1) Continue to grow WPC’s membership base, as we reach out to neighbors and friends.

2) Organize stronger chapters, with clear-eyed local leadership, reaching out to allies and thoughtfully evaluating what’s possible and how to use our emerging political force to achieve local change we seek—local programs.

3) Increase our resources, with additional professional staff to help with organizing, communications, policy research, resource development, and event planning.

4) Broaden our coalition contacts at the statewide level, particularly around the immediate goal of a judicial bill, but also to support longer-range plans for a comprehensive bill, either through legislative action or through a ballot initiative campaign.

At every level, we know there are constituencies and organizations whose agendas are stymied because of the undue influence of money in politics. Statewide and locally, we need to reach out and listen carefully, seeking ways to collaborate with allies in the struggle for an even financial playing field in political campaigns.

I. Take advantage of the new Local Option opportunity, to create programs of public financing for local office, in selected cities, counties and districts around the state. This will require work in Seattle and King County, perhaps Pierce County, perhaps Spokane, and perhaps other localities. Within each area, this means designing a program in concert with local officials, our supporters, and local coalition allies. And, it means winning referendum campaigns among local voters.

For this work, we need robust local chapters, meeting regularly, planning the political and legislative work, reaching out to educate the local public on the opportunity and the challenge using every means possible, and working in collaboration with WPC leadership at the state level and with organizational allies, so that our resources and talent are used efficiently and effectively.

WPC will likely prepare a policy guide for local programs, customized for local jurisdictions in Washington State, to guide the thinking, planning and decision-making at local levels in creating local programs that make sense, are affordable, and are supported by local voters.

Just think how far along our agenda will be advanced, if several programs of voter-owned campaign financing are up and running in a few cities and counties within a year or two—having been approved by local voters! What a terrific base of support for our statewide goals!

II. Organize to achieve a judicial bill—public funding for campaigns for supreme court positions—in the 2009 legislature. Obviously this is not a new proposal; indeed the governor proposed a pilot program, which WPC supported, in 2007—although at that time, there was not readiness among legislators or statewide organizations to support the program, and there was not consensus on some important details.

Since then, a new bill has been offered (HB 3336); several significant organizations have come around to support a judicial program in principle, including the state Trial Lawyers, and unofficially several large labor groups.

In 2007, the national Justice At Stake organization commissioned an evaluation of Washington State, examining conditions, actors and the potential to achieve a judicial bill, and making recommendations for a campaign—and this report provides a useful road map for launching a campaign to achieve legislation.

WPC expects to play a major role. We will need focused education on the issue among our supporters, especially since judicial races are not typically a dinner-table topic. And we’ll need to collaborate with allies and supporters to work for consensus on a bill, its principles, features and details.

III. Investigate and evaluate options—leading to a campaign plan before the end of 2008—for achieving public financing for statewide and legislative races. It may be too early to decide between legislative and ballot initiative options, but we should prepare for both, examining what would be required, what are the pros and cons, how ready are we, and what are the “must haves” and drop-dead dates for decision-making.

With so many election campaigns underway in 2008, and so much news focus on campaign contributions and spending, we can anticipate that the political climate for change on this issue may evolve dramatically as the year goes forward. We need to be listening, evaluating, paying attention—and taking advantage of every opportunity to educate the households of our state that there is a “better mousetrap”—programs of Clean Money / Clean Elections that are working successfully in other states, used by incumbents and candidates alike, and with popular support.

IV. Continue WPC central office support work—in public awareness/education, speakers bureau, workshops for speakers/advocates, communication with members and allies (via website, emailed newsletters and action alerts, WPC literature, DVDs), event planning (public forums, annual dinner), resource development and fund raising, research and compilation of data to support our public policy initiatives, field organizing and support to our membership.