Earlier this week, the NFL announced that it had adopted new behavior standards as it related to domestic violence for football players in the league. Who would have ever thought that would come about? After all the trauma, It seems there is a bit of good that came from Ray Rice slugging his girlfriend in that elevator because it got the public discussion started. I’m happy that the NFL finally got off the dime and did the right thing.
I was amused watching the television commercials as those former and current football players struggled with their “NO MORE” thoughts. Each of those guys that struggled, must have known personally friends or team mates who were beating their wives or girlfriends and kept quiet about it. And now that Ray Rice is caught on tape they are moved to action. What does that say about those guys? I guess we should count our blessings and be happy that something is now happening to address domestic violence.
When you think about it, the rules on the field have been steadily evolving to address violence in the game because the league didn’t want to jeopardize their performers and their product. You couldn’t hit the quarterback in the head, but it was apparently okay to beat your wife away from the game.
It occurred to me that the idea wasn’t just a good idea for the NFL; every organization in the land should be going through a similar internal analysis to make sure they are at least aware of the possible abuses from their members and further that they were willing to take action to correct it.
Professional sports all have image issues they need to protect so it will be interesting to watch how Major League Baseball, the National Hockey League and the NBA respond.
How many times have you heard about abusive police officers, fire fighters or other public figures (let alone a professional athlete) and thought there must be some mechanism in place to put those guys in jail for their crimes? Professional athletes don’t have a corner on the domestic violence market, they are just a bit more visible than a lawyer, a beer truck driver or a realtor.
As a society we must adopt the “NO MORE” mantra to address domestic violence everywhere we find it. There is absolutely NO EXCUSE for abusing a girlfriend, a wife or a child.
And, like the NFL we need to determine whether there are other penalties abusers must endure besides jail time. If it’s appropriate that a ball player is prohibited from plying his trade as a penalty, shouldn’t an abusive doctor, lawyer, teacher or realtor have his license suspended or revoked for unprofessional behavior if criminal behavior isn’t enough.
Professional associations, organizations and unions need to examine whether being a member is a right or privilege. Certainly public employees should be held to a high standard.
No Loss for Words 
OK I admit it, I’m a Republican
by Steve DanaMost people know that I have been politically active for a long time, but not everyone. For those of you who don’t know, I am a registered Republican if we have an official labeling process in the state of Washington. I ran for County Council in 2009 and explored my options regarding a run for the legislature in 2010. I was elected to my first term as a PCO in 2008 from the Snohomish 7 precinct. I was elected to the city council in 1989 as a non-partisan.
Yesterday, December 13, 2014 was the day we swore in the new Precinct Committee Officers (PCOs) that were elected earlier this year and then the new group elected the leadership team for the next two years. There was competition for every position available and the outcomes were not at all predictable.
Before any of the action got started, we got to hear a few words from newly elected House member from the 44th LD, Mark Harmsworth a current city council member from Mill Creek. He’s a very capable leader so I’m sure he will represent well in Olympia.
We also heard from County Councilmember Ken Klein from Arlington regarding the happenings in County Government followed by a very upbeat message from Susan Hutchison, Chairwoman of the Washington State Republicans. Both of them were encouraged by the outcomes of the fall elections and suggested that we had momentum if we were smart enough to get behind it. I think our party is well served by both of them.
Somewhere in the middle of the day, we let Tim Eyeman talk about the Initiative Process and how the Democrats in the legislature are trying to strangle the citizen based method of legislation out of existence through regulations. I, for one, admire Eyeman for his efforts on behalf of the people in our state. He has become a bit of a celebrity for his cause, but without his string of initiatives, we would all be paying higher taxes. We endorsed a Resolution to limit regulations on Initiatives.
So, back to the action…
Billy Brooks-Sebastiani was re-elected to serve as Republican Party Chairwoman for another term which was no surprise. Olga Farnum was re-elected to her third term as State Committee Woman. That is where the predictability went out the window.
Our rules require that if we elect a woman to chair the party, the vice-chair must be a man. The candidates for vice-chair were two relative unknowns to many in the group. Robert Sutherland, a Granite Falls resident who ran for Congress in the First Congressional District ended up running against Jeff Scherrer, an Edmonds guy who ran for a Legislative seat in the 21st District. Neither of these guys had been players in the party previously so it was a bit unusual. The outcome of the election was Scherrer winning in a close vote. I don’t know Jeff Scherrer personally so I can’t say how well he will do.
I do know Robert Sutherland and I am very impressed with him. I’ve met him for coffee on numerous occasions to talk about how we make our party more effective in supporting financially and electing candidates. He’s got some great ideas. If I told you he was a delegate for Rick Santorum in the last Presidential cycle at the County Convention you should have an idea where he stands. In addition to his politics, Robert is willing to actively work to achieve success. When he lived in the Cathcart area, he actively worked his precinct and several others surrounding it to (GOTV) Get Out The Vote during several election cycles and produced phenomenal results. I would have been very happy if Robert had been elected Vice-Chair. We’ll have to see what Mr. Scherrer is willing to do.
The other position that was up for grabs was the position of State Committee Man from Snohomish County. Jim Donner has held that position for the past couple years and by all measures I’m aware of, he did a great job. In my view, the expectation for both the State Committee people is to communicate up and down from the local County Party to the State Republican Party and back again. In addition, I’m looking for people who can network effectively to promote local candidates and bring campaign money back to their campaigns. Jim Donner has done a great job.
Jim was a candidate for re-election yesterday along with three other guys who aspired to the position. Dan Matthews from the 21st legislative district, Bob Williams from the 39th district and Randy Hayden from the fighting 32nd district were the other candidates. The good news was that all of them were very capable; regardless of which one was elected we would have a good man in the job.
As it turned out, the winner was Randy Hayden. All I can say is Randy has some big shoes to fill following Jim. I wish him well. I also wish Jim well and thank him for his continued contributions.
As a former candidate and current PCO, I challenge our County Republican Party to embrace the candidates who did not win and find ways for them to be contributors. All up and down the ballot, there were great people who have so much to offer. Keeping everyone working toward a common goal is vital.
A Final Note.
If we have any hope as a party to become a winning organization, we have to get over our petty differences that threaten to tear us apart or keep us apart. Whether you are a GOP person or a Libertarian or a Tea Party Republican, you should have a seat at our table and an opportunity to be heard. We didn’t experience a coming together yesterday. I hope our newly elected leaders can get our act together so we can spend the next two years whipping the hell out of Democrats rather than each other. If we can’t work out our differences within our own party, how can we ever hope to win important elections?
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