I am writing to thank the community for their amazing participation at the first meeting of Unifying for Democracy on Sunday, May 6. A big thanks, also, to the Presbyterian church for allowing us to use their meeting room. As a part of the United for Democracy (UFD) organizing committee, I was unsure how many folks would show up, but was so happy to welcome over 60 concerned citizens taking their time on a sunny afternoon to gather together to discuss why our democracy appears to be in peril and prioritize issues that may be contributing to this peril. Issues included big money, corporate influence, civics education, militarism, voter registration, multi-cultural awareness, the electoral college, social and other media, alternate facts, anti-science, fake news and more. To me, the goal of UFD is to “think global — act local.”

That sage advice will become reality at the next UFD meeting from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. this Saturday at the Presbyterian church, when the prioritized issues developed in the first meeting are presented to representatives of Washington State to distill into action steps. Come to the meeting to provide input on issues to Sen. Sharon Nelson, Dylan Cate of the Washington State Democratic Party and Shaun Scott, field organizer for Rep. Pramila Jayapal. Hope to see you there.

— Debby Jackson