Citizens in Charge

Employees of various agencies and interest groups appeared before the Washington state Senate Government Relations Committee last week to complain that spending on initiative campaigns had increased over the last ten years. They claim voters are being foolish and swayed by big money, and that more regulation and restriction of the process is needed. The attacks on citizen rights led at least one lawmaker present, Sen. Pam Roach, to point out that it was improper for the state’s Public Disclosure Commission to “vilify the system”.