Dow Constantine Did Something Very Generous Last Friday

Every year, King County Executive Dow Constantine holds a fundraiser at the convention center in downtown Seattle to benefit his reelection campaign. And last Friday's luncheon was no different, except more than 600 people showed up—more than 200 more donors than last year—to smack down $100 each and listen to speeches. And then something else happened, the sort of thing that almost never happens.

At that moment when, midway through the meal, some mucky muck steps up onto the podium to ask people to pull out their checkbooks and part with as much cash as possible for the candidate, Constantine stepped up himself. And he didn't ask for donations for his own campaign.

Instead, Constantine asked everyone there to write a check to the campaign to uphold marriage equality this fall.

"We got a giant pile of envelopes," says Zach Silk, the campaign consultant for Washington United for Marriage, which is trying to approve Referendum 74. The grand total: $11,300. "We are very grateful for Dow's support," adds Silk. And his campaign needs the cash: Washington is trying to become the first state in US history to uphold marriage equality at the ballot, but we're facing a hydra campaign from the likes of NOM, Republican Rob McKenna, the Catholic Church, and other groups building their efforts to overturn the state's gay marriage law. "Dow has been a champion on these issues, and we really appreciate that he was willing to ask his supporters to step up," Silk says.

Seriously and indeed. Good work, Dow.