Last Monday night, over 1,600 people in Bellevue and Spokane attended Washington Policy Center’s annual dinner. At the dinner we gave our 2012 Champion of Freedom award to the four prime co-sponsors of last session's charter school bill: Representative Eric Pettigrew (D-Seattle), Representative Glenn Anderson (R-Fall City), Senator Rodney Tom (D-Bellevue) and Senator Steve Litzow (R-Mercer Island).

These four Champions persuaded 28 other legislators to co-sponsor their charter school bill, HB 2428, SB 6202. Despite likely majority support in the legislature, House and Senate leaders blocked the bill in committee and refused to let it come up for a vote.

At our dinner we played a few minutes from Representative Eric Pettigrew’s testimony before a packed Education Committee hearing room on January 20th. This video presents a compelling case for why we need charter schools in Washington. You can watch the video here:

The award reads as follows:

"For your courage and leadership in championing charter schools, for your concern that all children have access to an education that helps them grow and thrive, and for your ongoing efforts to bring true public education reform to Washington state."

We are very proud of our four Champions of Freedom.