Progressives push their politics without moving

By pushing an ill-timed increase of the gas tax that siphons cash out of local wallets for West Side road projects, Democratic legislators fuel speculation they’re all too willing to write off Eastern Washington voters. But one progressive political group is finally taking steps to present East Siders with palatable Democratic candidates and issues.

“Eastern Washington is an area progressives haven’t invested in,” admits Dean Nielsen, director of year-old Progressive Majority Washington. “There are 63 county commissioners in Eastern Washington, and 57 of those are Republicans. Six are Democrats. In Spokane County, you have three Republican commissioners. There’s absolutely no reason why Spokane should be represented by three Republican county commissioners.”

Nielsen’s a dedicated Democrat with a keen understanding of the state’s political landscape. He also offers compelling ideas for growing progressive candidates at the grassroots level in toss-up areas and places where Republicans dominate. Even better, he’s got an overall annual budget of $400,000 – part of which can be used to train candidates and target key state and local races.

There’s only one problem: Progressive Majority Washington has its HQ in … Seattle. Last time I checked, there was already a pretty substantial progressive majority out that way. And although the group might open a Spokane office someday, it’s currently rooted in the West Side like a grand fir on a lush Cascades slope.

When I jokingly suggest Nielsen just doesn’t want to live in Spokane, he says basing the Washington office in Seattle makes sense because, “When you look at swing legislative districts, 90 percent of them are over here.”

But Nielsen acknowledges that the hardest work for the state’s progressives remains on the East Side – and he promises to help do it. Progressive Majority Washington held a candidate training event in Spokane last summer, he points out, “which I believe is the first time a state Democratic organization has had a training [session] in Spokane in a number of years.”

In addition, the group supported Laurie Dolan’s 2004 run for the 6th District State Senate seat, which she lost by less than 1 percentage point. In Clark County, Progressive Majority helped Commissioner Craig Pridemore win the District 49 State Senate seat. Now Nielsen’s team is trying to keep environmentalist Steve Stewart in the commissioner’s seat Pridemore vacated.

Progressive Majority’s immediate Eastern Washington priorities include taking another shot at Republican-held 6th District seats, supporting Democratic candidates for Spokane County Commission and even targeting the legislative 4th District. The group’s next candidate training events will be in Vancouver and Seattle, but Nielsen promises to host future sessions in Spokane and perhaps Yakima. Meanwhile, Eastern Washington progressives are welcome at the West Side events.

Although he points to a Democratic resurgence in Montana and Colorado as proof of a party comeback in the rural West, Nielsen adds this caveat: “Clearly, we have message problems in Eastern Washington.” It helps to have Spokane’s Lisa Brown leading the Senate this year, he says. But Progressive Majority also wants to promote Democratic issues that will resonate with voters here. For instance, he talks up plans for creating high-wage jobs, cleaning up the environment and reducing our dependence on foreign oil through green-energy projects.

“If we’re serious about gaining majorities, we can’t write off large portions of the state,” Nielsen says. That’s a heartening message for local progressives. Still, it would be a lot more impressive to hear it from a Spokane-based group.