Clean elections initiative planned

[eridani]

Hello, WashClean Supporters,

Oil company bribes for earmarked tax giveaways. Scandals everywhere. How bad can it get? We MUST END the influence of money over lawmaking and public policies that don't benefit ordinary Americans.

We need PUBLIC financing of campaigns - so Congress is no longer indebted to special interests.

It won't be handed to us on a silver platter. But together, we can make this happen in Washington State! - and with other states helping, we'll take it to Congress!

We are preparing plans for a voter ballot initiative. If you can help, write wpc {at} washclean.org.

But for now, we need to tell sitting legislators that the public wants to end the power of special interests; we want public financing of campaigns.

Here is what you can do. Remember: Many hands make light work!

1. We want WashClean chapters and supporters in all locations to arrange meetings with your legislators, in your district - by the end of October or sooner. Show them all the local support; tell them you support public financing for campaigns, and ask what they will do, to enact this change in Washington State.

2. Set up local meetings wherever local chapters don't exist yet. We will help you arrange a Meet-Up in your area, to get started. Visit our website (Local Chapters), for info: http://www.washclean.org/localchapters.htm. Visit the WPC Calendar, to learn where events are happening: http://www.my.calendars.net/wpcevents.

3. Before the end of September, ask your neighbors to drop by, to watch the DVD about Clean Elections. Clean Elections programs have changed the political landscape in Maine, Arizona and elsewhere - where lawmakers have stared down the special interests and enacted laws benefitting ALL the people.

We'll mail you a DVD if you don't have one - send us your postal address, to [e-mail], with "DVD" in the subject line.

4. View our website - http://www.washclean.org - then invite your friends to sign up to bring Clean Campaigns/Elections to Washington State and Congress. We can do this here!

5. Sign the WashClean Citizens' Petition, endorsing public financing and Clean Campaigns. Download a copy from our website: http://www.washclean.org/citizenaction.htm. Take copies to your neighbors, your co-workers, your faith group, your gym class, your bookclub. Tell them there is a SOLUTION to these scandals; it doesn't have to be this way. Several states have enacted Clean Elections programs - and now their lawmakers do the bidding of the people, not the special interests!

WE CAN DO THIS HERE! - but it requires robust statewide organizing and YOUR support.

WE DEPEND on voluntary membership dues: Suggested $35-$50, or whatever you can afford! PLEASE! - You can donate on line - http://www.washclean.org/donate.htm Or mail checks to: Washington Public Campaigns, P.O. Box 45088, Seattle WA 98145-0088.

Questions? Call 206-784-9695

THANK YOU !!

====================
Craig Salins
Executive Director
Washington Public Campaigns
craig {at} washclean.org
206-784-9695

[eridani]

1. SW King County meet-up 9/20

WashClean MEET-Up, Southwest King County.
Thursday, September 20th, at 7:00 pm

Come socialize with fellow WashClean-ers!

The SW Seattle Clean Campaigns Meetup will gather at Geno's Bakery on 116th and Ambaum in north Burien, for socializing and light activist activities. Please bring a few different types of stationery or postcards, and we'll spend a few minutes composing personal letters to our state lawmakers about why we support publicly-funded campaigns. Stamps will be provided.

Light supper - pizza, salads, soup, quiche, sandwiches - and beverages including beer and wine - will be available. Come join your fellow activists for a fun evening.

Info, directions or RSVP: Annie {at} washclean.org
Or --http://cfr.meetup.com/39/calendar/6208047/?from=list

General WashClean Info: http://www.washclean.org, 206-784-9695.

[eridani]

2. October workshops in Everett and Federal Way

Hello, Clean Elections Advocates:

WORKSHOPS for ADVOCATES in October - Sign Up to Attend

By popular demand, we are arranging two new workshops for WPC advocates, organizers and speakers. The workshops would be a good refresher/update even if you attended one before.

Learn all about Clean Elections: How it works, why it's essential, how we will achieve it here - organizing strategies and raising public awareness.

Workshops will be held in Everett and Federal Way, as follows:

Sunday, October 21 - 2-4 p.m. Everett Main Library
2702 Hoyt Avenue, Everett
http://www.epls.org/mlmap.asp

Saturday, October 27 - 2-4 p.m. Federal Way Library on 320th
848 South 320th, Federal Way
http://www.kcls.org/320th/directions.cfm

Workshops are 2 hours, but attendees who want to become WPC speakers should plan to stay an additional half hour.

Washington Public Campaigns will be staging a full-court-press on the short WA State Legislative session which begins in January. Come learn how to join the momentum and help enact Clean Campaigns this year!

Pre-registration for the workshop is required. Please send an email to [e-mail] with the location you wish to attend as the first word in the subject line. In your message, include the area you live in and your phone number. I will send you driving directions when I confirm your registration, the week prior to the workshop.

