Former Seahawks star voices support for affirmative action in Washington
Nov 4, 2019, 7:52 AM
It’s Election Week in Washington, and former Seahawks star Doug Baldwin is stepping up to voice his support for the state’s affirmative action ballot measure.
I-1000: Does affirmative action have a place in Washington state?
On the ballot as Referendum 88, the measure allows the previously-approved I-1000 to go into effect, expressly allowing Washington state to implement affirmative action policies in public employment, education, and contracting. It also specifically does not allow the use of “preferential treatment” or quotas.
Baldwin is prominently featured in a new TV ad voicing his support for I-1000, noting its role in promoting equitable hiring and admissions practices across Washington state.
“We need to create a level playing field for women, veterans, and minorities to get a fair shot at hiring, contracts, and access to education,” the recently-retired Seahawks wide receiver stated in the ad.
Since his retirement from the NFL, Baldwin has turned his focus toward community initiatives and activism, including his work on Renton’s Family First Community Center, as well as advocating for criminal justice reform.
For I-1000, he hopes to bring affirmative action practices back to Washington state for the first time in two decades.
“Change doesn’t happen without action, especially when it’s entrenched in discrimination and disparities,” said Baldwin.
The initiative has garnered support from three former Washington governors, in Dan Evans, Gary Locke, and Christine Gregoire.
“I-1000 opens the door. That’s all it does,” Gregoire said back in April. “It opens the door to qualified candidates who want to go to college, who want public employment, and want public contracting.”
A full guide to Washington’s ballot measures
Opponents have argued that I-1000 creates divides among racial groups, which they claim would make Washington a less equitable state overall.
Some groups also claim that it would specifically harm the Asian-American community, and reduce its overall representation. They point to schools like the University of Washington, where Asian-Americans make up 25 percent of the study body, despite making up a significantly smaller percentage of Seattle’s population (roughly 7 percent). The fear is that affirmative action could cause fewer Asian-Americans to be admitted to schools like UW in a bid to re-balance representation across all races.
On the other side of that debate, supporters of the measure have pointed out that I-1000 does not allow for quotas on specific groups, or preferential treatment, defined as using race, gender, ethnicity, age, etc. as the sole factor in hiring or admission standards.
