(intriguing music) - I'm Paris Jackson in the Crosscut KCTS 9 newsroom.

New insight on the power of a state lobbying group that represents nearly 300 Washington cities.

The nonprofit is called Association of Washington Cities, or AWC.

Last year, when AWC didn't like a bill to increase housing density amid a statewide affordability crisis, they posted a bulletin urging its supporters to contact lawmakers.

The tactic worked, but this year, when the association sponsored a bill to limit Washington's Public Records Act, a Watergate-era transparency law passed overwhelmingly by voters, the group didn't extend what's called the Washington Way.

In other words, they chose not to hear from stakeholders before making a decision.

The association's Washington Way, for some and not for others, highlights the games of strategy played by lobbyists to advance their interests in Olympia.

However, while AWC for years helped block bills to expand housing density and backyard cottages, both passed this year with bipartisan support.

I'm Paris Jackson.

Find nonprofit Northwest News every day on crosscut.com.

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