A Doubleheader
At the Central Committee meeting on Tuesday, September 12, 2023, Walla Walla County Democrats enjoyed a doubleheader. David Fogarty introduced the presenters of two programs.
The leadoff hitter, Mauri Ingram, President and CEO of Whatcom Community Foundation in Bellingham shared Lessons From Whatcom County in Economic Development.
Mauri discussed The Millworks LLC, an innovative project that will be built on land being sold by the Port of Bellingham for a Food Center as well as affordable housing and childcare. The 3.3-acre parcel will include 83 units of workforce and family rental housing, along with a six-classroom early childhood education center run by the YMCA to support around 100 kids. Site cleanup has begun and groundbreaking for the $37 million project begins early 2023.
In a second phase, a food campus is envisioned to strengthen Whatcom County's food economy by helping its local farmers create value-added products and supply local restaurants. The campus will include a commercial kitchen and the WWU Small Business Development Center.
A slide deck of Mauri’s presentation is available here.
The closing pitcher, Sundown Hazen of Chesed Farms discussed the efforts of the Walla Walla Food System Coalition to create a co-packing facility for food producers and other ways to strengthen the local food system.
There are over 62,000 acres of vegetable production and over 19,000 acres of orchards in Walla Walla and Umatilla Counties. This is ample production to supply a locally-based food processing facility that could provide freeze-drying, canning, and dehydration of local fruits and vegetables. The Coalition also wants to establish a local USDA poultry processing facility.
A slide deck of Sundown’s presentation is available here.
New Business
Following the presentations, the PCOs in attendance unanimously adopted an amendment to the Walla Walla County Democrats 2023-2024 Platform. The amendment amplified the plank on Tribal Relations and Sovereignty.
Click here for the newly adopted platform in its entirety.
Coming Up
The Central Committee meeting of Tuesday, October 10, 2023, will be back at the Walla Walla Public School's board room at 364 S. Park Street.
The evening's program will be presented by Elise Severe, Chair of Neighbors United in Progress, and Amy Rosenberg of the Columbia County Democrats. They will discuss challenging the far right in Columbia County.
Neighbors United successfully stopped Proposition 2 from appearing on the general election ballot. That ballot measure sought to dissolve the Columbia County Rural Library.