BIAW

Acting on the judgment of the Public Disclosure Committee, who last week said that two builder's groups had violated campaign finance law in their political advocacy, the attorney general's office has filed lawsuits against the Master Builders Association of King & Snohomish Counties and the Building Industry Association of Washington's Member Services Corporation.

The PDC had determined that the MBA-KC and the BIAW had illegally solicited and spent funds for political means by not disclosing the source of the money. That determination was then sent to Attorney General Rob McKenna's office, who has acted on it.

McKenna will seek civil penalties and reimbursement of the investigation and trial costs against the two groups, who are both subsidiaries of the BIAW. The groups each have a month to respond, and the judges in charge of the case will report their findings on December 19, 2008, over a month after the election.

Acting on the judgment of the Public Disclosure Committee, who last week said that two builder's groups had violated campaign finance law in their political advocacy, the attorney general's office has filed lawsuits against the Master Builders Association of King & Snohomish Counties and the Building Industry Association of Washington's Member Services Corporation.

The PDC had determined that the MBA-KC and the BIAW had illegally solicited and spent funds for political means by not disclosing the source of the money. That determination was then sent to Attorney General Rob McKenna's office, who has acted on it.

McKenna will seek civil penalties and reimbursement of the investigation and trial costs against the two groups, who are both subsidiaries of the BIAW. The groups each have a month to respond, and the judges in charge of the case will report their findings on December 19, 2008, over a month after the election.

DENVER -- The first speaker at this morning's delegation breakfast was the state's senior U.S. Senator, Patty Murray. Notably, much of her words were spent applauding the delegates for the hard work and sacrifice they were making for the good of the party, if not the country.

"I know that all of you, just like me, want to do more than just yell at your television set," Murray said. "That is what this election is about you are participating. Thank you very much."

She said that the participation in the caucuses and the local campaigns have excited her, and commented that they would bring about a new energy in the party that would last.

The Republican Governor's Association went after Democratic Gov. Chris Gregoire's most recent radio ad today, which features Sen. Barack Obama calling for the type of change in government Gregoire has produced in her first term.

The RGA begs to differ. In addition to mocking Barack Obama for vacationing in his home state of Hawaii and speaking to European audiences, they question his judgment in supporting Gregoire by hitting the governor on the topics state Republicans have been using to make their case against her, namely her negotiations with state tribes, a lack of results on certain road projects and the projected budget deficit.

The Gregoire camp responded later the same day, using the attack to tie Dino Rossi to President George W. Bush, citing that Bush has raised $10 million for the RGA. 

Washington jumped to the third best state in the nation to do business, up from number five, according to rankings by Forbes. Note to Governor Chris Gregoire's press team: this is the kind of information that you might want to tell people about.

But bleach works too. Here's a quick, chemically stripped update on the status of political transparency in Washington state.

The campaign for Gov. Chris Gregoire held a press conference today with a number of what they called "progressive leaders" from across the state to denounce the BIAW-sponsored billboards that accuse the Seattle area of stealing the 2004 election. The billboards are meant to look just like normal Rossi signs, but are not paid for by the campaign.

The Rossi campaign hit back, too, hinting that the event showed that her re-election was more important to Gregoire than the job of governing. They also knocked the state Democratic Party for their own ads.

The range of the infamous pro-Dino Rossi signs seen by drivers en route to eastern Washington that say, "Don't let Seattle steal this one" will soon be expanding, and on the dime of a familiar player in the gubernatorial race.

When the issue first came up, the Rossi campaign told the Seattle Times that they had no idea who had put signs up and attempted to make clear that they were not official campaign signs.

Now a new story reveals their source, the Building Industry Association of Washington, is Rossi's largest third party backer.

The BIAW's new Change PAC television ads have now been released. According to Postman, they focus on the tribal casino deal that Gov. Gregoire authorized last year, which the Republicans are claiming was a quid pro quo.

The ad shows an elderly woman playing slot machines that land on pictures of the Democratic donkey logo and a winking Gregoire, but with no payout for the gambler. The ad says that "Christine Gregoire and tribal casinos are the only winners here."

Video of the ad is here at the Times' website.

The Gregoire campaign, much like their opponents did last week when Evergreen Progress went on the air with three television ads focusing on Dino Rossi's state senate record, are pushing back in advance of a third party television advertising buy by the BIAW's It's Time for a Change PAC. They are looking to set the tone before the ads hit the airwaves.

The Change PAC has not publicized which television advertisements it will be using, but its website, changeourgov.com, highlights videos from both the state Republican Party and MoveRed.org, the youth coalition of the King County Republican Party.