OLYMPIA – A Thurston County judge on Wednesday affirmed an earlier ruling that talk show hosts’ advocacy for an initiative to repeal a gas tax increase should be reported as a political contribution.
Critics called that a stunning blow against free speech and an unfettered press. They vowed to appeal.
Superior Court Judge Chris Wickham, in a written opinion handed down two days after oral arguments, rejected a civil rights claim by NoNewGasTax.com. That group is sponsoring Initiative 912 on the November ballot, seeking to repeal a 9.5-cent increase to the 28-cent-a-gallon state gasoline tax.
The group sued San Juan County and the cities of Auburn, Kent and Seattle, alleging that the group’s free speech rights were violated. In a case those jurisdictions brought last summer, the judge ruled that two talk show hosts’ comments promoting Initiative 912 amounted to a campaign donation that should be reported to the state Public Disclosure Commission.
The I-912 campaign subsequently reported, estimating a market value for radio reports, as well as newspaper content dealing with the initiative.
In their counterclaim, the initiative organizers called the disclosure ruling “an unprecedented and dangerous assault on the free speech and free association guarantees of both the United States and Washington constitutions.”
In his ruling Wednesday, Wickham stood by his earlier stance.
“In this case (KVI talk show hosts) Kirby Wilbur and John Carlson were the principal organizers of the campaign and openly used their media time to advertise the campaign and solicit funds for it,” Wickham said.
“Their relationship to the campaign and their open advocacy of the campaign demonstrated their intention to use valuable media time to support the campaign. Their actions were not accidental and the impact on the campaign was not incidental.”
He said his earlier ruling applied only to the signature-gathering period of the campaign, and that the organizers did not show that they were harmed.
“Even a minor limitation on their freedom of speech and association during that time period … is permitted under well-established state and federal law,” Wickham said.
Ordinarily, on-air editorials are not reportable as campaign contributions, he said, making a distinction based on what he called the duo’s central role as the campaign’s originators.
Wickham dismissed their case, but declined to award legal fees to the winning side.
Prosecutors and their outside counsel hailed the decision.
“This is a victory for openness and transparency in campaigns,” said San Juan County Prosecutor Randy Gaylord. “The public’s right to know who is funding an initiative campaign has been vindicated.
“There are no special rules for talk radio hosts. Anyone who runs an initiative campaign, no matter how powerful or prominent, must comply with state public disclosure laws.”
Mike Vaska, an attorney who represented the prosecutors, added, “Those who criticize government for lack of accountability and openness have a special responsibility to be accountable in the public forum of an initiative campaign.
“The public’s confidence in our elections depends on ensuring that secret campaign contributions do not creep back into our political system.”
In earlier interviews, executives at Fisher Broadcasting, the KVI parent company, decried the judge’s decision to require the hosts to report their work as campaign contributions.
Dennis Kelly, a top Fisher executive, said hosts are given wide latitude to discuss the issues of the day, adding, “If the judge’s ruling holds, it will have a chilling effect on talk and news shows across America.”
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