on September 13 and 25 and October 11. The cards are available in any quantity and can be filled out during the meeting or taken home. 

The cards must be held and mailed on October 13. Postage for all 3,000 has been purchased, but people will need to return the cards to Cass Roy at an SCI meeting to get postage applied. Or, volunteers can pay for the postage themselves and mail the cards on October 13.

Nearly 60 writers stepped up to produce 5,490 “get out the vote” postcards that will be mailed mid-October to North Carolina, Georgia, Virginia, Alabama, and Texas. With 1,000 postcards still to be written for the Reclaim Our Vote Campaign, there will be an in-person postcard writing opportunity at the Connection Meeting on September 13, in addition to grab-n-go packs. FINAL drop offs will be made at the September 29 meeting.

For more information, watch the short introduction video and request postcards: POSTCARD SIGNUP

Lianne Shea opened the meeting by sharing a series of disturbing water facts. She then commended our governor’s efforts to address a sustainable water future by holding regional roundtables and public input sessions as part of the Washington’s Water Future initiative. This initiative is aiming to gather information and ideas to address a future where our traditional approaches to water usage will not work. 

Lianne reminded the team that we can all impact our water future by adopting a water conserving lifestyle. Everything from minimizing landscape watering and reducing showering times to learning the amount of water required to manufacture common household items all can help. Becoming a more informed water consumer is always an important step, and one way to do that is to join the next Climate and Environment Advocacy Team meeting! They hold their meetings at 1:30 pm on Sundays prior to the SCI General Meeting. 

ACTIONS:
Make your voice heard — here are two important opportunities to help save our water and our forests.

• Make a public comment about the Washington’s Water Future initiative — a survey is being accepted until September 18.
• The U.S. Department of Agriculture wants to rescind the Roadless Area Conservation Rule (Link to Seattle Times editorial). If you want to keep forests protected, submit your comments to Regulations.gov or mail them to Director, Ecosystem Management Coordination, 201 14th St. S.W., Mailstop 1108, Washington, D.C. 20250-1124.

These effects have been the most severe on our neighbors east of the Cascades. On August 1, the day that three wildfires began destruction in Spokane, Governor Ferguson declared a statewide wildfire emergency. A convergence of drought, climate change, and human insanity has created many victims. Go to Washington Secretary of State disaster relief center for list of organizations supporting fire victims and a secure donation link.

Snohomish County, to date, has been spared much of the tragedy. Snohomish County PUD, which supplies residential water for three quarters of the county, has been able to adjust timing on reservoir volumes to keep residential water availability at normal levels. The greatest drought factors locally are effects of low stream flows on fish and agriculture, and wildfire smoke.

As we evaluate our ballot choices this fall, selecting candidates that support taking the burden off the atmosphere and rivers by investing in non-hydro renewable energy and denying electricity generation from fossil fuels is crucial. Our conditions are not, as often stated, “a new normal”. We are confronting a hastening plight of our own making that requires bold action.