WR President/CEO Renée Sunde, Vice President of Operations, Rose Gundersen, and I had a personal briefing on Project 42 by Dann Mead Smith, one of the two project organizers.

What is Project 42, and what does it hope to accomplish? Project 42, so named because Washington is the 42nd state in the Union, was established to create durable, long-term infrastructure to change the course of Washington State towards a free enterprise-friendly and fiscally responsible place to live and work while encouraging personal accountability.

Project 42 hopes to accomplish this by being the convener of several stand-alone organizations or capacities. For example, they have created a women candidate recruitment and training program called League of Our Own, modeled after major league baseball’s recruiting and training model. Dozens of prospects plan to run for local, county, and legislative offices in 2022, 2023, and beyond.  www.leagueofourown.org

Change Washington is a strategic communication organization. Their work and messaging were deployed in Seattle regarding public safety, policing, and homelessness last fall. The plan is to expand this model statewide this year.  www.changewashington.org

Franklin News Foundation is the investigative journalism engine. Their Center Square and AP News-style reporting provide statewide news stories with the taxpayers in mind. They will also add a research group to build out its capacity this year.  www.franklinnews.org

Project 42 hopes to develop several other capacities soon, including grassroots mobilization and strategic legal defense.

WR and its board will be reviewing Project 42’s goals and efforts to see if there are potential partnering opportunities. For more information, visit: www.pfortytwo.com