Our Values

Agriculture is a domestic strategic resource vital to American independence and integral to the Eastern Washington economy. We recognize:

• The need for economic sustainability in rural areas.

• The role of farmers as 'stewards of the land'.

We believe:

• The government is responsible for ensuring the safety of our imported and domestic food supply.

• Any decisions about the future of Pacific Northwest dams and waterways should be based on sound, credible economic and scientific information.

We support:

• Local food production and funding for agricultural commodity programs, including ongoing work by Washington State University.

• Conservation incentives that help conserve agricultural land.

• Development of domestic and international marketing opportunities for crop and animal products.

• Land grant college funding and adequate support for agricultural research and extension.

We believe a strong and stable economy is essential to the functioning of a democracy. In a global market, the government has a role to ensure that markets are free of special interest and manipulation.

THE ECONOMY

We support:

• International trade based on fair trade including living wages and environmental protection oversight.

• Regulation of investment banks.

• Return to fair bankruptcy laws and elimination of predatory lending and the re-instituting of "usury" laws.

CORPORATE POWER

We believe:

• Corporations are vital to our economy and standard of living, but corporations are not people.

• Business-friendly laws can be beneficial.

We support:

• Substantial penalties against corporations that violate our laws.

• The growth of entrepreneurship and small business by giving tax incentives to those whocreate jobs within our borders.

MEDIA

We believe:

• In internet neutrality, the Internet should be managed to serve the public interest

• A diversity of media benefits a free society.

We support:

• Media ownership and regulations to avoid domination of our airwaves by only a few corporate entities.

• Laws requiring all major media outlets to provide free and equal access to political candidates and encourage minority and community media ownership.

• Funding for public broadcasting, support for non-profit and non-commercial radio and TV.

• Cable access to broadband internet in all areas.

We believe public schools are an integral part of a strong democracy by bringing together peoplewith diverse experiences, abilities and backgrounds for the common purpose of learning.

We believe:

• It is a parent's responsibility to oversee the education of their child from available public and private options.

• It is the paramount duty of the state to make provisions for the primary education of all students.

• It is imperative that physical facilities support safe quality learning environments.

We support:

• Simple majority votes for all school levies and bond issues.

• Funding for small class size allowing for individual instruction and support.

Every individual has a fundamental right to clean air, safe food and water and a healthy natural environment. No government should make any law, regulation, treaty or agreement infringing upon these rights.

We support:

• Efforts to make energy security a reality for our nation.

• Development of clean, efficient, renewable sources of energy.

• The preservation of biodiversity and the protection of ecosystems and watersheds.

• Strong public policy that restores and preserves wilderness, and other environmentally sensitive areas.

• State and local land-use regulations.

• Spokane River and Spokane Valley/Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer cleanup.

• Protection of the Growth Management Act and support the inclusion of the neighborhoodand community planners in their efforts to protect our quality of life.

• Restoration and cleanup of contaminated lands and water; especially in the Hanford

• Reach programs to reduce polluted urban and rural run-off into waterways, wetlands and aquifers.

• Efforts to reduce the use of persistent toxic chemicals, pesticides, the reuse and recycling of materials utilizing biomass conversion to convert bio-based materials from farm products and byproducts into biofuel.

• Science conducted without the interference of politics.

• Maintaining public lands.

• Preventing waste disposal and oil exploration in any environmentally sensitive areas.

• Opposing the import of new nuclear waste to the Hanford Nuclear Reservation.

• Keeping the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) intact with the current rate structure.

The United States of America should lead by example as a beacon of freedom and democracy. We should work within the world community in a spirit of peace, cooperation, compassion and justice.

We support:

• Non-violent conflict resolution with multilateral approaches to foreign policy.

• The original Universal Declaration of Human Rights honoring and upholding the rights, welfare, and environment of all peoples.

• Nonviolent initiatives aimed at rebuilding civil societies encouraging health, safety, and environmental standards worldwide.

• Nurture proven alliances, honor our treaty obligations and promote human rights and democracy.

• Increasing federal funding to combat world hunger and disease.

• Full participation in the International World Court.

Government must reflect our values as citizens. Our government must be fiscally sound, operate ethically, and be transparent and accountable to the people.