We will request a $5 donation at the door to cover copying costs.
Thanks. Any questions? 206-275-1393

Annie Phillips
www.washclean.org

General Info: http://www.washclean.org

[eridani]

3. Statewide steering committee meeting; Ellensburg, 10/20

WPC Statewide Steering Committee meeting:
Saturday, October 20th
11 a.m. to 3 p.m. ... details to be announced

St. Andrews Catholic Church
401 Willow Street
Ellensburg, WA

Lunch is provided, courtesy of Lower Kittitas Valley League of Women Voters.
We will request a $5 donation from everyone, to cover costs.

There will be a WPC board meeting in conjunction this gathering - details to be announced.

Agenda for the gathering will include:
- Reports from chapters and groups around the state
- Plans and preparation for 2008 legislative session
- Discussion of long-range strategy to enact public financing in Washington State
- WPC organizing and public awareness campaigns; chapters; upcoming events
- Brief reports on federal action, proposals

Please let myself or Marcee know if you can attend. We hope for a useful turnout from around the state.
craig {at} washclean.org and marcee {at} washclean.org

[eridani]

4. Seattle Clean Elections meeting, Northgate 10/14

A reminder (I hope most of you were previously notified):

We have realized we need an ongoing chapter, covering greater Seattle. The purpose is to efficiently coordinate our public awareness activities, and our citizen lobbying work, preparing for the 2008 legislative session.

Accordingly, for as many of you as can attend, we're calling a brief meeting:
SUNDAY, October 14th -
3 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Northgate Public Library
10548 - Fifth Ave NE (east side of 5th Ave NE, across from Northgate Mall / Bon Marche)



Friends, this is a working meeting. Calling out to the leaders in the Seattle area to form our Seattle WashClean Chapter. The board members of WashClean in the Seattle area need leadership from the Seattle membership to step forward and run the chapter.

Susanne Recordon will be convening this group. We need volunteers to: organize our LDs to talk with our representatives and city council, get speaking opportunities with neighborhood and civic groups, find and organize petition gathering opportunities, assist with fundraising efforts, organize house parties, assist with data entry -- and so much more we can be doing proactively, having fun in the process!

Come to this meeting with your energy and ideas, to help with these functions and to meet regularly with the other leaders in Seattle.

With this work, we believe we can lay the groundwork for the legislative session in January, work to repeal the ban on local publicly funded campaigns and a future inititiative drive. Let's organize and energize the Seattle Chapter!

- Marcee Stone, Board President, WPC

To RSVP, via the MeetUp site, go here:
http://cfr.meetup.com/39calendar/6441198/

------------ --------- --------- ------------ --------- --------- --

Questions? Call me!
____________ __
Craig Salins
Executive Director
Washington Public Campaigns
craig {at} washclean.org
206-784-9695 home/ofc
206-949-3285 cell

[eridani]

5. Clean Elections Forum; Seattle 11/17

Please MARK YOUR CALENDAR !

Clean Elections Public Forum: Saturday, Nov 17th - 7:30 PM
(Reception 6 PM) at Kane Hall, Univ of WA, Seattle

With panel of special guests, on
> Voter-Owned Elections, Portland Oregon
> Prospects in Washington Legislature, and locally
> Progress on Clean Elections around the nation



November 11-17th is CLEAN ELECTIONS WEEK, nationwide!

Let's push for public financing! Here is what you can do!

INVITE some friends over, tell them about Clean Elections, ask them to join up. Visit the WashClean website for more info: http://www.washclean.org

COME to the Clean Elections Forum, November 17th, in Seattle

CALL your legislator: Tell them to support Public Financing of Campaigns Call the Legislative Hotline, 1-800-562-6000. Operators will help you leave a message for your legislator. Tell them you support Public Financing of Campaigns, and you want him/her to approve that option for local cities, too.


LET'S GET READY for the 2008 session!

We expect a Local Option bill ... but only with grassroots support. WPC is recruiting Legislative Advocacy Coordinators in every Legislative District. Can you help? Contact JohnKing {at} washclean.org

Guess what! MAYBE we'll also see legislative action toward a pilot program, funding judicial races for state supreme court, as proposed last January by Governor Gregoire. We've been working for this, and recently, several potential allies have come to our side, including labor organizations and others. Stay tuned!


WPC is growing, adding staff!

Washington Public Campaigns (nickname: WashClean) continues to grow - now over 5,700 on our mailing list. Many have signed the Citizens Petition showing support for Clean Elections (as it's called around the country).

To meet the needs of our growing movement, we have decided to recruit and hire an administrative assistant, to help with membership services, resource development, coordination and support for volunteers, and administrative support to events, field work, public awareness activity and preparation for citizen lobbying. For info: wpc-staff {at} washclean.org

We will need a WPC office, basic office supplies and equipment - and we need your pledge of monthly financial support to pay a decent compensation.

