campaign finance

City Councilmembers Push For Publicly Funded Elections

the conversation with ross reynolds — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 17:24:14 +0000

The Seattle City Council is considering a proposal to publicly fund council campaigns through a new property tax levy. Supporters say using public funds strengthens our democracy by allowing candidates to focus on important issues, not just the issues of big donors. Opponents say public financing in other cities hasn’t made races more competitive or lessened the power of incumbents. Councilmember Mike O’Brien is sponsoring the public financing legislation and joins us today.

UPDATE: Starbucks Shareholders Want Ban On Political Contributions

Deborah Wang and Phyllis Fletcher — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 14:29:06 +0000

Story last updated by Phyllis Fletcher on March 20, 2013 at 1:50 p.m.

Starbucks holds its annual shareholders’ meeting Wednesday in Seattle. On the agenda: a proposal from a group of investors that’s meant to limit the company’s involvement in elections.

Election 2012: Where Did The Money Go?

Steve Scher — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 18:00:00 +0000

The 2012 presidential race is in the history books as the most expensive campaign in American history. That is, at least until 2016. The Obama and Romney campaigns spent an estimated $1 billion each on the race. What did all that money accomplish? Bill Allison of the Sunlight Foundation has some insight.

Campaign Cash Maps Show Cracks In Washington's Cascade Curtain

John Ryan — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 17:44:44 +0000

You may have seen maps of the United States divided into red and blue, based on whether Republicans or Democrats got the most votes in each area. What would it look like to map how campaign contributors vote with their dollars?

The first map below does just that for Washington state. It follows the money to show how each ZIP code in the state has voted with its collective pocketbook in this year’s federal elections. Have people in that ZIP code contributed more money to Democratic (blue) or Republican (red) efforts?

Political Donations From 3 Big Washington Employers Favor GOP

Deborah Wang and John Ryan — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 15:58:20 +0000

Businesses have poured millions of dollars into political contributions this election season. But you may be surprised to learn that in Democratic-leaning Washington, the state’s three largest employers tend to favor Republican candidates.

10 Donors Funded 91 Percent Of Charter Schools Campaign

Ann Dornfeld — Thu, 18 Oct 2012 00:54:55 +0000

The campaign to bring charter schools to Washington state has now raised more cash than any other measure on the ballot. Donors have contributed more than $8.9 million to the Yes on 1240 campaign. Of that, 91 percent came from just ten people, according to the Public Disclosure Commission website.