I-200 Lacks Lawmakers' Votes; It's Likely Headed for Ballot
I-200 Lacks Lawmakers' Votes; It's Likely Headed for Ballot by David Postman and Lynda V. Mapes
Seattle Times Olympia bureau
OLYMPIA - There isn't enough support in the Legislature to pass Initiative 200, so the fate of affirmative action in Washington state will likely rest with voters in November.
A Seattle Times poll of state lawmakers shows 35 of 98 House members and 17 of 49 senators are ready to vote for the measure. While some legislators haven't made up their minds on the issue, there aren't enough of them to pass I-200 even if they all supported it: 12 House members and six in the Senate say they are undecided.
While the lack of action in Olympia is disappointing to key supporters, others say a public vote is inevitable anyway - and in fact may be preferable to supporters. The thinking is that even if lawmakers pass I-200, opponents would get enough signatures to place it on the November ballot as a referendum election, probably with language favorable to initiative opponents.
Initiative 200 would effectively ban affirmative action. It reads in part: "The state shall not discriminate against, or grant preferential treatment to, any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in the operation of public employment, public education, or public contracting."
Some fear a `white old-boys club'
The Times survey shows Democrats are nearly unanimously opposed to the initiative, with a handful who are undecided and just Sen. Tim Sheldon, D-Potlatch, saying he is leaning toward supporting it.
Most Republicans support the measure, although GOP women are split. In the Senate, four of seven Republican women oppose it; in the House, five of 14 oppose it, and five are undecided.
Many lawmakers said they oppose I-200 because of what it would do to government affirmative action.
"In the old days there was a white old-boys club. We pass this and we go back to that," said Sen. Darlene Fairley, D-Lake Forest Park.
Deferring to voters
But many others said they wouldn't vote for it because their constituents should have the final say on such a controversial subject, even if they support it personally.
"This is one of those statewide issues that needs to go to the voters," said Rep. Joyce McDonald, R-Puyallup.
Even among those who said they would vote for I-200, support is soft. Sen. Ray Schow, R-Federal Way, said if GOP leaders decide lawmakers should vote on the initiative, he will support it. But he would prefer to forward it to voters.
"We need to let the people tell us how they will vote on this," Schow said.
There are a few firm supporters, though.
"I'd love to vote for it," said Sen. Dan Swecker, R-Rochester. Said Rep. Brian Thomas, R-Renton, "I'll do whatever makes it law the quickest."
Reluctance over `painful debate'
The lukewarm response from GOP lawmakers - whose state party endorsed the measure - reflects a national trend for the party.
Since California passed Proposition 209 in 1996 - the model for Washington's initiative - Republicans have been less than enthusiastic about similar proposals.
In Florida last year, an initiative drive failed after the state party wouldn't help finance it and GOP leaders steered clear of the campaign.
In November, Ohio Gov. George Voinovich, a Republican, helped to stop an anti-affirmative-action move in the state General Assembly, saying it "once again risks engaging our state's citizens in a divisive and painful debate." And the same month in Congress, Republicans joined Democrats to kill legislation that would have dismantled federal affirmative-action programs.
Measure's language is crucial
As an initiative to the Legislature, I-200's first stop is in Olympia, where lawmakers can pass the measure into law or send it to the November ballot, either alone or with an alternative proposed by the Legislature.
Doing nothing, which sends it to the ballot without an alternative, may be the best option for I-200 backers, said House Speaker Clyde Ballard, R-East Wenatchee.
Ballard is sure that if lawmakers do pass it, opponents will mount a successful referendum drive to put the issue - but not I-200's specific language - on the ballot. The new ballot title might not be to the liking of I-200 supporters, he said.
But if lawmakers send I-200 directly to the ballot, the words that would appear on the ballot come directly from the initiative.
In affirmative-action ballot fights, language is "the difference between winning and losing," Ballard said.
The term "affirmative action" does not appear in I-200, and it didn't in California, where Proposition 209 passed with 54 percent of the vote. But last year in Houston, a measure with similar goals but different wording failed; its ballot title said it would end affirmative action.
National polls show people are likely to vote to end "preferential treatment," but not to end "affirmative action."
Sponsor thinks he has the votes
Ballard said some initiative backers have been pushing for a legislative vote. "My question to them," he said, "is, `Do you want to win the issue?' "
The main proponent of a legislative vote is Rep. Scott Smith, R-Graham. He is the original sponsor of the initiative and has pushed similar legislation in recent years.
He understands the strategy concerns. "But this is personal to me. I've been working on it for four years," he said. "I want a vote. But I have to ask whether that's the best way to win. That's where I'm struggling."
Smith said he has done his own vote counts in the House and is confident there would be enough votes to pass I-200.
Initiative opponents say their vote counts show there aren't yet the votes for passage. And while Gov. Gary Locke and other I-200 opponents have been calling for a public vote, the manager of the No! 200 Campaign was disappointed that it looks like lawmakers will not vote.
"I think, frankly, the voters have a right to know how their legislators would vote on this issue," said manager Kathleen Russell. "I think it's the easy way out not to vote on this."
Return to the I-200
page.
Return to the Affirmative Action
and Diversity Page
Carl
Gutiérrez-Jones
Department of English
University of California, Santa Barbara
e-mail: carlgj@humanitas.ucsb.edu