When reached for comment, David Cortinas of La Voz said: “Our newspaper has been serving the Columbia Basin and surrounding areas for 14 years, and by helping get the Latino community registered to vote we are continuing that service.”

In response, George Fearing issued the following statement: “Democracy in its ideal form includes full citizen participation. I applaud La Voz and David Cortinas’ efforts in promoting civic involvement. All community news outlets have a shared interest in an informed and active readership. I encourage other publications in Central Washington to follow suit.”

George represented the Latino community following the 2000 census after Franklin County gerrymandered its county commissioner districts to weaken the voting strength of Latinos.

Voter registration is a nonpartisan effort. The Fearing Campaign expects and encourages the support of increased registration from all candidates and organizations in Central Washington. It’s too late to register for the August 19th primary, but there is plenty of time before the October 4th deadline to register for the general election.

For more information on the community outreach by La Voz, other voter registration efforts in the Columbia Basin and how to increase registration in your community, contact the following:

David Cortinas, Publisher and CEO of La Voz
Phone – 509-543-9932
E-mail

George Fearing Campaign and Tri-Cities Democratic Headquarters
Phone – 509-420-4463
E-mail

Steve Lee, Field Organizer for Barack Obama’s Campaign for Change – 8th, 16th and 9th Legislative Districts
Phone – 509-420-4463
E-mail

Washington State Office of Secretary of State
Phone - 360-902-4151
E-mail

Two 60-second spots have hit the airwaves across Central Washington. The first addresses rising gas prices, and the “Use it or Lose it” bill, which pushes for oil companies to use the land they already have before receiving new leases offshore and elsewhere.

In order to really work towards energy independence, we need to aggressively pursue domestic renewable energies as well as become less dependent on foreign oil resources. Rep. Hastings and his friends claim leasing new land for drilling will solve this solve this problem. But instead of handing over more land, why aren’t they more effectively capitalizing on the oil-rich leases they already have? That’s what “Use it or Lose it” is all about. Read our press release here and take a listen to the radio spot:

“Use it or Lose it” Spot

Our second spot is a biographical piece about George. It introduces George through his background, his career and his motivation for running for Congress. Pass along this excellent snapshot of George to your friends and family!

George’s Biographical Spot

Keep your radio dials scanning the airwaves for more messages from the George Fearing Campaign! And join the grassroots communications team to do your part to get our voice heard!

We’ve got a lot of change happening here at georgefearing.com, too.

Now you can look at our calendar of events to see when George will be in your town to meet with your friends and neighbors. Just click on the “Calendar” link in the menu bar. If you see an event you would like to learn more about, just use the contact form at the bottom of the calendar page to contact us. We’ll fill you in with the details as soon as we can.

You can also join our Grassroots Communications Team by selecting “Contact” in the menu and following the link.

The archive of posts has now been moved to the News page. There have also been plenty of stories in the last month or so that you may have missed. We encourage you read them. Here are a few:

Daily Record:
Democrat Fearing visits Ellensburg

Yakima Herald-Republic:
Fearing on the gas crisis

Review-Independent:
Fearing ready to clean house

NW Progressive Institue:
George Fearing: 4th Congressional District deserves better representation

You can find these stories and more soon on our News page.

Please browse the “What People are Saying” section in the sidebar for some excellent posts on the campaign from around the community.

And last but not least, keep your eyes peeled both here and at DailyKos for essays written by George himself on Rep. Hasting’s deplorable actions in the House.

Thanks so much for visiting our site and taking interest in George’s bid for Congress! Together we can restore leadership in the 4th Congressional District.

George charmed the delegation with a rousing speech on Saturday afternoon. He turned a few heads when he announced he was a pro-life Democrat:

“I do not appreciate the religious right’s monopolization of the term pro-life, because as a Democrat I am pro-life.

I am a pro-life Democrat who does not want unnecessary wars that kill young American heroes and innocent Iraqi civilians. I am a pro-life Democrat who believes America has an obligation to provide first class health care and mental health services to our returning veterans to preserve their lives and America has an obligation to pay for a college education for our veterans.

I am a pro-life Democrat who wants working families to receive decent living wages and to spend leisure time with their families and I recognize the need for strong labor unions to insure working family wages. I am a pro-life Democrat who wants all Americans to receive proper health care.

I am a pro-life Democrat who recognizes the intrinsic value of everyone’s life and that each life is of equal value. I am a pro-life Democrat who believes a woman should control her own life and body, including making reproductive decisions with her physician without the interference of the government.”

