Now that Initiative 200 has made government racial and gender preferences illegal in Washington, most cities, even liberal Seattle, have ended these programs. The question remains, however, about the best way to help minority small businesses compete for government contracts. Not surprisingly our state is rife with heavy taxes and complex regulations that hold back all businesses, but which fall disproportionately on smaller firms operated by minority citizens. Seattle recently ended its racial preference program and plans to replace it with one that grants a 10% bidding advantage to businesses located in certain areas of the city. While this approach is in technical compliance with Initiative 200 because it does not explicitly use race as a factor, it is at best a band-aide solution to a much larger problem.

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