Realtor group's account of expenses disputed

PDC's complaints include over-the-limit contributions to Rossi

By Brad Shannon | The Olympian • Published December 09, 2008

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State regulators have filed their second campaign-finance complaint of the year against the Washington Association of Realtors, this time alleging that the association improperly reported its spending on Republicans in races for governor and attorney general.

The executive director of the Public Disclosure Commission, Vicki Rippie, filed her complaint last week, and the agency is launching a full investigation, spokesmen said this week.

The complaint also named the GOP campaigns of Attorney General Rob McKenna and gubernatorial hopeful Dino Rossi.

The Realtors denied wrongdoing in a statement released by group spokeswoman Barbara Lally.

"Washington Realtors believe that we acted fully within our constitutional rights to communicate information and education to the public as well as to our own members, and we feel that we will be fully vindicated," the statement said.

The PDC complaint said there is reason to believe the campaigns of McKenna and Rossi both violated campaign laws by accepting over-limit contributions. The violation is based on what appears to have been coordination between the campaigns and the Realtors that should have limited contributions to $3,200.

The complaint says:

• Realtors may have violated the law by spending $414,229 on electioneering communications opposing Gov. Chris Gregoire; the Realtors argued to the PDC that it was an issues piece that didn't advocate for or against a candidate, according to PDC documents.

• Realtors' Quality of Life PAC, in effect, made over-limit contributions of $28,888 on behalf of McKenna's campaign after McKenna had provided fundraising help to the Realtors' Political Action Committee. That PAC had funded the Quality of Life PAC.

• The Realtors PAC and Quality of Life PAC both, in effect, made over-limit contributions to Rossi of $497,806. Rossi allegedly gave fundraising help to R-PAC before it sponsored its ads.

The governor's race this year was the most expensive in state history, with roughly $44 million raised or spent by candidates and third parties.

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