Washblog

Back in 2000, Paul Allen gave 81 percent of all initiative campaign funding. The next year, during a slow initiative season, Phillip Morris gave 44 percent. The next runner up is Martin Selig, who almost self funded I-920 in 2006, but came up with about 19 percent of all funding. Just a note on the calculations, which I'll admit will only give you an overview of funding. I can't say that I was exact in my calculations, the database at the PDC isn't built to quickly figure out this sort of stuff, but I did my best. And, I can't say that the database itself was exact, because Michael Dunmire didn't even show up in 2006, which I found troubling.

My point in pointing this out (I'm sure this isn't a big surprise) is that well funded interests can not only push one campaign, but they often dominate the entire process. The initiative process was instituted because progressives needed a way around the influence well funded interests had in the legislature. But, now that ethics and lobbying rules have hog-tied them there, they're using the progressive innovation of the ballot initiative to push their agenda. 

We have to get very serious about reforming the initiative process. Rep. Sherry Appleton's suite of initiative reforms last session were a great start, especially banning the paid per signature campaign model. On the other hand, I'm not so sure about the increasing of initiative filing fees. In my mind it will only cut down on the number of dumb initiatives that go nowhere, and only end up on the Secretary of State's website. It won't cut down on well funded initiative campaigns that could afford any filing fee.

Citizens Against Rent Control v. Berkly makes it impossible to institute limits on initiative campaign funding, but there are steps we can take to put citizens back in control of the process:

• Progressives filing initiatives and campaigning hard for them is one step. The right wing in Washington has literally taken hold of the process while we seem to be sitting on our hands (Clean Energy initiative last year, not withstanding).
• I've always liked the idea of allowing everyone to print off printer sized copies of initiative petition (but I think you know that). I mean, why does Washington have the largest minimum sized petition?
• Again, I like the idea of citizen juries putting together statements of initiatives for voters, but I would take it a step further. Say you file an initiative, but it would cover a vague topic. Like instead of ending the estate tax or requiring the use of a certain percentage of renewable energy, you would ask: "How can we limit the estate tax" or "How can we increase the use of renewable energy." Then you put together a citizen jury, they come up with an answer in the form of an initiative, and we vote on that.