Anti-transgender bathroom campaign gets $50K donation
Jun 13, 2017, 12:30 PM | Updated: 1:22 pm
(Eric Mandel, MyNorthwest)
(Eric Mandel, MyNorthwest)
The Just Want Privacy campaign has less than one month to get enough signatures to place its transgender bathroom initiative on the ballot, and it just got a last minute rush of cash to do it.
A yet-to-be named donor gave $50,000 to the Just Want Privacy campaign to bolster its efforts to end Washington’s transgender bathroom rule. That rule allows transgender individuals to use the bathroom that aligns with their identity. According to a campaign newsletter, it had planned to gain 100,000 signatures in the final weeks of gathering, but with the additional cash it can “pay for 150,000 signatures” in favor of Initiative 1552.
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It is the group’s second attempt at gathering signatures to put their initiative on the ballot. It fell short of the 260,000 signatures needed by the July deadline last year. In a recent newsletter, Just Want Privacy argues that its last initiative attempt garnered 170,000 signatures within the final two weeks of the campaign.
This year, the campaign reported it passed the 100,000 signature mark for I-1552 on June 9. Given the last minute rush of signatures it got last time, it believes it can reach the required amount by the current deadline.
But the campaign has competition. Washington Won’t Discriminate is the counter campaign to Just Want Privacy, and it’s winning the funding battle with nearly double the donations. Washington Won’t Discriminate has nearly $283,000 for its cause, while Just Want Privacy has just more than $155,000, according to the Public Disclosure Commission.
The Seattle Times reports that Just Want Privacy’s largest donor (other than the $50,000 donation) is the Cedar Park Assembly of God Church which gave $25,000 this year. But Washington Won’t Discriminate got $50,000 alone from the ACLU of Washington. The Times also notes that the counter campaign has support from Washington’s tech industry giants like Microsoft, Amazon and Google which have publicly opposed I-1552.
