Schual-Berke Bill for Clean Elections

Rep. Shay Schual-Berke (D WA-33) has fulfilled a promise to introduce legislation to allow public financing of judicial campaign at the state level. HB1186, introduced to the House by Rep. Schual-Berke will require candidates for State Appellate court and State Supreme Court who voluntarily opt in for public financing to meet a threshold of voter support and sign an affidavit that they will not accept outside financing or spend more than a token amount of their own money to campaign for those offices. In return, they will receive public funds for both the primary and general elections. Original co-sponsors of the bill are, Sam Hunt (D WA-22), Jeannie Darneille (D WA-27), Mark Miloscia (D WA-30), Maralyn Chase (D WA-32), Ruth Kagi (D WA-32), Joe McDermott (D WA-34), Eileen Cody (D WA-34), Helen Sommers (D WA-36), Mary Lou Dickerson (D WA-36), Eric Pettigrew (D WA-37), and Hans Dunshee (D WA-44).

The introduction of the bill comes within a week of a series of Clean Elections forums conducted by Washington Public Campaigns (WPC) that traveled down the I-5 corridor from Everett to Olympia and featured legislators from Maine and Arizona and Washington as well as noted author and activist David Sirota at Seattle’s Town Hall on January 5th. In addition to Schual-Berke’s bill, other bills are expected to be introduced shortly that will address public financing of local/regional campaigns and state-wide and legislative races.

If you have not already called or emailed your particular legislator with regard to Clean Elections, please check out the list of co-sponsors to see if your is listed. If so, please thank them. If not, please ask them to support this step in reclaiming our democracy.

Peace,
Chad (The Left) Shue