History
In 2009, Envision Spokane – a group comprised of neighborhood advocates, labor union locals, and community activists – qualified a citizen’s initiative placing the nation’s very first Community Bill of Rights on the November 2009 ballot in the 
City of Spokane. Known as Prop. 4, it recognized rights to a local economy, affordable housing, preventive healthcare, renewable energy, nature, neighborhood decision-making power, workers rights, and subordinating corporate rights to community rights.
Coming out of ballot defeat in 2009 the group focused the Community Bill of Rights down to four issue areas - the ones that resonated the most with residents: neighborhoods, the Spokane River & aquifer, workers, and corporate power.
The understanding, as it was in 2009, is that we have structural deficiencies in our laws, and within that, we the people lack true decision-making power at the community level when it comes to significant issues affecting our quality of life.
Two major events that have unfolded since 2009 reinforce the drive to adopt a Community Bill of Rights. Those developments were the Supreme Court’s decision in Citizen’s United vs. FEC and the state level attacks against organized public workers in Wisconsin, Ohio, Idaho, Oklahoma, and other states.
The Supreme Court decision pointed out the levels to which corporations continue to elevate their corporate rights over people, communities, and the environment; and the state legislative actions highlighted the current reality that local communities are powerless to defend the rights of their workers.
Currently, neighborhoods have no legal rights against corporate developers; the river and aquifer have no legal rights against those polluting the river; and employees lack constitutional rights in the workplace.
Proposition 1 would recognize certain rights for neighborhoods, the river, and employees, and guarantee that the rights of people and communities are elevated above the rights of corporations within the City of Spokane.