CALICO CAT CLUB ACTIVITIES
CALICO CAT CLUB MEETINGS
We Host Conversations, Not Contentions
People often ask: "Where can I go to discuss issues of the day? Where can I find a place to talk about my opinions without being labeled, ridiculed or bullied? Where can I find a discussion group that is more than sound bites or the output of media spin doctors?
If you are in that group of people, you many think that the CALICO CAT was invented just for you.
THE PEOPLES FORUM
Our vision is to increase participation in the election process on the part of citizen candidates. The public has a need to know the ideas a new candidate brings to the table. No public purpose is served by subjecting a candidates ideas to contention or argument.
We strive to present candidate forums to the public which offer candidates a nonthreatening environment for presentation and discussion of matters of public policy not personal attacks or preloaded "gotcha" questions.
CANDIDATE CONSULTATIONS
Helping inexperienced independent candidates run credible campaigns
The Independent Advisory Association instructs and advises citizen candidates in their quest to serve their communities through elected office.
We instruct candidates by acquainting them with the ins and outs of running an election campaign in Washington State: the regulations, the timing, sources and resources. A significant part of this training is self-assessment, facilitating an informed decision-making process on the part of a potential candidate on whether or not to run.
We advise candidates during their campaign on issues and strategy options which they might decide to pursue. We help them prepare for candidate forums and other public venues.
Do Political Parties Best Represent
The Peoples' Voice?
Partisan candidates must listen to many voices. Party platforms are used to cull out the "disloyal". Party pressure is used to place dogma over real solutions. Money is used to make sure that candidates toe the party line.
Independent candidates have the freedom to put the needs of the voters first. Their loyalty is to their communities rather than their parties. For solutions, they look to their constituents, not their ideology.
ADVOCACY AND ENDORSEMENTS
The Calico Cat does not endorse candidates for either partisan or nonpartisan offices. As a independent organization, we do not seek to be goal keepers in the business of picking winners or losers in local elections. We leave those decisions in the hands of the people where they belong.
The Calico Cat does not seek to advance a particular set of policy positions or advance a body of issues in exchange for our instructing a citizen candidate. Our support is not based on an absolutist ideology or personal agenda.
We do operate under a set of foundational principles which reflect our philosophy of governance. We believe, in the interest of building unity around common American themes, our political parties would do well to adopt a similar set of guiding principles as their party platforms. These principles are derived from the Declaration of Independence and the Federal and Washington State Constitutions.