Profiles in Leadership: Linda Middleton — Beating the drum in Forks

by Paul Pickett

Pictured: Linda, in a photo she provided.

Linda Middleton is a Forks original. She grew up in our west end timber town (before the vampires moved in). She moved to Port Angeles for a few years to attend college, then returned to Forks.
 
Inspired by the challenge of raising a developmentally delayed child, she helped start a parent support group in 1979. That group evolved into a pre-school, then added child care, and in 1989, became the nonprofit group  Concerned Citizens for Special Children  (https://ccpnw.org/). Concerned Citizens grew to provide a wide range of services across Clallam and Jefferson Counties to over 1,000 clients.
 
Linda says now she is “trying to work less, step back.” But she acknowledges that “the community helped us with everything. We need support, and this is where it is.” Her parents, friends, and other relatives live in Forks. “It’s not the easiest way to grow up,” she reflects. “You’ve got that stigma – you’re not a Republican.” But she says she’s amazed at the people she passes in the store. “I’ve known them my whole life – they say ‘Hi, Linda!’ But we don’t talk about politics.”
 
Linda is active in Clallam Democrats, serving as a Trustee for District 3. She has an extensive email list she uses to set up meetings and encourage people to attend events. “I started a group, we march in the parade,” she says. “But people are nervous – it’s not the safest place to be a Democrat.” She has a little farm on 12 acres. “I’m not picking up and moving.”
 
I ask Linda what led her to the Democratic Party. “That’s a stupid question,” she responds with amusement. “I could not possibly be a Republican. My family was Democrat – very liberal. My father was in the shingle weavers union. My parents were close to Tim Wheeler’s family.” (Tim Wheeler was featured in our “Profiles in Leadership” blog last month.) She reflects for a moment. “For me, I watch the news all the time. It’s what I believe, what Democrats do and believe in. Watching the news, there’s no way I could believe the other way.”
 
I ask, “What has been your high point as a Democrat?” She thinks for a bit, then says, “There were good things when Obama was in office. But I’m most active now. I was working a lot, but I got more active recently. There are more worries and stress.”
 
“What leadership positions have you had in the past?” I ask. “How has that experience prepared you for organizing and leadership as a Democrat?” Linda reflects, then replies, “Training someone to take over the business made me realize all the work I’ve done. I started as a nurse, grew programs, and I grew with them. I realized lately that I am a leader, I am a business person. Learning it down in the trenches. Starting a program, making it work where we live. It was a struggle, a lot of sleepless nights, how to make it from one payroll to another.” She pauses. “I learned a lot about communication, organization, people skills. You learn all that stuff working with people, not from books or college.”
 
So what are Linda’s goals currently for Democrats? “My goal is to try to unite Clallam County Democrats with people out in Forks. The road only goes one way, from Forks to Port Angeles. People in Port Angeles don’t understand Forks. But there’s also the Forks mentality. I’m having a hard time getting people together. I didn’t used to do that, but I’m doing it now.” But she seems to be making some progress. “People are pretty individual,” she says. “I’ve got 30-some people on my list. People are doing things – people are sending letters. I’m kind of pushy – I want people to step up.”
 
What advice does she have for someone trying to take on more responsibility in the Democrats? She replies, “My first advice is that you need to build relationships with people so you know what kind of things you can do and where the support is.” She observes that there are lots of things to do – elections, doorbelling, but also fundraisers. “Be as informed as you can,” she continues, “about what kind of things are happening. It’s happening, but it’s slow.” She sees people sharing ideas across the North Peninsula. “For what each community is doing for immigration. It’s been great.” She sends out whatever she can send out, and people are sending her letters they wrote and describing people they’ve met.
 
We discuss how to reach out to young people. “I’ve put young people on my list,” she says. “But messaging alone is not good enough. How do we do that – reach young people? Most of our people are older.”
 
Linda has a vision. She chuckles and says, “I want 100 people to march in the parade with me. I wish I could start the march with five people, and a hundred join me by the end of the parade.”