Life comes at you fast especially when it’s the month of May – thank you for being part of No Hate in Washington State! Please read on for campaign updates and ways to support.
Campaign Updates:
–We now have 140+ endorsing organizations and nearly 50 elected officials who’ve endorsed! Thank you for endorsing and spreading the word to make this growing coalition possible. A few of our recent endorsers include: CONGRESSMAN ADAM SMITH, Washington State Superintendent Chris Reykdal, King County Prosecuting Attorney Leesa Manion, along with the WASHINGTON STATE NURSES ASSOCIATION, MLK Labor, and SEIU 925.
-A huge thank you to our friends at the Queer Agenda PAC, who hosted a fundraiser at Koko’s on behalf of the campaign last Sunday, April 19th. With a turnout of roughly 80 attendees, and a number of elected officials, including Nicole Macri, Alexis Mercedes Rinck, Jorge Barón, Dionne Foster, Toshiko Hasegawa, Emily Alvarado, April Berg, and Rebecca Saldaña. We are endlessly grateful for all of the support. ❤️
-Coalition meetings are back next month! Registration is required receive a meeting invitation. A little bit of time and energy can go a long way in defeating these initiatives.
-We’re launching a beta version of the No Hate Hub, a centralized dashboard with the latest campaign resources to help you fight back across WA. Those who are interested in attending can join here.
–Revised campaign messaging! After a significant amount of community feedback across the state on our messaging for both initiatives, we’ve revised the language to be clearer, more concise, and better communicate the dangerous impacts of both initiatives. Updated campaign materials, like our one pager, are able to be downloaded and printed here.
Calls to Action:
-Check out and take advantage of our multiple fundraising toolkits! Defeating these initiatives against a mega millionaire-backed campaign won’t be easy and requires resources. You can help us overcome our biggest challenge by cohosting a fundraiser and using both our houseparty toolkit and digital fundraising toolkit to help you get started. Please email Libby (libby@nohateinwastate.org) and Michaela (michaela@alkiconsulting.com) to talk next steps on fundraising.
–Write a letter to the editor! Talking points, templates, and publications that accept LTEs are all conveniently located on our website page. More letters to the editor from our supporters help balance out the media coverage that has disproportionately covered our opposition’s talking points. Here’s a great example from the Cascadia Daily News!
Coming Up:
-SAVE THE DATE! We’re excited to share that No Hate in WA State’s general election kickoff is Wednesday, June 17th at Neumos in Capitol Hill, with lots of surprise guests joining us! More details to come soon.
-Leadership Labs throughout the state are approaching quickly, with events on April 30th and May 14th. These sessions provide donors who have questions, or need more information before giving, the opportunity to learn in detail about the two dangerous initiatives and the work our campaign is doing to fight back. If you’re interested in attending, or know someone who may be, please contact Danni (danni@genderjusticeleague.org) or Sept (sept@genderjusticeleague.org) for additional information.
-NHWS will be hosting summer fundraising events across WA, including Seattle, Tacoma, Olympia, Port Townsend, and Spokane! A few of our upcoming events include an Olympia reception at the Bus Stop on Thursday, May 28th, a house party the same day in Seattle, and an exclusive event with Miss Texas 1988 at the ClockOut Lounge on Saturday, May 30th. Please Michaela (michaela@alkiconsulting.com) and Mazzy (mazzy@alkiconsulting.com) for details.
-Pride Month is around the corner! NHWS wants to have a presence at as many events as possible through WA – please flag any upcoming events to me by either replying to this email, or sending me an email separately.
Opposition News:
-Brian Heywood has begun to claim that he’s not anti-queer, he just favors “[dropping] the t” from LGB, per a retweet on X from Tuesday, March 24th. Meanwhile, less than a week earlier on Thursday, March 19th, he amplified a post that boasted about northern Idaho’s hostile view of their local LGBTQ+ community, including that they are “mentally ill” and “needing treatment.”
This November, we will show Brian Heywood and his mega-millionaire friends, that their hateful views have no place in our beautiful state.
In joy and resilience,
Milena Sherman (she/her), Organizing Manager
No Hate in WA State
NO HATE in WA State is a campaign of Washington parents, medical professionals, teachers, students, and community members standing against ballot measures IL26-001 and IL26-638 that would endanger Washington students and hurt our schools.
Reject the hate, bullying, and harassment of our students. Join us today.
NO HATE in WA State
PO Box 21961
Seattle, WA 98111
United States