Zillow Blog — Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) was the latest guest to appear in the Zillow Speaker Series and her timing couldnât have been more apt.
As a strong opponent of the Stop Online Privacy Act (SOPA), Cantwell spoke to Zillow employees on the very day Congress recalled the controversial SOPA bill.
âMark one down for the Internet,â said Cantwell.
Designed to protect copyrighted intellectual property and counterfeit goods, the SOPA bill received an onslaught of protests from the Internet community, including Wikipedia, Google and several other sites, claiming the legislature would threaten free speech and give law enforcement the ability to shut down entire domains.
She congratulated the Internet for mobilizing and spoke to the hope that someday government would be able to react and operate the way the Web and tech companies do.
âWe need to reinvent government in a whole lot of ways [and] invent whole new ways of attacking our problems,â she said.
Cantwell speaks from experience. Prior to her past ten years in Congress, Cantwell worked in marketing and then as vice president of RealNetworks.
Sheâs spent two terms as a U.S. Senator from Washington state and will be running for re-election in Fall of 2012. Like many, her goal is to strengthen the economy.
âJobs, jobs, jobs!â she emphasized.
As one of the most beautiful states in the unionâand one of the richest in natural resourcesâWashington has a special interest in energy and environmental policy. And Maria has fought hard to uphold the stateâs conservation tradition, while also working to bring our energy policy into the 21st century.
Maria knows Washingtonâs business community â because, as an executive at an innovative software company, she was part of it. And as a Senator, sheâs led the way in helping businesses large and small throughout Washington grow, thrive, and create jobs.
Maria has taken a leadership role on safety and security issues, including defending our borders, strengthening our military, cracking down on gangs, and taking on drug crime in Washington communities
Middle-class families around Washington and across the country are facing tough timesâand tough decisions about balancing the family checkbook each month. Maria has fought to strengthen the economic security of Washington families and cut taxes for middle-class families.
