Justice logo Washington State I-200

This sub-page is devoted to Washington State Initiative 200 (I-200). I-200, roughly modeled after California's Proposition 209, is designed to eliminate “preferences” in state and municipal hiring and recruitment to the state university system. As the various parties concerned with this initiative continue to speak out both for and against its passage, this page will be continually updated so as to register these shifts in public and private opinion. Two governing questions for this sub-page of the Affirmative Action and Diversity Project are these: How are those most affected by this initiative reacting to all of the juridical decisions, and to various elections? What will the implications be for Washington State and for the nation as a whole?
Also, viewers might want to cross-reference the News and Announcements page for an up-to-date chronology of Affirmative Action news items.
This page last revised November 28, 2001.

News and Campaigns

August 4, 2002: Initiative 200 ordered public agencies to stop giving preferential treatment on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity or national origin. It effectively ended affirmative action by state and local governments in hiring, contracting and school admissions. The law, approved by 58 percent of the voters, allowed programs aimed at helping veterans, the disabled and seniors to continue Few Lawsuits after I-200

May 13, 2002: Here's what happened: Local school officials, intent on overcoming the effects of segregated-housing patterns, adopted a plan that assigned students to schools on the basis of race. State voters passed an initiative that restricted desegregation efforts in public education. A lawsuit put in question the validity of both the state initiative and the School District's desegregation plan. School Diversity Suits Reflect Attitude Change

April 18, 2002: In the end, there wasn't enough room in the law for both Initiative 200 and Seattle School District's efforts at racial balance. The federal appeals court ruling tells us we reap what we sow. Four years ago, Washington voters banned race-based policies in public institutions. Battle I-200 in the streets if you must, but in the public schools, it is time to live with that odious step backward. Living With I-200 in Seattle Schools

November 23. 2001: Former Seahawk Fred Anderson's concrete-construction business flourished for years, taking in between $4 million and $5 million a year with 10 to 15 people on the payroll. Minority Contractors Struggle Since Passage of I-200

October 21, 2000: University of Washington's President announces "$65.6 million scholarship proposal to restore freshman minority numbers on campus to pre-Initiative 200 levels."

August 27, 2000: Seattle tourism has been hurt by the passage of Initiative 200. Many ethnic minority groups and tourists see the measure as an anti-affirmative action effort and will avoid Washington and other states where such propositions have been passed.

July 19, 2000: Parents upset about their children's high-school assignments went to federal court yesterday to ask that the Seattle School District be forbidden to discriminate on the basis of race. The suit filed by Parents Involved in Community Schools contends the district's racial "tiebreaker" violates the U.S. Constitution, the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Washington's voter-approved Initiative 200.

March 19, 2000: Seattle Times article discusses why diversity is so important in higher education and looks at the UW's attempts to achieve diversity in the immediate, mid-term, and long-range future.

March 1, 2000: It has been just over a year since voters approved Initiative 200, which effectively eliminated affirmative action in public employment, education and contracting. One Seattle times editorial discusses the pros and cons of the proposed ways to increase diversity in higher education within the confines of the new law.

May 1999: University of Washington President announces ways to maintain diversity after the passing of Washington's I-200.

December 4, 1998: King County will end the hiring practice known as "selective certification," which requires that women and minorities be interviewed for any job that comes open.

November 3, 1998: I-200 passes with 58% of the vote.

November 1, 1998: Seattle Times takes position against I-200.

October 22, 1998: Students at University of Washington and Washington State University stage protests in favor of maintaining affirmative action in the state. The protests are part of a coordinated effort nationwide by student groups.

September 2, 1998: Washington state's debate over affirmative action has erroneously portrayed the program as a tool for blacks and Hispanics to gain at the expense of whites, says the Rev. Jesse Jackson. Even so, the civil-rights leader said yesterday, if every person who has ever benefited from the federal program voted against Initiative 200 - the ballot measure that seeks to ban racial and gender preferences in government hiring, contracting and university admissions - would be defeated.

September 1, 1998: Many well-known executives and companies have taken sides on Initiative 200. But when it comes to publicizing their stance, most have tiptoed into the debate, regardless of which side they support. When it comes to I-200, they would rather keep their views to themselves and their contributions low-key.

August 28, 1998: Microsoft has signed on to efforts to defeat Initiative 200 with a contribution of $25,000, the No!200 campaign said yesterday. Microsoft came to its decision after a long process and despite the fact some of its executives are supporters of I-200.

August 21, 1998: A retired Massachusetts newspaper publisher has given $10,000 to the Initiative 200 campaign in hopes, he says, that it will lead to the repeal of the landmark U.S. Civil Rights Act of 1964, which outlawed racial and gender discrimination.

July 12, 1998:  Although nearly all Washington voters believe discrimination against minorities and women still exists, most don't think affirmative action as now practiced is the way to end it. Those are among the findings of a new Seattle Times Washington Poll of voters across the state, a poll that also finds most think affirmative action benefits unqualified people and discriminates against white men. And a majority feel that 30 years after government policies based on race and gender began, it's time to stop using them to make up for past discrimination.

June 16, 1998: Bellevue Republican Mary Radcliffe, an African American, is named spokeswoman for the I-200 campaign.

June 13, 1998:  Vice President Al Gore urged voters to oppose Washington's upcoming ballot measure to end affirmative action, saying it is a divisive measure "that will turn the clock back to the old reactionary ways of the past."

June 9, 1998: Shirley Wilcher, the nation's top enforcer of affirmative action, comes to Seattle to defend affirmative action programs. She says that she was "caught off guard" by the situation in Washington State, as the Nortwest is usually considered a "liberal" area of the country—an area where affirmative action programs should be safe.

June 1, 1998: Members of minority journalism organizations -- the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, the National Association of Black Journalists, the Native American Journalists Association and the Asian-American Journalists Association -- have been discussing whether Seattle is the appropriate place for the four-day convention, called Unity '99. Their qualms involve the question of whether Washington voters will pass Initiative 200, a measure on the November ballot that would end most, if not all, affirmative action programs in the state.

May 4, 1998: Bolstered by the success of a similar effort in California and fueled by money from conservatives from out of state, opponents of affirmative action have succeeded in placing a measure on the November ballot that would effectively end most -- and possibly all -- affirmative action programs in Washington. Like Proposition 209, which was approved by California voters in 1996, the Washington measure would ban ''preferences'' based on race or sex in state contracting, hiring and admissions to public colleges and universities.

February 10, 1998: During his annual State of the County address, King County Executive Ron Sims urged voters to reject Initiative 200, which would effectively ban affirmative action for minorities and women in state and local public employment, public education, state college admissions and public contracting.

February 10, 1998: 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.

August 5, 1998: Ward Connerly, University of California Regent and supporter of California Proposition 209, weighed in with his support of I-200.

Debate

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