It’s been a week since I did a general round-up of campaign happenings.  Wow, so much is going on I can’t hardly get it all down!  The Approve 71 campaign continues to be a vibrant combination volunteers working within the campaign on structured activities, and volunteers taking independent action in total sync with the campaign.  A list of Upcoming Events is at the end of the post.

VOTERS AND VISIBILITY

I have to start off talking about Voters and Visibility, because Josh Castle and his Seattle crew deserve huge credit for seeing something they thought needed doing, and doing it.  Their goal: register to vote as many R-17 supporters as possible before the October 5th registration deadline*.  Josh & Co. set up shop Saturday and Sunday on two major city intersections.  Here’s the result, via Josh

The volunteers at Standing Together to Approve Ref 71 this weekend registered 176 voters & signed up 97 volunteers! They showed up & did the hard work & they totally rock!!! We talked to thousands about the urgency of filling out their ballots & voting to Approve 71. We distributed tons of flyers & posters. We made connections & met lots of people who want to help! The events this weekend were a STUNNING SUCCESS!!!

*If you’ve never registered to vote in WA before, you can still do so in person at your county elections office.  Deadline is October 26.

Saturday in front of Macy’s at the corner of 4th and Pine:

Josh talks a rickshaw driver through the voter registration process:

Update: Added the Kirkland PFLAG event below.Seattle

Last Friday, Seattle Gay News printed Special Section: Approve Referendum 71 (pdf)

In this colorful Special Section, find articles on the status of the campaign and campaign happenings; what you can do to help Approve Ref. 71; and messages of active support and solidarity from our community, clergy, elected officials, candidates and businesses.

Issaquah

Issaquah celebrated Issaquah Salmon Days over the weekend, a prospect that two Approve 71 volunteers found irresistible.

We got great reception in Issaquah.  In just 2 hours the two of us handed out 900 palm cards!  Lots of people who knew about R-71 said they really appreciated us being there.  For people less well informed it was fun to see their faces light up with understanding as they looked at the card.  We educated A LOT of voters today.  Got a few eligible teens to register online too.

Kirkland

Bellevue PFLAG mom Wendy teamed up (and not for the first time) with Approve 71 to table together at the premiere of the documentary, Put This on the {Map}, a film “featuring 26 young people redefining gender and sexuality in Eastern King County.”  Attendees were well-informed about Referendum 71 and took the opportunity to sign the Vote to Approve pledge, pick up R-71 posters and palm cards and talk to Wendy about PFLAG.

Vancouver

Rory Bowman in Vancouver has created the Approve 71 Vancouver blog to keep area Approve 71 advocates informed and engaged.

There’s a lot of good folks working like the dickens down here.

reports Rory.  Everything from tabling at the farmers market to making presentations at the local church.

CONTRIBUTIONS

Who said making a donation has to be painful?  Two community-minded businesses, Purr Cocktail Lounge in Seattle and The Tempest in Tacoma, held fundraisers for Approve 71 this past weekend.  

Seattle  

Purr held an “APPROVE Ref.71” fundraising and awareness event called “Protect Your Rights”.  Joe Mirabella at The Mighty Pen reports:

I spoke to Barbie Humphrey who owns the purr and sponsored the event.  She told me that when the community heard about her plan everyone wanted to chip in.  For example, Seattle Gay News provided free advertising.

Purr was packed with people. Some were even wearing the logo-ed green approve 71 campaign shirt available at http://www.approve71.org to show their support for domestic partnerships.

The event raised over $2000.00 from cash contributions and proceeds from Cocktail 71, a concoction of Absolute Citron Vodka, Champaigne, and deliciousness.  (Absolute gave Purr a deal on the Vodka by the way).

While the $2000.00 was helpful, the community awarness, and what campaign director Josh Friedes called “Friend Raising” may be even more valuable.  The community in Seattle and throughout the state is waking up to the fact that real families are in serious risk if domestic partnerships are taken away.

Tacoma  

The Tempest made use of its back lot and held and indoor-outdoor live band fundraising extravaganza.  Check out their Flikr photostream.  Tacoma volunteer Laurie Jinkins reports

We had 170 attendees and raised $7,730.12.  Almost $3,000 of it was raised when Kim Archer (of the Kim Archer Band) auctioned off her band for two events of the purchasers choice.  We added a few volunteers to our volunteer shifts and generally saw a lot of people we hadn’t seen before.  Good work by all.  I’m off to Yakima.

Redmond

Microsoft Corporation made a small donation this past Friday.  Dominic Holden at SLOG reports

Asserting itself as a powerful advocate for gay rights, the Microsoft Corporation donated $100,000 to the campaign trying to approve Referendum 71, a report filed today with the state Public Disclosure Commission shows (.pdf). If voters approve the measure, they will uphold the state’s domestic-partnership law, but a recent poll shows that only 51 percent of likely voters support the referendum.

This took guts. Microsoft’s brazen role in R-71 will outrage the Ken Hutchersons of the world, who pressured Microsoft for years to back off from supporting gay-rights legislation. And it could also summon conservative interests-e.g., the Mormon Church-to dump money in on the other side. After October 12, state rules block any person or group from donating more than $5,000 to the campaign.

Other large employers and labor organizations in the state have made significant contributions too.  For example, Puget Sound Energy, $15,000; SEIU Washington State Council, $10,000; Vulcan Inc, $10,000; American Federation of Teachers Washington, $2,000; SEIU Healthcare 775NW, $2,000.

WHAT ELSE?

Did I miss anything?  Almost certainly!  There’s so much happening that I know I’m only seeing a tiny slice of it.  Let me know what’s happening in your corner of the state so I can incorporate it in the next update!

UPCOMING EVENTS