How Much Did It Cost To Get I-1240 on the Ballot?
That would be about $2.1M, most of it going to a consulting company in California for "petition services." That would be about $6 a signature. Yes, all very grassroots.
Nearly $2,000 was spent on "meeting services" at the Washington Athletic Club. Because, of course, you want to meet somewhere nice (but couldn't Gates have offered up space for free at the Gates Foundation?)
Understand, all the money that Gates and his wealthy friends have given? It's mostly gone but don't worry; there's more where that came from.
In the 2004 charter referendum, it was defeated by a group - Protect our Public Schools - at just under $1.5M. It mostly came from the NEA, WEA, AFL-CIO, and various ed associations.
The other side supporting charters? That would have been Bill Gates ($1M), John Walton of Wal-Mart ($1M), Donald G. Fisher of the Gap ($965k), Eli Broad ($200k) and Reed Hastings of Netflicks (4190k). I note that only one of those people lives in Washington State. It added up to nearly $4M.
There are very deep pockets out there but frankly, it may not matter in the end (as it didn't last time).
This fight will be won, not with money, but with feet on the ground going out and telling the truth about I-1240. Watch the campaign and see if the Yes folks go into any kind of specifics. They won't because it's a terrible initiative.
I'm almost done with my FAQ on the initiative and I will put that up here (and yes, I cite the specific passages in the initiative.)
I will also be sending out an analysis of the entire initiative to various media sources. I regret that I will not be able to make the analysis available to all but I'm protective of that work.
Nearly $2,000 was spent on "meeting services" at the Washington Athletic Club. Because, of course, you want to meet somewhere nice (but couldn't Gates have offered up space for free at the Gates Foundation?)
Understand, all the money that Gates and his wealthy friends have given? It's mostly gone but don't worry; there's more where that came from.
In the 2004 charter referendum, it was defeated by a group - Protect our Public Schools - at just under $1.5M. It mostly came from the NEA, WEA, AFL-CIO, and various ed associations.
The other side supporting charters? That would have been Bill Gates ($1M), John Walton of Wal-Mart ($1M), Donald G. Fisher of the Gap ($965k), Eli Broad ($200k) and Reed Hastings of Netflicks (4190k). I note that only one of those people lives in Washington State. It added up to nearly $4M.
There are very deep pockets out there but frankly, it may not matter in the end (as it didn't last time).
This fight will be won, not with money, but with feet on the ground going out and telling the truth about I-1240. Watch the campaign and see if the Yes folks go into any kind of specifics. They won't because it's a terrible initiative.
I'm almost done with my FAQ on the initiative and I will put that up here (and yes, I cite the specific passages in the initiative.)
I will also be sending out an analysis of the entire initiative to various media sources. I regret that I will not be able to make the analysis available to all but I'm protective of that work.
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