Last Sunday, the Whatcom Democratics held their annual summer picnic. I have to admit, this is one of my favorite events of the political cycle. A group of active men and women associated with the Women’s Democratic Club bake up some potato salads and classic Barbeque; it is the quintessential example of old school politics. No twitter feeds or facebook friends, just politicians showing up to try and shake everyone’s hands while they politely smile and try to eat in peace. Gene Knutzen did a wonderful job MC-ing the event, and the Women’s Democratic Club made the whole thing run very smoothly. Candidates were given an opportunity to speak and this year’s picnic drew quite a few surprises.

There was a whole slate of Democratic candidates; David Stalheim and Tom Anderson for County Executive, Alan Black for County Council, Kelli Linville for mayor (Dan Pike showed up later and wasn’t able to speak), Barry Buchanan for City Council, and J. Lynne Walker for County Auditor.

There also were a few extra non-Democrats there. Bill Elfo and Steve Harris for County Sheriff both showed up and worked the crowd. Barbara Brenner came with her husband and gave the most jaw-dropping comment of the afternoon, “Everything I am wearing right now, well except for my underwear, is recycled!” Cue awkward laughter. Debbie Adelstein (the only candidate to read from a written stump speech while presenting) spoke for her candidacy for County Auditor.

But conservative candidate Jack (and his wife Cindy) Louws stole the night with their entry to the dessert contest. Each year, there is a dessert contest among the candidates, and this year the judges (myself, Roni Lenore and the honorable Fmr Sen. Harriet Spanel) picked Jack Louws Flag Berry Dessert (pictured below)

It reminds me of an exchange I had with Luanne Van Werven once, “Recipes are ALWAYS non-partisan!” Cindy Louws was kind enough to share the recipe with me, which I have reprinted below.

Recipe from Linda Enfield of Enfield Farms (published in the Lynden Tribune)

Flag Berry Dessert

Crust: 1 cup flour, 1/2 cup softened butter, 1/4 cup powdered sugar

Filling and Sauce: 8 oz. cream cheese, 1 cup powdered sugar, 6-8 oz whipped topping, fresh berries in season.

Glaze: 1 cup crushed berries, 1 cup sugar, 1/4 cup cornstarch, 1/2 cup water, splash lemon juice

Mix crust ingredients together to form a ball. Spread in a 12″ pizza pan. Bake 10 minutes at 300; let cool. Mix cream cheese and powdered sugar together. Stir in cool whip. Spread over cooled crust. Arrange fresh fruit on top of pizza. Mix glaze ingredients together, cook until thick, then cool the glaze. Top fruit on pizza with the cooled glaze.





