Organizers at South Seattle Emerald workshop outline how local ballot measures can build power in Washington

Seattle — Organizers from across Washington described how they have used local ballot measures to advance tenant protections, ban predictive policing tools, change municipal election systems and mount community‑led defensive campaigns, while warning other groups to plan for capacity, local pushback and the need for long‑term infrastructure.

"We really didn't know what we were getting ourselves into in writing ballot initiatives," said Cleveland Harris, chair of Community First Whatcom, describing People First Bellingham’s 2021 and 2023 initiatives. Harris said the group collected more than 30,000 signatures across four initiatives and that subsequent campaigns in 2023 passed renter relocation assistance and a phased minimum‑wage increase after reworking strategy.

The workshop, hosted by the South Seattle Emerald and moderated by its executive director Michael McPherson, brought together leaders of distinct campaigns to compare tactics. "The initiative process is a powerful tool that is underutilized," said Muneca Mendoza Castro of Kent for Districts, who described gathering roughly 14,000 signatures for a measure to replace Kent’s fully at‑large council with five district seats and two at‑large seats. Mendoza Castro said the campaign encountered a lower‑than‑expected signature validity rate (about 52 percent) and plans to prioritize voter re‑registration in follow‑up work.

Rural organizers emphasized adapting statewide strategies to local conditions. "Sometimes the messaging that works in King County is not only ineffective in rural Washington, it gets you caricatured," said Ilana Maynor of Rural People's Voice, who described targeted, place‑based outreach in Chelan, Douglas and Okanogan counties and said rural campaigns must build narrative infrastructure, not just short‑term ad budgets.

Justice Forall, an organizer with Spokane Community Against Racism and a newly appointed Spokane human rights commissioner, described the Justice Not Jails defensive campaign and its focus on leadership from people with lived experience. "We gave them money. We gave them power. We gave them access and opportunity," Justice Forall said, adding that their campaign invested roughly "half $1,000,000" back into the local community (speaker phrased this amount; the panel characterized it as approximately $500,000).

Panelists listed recurring practical obstacles. Volunteer capacity and burnout were common concerns: most local campaigns start with volunteers working outside normal business hours. Organizers also said signature validity can suffer when signers’ voter registrations are out of date, reducing the effectiveness of collected petitions. Several speakers reported aggressive local pushback during signature gathering, including smear tactics and police being called during public signature events. Justice Forall said their personal information was leaked online during a campaign.

Speakers recommended concrete follow‑ups: hold community debriefs, invest in civic education to help signers update registrations, measure enforcement and implementation of passed local laws, and build long‑term rural media and narrative institutions. "We have to build long‑term infrastructure in rural Washington," Maynor said, noting that early, deep door‑to‑door conversations followed by layered communications (text, billboards, mail) were central to their strategy.

The panel also urged organizers to lower barriers to entry and practice "non‑absolutism" — a phrase Justice Forall used to describe avoiding rigid orthodoxies, listening deeply and adapting messaging so more people can participate without retraumatization or tokenism.

The workshop ended with a focus on sustainability: organizers advised campaigns to make room for self‑care, community meals and relationship building as part of long‑term power building. McPherson closed by thanking the panelists and noting several groups plan debriefs and implementation checks in the months ahead.

The session did not record formal votes or adoptable actions; panelists outlined intended next steps including debriefs, voter re‑registration drives and further grassroots education.