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PRESS RELEASE
 January 11, 2001
Hundreds of citizens appeal to Attorney General Ask her to levy stiff penalty for WEA campaign finance violations The Evergreen Freedom Foundation yesterday delivered nearly 1,000 signed cards and notes from citizens around the state asking Attorney General Christine Gregoire to fully investigate and penalize the Washington Education Association for its recent campaign finance violations. Teachers from the area were also present to express their concern at WEA officials’ proven willingness to skirt the law and spend their wages advancing a political agenda they personally disagree with. "A lot of teachers are angry at what union officials are doing, but there's a big intimidation factor," said Doug Crawford, a seventh grade teacher in Olympia. "They're afraid of losing the jobs they love if they speak out. We elected the Attorney General to represent us and she needs to hold the WEA accountable." Gregoire filed a lawsuit against the union in October after WEA officials admitted to funding political activities with the fees of more than 4,000 non-member teachers without getting their permission. This is a direct violation of state campaign finance laws. "The last time the Attorney General took the WEA to court, in 1998, union officials got off with a slap-on-the-wrist settlement," said Jami Lund, a program manager for EFF. "We don’t want that to happen again." To read a teacher’s opinion, please visit: http://www.effwa.org/tppreport/a_teacher.htm Contact: Marsha Richards, Communications Director, (360) 956-3482
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1 Part Honesty; 2 Parts Arrogance At a March 23, 2005, House Appropriations hearing on a bill to gut the voter-approved I-601 spending limit, Rep. Jim McIntire (D) asked a supporter of I-601’s two-third supermajority requirement for the legislature to raise taxes the following question: "Can you name a time when we [legislators] have actually not just set it [supermajority requirement] aside by majority vote? I mean, this is in many respects a procedural motion that has no bearing. It’s a statutory constraint that cannot constrain any legislature that chooses as a majority to set it aside . . . have we ever used a supermajority [to raise taxes]?" - Rep. Jim McIntire (D - 46) Despite the arrogance of some state officials, Washington's constitution is clear: "All political power is inherent in the people..." |