It was a memorable moment in a passionate speech, and a line on the minds and tongues of Democrats later that night in the convention hallways and hospitality suites and at the Spokane Democrats Salmon Feed.

George also emphasized that Washington is not two separate states, but Eastern Washington and Western Washington share many values and ideals.

We in Central Washington know the commonalities of both halves of the state more than anyone else. We are diverse, yet unified.

George and all of us in the campaign are thrilled to see the support, passion and enthusiasm from not only Democrats here in the 4th Congressional District but our friends across the state! The gracious reception from activists and party leaders alike is truly inspiring.

There are so many notable races and candidates across the state as well as the nation. It’d be overwhelming to name them all, but we have some other competitive congressional races here in Washington that are worth mentioning.

Mark Mays is running for Congress in Washington’s 5th, right next door to the 4th. We’re proud to stand by Mark in his bid to unseat Cathy McMorris Rodgers. He is a fine choice for representative of the people of Eastern Washington.

Darcy Burner’s race in Washington’s 8th congressional district is one that the entire country is watching. Darcy is admired for her values and commitment to public service. Darcy led the charge in providing a unified voice opposing the current politics over the War in Iraq, spearheading the effort to draft and push the Responsible Plan to End the War in Iraq. Many candidates for Congress have signed on to this plan, including George Fearing. We are confident that Darcy will be headed to Congress with George this November. There are few better congressional candidates in the nation.

Thank you for joining us in our efforts. Please support George’s run for Congress by donating to the campaign today. Please also support our friends across Washington state.

Washington State Democrats
Darcy Burner for Washington’s 8th
Chris Gregoire for Governor
John Ladenburg for Attorney General
Jim McIntire for State Treasurer

One of the reasons that George was so successful is that his message is dead on target concerning the need for a change in representation in the 4th Congressional District.

Only a few weeks ago, Hastings cast another dead-wrong vote on mortgage reform legislation (HR 3915) even as the sub-prime mortgage crisis has sent shock waves through world financial markets. Foreclosure rates are at the highest levels since the Great Depression, and banks continue to disclose more mortgage losses weekly, with still no end in sight. This vote came just as Congress was moving to adjourn for Thanksgiving, and once again Hastings assumed people would be too preoccupied with the holiday to notice that he’d taken his usual stand in support of ‘big-money’ at the expense of working families desperate for relief from fraudulent lenders.

But this time Hastings is in for a surprise. People are noticing. George hears it from them all the time on the phone and at grassroots meetings throughout the 4th Congressional District. They can’t understand why Hastings voted against the SCHIP program which provides health insurance to needy kids, yet has no problem accepting health insurance for himself and his family for free, one of the perks of being a US Congressman. They can’t understand why he has voted repeatedly to weaken and strip pension guarantees, while he himself enjoys the lifetime guarantee of a very large pension as a US Congressman when he retires. They can’t understand how he could serve as Chair of the House Ethics Committee and allow his Chief of Staff to break Congressional Rules by calling a US Attorney in Seattle and pressuring him to answer questions about the 2004 Gregoire-Rossi gubernatorial race with the sole purpose of affecting that election in favor of the Republicans.

The list of Hastings’ wrong-headed and ‘ethically-challenged’ votes is almost endless. That’s the bad news. The good news that has everyone excited is we can beat Doc Hastings. As a long time advocate for education and a successful attorney, George has a proven track record of knowing what needs to be done and then doing it.

-George has 25 years experience as an attorney fighting for government accountability and efficiency in the 4th Congressional District

- George has a workable plan to get us out of Iraq and bring our troops home, and he’s ready to tackle this job head-on his very first day in office.

- George brings to the campaign bedrock values of faith and family which he learned growing up in a family of seven living on his Dad’s modest salary as a minister.

- Since entering this race last spring, George has traveled non-stop throughout Eastern Washington, networking with community leaders, union members, working folks from every walk of life, and has already put in place a solid, broad-based campaign organization working hard to defeat Doc Hastings.

George entered this race because he believes he can make a positive, long-term impact on the lives of the people of this district and because he believes he is the best candidate for the job. He’s in it to win and is energized by the constant encouragement from people everywhere, eager to shake hands, share ideas and get involved in our effort.

You can join with us to restore strong, Democratic values in the 4th Congressional District and do away with borrow and spend policies that are ruining our economy.  We hope to have a campaign office open soon.  In the meantime, click here  to contact the campaign and volunteer!  Also, you can click the “Contribute” button below and help George to take back the 4th!