The Sunday Observer: A new political heavyweight rises on the left

Group Health Foundation has spent $200,000 on ballot measures in 12 months

During his time as a hired-gun communications consultant, your correspondent briefly had a colleague who was a hired-gun ballot initiative operative. We spent a fair amount of time kicking around potential initiatives that we might get paid to run. Those conversations nearly always ended thusly: “Do ya¹ know any billionaires?”

Well, there’s a newish billionaire in town that appears increasingly willing to throw its financial weight around to get ballot measures across the finish line. We use “its” instead of “his” or “hers” because we’re not talking about a single human being. Please meet the Group Health Foundation, which has $2 billion in assets and has given three ballot campaigns a total of $200,000 in the past year.

Here’s why you should care about this. If it were a person, the foundation would rank up with these millionaires and billionaires in giving. They wield enormous influence on politics and policy in Washington.

If even a small fraction of the foundation’s future annual giving is directed at politics, it could significantly reshape the landscape. And, the foundation is 2-0 thus far. So time to pay attention.

The foundation’s website leads with Chewalah sculptor David Govedare’s “Grandfather cuts loose the ponies” overlooking the Columbia River in Vantage. Really a strong play, photographically.

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