Priorities for Progressive Activists

Last night I attended a forum entitled “Priorities for a Healthy Washington.” This is an ongoing community forum where a coalition of environmental groups comes together with local and state elected officials to discuss certain priorities in the upcoming legislature. The elected officials discuss where they stand on the issues and inform as to pending legislation regarding the issues presented. Questions from the audience are encouraged.

Over a dozen environmental groups were represented at the forum. Among them were: Audubon Washington, Climate Solutions, Northwest Energy Coalition, People for Puget Sound, Transportation Choices Coalition, Washington Conservation Voters, 1000 Friends of Washington, and the Sierra Club. The elected officials were Brian Sullivan (D-21), incoming Chair of the Natural Resources Committee, John McCoy (D-38), Hans Dunshee (D-44), and Mike Sells (D-38). Brian had to leave early and Mike arrived late but Hans and John were there for the entire forum and both were well equipped. The forum was well moderated by former Snohomish County Council member and environmental activist Dave Somers.

The forum centered on “The Four Questions”: Elimination of Toxic Flame Retardants or PBDE’s, Clean Air/Clean Cars which would have Washington requiring California Emission Standards by 2008, Hood Canal and Puget Sound Cleanup, and Green Buildings which would require new state building be built to high efficiency environmental standards (Hans is the author of the bill in the House). John McCoy has a seat on the committee studying the environmental impacts at Hood Canal. There were over 50 attendees including staff and other concerned citizens like me. The folks who usually host this event remarked how impressed they were with the turnout. I left wishing there had been more folks there.

I won’t go into detail or try to recreate the forum here. What I want to say here is that this is the type of thing I referred to in my initial post about the types of forums that should be embraced and sponsored by progressive groups. There should have been over 1,000 people at the event last night. Progressive activists should be reaching out to these environmental groups and asking what we can do to help them increase participation at these events. We should be taking over the sponsorship of these forums and doing the outreach to the community to expand the audience. These types of events cost money that the non-profit environmental groups could better use for research and lobbying efforts. We do not need to be the experts or reinvent the wheel. We only need to unleash the energy and innovative resources we found in ourselves over the course of the past year to promote the positive Progressive agenda we wish to see.