By Jim Haley
Herald Writer
There’s such a spending frenzy in the hot 21st Legislative District race that the totals are on track to set an all-time record for a House seat race, a state Public Disclosure Commission spokesman said Monday.
Former Mukilteo Mayor Brian Sullivan is in hot pursuit of appointed Rep. Joe Marine, R-Mukilteo, for the one-year remaining on the term.
But Marine by far is the fund-raising champ of the race so far.
According to disclosure commission records as of Monday, Marine has raised $278,000 in funds and in-kind contributions to Democrat Sullivan’s $116,000.
Together, war chests amount to $394,000, which is headed toward a record, commission spokesman Doug Ellis said.
"This says it’s an important race for a lot of people," said Ellis. "Not only for the political parties for control, but it’s also important for the issues when you look at the types of individuals and groups give money."
At stake is party control of the House, which was left with a 49-49 tie after last year’s elections. The tie also left the House powerless to accomplish much at the end of the last special session, including passing some kind of solution to the state’s traffic mess.
"it’s a philosophical bent as well as a partisan bent, so I think it will probably beat the record," Ellis said of the Marine-Sullivan race. "If not, it will come awfully close."
The record for a House seat was set a year ago in the 45th Legislative District when two candidates raised a total of $472,000. Of that, $469,000 was spent, Ellis said.
For the reporting period ending Oct. 9, Ellis said he compared the amount raised in the 2000 race with the Marine-Sullivan tussle. At that time, the two 2001 candidates had raised $345,000 between them, compared to the $310,000 raised at that point in the campaign last year in the 45th District.
Marine has reported a huge hunk of change directly from various GOP sources, nearly $84,000. By contrast, Sullivan has been backed by his Democratic party to the tune of nearly $27,000.
Most of the rest of the contributors for both candidates come from some traditional party backers — labor sources for Sullivan and business, Realtors and gun-rights activists for Marine.
In addition, supporters of both sides have been bombarding the public with so-called "issue" or independent expenditures that might aid the candidates but aren’t considered direct contributions to their campaigns, Ellis said.
For example, a political party or a special-interest group might call attention to a candidate’s stance on a particular issue, but not specifically ask you to vote one way or the other.
It’s difficult to track how much is indirectly being spent in the race by outside parties, but Ellis said he will make an attempt to track some of that funding.
So much attention has been placed on the 21st District race because a single House seat there is only one of two before the voters of the state this fall. The district includes Mukilteo, Lynnwood, Edmonds, Woodway and a small part of Mountlake Terrace.
The second seat up for grabs is in the neighboring 38th Legislative District (Everett and Marysville), where the spending has been a little more moderate. The combined sum raised by the two major party candidates is about $230,000
Appointed Rep. Jean Berkey, D-Everett, has raised about $123,000 to
Republican challenger Erv Hoglund’s $107,000.
Berkey’s position is up for election this year because, like Marine, she was appointed after last year’s elections.
The most money ever raised for a legislative race was in 1990 when two Seattle candidates spent $505,000 in a battle for a Senate seat, Ellis said.
You can call Herald Writer Jim Haley at 425-339-3447
or send e-mail to haley@heraldnet.com.
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