Today is Transit Operator Appreciation Day and this week, March 14-18, is Transit Appreciation Week. Both are an opportunity to recognize and celebrate our dedicated transit employees who deliver day-in and day-out one of the best transit systems in North America.
 On Tuesday, I joined my King County Council colleagues and the County Executive to proclaim it Transit Appreciation Week. I’m proud of the transit system we have built in King County and I am dedicated to working with transit employees and riders to ensuring our system is up to the task of serving a diverse and rapidly growing region.
We couldn’t do any of it without our amazing transit employees. While COVID-19 has created several challenges to our system, including decreased ridership, increased stress for our operators, and uncertainty about what the future will look like, our transit employees have braved all these challenges to deliver essential transportation to get our residents where they need to be. Thank you!
District 3 & 6 town hall: Tuesday, March 29
 I’m co-hosting an in-person Town Hall with the King County Council’s newest member Sarah Perry. Please join us at the Muslim Association of Puget Sound (17550 NE 67th Ct, Redmond) on Tuesday, March 29th at 6:15 pm (last week we erred by listing the Town Hall date as March 20. That was incorrect.). We’ll talk about some of the big issues at the County and hear from you.
I’m looking forward to reconnecting with the community in person.
Thursday, March 24: give your input on the Veterans, Seniors and Human Services Levy
 The Veterans, Seniors and Human Services Levy (VSHSL) is partnering with community groups from across King County to host a series of community conversations to receive your input on issues related to the VSHSL. This is an especially important time to give input as King County begins to plan for renewal of the levy in 2023
Next Thursday March 24 from 5:30-7pm, VSHSL will be hosting an online community conversation with a focus on communities in and around the eastside of Lake Washington including Bellevue, Mercer Island, and Kirkland. Register to give your input and help shape the next Levy:
Women’s History Month spotlight: a recipe for women’s suffrage
In 1908, the Washington Equal Suffrage Association published the “Washington Women’s Cook Book.” It included recipes donated from women across the state. In addition to recipes for White Taffy and Asparagus Shortcake and chapters like “Household Economy,” the authors of the cookbook urged support for women’s suffrage and its sale helped fund a campaign to amend the Washington State Constitution to grant women the right to vote following a series of setbacks in the late nineteenth century.
 Washington Women's Cook Book, 1908
The Washington Territorial Legislature first gave women the right to vote in Washington territory in 1883; however, the Washington Territorial Supreme Court struck down this right in 1887. Another women’s suffrage law was passed by the Legislature in 1888, but it too was overturned by the courts. Undaunted, Washington women continued to fight for the right to vote and in 1910 voters approved a ballot measure amending the Washington Constitution to grant women the right to vote.
Many Eastside women were active in the fight for voting rights, including contributing recipes to the cookbook. Mary Tomlin sent a recipe for Nut Rolls, Julia Hawley provided one for Cream Puffs, and Mrs. Frank Curtis submitted two recipes, for Variety Pickles and a Sago Pudding. But their commitment to equal rights for women didn’t stop with the cookbook. Julia Hawley, a member of the local Women’s Suffrage Club, also served as the first woman juror in Washington state. She, along with other Eastside women like Carrie Shumway, the first woman city councilmember in the state, paved the way for women across King County to formally and fully participate in civic life.
Learn more about the Washington Women’s Cook Book at HistoryLink.org:
Spread the word!
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Sincerely,
 Claudia Balducci
King County Council
District 6
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