Washington State Healthcare in Good Hands
Three Wins Today, Aug 19, 2025
Today were the hearings in the California state Senate and Assembly for bill package that will get redistricting on the ballot in November. While most of the Legislators on both committees were in favor, most of the in person public comments were not. On our side, we had dozens of union leaders, but not much in terms of individuals. On their side, they had dozens and dozens of individuals against pausing the Independent Redistricting Commission, many of them, former members of the commission itself.
My point is we need to be clear eyed. We have five weeks until ballots start going out, and the other side is going to do everything they can to get Californians to vote no. This is not an automatic win because California has a blue trifecta.
The final vote in both the Senate and Assembly will be Thursday. If you live in California, find the Sacramento number for your State Senator and Assembly member and call them and tell them to vote in favor of the redistricting ballot measure package.
And, while you’re at it, just add their numbers to your phone. I know in California we think that because we’re a blue trifecta we don’t have to fight for anything within our state, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. We need to make sure our elected officials continue to do the right thing, and if yours isn’t, well, now’s the time to convince them to.
So, on that note, here are some great wins I found today!
You can find the video version of this post (in skit form!) if you scroll all the way to the bottom.
Thu, Aug 14 - Angela Ramirez was the chief of staff at the US Department of Health and Human Services during the end of the Biden presidency, and Governor Bob Ferguson just appointed her to be Washington State Secretary of Department of Social and Health Services.
In her statement she said:
I am deeply honored to serve as Secretary of the Department of Social and Health Services,. I’ve spent my entire career in public service, and I’ve come to realize it is a part of who I am. As the daughter of farmworkers who both experienced homelessness, I understand how life-changing public systems can be when they truly support people. Whether someone needs housing, a job, mental health care, or simply the dignity of choice — I believe in the power of government to help individuals shape their own lives. I thank Governor Ferguson for the opportunity to serve the people of Washington, and I look forward to joining an agency so deeply committed to meeting people where they are and helping them move forward.
Why is this one of my wins, you might ask? Well for starters, at this point, someone who believes in science being appointed to any health related position anywhere in the country is a huge win. There used to be this idea that if it’s not your state, it doesn’t matter, but we are not in that world anymore. We are in a world where many of us know the names of the Dem Attorneys General across the whole country, a world where we have judges we know and love and let out a sigh of relief when we hear their name attached to a certain case. I have no doubt that the work Secretary Ramirez does will also be noteworthy and bring hope across the country.
And, of course, secondly, it’s another important reminder of the power of voting. When you vote for Governor, this is one of the things you’re voting for.
Sun, Aug 17 - A group of over 100 mostly conservative protesters gathered in front of the Utah Capitol to demand that Senate President Stuart Adams resign over his work to pass a law that helped his granddaughter get away with raping a young teen when she was an 18 year old high school student.
The signs at the rally, which again, was mostly attended by Republicans, said things against Epstein and others who have gotten away with sexual abuse and worse.
Organizer, Jason Preston, founder of We are the People said:
My interest in this is not about Stuart Adams. It's about waking up the people that we have a massive problem in this state. One in seven children are being sexually abused. How do we sit by?
I don’t know about you, but it gives me some real hope that they aren’t sitting by. And I hope now that the calls are coming from inside the house, as it were, Stuart Adams won’t be in power for much longer. And maybe this can trickle up to some other Republican elected officials…maybe
Fri, Aug 15 - Obama appointee, Dolly Gee, ruled that the Trump administration cannot terminate the Flores Agreement. It is only because of this agreement that minors can’t be held in just any detention facility. They must be held in a child safe facility and released to a guardian as quickly as is possible. Of course Trump wants to get rid of this, but Gee said no:
There is nothing new under the sun regarding the facts or the law. The Court therefore could deny Defendants’ motion on that basis alone,
Basically the situation hasn’t changed, and neither has the law, therefore this agreement is still necessary.
I know people like to catastrophize that the judges don’t have power and they can’t do anything, but they are. They are making rulings that make things several percent less awful every single day.
So those are just three of today’s wins. I hope they make your day just a bit better.
Our voices are our superpower, but only when we use them!