Tonight, we are very pleased and excited to announce that U.S. Representative Derek Kilmer will be the opening speaker at our seventh Spring Fundraising Gala, which will take place April 10th at the Mercer Island Community & Event Center.
First elected to the U.S. House in 2012, Congressman Kilmer represents Washington’s 6th Congressional District, which includes the Olympic Peninsula and most of the Kitsap Peninsula. It is a beautiful district, home to rugged mountains and majestic beaches, many of which are protected as part of our nation’s sixth most-visited national park (as of 2014).
Prior to his election to Congress, Kilmer represented the 26th District (south Kitsap and north Pierce counties) in the Washington State Legislature, most recently as a state senator.
Representative Kilmer has already distinguished himself in Congress by working on legislation to mitigate the corrupting influence of money in politics.
As his office explained in a news release published back in January:
From his first days in Congress Kilmer has been a strong proponent for campaign finance reform. The Close the Floodgates Act was originally introduced by Kilmer in December.
Kilmer is a sponsor of the DISCLOSE Act to bring transparency to the election process by uncovering campaign-related spending by outside groups and corporations and an amendment to the Constitution to overturn Supreme Court decisions on campaign finance and clarify the role Congress plays in setting limits on campaign financing.
He’s also pushing for Congress to take up and pass the Government by the People Act to magnify the impact of small-dollar contributions.
Representative Kilmer has also been a dependable advocate for Native American tribes. Following his arrival in our nation’s capital, he introduced the Housing Native Heroes Act (to help homeless Native American veterans) and the Adoption Tax Credit Tribal Parity Act (to allow families who adopt Native American children with special needs to receive a tax credit that other families are already eligible for).
Following his reelection to Congress, Representative Kilmer was named to the House’s powerful Appropriations Committee, which his predecessor Norm Dicks (often jokingly referred to as Washington’s third senator) served on for years.
Representative Kilmer is a funny and engaging speaker, and we’re delighted to have him as part of our speaking program this year. We hope you can join us on April 10th. If you haven’t yet bought your ticket to our 2015 Spring Fundraising Gala yet, we urge you to do so now using one of the buttons below.
A household ticket admits all the members of an immediate family and is a good value if you plan to attend with your spouse or children. (The gala is a family-friendly event, and young people of all ages are welcome!).
These are our ticket rates:
- Individual ($70, admits one person)
- Household ($100, admits an entire family)
- Living Lightly ($25, for students and activists on limited incomes)
Buy a ticket to the gala
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$25
Click above to buy a ticket using a credit card.
Here’s what else you can expect at our 2015 Spring Fundraising Gala:
- A full dinner buffet with vegetarian and vegan choices
- Beer and wine selections from our cash bar
- Opportunities to mingle with fellow activists and elected leaders
- A chance to win a scrumptious dessert for your table at our second annual Dessert Dash, organized by our Host Committee
- A family-friendly atmosphere
If you’d like to RSVP for the gala on Facebook, you can do so here.
Students who want to volunteer to help put on the event can get in the door free. If you’re interested in volunteering, please get in touch with us.
In the weeks to come, we’ll be sharing more details about our 2015 gala, including the names of our other speakers. We hope you’ll help us make our biggest event of the year a success by buying your ticket and committing to attend.
See you on April 10th!
One Ping
[…] Shelley is also a longtime supporter of NPI; she participated in NPI’s very first Spring Fundraising Gala in May of 2008. We’re delighted to have her as our Master of Ceremonies this year. She’ll be sharing a stage with U.S. Representative Derek Kilmer, who we announced as our opening speaker last month. […]