The Common Power PAC is a left-of-center political action committee (PAC) affiliated with Common Power and Common Power Purpose, organizations that promote left-of-center issues and partner with other advocacy groups to support Democratic campaigns across the United States. Common Power is based in Seattle and operates organizing campaigns with an emphasis on the Pacific Northwest. The PAC’s filings show relatively little towards funding of campaigns or campaign activity, with much of the PAC’s proceeds funding unclassified administrative expenses and salaries. ^{1 2}  

Background

The Common Power PAC was founded in 2018 as part of the Common Power organization which consisted of a 501(c)(3) educational advocacy group called Common Purpose, later renamed Common Power, and the PAC. The collective of Common Power organizations now consist of an advocacy arm called Common Power, which is described as the parent organization of the collective, the Common Power PAC, and Common Power Purpose, the 501(c)(3) educational arm of the group. ^{3 4 5}

Charles Douglas, a former brand manager at Starbucks, founded Common Power. His wife Larcy Douglas also works for Common Power as the director of finance and as executive director of Common Power Future. ^{6 7 8 9}  

Activities

The Common Power PAC is organized as a hybrid PAC,  also known as a Carey Committee. Carey Committees may both make unlimited expenditures on independent political advocacy and make direct contributions to candidates subject to limits, as long as the accounts for both types of spending are kept separate. ¹⁰

Common Power PAC first operated during the 2018 election cycle, raising $214,000 and spending $100,000. In 2020, the PAC saw significant growth, reporting spending of $2.86 million during the 2020 election cycle and $3 million during the 2022 election cycle in support of Democratic campaigns. The PAC also spent a significant amount of its overall spending on administrative expenses. The PAC spent over half of its total expenditures from 2019 to 2020 on salaries, administrative expenses, and “unclassifiable” expenses. It also provided over $200,000 in salary to Common Power executive director Charles Douglas and $119,000 to his wife Larcy Douglas. ^{11 12}

The PAC also mostly spent on salaries and administrative expenses in 2022, providing over $240,000 in total salaries to Charles and Larcy Douglas. The PAC conducted little in the way of direct campaigning or funding of campaigns in 2022, providing $892,000 in transfers to other committees and spending over half of its $3 million in 2022 expenses on salary and administrative expenses. ¹³

The PAC has contributed to candidates and party committees, providing $2,000 each to the Democratic Parties of Colorado, Montana, and Wisconsin in 2020 and providing relatively small contributions of $1,500 to $2,500 to three to five Democratic congressional candidates per election cycle. ^{14 15 16}

1. “PAC Profile: Common Power PAC Summary.” Open Secrets. 2022. Accessed February 1, 2023. https://www.opensecrets.org/political-action-committees-pacs/common-power-pac/C00682211/summary/2020
2. “PAC Profile: Common Power PAC Expenditures 2019-2020.” Open Secrets. 2022. Accessed February 1, 2023.  https://www.opensecrets.org/political-action-committees-pacs/common-power-pac/C00682211/expenditures/2020
3. “Purpose to Power.” Common Power. Accessed February 1, 2023. https://commonpower.org/purposetopower
4. “Donate.” Common Power. Accessed December 18, 2023. https://commonpower.org/donate
5. “Common Power.” ProPublica. Accessed December 15, 2023. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/872832368
6. “About.” Common Power. Accessed December 18, 2023, 2023. https://commonpower.org/about
7. “Larcy Douglas.” Common Power. Accessed December 18, 2023.  https://commonpower.org/larcy
8. Douglas, Charles and Domke, David. “Next Steps in Our Post-COVID Political World: A Blueprint for Blue-State Organizations.” Harvard Advanced Leadership Initiative Social Impact Review. April 1, 2023. Accessed December 18, 2023. https://www.sir.advancedleadership.harvard.edu/articles/next-steps-in-our-post-covid-political-world
9. “@3dcharles.” Instagram Post. Accessed December 18, 2023. https://www.instagram.com/p/CEdvL6AHrJr/?hl=en
10. ^[1] “What Are Carey Committees and Carey Accounts?” ISPOLITICAL, October 17, 2023. https://ispolitical.com/what-are-carey-committees-and-carey-accounts/.
11. “PAC Profile: Common Power PAC Summary.” Open Secrets. 2022. Accessed December 18, 2023. https://www.opensecrets.org/political-action-committees-pacs/common-power-pac/C00682211/summary/2020
12. “PAC Profile: Common Power PAC Expenditures 2019-2020.” Open Secrets. 2022. Accessed December 18, 2023. https://www.opensecrets.org/political-action-committees-pacs/common-power-pac/C00682211/expenditures/2020
13. “PAC Profile: Common Power PAC Expenditures 2021-2022.” Open Secrets. 2022. Accessed December 18, 2023. https://www.opensecrets.org/political-action-committees-pacs/common-power-pac/C00682211/expenditures/2022
14. “PAC Profile: Common Power PAC/Party Contributions 2019-2020.” Open Secrets. 2022. Accessed December 18, 2023. https://www.opensecrets.org/political-action-committees-pacs/common-power-pac/C00682211/pac-to-pac/2020
15. “PAC Profile: Common Power Candidate Recipients 2021-2022.” Open Secrets. 2022. Accessed December 18, 2023.  https://www.opensecrets.org/political-action-committees-pacs/common-power-pac/C00682211/candidate-recipients/2022
16. “PAC Profile: Common Power Candidate Recipients 2021-2022.” Open Secrets. 2022. Accessed December 18, 2023.  https://www.opensecrets.org/political-action-committees-pacs/common-power-pac/C00682211/candidate-recipients/2022