In the six years I’ve served as Whatcom Democrats Chair, together we have
transformed the Whatcom County political landscape.
We have turned a purple county almost completely blue, flipping the County Executive,
Prosecutor, Sheriff, all three state legislative seats in the 42nd LD, the Public Utility
District, and the Conservation District.
This past year we defied the national trend with an even further blue shift, rejecting all
four right-wing initiatives, re-electing our 42nd LD legislators by the widest margins yet,
and flipping the County Charter Review Commission, as I wrote in Cascadia Daily
We’ve elected record numbers of women, the first Black sheriff and Bellingham city
council members, first nonwhite county executive and PUD commissioner, first native
state legislator from our region, the first openly LGBTQ+ city council member and
county charter review commissioners (I was the first openly gay county chair of either
party).
We’ve raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to send mailers and hire highly talented
and motivated campaign staffers that has powered our electoral success. We are
starting 2025 with a carry-over balance that will enable us to hit the ground running in a
year of important county and city council and port elections as well as proposed county
charter amendments in an off year when fundraising is more difficult.
None of this would have been possible without our roughly 750 dues-paying members,
our office volunteers, the meticulous work of Treasurer Cheyanna Strickland, the
organizational skills and enthusiasm of Office and Program Manager Gwen Groden,
and the thoughtful and impartial dedication of Candidates Chair and parliamentarian
Dan Raas.
By yesterday morning – as on my previous three runs for Chair – it became clear no
one was going to challenge me. That meant I could coast into a fourth term.
Instead, I withdrew my nomination and nominated Eamonn Collins.
One of the hallmarks of good stewardship is preparing others for leadership, and
passing on the top office from a position of strength and solvency. There is no better
time than now.
We have a strong, talented, Executive Board. E-Board alumni have moved on to local
political office, including Jace Cotton on the Bellingham City Council, Barry Buchanan
and Jon Scanlon on the County Council, Jaime Arnett on the Whatcom PUD, Heather
Christiansen on the Conservation District Commission, Richard May on the Blaine City Council, Joel Pitts-Jordan, Eamonn Collins, Colton Kaltenfeldt, and myself as Whatcom County Charter Review Commissioners.
Others have been seeding the Democratic Party and local government elsewhere in the
state, with Zach Cohen becoming legislative director for 26 th LD State Sen. Deborah
Krishnadasan, Josh Sanders becoming Rep. Adam Smith’s political director, Genevieve
Jones working for King County Metro, Haylee Anderson working for the Attorney
General’s Office, to name just a few that come to mind.
It is an honor to have Eamonn – my first choice – carry on everything we have
collectively built over these years. He has E-Board experience, campaign experience, is
a county charter review commissioner, a strong housing advocate who serves on the
board of Kulshan Community Land Trust, a teacher at Lummi Nation, and a fun and big-
hearted human being. He is also a parent with young children, with the potential to
attract more of the same.
I am committed to helping him in any way he requests.
Andrew Reding, Chair
Whatcom County Democrats
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