OLYMPIA – Citing a record $2.6 million spent by third parties in judicial and legislative races leading up to the primary election, the state Public Disclosure Commission said Thursday it wants to look into ways to ban or limit large amounts of money from unions, corporations and associations to political action committees.
The five-member commission asked its staff to research what has been successful in other states and federally, and what possibilities could be presented to the Legislature in January.
“These entities – the corporations, trade associations, unions – have taken control of the election process,” said Commissioner Mike Connelly, adding that the influence of these groups and the money being spent “has a dramatic adverse effect on the public confidence in the political process.”
Of the $2.6 million spent, the bulk – $2.1 million – was spent on the races for the seats of three incumbents on the state Supreme Court: Chief Justice Gerry Alexander and Justices Tom Chambers and Susan Owens. Alexander and Chambers won in the primary and will advance unopposed to the general election on Nov. 7; Owens faces state Sen. Stephen Johnson in a runoff.
Of greatest concern to the commissioners was the amount spent out of the general funds of groups such as the Building Industry Association of Washington and the Service Employees International Union directly to political action committees, which then used that money to run television ads or to send out mailers either in support of or opposition to candidates.
Connelly said the commission can’t “sit back and do nothing in light of these numbers.”
According to the PDC, in addition to the $2.1 million spent on the state Supreme Court race, third party groups spent more than $11,243 on the Court of Appeals elections and nearly $548,000 on state legislative races.
More than half of the money spent on legislative contests went to the race involving Sen. Tim Sheldon, who survived a Democratic coup attempt to oust him from the Senate and replace him with a political unknown, Kyle Taylor Lucas.
Of the seven political action committees that spent money on advertising in that race, $100,000 donated to one PAC came from the Washington, D.C.-based liberal group Progressive Majority.
In the Supreme Court races, Americans Tired of Lawsuit Abuse, based in Alexandria, Va., contributed $400,000 to its Washington state PAC to oppose Alexander.
Commission Chairwoman Jane Noland expressed concern about the impact of out-of-state spending and asked the staff to consider that as well. The staff attorney noted an attempt by the state of Oregon to limit such donations was struck down by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Until this year, PACs and other special interests could give unlimited amounts of money to judicial candidates. But under a state law passed this year, they’re subject to the same limits applied to other statewide candidates – $1,400 for the primary and $1,400 for the general election. Individual donors are subject to the same limits.
But Washington’s campaign finance laws still offer a loophole. While direct donations to campaigns are limited, there’s really no limit to independent spending to support or oppose candidates, so long as it isn’t coordinated with the candidate’s campaign. So, the PACs could use the money raised to air attack TV ads or send out mailers to voters on behalf of the candidates.
Noland said that independent expenditures “make a mockery of those contribution limits.”
“I’m hoping that we can look at this broadly in terms of the spirit of campaign contribution limits and what we can do to really enhance that so that they work,” she said.
The commission plans a public meeting on the issue Oct. 31 in Olympia.
BIAW spokeswoman Erin Shannon said her group was interested to see what the PDC comes up with next month.
“On its face, any time you try to limit how groups can participate in the political process, it’s concerning,” she said. “That’s essentially saying that BIAW, representing its members, cannot participate in the political process.”
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