WINCO FOODS Lawfare

In April 2024, Winco served me with legal papers while we were gathering signatures for the Restore Election Confidence initiative—probably an attempt to chill signature gathering countywide. A person collecting signatures stood in front of a Winco store. I always advised against collecting signatures at Winco because of past legal cases, which could cause problems. But I think Winco sees this as an opportunity to get a ruling that could impact future signature gathering throughout the state.

Over the Summer, I was in dialogue with Winco’s attorney, who indicated that we probably wouldn’t go much further with the case and would work out an agreed judgment. He was supposed to send me papers for review, but then he went dark.

However, God's hand was guiding me because while I was on Zoom for my other hearing about the ethics complaints, the judge suddenly called, "Winco Foods v. Robert Anderson." After a double-take, I let the judge know I was present but wasn’t expecting this. The Winco attorney then claimed I wasn’t cooperating in reaching an agreement, which was completely false. I told the judge that was not true and that I had emails to prove Winco hadn’t been acting in good faith.

As a result, if Winco wants a fight, they’ve got one. Since then, I've been looking into hiring an attorney ASAP and mounting a vigorous defense because I now have little doubt that this case isn’t just about me—it’s about shutting down signature gatherings across the state.

UPDATE

I’ve connected with an excellent lawyer who is currently handling another case involving Winco Foods. He’s willing to take on my case but requires a $50,000 advance. I know that’s a significant amount—much more than I have—but it’s reasonable for a case like this, which will likely go to trial. Winco Foods seems determined to drag this into court, despite earlier indications from their attorney that we were close to an amicable resolution.

I’m reaching out to you, my close supporters—many of whom stood with me to Restore Election Confidence here in Clark County—PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT.

If Winco succeeds, they may use this judgment to push for changes in policing policies in Clark County or even statewide, potentially restricting signature gathering at all Winco stores and possibly other grocery stores. This would be a major hurdle for future initiative efforts, a constitutionally protected right in Washington State.

Click Here To Help With Legal Support

Here are the facts:

• I never directed volunteers to gather signatures at Winco stores; instead, I encouraged them to focus on other locations like Fred Meyer and Walmart.

• A volunteer, not knowing my concerns about signature gathering at Winco, set up at the Brush Prairie Winco 3-4 times, but only briefly. Deputies who responded found that the gatherer wasn’t blocking entrances or causing disruption in any manner.

• Only because my name is on the Petition as the sponsor, Winco Foods served me with a Temporary Restraining Order, Preliminary Injunction, and lawsuit, making numerous false accusations and statements.

• Upon receiving the lawsuit, I immediately contacted their attorney, explaining there must be a misunderstanding since I never encouraged volunteers to set up at Winco. I even reminded volunteers to stay away from Winco stores. Given the decentralized nature of our campaign, I wasn’t aware of every individual collecting signatures, some of whom simply mailed in petition sheets out of the blue.

• Throughout the summer, the attorney led me to believe on several occasions that we would most likely reach a mutual agreement. However, after mentioning in May that he was preparing documents, he became unresponsive.

• Last Friday, while waiting for the Ethics Complaint appeal before Judge Vanderwood, I was surprised when the judge called the "Winco v. Robert Anderson" case, something that God ordained to put me in the right spot at the right time. Even more surprising was that Winco’s attorney was in court, claiming that I was unwilling to settle and that Winco was preparing to go to trial.

This is a spiritual battle, and I have no doubt this attack is not from flesh and blood but from spiritual forces that mean to do me harm for their advantage.

Please contact me immediately with pledges, prayers, and thoughts on additional resources so I can fight this corporate attack and possibly prevent signature gathering from being negatively impacted here in Clark County.

Rob Anderson

Reform Clark County