WHAT WE DO
THE PEOPLES FORUM
We Host Conversations,
Not Contentions
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.
THE PEOPLES FORUM is a public information exchange for the benefit of independent candidates and the voting public. The people need direct access to candidates and information about candidates. Yet in todays world, most information is processed and/or filtered by its various 'sources'. Even public forums tend to be more about the agenda of the sponsoring organization rather than the candidates. THE PEOPLES FORUM counters that trend in several ways.
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.
INDEPENDENT ADVISORY ASSOCIATION
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.
Who Best Responds To
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.
We Are You, Concerned Citizens Just Like Yourself
We are candidates and former candidates, elected officials and former elected officials. We are you. We have the same concerns, the same hopes and the same inspirations. We are your neighbors. We seek to support you who are seeking election, not to accumulate our own power, nor to advance an ideological agenda, but rather to serve a community which we love and in which we live. We know the trials and tribulations which you, as a new candidate, will face. Part of our commitment to the public service is to help you be successful.
ADVOCACY AND ENDORSEMENTS
101 Independents United 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.
101 Independents United does not seek to advance a particular set of policy positions or advance a body of issues in exchange for our assistance or certification. Our support is not based on an absolutist ideology.
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.