And Notes on the evolution of WeBelieveWeVote
If you haven’t turned in your ballot yet for the August 1 Primary Election, here are a few more thoughts.
First, the links below go to two earlier posts on primary election guides and choices in case you missed them:
MORE ON SCHOOL BOARD CANDIDATES:
Some of my readers asked for positive rather than negative recommendations for school board directors. A good friend and defender of public school systems offered this, with which I agree:
“We have a LOT of Moms 4 Liberty Types running for school board locally. It’s critical they not gain more power if we are to protect public education and students.
If you’re interested, here’s who I like for the primary:
Spokane County:
SPOKANE SCHOOL DISTRICT 81 No. 5 Mike Wiser
MEDICAL LAKE SCHOOL DISTRICT No. 1 Bryan Musser
MEDICAL LAKE SCHOOL DISTRICT No. 2 Alexis Alexander
MEDICAL LAKE SCHOOL DISTRICT No. 3 Laura Elliot Parsons
MEDICAL LAKE SCHOOL DISTRICT No. 4 Ron Cooper
CHENEY SCHOOL DISTRICT No. 4 John Boerger
CHENEY SCHOOL DISTRICT No. 5 Mitch Swenson
DEER PARK SCHOOL DISTRICT At Large 5 Eric Keller”
Benton County:
Richland School District 400 No. 3 Chelsie Beck
Richland School District 400 No. 4 Katrina Waters
Richland School District 400 No. 5 Jill Oldson
Notes on “We Believe We Vote”
I continue to recommend WeBelieveWeVote.com (WBWV) as a NEGATIVE voting guide. The organization has evolved. Founded by Penny Lancaster in 2009 and registered to an address on the southern slopes of Mt. Spokane, “We Believe We Vote” filed with the Public Disclosure Commission as a Political Committee from 2013 to 2023. However, the last year WBWV reported raising any money was in 2021. That year, 2021, the filing claimed money raised of $135,944.08, a considerable sum, but expenditures of only $23,904.99. Donations to a Political Committee do not offer an income tax deduction to the donor. Worse (from the Committee’s standpoint), donors’ names and amounts donated must be reported to the Public Disclosure Commission—and they are available to see on the PDC’s website.
This year, 2023, and perhaps last year also, WBWV has decided it’s a “508(c)(1)(a) ministry”, a way to make donations tax deductible to the donor and to shield donor names. Organizations that fall under the 508(c)(1)(a) exception to 501(c)(3) are “churches, their integrated auxiliaries, and conventions or associations of churches”. That WBWV claims that it need not go through the paperwork to apply for 501(c)(3) nonprofit status based on the 508(c)(1)(a) seems a dubious idea. At least one website that offers advice to churches agrees. That said, the relatively new executive director of WBWV, Dale Whittaker, “holds a B.A. in Accounting from the Forbes School of Business & Technology at Ashford University [a for profit, online institution recently purchased by the University of Arizona and renamed], is an Enrolled Agent with the IRS, and currently runs a small tax practice.” His education and employment may or may not insure that using a 508(c)(1)(a) designation is defensible. The IRS’ definition of a church contains many elements WBWV does not possess. Mr. Whittaker responds to inquiry about a Form 990 filing with “We are not required to file form 990. We are not a 501(c)(3).” That statement alone, from what I can read, suggests that WBWV cannot legally claim that donations it receives are income tax deductible for the donors. I hope someone better versed in tax law than I will take this up.
Cruising through WBWV’s “Core Beliefs and Position Statements” reveals a Fundamentalist bedrock, “The Holy Bible is the supernatural, full, and inspired Word of God; it is inerrant, supreme, and final”; Dominionism, “The environment is provided for our use to produce food and provide resources for an abundant life”; “States Rights”; and Christian Nationalism. The attitude toward the poor and needy is straightforward: “Providing a safety net for the poor and needy is the responsibility of individuals, churches and local communities. It is not the primary responsibility of civil government to provide welfare assistance to the poor. The role of civil government is to protect citizens from foreign and domestic threats.” This is exactly the view expressed by the chairman of the SpokaneGOP, “Pastor” Brian Noble of the Assembly of God Church in Spokane Valley.
Candidates rated as “aligned” or “somewhat aligned” by WeBelieveWeVote, based on the above criteria (and others on the website) can be seen as generally supportive of a punitive approach to the “poor and needy” rather than supporting social programs; incapable of understanding the threat posed by global heating; and very receptive to imposing legal limits on a woman’s right to make decisions about her own body. I did not count them up but it appears to me that fewer candidates this year are willing to actually take the “Survey”. Those who refuse are labelled as “DNR” (which, for a physician means “do not resuscitate” rather than the “did not response” the website wishes to convey). Being labelled “DNR”, however, does not guarantee disagreement with WBWV’s “Core Beliefs and Position”. For that reason I find WBWV only valuable as a NEGATIVE indicator. Candidates will admit their core beliefs to WBWV that would likely not wish to be quoted on in a broader context.
Vote! (I dropped mine in one of the drop boxes yesterday. It only required four choices, even less research than I expected.)
Keep to the high ground,
Jerry