In 2012, after a petition drive, JeffCo Move to Amend asked our board of county commissioners to pass a resolution supporting a constitutional amendment to overturn the Citizens United Supreme Court decision and limit corporate influence over our legal system.

The commissioners agreed and Jefferson County became the first county in Washington to pass a resolution supporting the We the People Amendment, which would clarify that corporations may not claim the Constitutional rights of people, and money used to influence politics is not protected as free speech and must be regulated.

Our movement grew and helped create WAMEND, the statewide organization that coordinated the I-735 initiative campaign, calling on Congress pass the We the People Amendment. Washingtonians voted to pass I-735 in 2016.

Each election year since 2012 we invite candidates running for county commissioner to endorse the original board of commissioners resolution. All subsequent commissioners have done so. 

This year we invited candidates Heidi Eisenhower, Amanda Funaro and Lorna Smith to pledge their support, and we are pleased that all have agreed to support the We the People Amendment if elected.

We all know corporate influence and big money are undermining our democracy and threatening our very survival on planet Earth. 

But perhaps you’re wondering how this issue is relevant to local concerns here in Jefferson County. If you’ve ever tried to pass a ballot initiative you’ve seen how negative ads funded by special interests can affect the election outcome. Corporations also use their “personhood” status to sue cities, counties and states if we pass laws regulating their activities to protect people or the environment, as in efforts to ban salmon net pens in Washington.

The We the People Amendment (HJR 48) would put an end to these and other obstructions of democracy.

You can learn more about the amendment and its status in Congress at www.MovetoAmend.org.

Judy D’Amore
PORT TOWNSEND