On Jan. 18, the Northwest Federation of Community Organizations (NFCO), supported by more than 20 advocacy groups for racial and social justice, released the Racial Justice Report Card for the 2009 state legislature in Olympia.
This report card is the first to grade each legislator’s voting record and leadership in authoring racial equity legislation. It aims to hold legislators accountable for their votes for legislation that impacts people of color the most.
The grades were not promising for nine representatives from the 13th, 14th, and 15th districts of Washington, who received Fs for their performance on 34 bills that most affected people of color. Legislatures from other districts, such as those in the 37th district in Southeast Seattle, received A-pluses.
NFCO intends to issue annual reports after each legislative session. (end)
For more information, visit www.washingtoncan.org.