February 1, 2008
My friends in WashClean,

You all know by now that EHB 1551 was approved in the House, 56-38, on Friday, January 25th.

This is a huge victory—for us, and for the voters and people we represent.

Thank you to everyone who worked so hard, all over the state, to bring this about! It truly is a victory for grassroots action! Furthermore, in Washington State, it now lets us replace money-dominated elections with campaigns where voters and issues make all the difference, and where public officials are not cowed by deep-pocket special interests.

When public financing for campaigns is available at any level, it lets people run without the need for wealthy backing; it avoids the need for "dialing for dollars" by candidates and lawmakers, allowing more time for the craft of lawmaking and voter contact; it replaces money with votes, as the most important factor in election outcomes.

We have more work to do: In the next week or two, we need to make sure this bill is approved by the state Senate and signed by the governor.

And then, we can take advantage of the new opportunity at local levels, to fight for and enact local programs for city and county council races. For this, we'll need local WPC groups to expand as coalitions, with support from many constituencies whose agendas have been stymied by money-dominated politics.

Also, we now launch the work statewide for a judicial bill in 2009: public financing for supreme court judges.

(Hey, not convinced? A friend just wrote me about the release soon of a new John Grisham novel, "The Appeal" - apparently about a big spender who buys a supreme court seat, to reverse a jury award againt a giant chemical company! It's fiction - or is it? - like his book, "The Pelican Brief")

Here is my comment on the amendments attached to 1551, because I'm already fielding questions from many of you, asking: What about the amendments to House-passed 1551 - (1) requiring local referenda votes of the people if any local city or county wants to establish a program, (2) excluding school districts from public financing programs, and (3) requiring only local funds to be used.

As to the school board restriction, perhaps the Senate will remove that. But if not, it's unlikely that school boards would take advantage of public financing in the coming 12-18 months anyway—and when they're ready to, we can work to amend state law—because by then, there will be support for that.

As to the requirement of local-only funds, we support that—to avoid a fight over state money for local campaigns.

And as to the local referendum requirement: Of course we have opposed it all along. There is no question: it unnecessarily restricts what local elected officials can do, by requiring a local people's vote.

But here is my view. If that's the final outcome of Senate-House approval (and we may not have a choice), it actually may work in our favor, over time. Here's why: It will encourage local WPC chapters to form, to educate their local public about the benefits, and to prove there is local voter support for public financing to skeptical legislators and officials. Further, we can easily win a referendum in Seattle, which is poised to re-enact the former program. Besides, if we can't win these local referenda, it will be useful intelligence to our planning for any ballot initiatives in the near future.

Passage of 1551 in the House is a HUGE victory!—and we should crow about that! That's the main message, and let's sing it far and wide. This was a topic and a bill that the leadership never wanted to take time for, in a short 60-day session, during an election year, in the face of the "Eyman factor" Initiative 960 and growing economic concerns, and facing the need to raise mountains of money for elections at every level this year. Against all these odds, we prevailed! Think about it. Truly, it is a victory.

Let's move on to the Senate... and then to the governor's desk. Don't let up... but let's ready the victory party!

And again, thanks to ALL of you, for helping in this huge political barn-raising! It just proves what a dedicated band of people can do, focused and well-organized! ~Craig