By Lisa Macfarlane, DFER Washington State Director
Eric Pettigrew (D, SE Seattle), the lone African American in the Washington State Legislature, has five of the state’s lowest performing schools in his district. During the last legislative session, he introduced a public charter school bill that would have provided new options and potential solutions for many of our struggling schools and struggling students across Washington. While pleading his case for the bill’s passage he asked his Democratic colleagues this simple question, “Do you agree that we need to do something for these kids?”
Their answer? Silence. Instead, Eric Pettigrew’s Democratic colleagues opted to defend the status quo, and they refused to act on the charter school proposal when they had the opportunity.
But Eric Pettigrew did not give up. Instead of dropping the issue and raising money for his own campaign coffers, he started a bold new Democratic Political Action Committee called Revising the Status Quo (RSQ, pronounced “risk”). It is the first PAC of its kind in Washington State.
The aim of the PAC is to “elect intrepid Democrats to the state legislature in Washington. The Democrats supported by this PAC will be independent thinkers, willing and ready to challenge the traditional values, unflinching and interested in a full range of issues. The goal is to support and elect candidates that will do what is best for Washington in every area – including education, business and fiscal responsibility – even if the best way is not the popular way.”
Wow. It looks like Pettigrew, chair of the House Democratic caucus, wants more colleagues who will think for themselves and are prepared to fight for what is right, even when the status quo forces resist mightily.
Political problems need political solutions. DFER WA celebrates and welcomes the RSQ PAC energy.
It shouldn’t be this hard for Washington State Democrats to admit that the educational status quo doesn’t work for many kids, particularly poor and minority children. Around the country, Democratic leaders (including President Obama and hundreds of mayors and legislators) are insisting on better educational outcomes. They are not afraid to try new things when the status quo is clearly not working.
Fighting for the most vulnerable is what Democrats do. But in this state, policy makers like Representative Eric Pettigrew, Senator Steve Hobbs, and Senator Rodney Tom take enormous risks when they speak up and act on behalf of underserved students. It should not be as hard as it is in the Evergreen State to be an education reformer and a Democrat.