We believe:

• Taxes are the price of a civil society; we want our taxes to be levied fairly and spent efficiently.

• The basis of good governance lies in rational discourse and working with opposition parties for progress.

• All government agencies should be appropriately funded.

We support:

• Fair, accessible, voter-verifiable, auditable voting systems.

• An open and fair blanket primary system for Washington State public financing of election campaigns.

• Enforcement of all open meeting laws.

• Measures that prevent privatizing, or offshoring of governmental public services.

We believe access to quality mental and physical health care is a basic human right and is essential to national safety and well-being. Our government should guarantee access to affordable health care for all.

We support:

• Universal, publicly funded, single-payer, not-for-profit, comprehensive health care preserving consumer choice.

• Amending the Medicare prescription drug benefit to require pricing negotiations with pharmaceutical manufacturers.

• Improving Medicaid benefits to adequately cover in-home care and facility care services.

• Regulation, accountability, and inspection of institutional and residential health care systems to assure quality care.

• Increased funding for suicide awareness and prevention.

• Universally accessible mental health care for all peoples for ongoing mental wellness.

• The build out of training facilities for healthcare professionals to include additional funding for medical schools and increased mental health training.

• The funding and availability of community nonprofit walk-in mental health clinics.

• A sustained focus on making at-home living by those with chronic conditions and disabilities safe and more comfortable.

• A living wage and quality training for caregivers including home-care service providers.

• Requiring pharmacists to fill prescriptions authorized by a licensed medical practitioner.

• Increasing funding for prevention programs and disease research.

• Advocating for assistance with living wills and end of life issues as a part of basic insurance.

• Retaining the autonomy of the County Public Health Officer and elimination of political influence on the office.

• Universal access to reproductive health care needs for all people.

• Acknowledgment and acting on systemic inequities embedded into healthcare systems at all levels, which disproportionately affect Black, Indigenous, people of color, people identifying as LGBTQIA+, women, people with disabilities, people with low income, people living in rural areas, the elderly, people who are judged based on their appearance, and people regardless of immigration status.

• Science, while also respecting individuals' right to their personal religious beliefs.

We believe that equal and unalienable rights of all human beings are the foundation of freedom and justice in the world and are essential to the preservation of democracy. These rights include food, shelter, safety, health care, education, employment, and access to legal counsel.

We believe:

• Individuals have the right to privacy in all personal matters.

• Individuals have the right to sovereignty over their own bodies.

• In the separation of church and state.

• All individuals should have access to health care and human services.

• In public assistance to safeguard those who cannot reasonably provide for themselves.

• In individuals having the right to a safe and harassment free work environment.

We support:

• The right of each individual to manage their own reproductive choices.

• Organized efforts to eliminate harassment, intimidation and domestic and/or sexual violence.

• Increased access to legal services for people experiencing discrimination.

• Right of confidentiality of financial, medical, and genetic information.

• The rights of all adults including seniors and individuals with disabilities to make decisions in matters regarding their own lives in housing, education, and all other life choices.

INDIAN TRIBES & TREATIES

Tribal sovereignty is to be respected and preserved. Treaties made between sovereign Indian nations and the United States government must be upheld.

We believe:

• In adequate funding of tribal governmental services for education, health care, transportation and law enforcement.

• Resources should be increased to reduce crime on Indian reservations, especially to combat drug trafficking, domestic violence, sexual assault, and missing persons.

• There is a critical need to increase funds for Indian Health Services.

E Pluribus Unum - From many, one. That unofficial motto of the US boldly proclaims we are a nation of immigrants. Immigrants strengthen America. All immigrants should be afforded full human rights and a fair, safe, and timely path to legal status.

We believe:

• All people, regardless of their country of origin or their legal status, deserve to be treated fairly, respectfully, and with dignity.

• All children regardless of immigration status are entitled to an education.

• Migrant workers deserve safe and adequate housing and sanitary facilities.

• In using diplomacy and economic development to repair the social and environmental conditions that contribute to illegal immigration into the United States.

We believe that economic fairness is a cornerstone of a democratic society and that a living wage is a basic right. We strive for international trade that supports the Democratic values of fairness, environmental responsibility and strong workers' rights.

We support:

• Equal pay for equal work.

• Creating and maintaining a minimum wage that is a living wage.

