Small Business Rallies for Sen. Tim Sheldon

Date: August 05, 2014

Just days before primary election ballots were due, Washington SAFE Trust sent nearly 30,000 postcards to voter households in the 35th Legislative District to show small-business support for Sen. Tim Sheldon (D-Potlatch).
Sheldon, a key member of the senate Majority Coalition Caucus and an NFIB/Washington Guardian of Small Business, faced a difficult primary with challenges from both a labor-backed Democrat and self-described “conservative libertarian” Republican.  NFIB/Washington’s political arm, SAFE Trust, swung into action to help Sheldon advance to the general election.
Our efforts may have made the difference.
Election night results had Sheldon in second place with 33.41 percent of the vote to Democrat Irene Bowling’s 34.85 percent.  Republican Travis Couture trailed Sheldon by less than 400 votes, taking third with 31.41 percent.  The top two finishers will appear on the November general election ballot.
So what is SAFE Trust?
It stands for Save America’s Free Enterprise Trust and is NFIB’s political action committee.  There is a federal SAFE Trust committee as well as local committees in several states, including our own Washington SAFE Trust.
Locally, our committee is governed by NFIB members representing each of the state’s 10 Congressional districts, plus one at-large member. They come from a cross-section of industries, such as construction, manufacturing, retail, staffing, trucking, and wholesaling.
The committee issues endorsements to incumbent legislators based on their NFIB voting record, and supports challengers and candidates for open seats based on responses to our candidate questionnaire and a demonstrated ability to run an effective campaign.
In addition to endorsing pro-small-business candidates, the committee may also make financial donations or undertake other efforts, like our recent mailing, in key races. This is possible thanks to the generous, voluntary contributions of NFIB members from across the state.  Those contributions and expenditures are public record and can be reviewed on the state Public Disclosure Commission website. We are listed on page 13.
To learn how you can help Washington SAFE Trust support legislative candidates who support small business, please contact NFIB/Washington State Director Patrick Connor at 360-786-8675.

Related Content: Small Business News | Washington

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