Building support for political impact.

Our democracy works best when all of us are represented in government, no matter what we look like or where we come from. Yet too many of our neighbors do not see their identities or needs represented by our government. The numbers across Washington tell the story – there are significantly fewer elected leaders of color than needed to proportionally represent Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities. Many First Mile donors support campaigns beyond First Mile, but our specific program is designed to directly address the lack of BIPOC representation in local elected office.

Today, leaders of color encounter barriers in pursuing elected office almost everywhere they run. Among the numerous challenges designed to prevent candidates of color from winning their campaigns is the myth of “viability” in which first-time candidates are written off by political elites in part due to lower fundraising figures. Our program is designed to lower barriers leaders of color face in running for office, particularly around fundraising and the perception of “viability,” so that our democracy represents us all.

We’ve designed a process that centers the expertise of our community partners who have roots in diverse communities across the state so we can be sure that bold, progressive BIPOC candidates running for local office across Washington are supported by our program. Our partners OneAmerica Votes, Sage Leaders, and Washington Community Alliance Action Fund all run their own endorsement processes that engage their base of grassroots leaders in decision-making, and those endorsements inform First Mile’s slate building. In addition, the slate-building table considers geography, gender identity, sexual orientation, and racial/ethnic diversity, the competition landscape of races, and broader strategies for investments in particular regions. We almost exclusively target races where we expect Circle contributions can have a meaningful impact on our candidates’ campaigns. The candidates on our slate will all have been evaluated from several different perspectives and criteria.

Our endorsed candidates are all broadly progressive, but their positions will be aligned with the values and needs of the communities where they are running. For example, a progressive candidate running in Ellensburg will likely have a different campaign platform and issue priorities than a progressive candidate in Tacoma.

Our efforts are helping to level the playing field for candidates of color. In an environment where financial support is a key part of launching a campaign – especially for first-time candidates – we can’t ignore the relationship between race and wealth in America. This correlation means that white candidates are more likely to have better access to wealth and resources than candidates of color, making it easier to run a successful campaign and win. In the political environment we are in, candidates need resources to contact voters, hire staff, pay for supplies, and to have the ability to campaign while in many cases also working full-time. When access to wealth is a main determining factor of who can be elected to public office, that is a problem for leaders of color and a problem for our democracy.

While big corporations and elite political interests pour money into electing candidates who will uphold the status quo, we are working to build a more accessible, community-focused, democratized form of campaign giving that supports the authentic leaders of our communities. Our democracy is strongest when we have a diversity of experiences and perspectives working to solve our biggest challenges.

In alignment with public disclosure laws in Washington state, Circle members should expect all their campaign contributions to be disclosed by the state Public Disclosure Commission. All campaign contributions are disclosed for all state and federal elections.

There is no minimum financial commitment amount or any other requirements to join First Mile other than sharing our vision of building an effective multiracial democracy by electing a more representative government. We have had First Mile Circle members budget anywhere between $150 and $20K for the year. We provide recommendations to all First Mile Circle members, and each member makes their own direct contributions to candidate campaigns. Based on your commitment level, you may have a smaller or larger list of candidates we recommend.

We are proud of the candidates we support and the impact our program has, and our Circle members are too. We use a word-of-mouth model to expand and reach new potential members. We hope that any Circle member who is excited about this effort will share it with their friends, family, and other organizing networks.

While Circle members report that our briefings and annual celebration are informative and energizing, they are completely optional. At a minimum, all someone needs to do to participate is make a budget commitment and participate in our moneybombs, which are self-directed, individual contributions made on two particular days – one before the primary election and one before the general election. We provide clear instructions and recommended donations to make the moneybombs as seamless as possible for members. If you skip the optional events, participation can be as simple as filling out three web forms over the course of the election cycle, in addition to your direct contributions to candidates. About 45 minutes for everything! Our optional events are typically held in June, September, and December.

First Mile isn’t a PAC, and we don’t collect or pool any funds from our members. All Circle members make direct contributions to candidate campaigns based on our collective budget and slate-building. All of our moneybomb funds are directed to campaigns.

First Mile members can also give directly to support the organizations who do the work of planning events, communicating with members, and identifying candidates for support. This is appreciated, but is not a requirement to participate.

That’s fantastic! The most important thing is to make sure your candidate is in touch with our Community Partners who run endorsement processes and select First Mile’s slate of candidates. Questionnaires and instructions can be found on their websites or by contacting their staff.

Sage Leaders also provides candidate training and support, so candidates should check out their available resources!

If you haven’t found the answer to your question on our website or you just want to connect with a human, you can email firstmile[at]washingtonprogress[dot]org.