CAPE Swooping in With Local Candidate Ratings
In 17 Races from Seattle to Spokane, Aspiring Civic Superheroes Square Off With Trickle-Down Tricksters Trying to Infiltrate the Halls of Local Government
SEATTLE -- As darkness descends in the dwindling days of summer, election season is upon us. Soon, mailboxes will overflow with glossy 6x9s as unopened ballots clutter kitchen counters, their shadows dancing in the static of flickering candidate ads buffeting the nightly news. In the darkness, a new horde of corporate candidates will seek election with empty, trickle-down promises of prosperity and growth. But this fall, heroes will rise... again.
A new league of would-be civic superheroes is answering the call. Today, the Civic Alliance for a Prosperous Economy (CAPE) released its 2021 General Election candidate ratings, with scores for candidates in 17 city races. With these scores, voters can pull the disguises off local candidates who are just the henchmen of a powerful and pervasive trickle-down worldview that primed our state for this economic crisis.
CAPE invited both candidates in every race to complete a questionnaire, and evaluated candidates in four areas that together can create shared economic prosperity: high labor standards, economic inclusion, high-quality public services, and balancing the tax code. For candidates who did not participate, CAPE evaluated any available materials - including websites, social media accounts, and news interviews - to inform their score.
Central to CAPE’s economic platform is the principle that inclusion is paramount to a strong economy. An economy is made up of people, not dollars or GDP, which means that broad economic inclusion is the only way to create widespread prosperity. When everyone is included in our economy, families and businesses do better.
“We know that when we elect leaders from our community who are committed to economic justice, we elect people who put us first,” said Melissa Rubio, senior political manager for OneAmerica. “It’s our time to take big steps towards childcare for all and a healthy recovery from COVID-19. It’s time to make our home a place with a thriving, inclusive democracy that welcomes immigrants and invests in communities. CAPE ratings help show Washington voters which candidates will put our communities first and help rebuild a more inclusive, resilient economy for the future, and which candidates will just double-down on the same policies that made our economy so fragile in the first place.”
As we continue to recover from the devastating economic impacts brought on by the pandemic, it’s more important than ever that we elect candidates who understand how the economy works and where prosperity really comes from. From now through Election Day, CAPE will be supporting candidates with the highest scores and highlighting individual races and candidate scores on Twitter and Facebook.
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About CAPE
The Civic Alliance for a Prosperous Economy (CAPE) is a political organization founded by Civic Ventures, Working Washington and OneAmerica Votes, dedicated to the principle that prosperity comes from greater economic inclusion, and that the more people we include in our economy, the more the economy will grow. The economy isn’t Wall Street or quarterly reports - it’s people.