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Grassroots group working to get education supporters elected

By Clare Jensen

Tacoma Weekly
cjensen@tacomaweekly.com
Published on: October 02, 2008

With Nov. 4 a little more than one month away, candidates are getting their last minute campaigning in, in hopes that their efforts will get them the seat in whatever position they are vying for.

Four state legislature hopefuls are getting the little push they might need from volunteers from the citizen-led education advocacy organization, Stand For Children.

Stand For Children chapters exist nationally, but the organization has just recently begun to make its mark in the state and in Tacoma.

The Tacoma chapter has been slowly growing, reaching nearly 100 members in the last six months. Now this group is determined to get education supporters elected at the state level in hopes of making an effective change locally.

The group has made their endorsements based on interviews with candidates about their stated support for funding education, and whether or not they say they back Stand’s statewide platform, which includes getting the state closer to fully funding a basic education in the 21st century.

Stand For Children Tacoma is actively campaigning for Debi Srail, Kim Abel, Larry Seaquist and Steve Litzow because these candidates face tight races – and Stand members want to make sure that they get their endorsees into office.

“At the statewide level they will work for us and they will work for education. In return…we will help them get elected,” said Tacoma organizer Cara Bilodeau at a campaign kick-off event Sept. 27.

In Oregon, a state with a much larger and longer established Stand For Children network, members were able to successfully help education-supporting legislators get elected, which resulted in an 18 percent budget increase over the last biennium. That meant smaller class sizes and reintroducing enrichment programs such as physical education, art and music, which had previously been cut statewide.

“If you want to get those small class sizes in Tacoma, you need to get the votes in the state legislature,” Abel said Sept. 27.

Stand is working to coordinate members and other community volunteers to physically spread the word about such candidates whom they believe will help point the state in the right direction for K-12 education funding and policy reform.

If you are interested in finding out more about Stand For Children in Tacoma, or would like to volunteer to help in the campaign for Stand’s endorsements, contact Cara Bilodeau at (253) 304-8924.

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