• Adequate funding and resources for programs addressing the problem of homelessness in our communities.

• Establishing a progressive tax system at both the state and federal level establishing a fair system of paying for community growth.

• Maintaining the rights of all workers to organize and use mediation, arbitration, and the right to strike without fear of reprisal or replacement.

• Maintaining a separate and dedicated Social Security Trust Fund and disabled and dependent survivor Social Security benefits.

• A workers' "Bill of Rights" that includes the right of assembly, association and free speech, due process, freedom from discrimination, and democracy.

• Within unions, oversight and protection guarantee the security of pension retirement plans.

• Maintaining an adequate ratio of low-income and disabled housing.

• Unemployment and retraining benefits for workers laid off or locked out by employers.

• A declaration that minimum wage should not include tips.

• Access to quality affordable childcare.

• Opposing and repealing right-to-work laws designed to bust unions.

We affirm liberty and justice for everyone residing in the U.S. according to the Constitution and believe that criminal justice and human rights are linked. We support the legal principles upon which our free and democratic society relies.

We believe:

• Our constitutionally protected rights are worth preserving, especially in times of national stress.

• Violence should not be tolerated in our communities.

• Authorities and communities must work together, assume responsibility for safety and prevention of crime, and make neighborhoods livable.

• In rehabilitation over incarceration for non-violent offenders, the government should help alleviate the social conditions ,which contribute to crime.

• Comprehensive crime prevention must include youth programs.

• Property forfeiture should be permitted only after criminal conviction.

• Corporate officers and boards should be held responsible for actions and malfeasance of their companies.

• Mandatory prior approval and supervision by a court in matters involving domestic surveillance.

• Supporting the scientific and appropriate use of criminal profiling for public safety includes opposing the use of racial profiling in any form and abuses from Artificial Intelligence (AI).

• We believe in the ethical use of Artificial Intelligence and government legal oversight of corporations or persons developing AI programs and facilitating projects.

• Justice should not be influenced by wealth or privilege.

• We must address the institutional and implicit biases that lead to unequal treatment of people of color, people with disabilities, women, low-income people, immigrants, religious minorities, veterans and the LGBTQIA+ community.

We support:

• A citizen's constitutional right to own firearms and use them for legal purposes.

• The humane treatment of incarcerated persons including those combating addiction and substance abuse by focusing on treatment and education.

• Adequate state funding for indigent defendants in all criminal cases.

• Increasingly expanded courtroom access and judges.

• Expanding therapeutic court in lieu of incarceration and offering post-secondary education and trade school opportunities.

• De-escalation tactics and social workers as part of the police force.

• Ensuring that the system and officers of the court all place emphasis on the presumption of innocence.

Democrats have always answered their country's call to duty and are proud of our military contributions to the nation.

We support:

• Fairchild AFB, and our National Guard facilities, as an integral part of our community and our national defense by America's armed services.

• Expanding coverage, including comprehensive psychiatric services for veterans suffering from service-related disorders.

• Preservation, complete funding and expansion of all VA hospitals and medical treatment facilities for disabled veterans, and increased funding for long-term care treatment at military medical facilities.

• For military retirees the right for service injuries to be declared after a term of service.

• Equal compensation for Guard and Reserve members activated for combat operations.

• Full training and necessary equipment for all American personnel in the mission to which they are deployed.

• The right to serve free of sexual harassment and sexual assault with full prosecution of perpetrators by independent courts and free of chain of command.

• The right and responsibility of each person in the military to make their own reproductive decisions.

• The VA disability offset from military retired pay.

We believe that transportation systems that are efficient, flexible and visionary are key to a healthy economy and environment.

We support:

• Effective and efficient security of ports, freight, and passenger travel.

• Investments in public transportation systems that reduce dependence on the automobile.

• Improved facilities and sidewalks for wheelchairs, pedestrian and non-motorized movement.

• Public involvement in developing transportation plans and systems with multiple funding sources for transportation projects.

• Tax credits for vehicles that exceed mileage guidelines or use alternative fuels.

• Use of alternative fuel, electric and hybrid vehicles.

• Public input and review as a part of major airport expansion, highway construction and arterial projects.

• Enhanced support and development of our heavy rail and navigable water infrastructure.

• Development of light rail and high-speed rail.