New conservative-based organization hopes to lead the way in advocating policy solutions at the local level, to promote affordability, public safety, and a thriving business climate, in an effort to reach the “persuadable middle” of the voting public
Paul Valencia
Clark County Today
For some, the challenge is too immense.
They can’t handle decades of one-party rule in the state of Washington. Some give up. Some move out.
Other conservatives … well, they Stay and Fight.
That is one of the mottos of Future 42, a grassroots mobilization under Project 42, a new non-profit organization created to change the course of Washington State.
“You can leave. You can move to another state. Or you can stay and fight,” said Leslie Lewallen, director of the Clark County Chapter of Future 42. “From my point of view, there’s nothing else I can do but stay and fight.
“I love Washington state. I wish everybody would stay and fight.”
Project 42 — named because Washington is the 42nd state in the union — and its partners are hoping to shed light on a number of issues to the “persuadable middle,” voters who want more information before picking a side.
Future 42, Lewallen said, was “launched to lead the way in advocating policy solutions at the local level, which promote more affordable cost of living, strong public safety, and a thriving business climate. Our goal is to bring a balance to Clark County and the state.”
Officially, Future 42 held its grand opening event in December, but work started last summer. The organization issued legislative scorecards, identifying bills at the state level, and then scored all of the state legislatures on how they voted on those bills. Future 42 focused, Lewallen said, on taxes, economy, reducing regulatory barriers, and public safety.
Soon, Future 42 Clark County will be issuing scorecards for the Clark County Council and Vancouver City Council. The plan is to do the same for other local government bodies, as well.
The kickoff event was packed in a downtown Vancouver hotel.
“People are hungry for common sense,” Lewallen said.
Currently, there are three Future 42 Chapters — Clark County, Snohomish County, and Whatcom County. They were specifically picked because they are on the I-5 corridor and they are “purple,” with a mixture of Republican and Democrat voters. The focus is on the “persuadable” voters, to get things rolling in the right direction, Lewallen said.
“We’ve gone so far to the left,” she said of the state, in general. “We’ve had 40 years of one-party rule. There are no proper checks and balances.”
Future 42 is part of strategic communications of Project 42, as well as the data and targeting department. Polls and surveys will be used to help steer the chapter.
Those polls show that fraud and accountability are among the top issues. Examples of wasted money or unaccountability, Future 42 says, is the Climate Commitment Act, which has led to higher gas taxes on Washington residents for years. Future 42 wants to know how that money has been collected and spent.
Another example is all the money wasted to not build a new Interstate Bridge.
“Everybody’s upset about broken promises,” Lewallen said.
She brought up the current Interstate Bridge Replacement Program, plus the older, failed Columbia River Crossing. The CRC, she said, cost around $400 million, $200 million for Oregon, $200 million for Washington.
“Where did all that money go?” she asked. “We didn’t get a bridge.”
Future 42 will be trying to hold officials accountable, while educating the voting public.
Lewallen is former Camas City Councilor who also ran for the U.S. House to represent the state’s 3rd Congressional District.
Now, her priority is Focus 42.
“When I went out door-knocking here in Camas, the No. 1 thing that people would always tell me is we don’t want to become like Portland,” Lewallen said.
She had a simple solution.
“Then stop voting like it,” she said.
This was a natural fit, to transition from her previous role on the city council to this organization.
“This is the stuff I already do. I follow policy. I write op-eds. I’m engaged and educated on all of these issues,” she said. “It was quite an honor to be picked to be the director of a chapter.”
Future 42 in Snohomish County already has seen some success, Lewallen said. In 2025, that county elected numerous “common-sense” conservatives, she noted.
Locally, the Clark County Council and Vancouver City Council are dominated by the left, she said.
“Our hope is to swing the pendulum back to center, at state and local levels,” Lewallen said.
Those who sign up for Future 42’s emails will receive action alerts on bills or ordinances that one of the local cities is going to vote on, for example. There will be tips on how one’s voice can be heard, how to submit written comments, or how to show up and testify.
Scorecards will also be issued for local leaders.
Lewallen said those are helpful to voters. She knows of one councilor who says he is anti-tax, but the voting record shows he supported every tax increase. That kind of information is key to the public.
“Educating people, that’s where it’s at,” Lewallen said. “There is a huge persuadable middle.”
For more information on Future 42 Clark County, go to: https://future42.org/category/clark-county/
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