Press Release by Community Environmental Defense Fund (CELDF)
Spokane, Washington: 20 Years of Community Building
CELDF’s Kai Huschke was centrally involved in the first-in-the-nation Community Bill of Rights and Worker Bill of Rights, which both originated in Spokane. His chapter for the new Latah book One-Block Revolution: 20 Years of Community Building (218-pages) details the community building behind the efforts.
“Our conversations,” he writes, “focused on the growing disparity between the haves and the have-nots, a 2,000+ unit shortage of affordable low-income housing, local government favoring big box stores over local businesses, residents unable to determine the future of their neighborhoods, and a river on life support. These were just a few of the reasons why people saw the need to take greater control of the democratic process and to be more directly involved in making the laws that shaped their ability to make decisions in their communities.”
A near win by the coalition led to a brutal backlash from the Washington State Supreme Court. “In February 2016,” he writes, “the court ruled unanimously that local initiatives may be challenged before being voted on if it looks like the proposed laws might be in conflict with existing law. That decision not only killed the Spokane Community Bill of Rights, but it has put future local initiatives, no matter where in the state, on notice that unless what you are proposing is within the status quo, then the proposed law may never be voted on.”…
See the full announcement HERE.