While 2024 Winds Down, 2025 Begins To Take Shape
By Tom Gwin
State Grange
Master/President
As 2024 winds down, we are working on our programs and activities for 2025. We are adjusting our programs and activities to better meet the needs of our members and the communities we serve.
Dues notices for 2025 are being printed and mailed. There are still a few Granges that have not returned their Dues Information Sheet. We will be sending out dues’ notices for those Granges as their information sheets come back in.
Per delegate action at this year’s state session, the Proceedings of the Annual Session and the State Grange Constitution and Bylaws were posted online. We will not be mailing these items to each Grange. You may print entire proceedings from our website or just the pages you need. By making the proceedings available digitally, we will see a reduction of thousands of dollars in printing and postage costs.
The State Grange Legislative Policy Handbook is nearing completion. The State Grange Legislative Advisory Committee met to review our legislative priorities for the coming year. The 2025 State Grange Program Handbook will be next on our plate. The department heads are submitting their revisions, and we are updating our files. The program handbook will be posted online by January 1. We are also putting the final changes to the Grange Youth Fairs Program Supplement for 2025. One copy of each of these items will be distributed to each Grange in January and February. You may print additional copies as needed.
Our Grange Leadership Conferences will be replaced with Grange Resource and Information Training sessions. Packets of information will be distributed, and I will answer questions and your concerns on Grange programs and other topics of interest. Additional Zoom meetings will be held in January and February for each of our Grange departments to review their programs and activities for the year. The schedule of the Zoom meetings will be announced in late December.
The 2025 Convention Kick Off Meeting will be held on Sunday, February 2, beginning with a tour of the Southwest Washington Fairgrounds in Chehalis at 12 noon. Following the tour, we will have a potluck lunch and meet at the Adna Grange Hall in Lewis County. State Grange representatives will meet with the local planning committee and relay information as to the tasks needed to be accomplished for the convention. The convention itself is scheduled to be held on June 25-29.
The Youth and Junior Grange Legislative Experience is scheduled for January 19-20 in Olympia. We have shortened this event to two days and moved it to ML King weekend, allowing our youth and juniors to attend without missing school. We will begin with orientation and workshops on Sunday afternoon. Monday will include attending hearings and committee meetings, along with meetings with legislators. The event will include Sunday dinner, and Monday breakfast and lunch. Registration information for this event is elsewhere in this newspaper. While there is no cost for the event as we have it sponsored, we do need an accurate registrations list to plan for supplies and meals.
The State Grange Legislative Day is scheduled for Tuesday, February 4. Registration information is also in this issue. A full article on the event will be included in the January issue. The next few months are sure to be busy for the State Grange. As we continue winding down 2024, take a few minutes to enjoy time with your friends and family. 2025 will be here soon and we will vigorously move forward to make our Granges and communities stronger and more impactful in 2025. Best wishes for a wonderful holiday season!
Now That The Dust Has Settled
By Jesse Taylor
Legislative Lobbyist
The dust has settled on the election and hopefully the tryptophan trance from the turkey has worn off. We are cruising through the holiday season and that also means we are inching closer to the 2025 legislative session. But before we go into what lies ahead, let’s review the results of the 2024 election.
Before the election, State Secretary of State Steve Hobbs said that for the first time, more than 5 million people in the state were registered to vote. When it was all said and done about 3.3 million Washington voters cast votes in federal, state, county and local elections. Results have to be certified by December 5.
All statewide executive offices were on the ballot this year. State Legislature, all 98 seats in the House and 25 of 49 seats in the Senate are on the ballot. The current makeup of the Legislature has House Democrats with a 58-40 seat majority, and Senate Democrats hold a 29-20 seat majority.
As of this writing it appears that the majority in the Senate has expanded to a 30-seat majority and the House majority has increased to 59 seats.
Dave Upthegrove defeated Jamie Herrera Beutler in the Washington Commissioner of Public Lands race. Washington’s lands commissioner runs the Department of Natural Resources, the agency that manages nearly 6 million acres of public land. This includes about 3 million acres of state “trust land,” which generates revenue, mostly from logging, for schools and other parts of government. The department is also Washington’s wildfire-agency.
STATEWIDE BALLOT INITIATIVES
Initiative 2066: Would require certain utilities and local governments to provide natural gas to eligible customers. Approved 52%-48%
Initiative 2109: Would have repealed an excise tax imposed on individuals who have annual capital gains of over $250,000. Failed
Initiative 2117: Would have repealed legislation establishing a carbon cap and tax program. Failed
Initiative 2124: Would have provided that employees and self-employed people must elect to pay the tax for long-term care coverage. Failed 55%
STATEWIDE EXECUTIVE
Governor: Bob Ferguson (D) 55% / Dave Reichert (R) 44%
Attorney General: Nick Brown (D) 56% / Peter Serrano (R) 44%
Commissioner of Public Lands: Dave Upthegrove (D) 53% / Jaime Herrera Beutler (R) 47%
Superintendent of Public Instruction: Chris Reykdal 52% / David Olson 47%
As we look forward to the 2025 legislative session there are opportunities and obstacles. There are many spending requests coming as Chris Reykdal with OSPI has asked for an additional $3 Billon to fund public K-12 Education, while the state is facing a $10-$12 billion revenue shortfall for baseline funding. The K-12 budget currently makes up about 52% of total state spending with many districts facing crisis level budget deficits.
Other areas of increased spending will be housing, homelessness, forest management, and energy infrastructure. It will be up to the democrat majority to tackle the shortfall but still fund the priorities of the new governor.
The first session after a general election is always a fast and furious one. The new statewide officials have their promised agendas to pass, and new legislators have their priorities. With an election freshly behind them and not having to face the voters again for four years, lawmakers tend to strike while the iron is hot. Look for many bills to be introduced during and immediately after.
I look forward to seeing you all at the capital this year in early February for our legislative gathering. This will be an eventful year in politics, and I think this will be a great year for Grangers to get involved and meet their local representatives. I look forward to seeing many of you soon!
By Grange News Staff
Goldendale Grange #49 was recognized as a Distinguished Grange at the 158th National Grange Session in Bettendorf, Iowa. National Grange President Christine Hamp presented Goldendale Grange members Daniel and Richard Lefever with the award during the National Grange Honors Night celebration. This is truly an honor for Goldendale Grange as only 40 Community Granges and four State Granges qualified for this award from the 1,500 local Granges active in 35 states.
By Grange News Staff
The Sequim Prairie Grange was filled with ghosts and goblins and cute little cartoon characters at their annual Fall Festival. Not only was the Grange filled with lots of games, but the grounds were also filled with pumpkin carvers and trunk or treaters.
Hundreds dressed up for the festival all wanting a chance to win a prize. The cakewalk was a very popular event for only 50 cents you had a chance to win a cake made by Grange members. The balloon pop and ring toss also had long lines with all ages trying to win some fresh apple cider and other goodies. The Grange kitchen was busy cooking burgers and dogs keeping those little Dinosaurs fed.
It was the perfect Fall day out on the grounds where kids of all ages carved their pumpkins, ate popcorn and went from trunk to trunk for those sweet treats. One of the trunks was even a boat filled with crabs and handed out candy via a fish net. Clallam County Fire Department also showed up and gave tours of their paramedic unit.
Sequim Prairie Grange is very grateful to the community and all our Grange members for making this year’s Fall Festival a huge success.