Hello Neighbors!

Thank you for participating in local democracy at our Annual General Meeting on April 22nd. And thank you to the new slate of Board members for volunteering in our community!

Please remember to submit your annual dues to be an official FNC member!

Annual General Meeting

First Public Meeting for the Democracy Vouchers Program! Presented by Rene LeBeau

Fremont was privileged to host the first public presentation for the Seattle Democracy Vouchers program. This program started as a citizen-led initiative in 2015, coming from an interest in campaign finance reform and getting more voters involved in the process. It was funded by a 10-year property tax levy that is up for renewal this year (August). The program has shown results: 10 of 11 current Seattle electeds used vouchers; Seattle donors now more closely resemble voters from all over the city; there has been a steady decline in donations from outside the city; and the number of contributors has gone up. The Seattle program had more contributors than New York City!

Each resident gets four $25 vouchers and you should have gotten yours in the mail. You can use them in paper form, online, or donate them directly to candidates at events via a form they provide. You can use the vouchers until November but the candidates can make better use of them if received in the summer (June is best). Get more information at Democracy Voucher Program – DemocracyVoucher | seattle.gov

Annual General Meeting: 2025 Elections and Year in Review

The past year has been a work in progress, rebuilding Board membership, working out roles and responsibilities, and increasing community participation and membership, FNC hosted candidate forums in addition to monthly speakers on various topics. We contributed funds in support of the 46th Street Mural, Troll’s Knoll, and the Solid Ground day of volunteer service.

Board Elections: The Board is all volunteer but there is some work involved! This year we were seeking people interested in filling roles in Grants, Events, and a Speaker Coordinator. Eleven current board members out of fifteen positions were standing for re-election. Steve Rubstello volunteered to stand for a position in the Events role and Bill Crossman accepted a nomination for the Grants role. Each nominee gave a short intro. There was a motion to approve the slate of candidates as presented. Discussion: Process requires twenty-five percent of members present for a voting quorum. Do we have a voting quorum of members present? Forty percent of members are present. Motion seconded and approved.

2025 FNC Board:

  • Tawny Bates (Community Member)
  • Evgeny Burlyaev (Membership)
  • Bill Crossman (Grants)
  • Lydia Heard (Secretary)
  • Colleen Kaminski (President)
  • Timothy Kitchen (Community Member)
  • Cindy Krafft (Webmaster)
  • Audrey Livermore (Community Member)
  • Steve Rubstello (Events)
  • Caroline Sayre (Community Engagement)
  • Brandon Shimko (Marketing)
  • Alyson Teeter (Treasurer)
  • Sophia Wagner (Internal Board Operations)

Announcements:

Call to Action from tonight: Tell a friend about the Democracy Voucher program!

Phil on the Fremont Fair and Parade: We have been doing this since 1993. This year they will be on the 21st, the actual Solstice. Street closures start the Friday before. We will have 350 craft booths, with a lower rate for artists this year. To apply send a photo of the artist in the studio making art. We are curating an impressive art experience. Volunteer for the parade or fair and start the summer in Fremont.

Aly on Fremont Neighbor newsletter: Just started the Fremont Neighbor! We lost the Fremocentrist a few years ago so here is something new. Sign up for the newsletter! Fremont Neighbor

John on Ukraine Defense Support: We meet 7pm every Thursday at European Foods on Aurora. We’ve sent $1.6 million, show up, volunteer, donate.

Cindy on the Solstice Parade: We need lots of volunteers! Need 100, we currently have 30. May Day celebration is Saturday May 3rd.

Linda: Banquet Saturday 5pm at Swedish Club to support Ukraine.

Sophie: Walla Walla onion starts on back table.

Board Business:

Cindy led discussion of migration of website to Squarespace. Cost of subscription is $117/year. Total annual costs are $267/year. It integrates with Mailchimp. Adding membership tracking options would be more expensive. Motion to migrate website to Squarespace and pay subscription for FNC account. Seconded, approved.

We discussed storing meeting materials at the Doric; voting quorum for the election; increasing membership and costs/benefits of physical mailings vs. digital or social media platforms (tabled); Board roles and responsibilities (tabled for May Board retreat); Board positions for the election (Tim stepping down as President, Colleen volunteering for President, no volunteer for Vice President, desire for a volunteer for Treasurer); May and June speakers, emergency hubs at P-Patches and Seattle Neighborhood Tree Program. March minutes approved.

Next month (Tuesday, May 27) we’re having Ann Forest from the Seattle Office of Emergency Management. Are you prepared for an emergency? Learn more about preparedness, local emergency Hubs and how to start one near you.

Come back and connect with people who share you interests or who have ideas about how to get things done. Start conversations. Sometimes these continue outside of the monthly meeting. Act Locally!