Can you assist with our resource needs?

We are about to roll out our fall 2007 membership solicitation, by mail and by email. Your annual contributon of $35-$100, whatever you can afford, supports our public awareness work and speeds the day when we will achieve public financing of campaigns in Washington State - so that elections are about voters and issues, not about money!

Contributions can be mailed to:
Washington Public Campaigns
P.O. Box 45088, Seattle, WA 98145-0088
Or, online, via PayPal - http://www.washclean.org/donate.htm

Thank you!
______________
Craig Salins
Executive Director
Washington Public Campaigns
craig {at} washclean.org
206-784-9695

[eridani]

6. Frances Moore Lappe book tour events

Attention Washcleaners!

Frances Moore Lappe will be in Washington to promote her new book,
"Getting A Grip: Clarity, Creativity, and Courage In A World Gone Mad".
In it she espouses public funding of campaigns as one of the solutions.
See her website with her wonderful video about State Rep. Deb Simpson
in Maine: http://gettingagrip.org/.

WPC will be cosponsoring her appearances at Elliott Bay Bookstore in
Seattle, Saturday evening, October 27th, 7:30 PM, and at Eagle Harbor
Bookstore on Bainbridge Island Sunday, October 28th, 3:00 PM. For those
of you in the Vancouver area, she will be at Portland State University,
Saturday morning, October 27th, 10:30 AM.

This is a wonderful opportunity for us to contact a whole new group of
people who will naturally take to our cause. Please come out to hear
an inspirational talk and to support public campaign financing. We will
have a table at Elliott Bay and will be handing out brochures and
gathering signatures at the both bookstores. Come out and help spread the
word!

Terry Sullivan
Founding Board Member
Washington Public Campaigns

[eridani]

7. Forum 11/17 at US in SEattle

http://www.washclean.org/11-17-forum.htm

Saturday, November 17th, 7:30 PM
120 Kane Hall - University of Washington - Seattle

Panel presentations and commentary, featuring:

Senator Leah Landrum-Taylor • State of Arizona*
Arizona Caucus Chair, National Black Caucus of State Legislators
Honorable Nick Licata • President, Seattle City Council
Paul Loeb • author, researcher, social and political activist
Rep. Joe McDermott • 34th Legislative District, WA State *
Marcee Stone • Board President, Washington Public Campaigns
Honorable Jim Street • former member, Seattle City Council
Janice Thompson • Executive Director, Democracy Reform Oregon

[eridani]

8. National Public Campaigns director to be in Seattle 12/5

Hello, friends of WashClean:

You are invited ...

Nick Nyhart, President and CEO of national Public Campaign in Washington D.C., will be in Seattle this week. We are eager for him to meet our WashClean friends, so we've arranged a get-together for any who can attend:

Reception - with Nick Nyhart
Wednesday, December 5th - from 6 p.m. (to about 8 p.m.)
Piecora's Pizza (back room, all ours)
1401 East Madison Street, Seattle
(206-322-9411)

We'll arrange pizza, salad and beer/beverages - no-host contributions requested to cover the cost. Kindly RSVP (to [e-mail]), so we can get an approximate count.

This is an excellent opportunity to hear Nick's assessment of the national scene, proposed legislation in the U.S. Senate and Congress - and what we've got to continue doing - organizing, raising public awareness, building coalitions - to achieve Clean Elections in our state and nation.

At about 6:30 p.m., we'll ask Nick to offer some brief remarks. Other than that, it's a chance for informal discussion and meeting our friends.

Nick will be in town to meet with some business and community eaders, part of a nationwide effort to recruit top business and labor leaders to sign on as endorsers of the Fair Elections Now Act in the U.S. Senate and companion measures in the Congress.

Please feel free to invite others you know, who would be interested. It's not a fundraiser per se - we want folks to meet and hear from Nick. Yet, for any who are inclined to support WPC with extra contributions, we'll have remittance envelopes available.

- Craig
______________
Craig Salins
Executive Director
Washington Public Campaigns
craig {at} washclean.org
206-784-9695 home/ofc
206-949-3285 cell

[eridani]

9. Clean elections meeting in Seattle 1/5

Public Forum: Saturday, January 5 at 4:00 p.m.— CLEAN ELECTIONS

You don’t want to miss this program! Learn what we can do and add your voice to the discussion!
Co-hosted by ACTIVISTS FOR A BETTER WORLD and NEWBERRY BOOKS.

Newberry Books, 561 NE Ravenna Blvd (65th& Ravenna), Seattle

CONTACT: J. Glenn Evans, Program Director ACTIVISTS FOR A BETTER WORLD

206.682.1268

info {at} poetswest. com

http://www.poetswest.com/