Olympia (WA) Voters Reject Proposition 1 — An Authentic Coalition Carried the Day

HexaCom Group Wins Another Tough Minimum Wage Issue on a Shoestring Budget by Efficiently Amplifying the Local Voices Opposed to the Proposal

Olympia voters rejected Proposition 1 — the “Workers’ Bill of Rights” — in the November 4 election, by a fairly comfortable 45% Yes to 55% No margin. Our firm was proud to help to local coalition defeat this — on its face — well-meaning measure that would have had severe consequences for the community.

The result tracks with what we’ve seen across a lot of tough campaigns: when you make the case with credible local voices and ground the argument in real-world affordability, voters respond.

What Prop 1 Would Have Done

Proposition 1 would have raised Olympia’s minimum wage to $20/hour (faster for large employers), required 14 days’ advance scheduling and “fair scheduling” rules, and forced employers to offer available hours to current staff before hiring new workers. It also layered on new workplace safety mandates and penalties.

Why It Failed

This was a campaign won the old-fashioned way — with message discipline and an authentic, local coalition — even under tight budget constraints. Community nonprofits and small service providers spoke plainly about how the measure’s mandates would translate into program cuts, fee increases, and fewer services. Small business owners described staffing and scheduling whiplash. Respected local elected leaders voiced concerns about unintended consequences and community conflict. That combination of credibility and specificity moved swing voters.

Just as important, the campaign connected the dots to what voters are already feeling: rising costs. In today's era, as we've noted, the affordability crisis trumps all issues. When an initiative can be framed as worsening the affordability crunch, voters take a hard look and often say “nope, not this one.”

Three Elements That Made the Difference

1) Build a coalition that looks like the community. A persuasive mix of nonprofit leaders, in-home care providers, youth-serving organizations, local franchisees, and credible city voices created a chorus that felt real — not scripted. The contrast between good intentions and impractical policy became clear.

2) Keep the message on affordability and consequences. We didn’t argue intentions; we argued impacts. Voters heard how Prop 1 would have crushed iconic local businesses, reduced services to the needy, actually hurt (not help) local workers, and pushed prices higher for working families at exactly the wrong moment — a message that matched their lived experience.

3) Spend like underdogs — but act like frontrunners. With limited resources, the campaign prioritized credible validators, earned media, sharp targeting, and message discipline. We didn't have volume, so we had to be effective and efficient.

What We Brought to the Table

HexaCom Group ran the No on Prop 32 campaign in California in 2024, defeating a statewide $18/hour minimum-wage measure. That win, and decades of work with clients like the California Restaurant Association, brought us years of experience that had to fill the gap on a campaign that didn't have money for polling. reinforced an approach we brought to Olympia: lead with practical impacts, center local validators, and never let the conversation drift from the broader issue environment — in this case, affordability. Those lessons traveled well.

Thanks to the Local Team

A special thank-you to Olympia Together — the local coalition that powered this effort on the ground. They worked tirelessly to raise as much money as they could and to assemble authentic local voices — nonprofits, small business owners, and credible elected leaders — and make them available to us so we could maximize the impact of every dollar. If you want to see how a real community coalition communicates, visit www.olytogether.com.

Transferable Lessons for the Next Fight

• Authenticity beats amplification. Ten local nonprofit directors and small business voices explaining program cuts and shuttered doors will outperform ten thousand generic ads.

• Define “good idea, bad law.” Acknowledge aims; prosecute details and consequences. We also call this the "right problem, wrong solution" campaign.

• Structure Your Campaign Around the Issue Environment of the Day. Today's overarching issue is the affordability crisis. Especially in an under-funded campaign, your can't define the times, you have to show how your campaign relates to the current dominant hopes and fears.

• Budget constraints are a design brief, not an excuse. Tight resources force sharper choices, faster decisions, and more disciplined execution.

A Word on Budgets

We’ll happily wear the reputation for running smart, effective, and efficient campaigns. That doesn't mean we set out to be the firm that "wins on the cheap.” One of our central strategy and planning tasks is to show clients a proposed budget we believe will get the job done — and in most cases, more is better. But at a certain point, reality sets in and we run the best possible campaign with the funds available. Beating Prop 32 — a statewide campaign in California — with under $1 million, or beating Prop 1 in Olympia with under $50,000 wasn't the plan...it was the requirement.

Congratulations — and What’s Next

Congratulations to the local leaders, nonprofits, and small employers who told the real story of how Prop 1 would have played out on the ground. For communities facing similar measures, the path is clear: build a coalition voters already trust, meet them where they are on the issues of the day, and keep the case practical. That’s how you win — whether the budget is big, small, or somewhere in between.