While the BIAW is downloading an additional $4 million (total $7.2 million) into independent expenditure ads supporting Dino Rossi’s campaign for governor, K.C. Superior Court is moving forward on a case that could find the BIAW’s ad campaign is illegal.
The Court will hold a hearing tomorrow at 3pm to determine wether Rossi will be deposed in a lawsuit filed by two former State Supreme Court justices (both Gregoire supporters) that alleges Rossi worked in concert with the BIAW to raise money for the BIAW’s Rossi fund.
Unlike candidates, independent expenditure groups have no fundraising limits, but independent expenditure groups are not allowed to coordinate with the candidate.
If K.C. Superior Court judge Paris Kallas rules the plaintiffs can depose Rossi, attorney Knoll Lowney will question the candidate on Monday morning.
Josh–
You forgot to add that both ex-Supreme Court Justices are big backers of Gregoire.
Small detail. Right?
This is a political hatchet job.
Just look at the timing.
Why didn’t they file complaint earlier??
Political hatchet job.
Most folks are tired of the Gregoire Lawsuit Machine.
1
Dude, law and order party, you are a huge banner carrying member.
Breaking the law is breaking the law. So, um, well, ah….tough titty. Why aren’t you screaming to have the miscreants investigated and punished?
I am not concerned about timing. The timing is probably political. Does not mean the law was not broken, dumb ass. How do you like the October surprise? Not so much fun when the tables turn.
Yeah, right….Robert F. Utter, that radical leftist originally appointed to the state Appeals Court, and then to the state Supreme Court, by Dan Evans.
More folks are tired of the Rossi/BIAW Festival of Bullshit.
Being ACCUSED repeatedly by Gregoire & her surrogates does not mean being guilty.
Several of the Gregoire-initiated barrage of lawsuits have already evaporated into thin air!
Lawsuits by Gregoire & her surrogates are as common as GREGOIRE INCREASING SPENDING BY 33% IN THE FACE OF A RECESSION@!
Folks are tired of lawyers.
This will backfire on her.
Cynical
This lawsuit is meritorious, unlike many of the claims Rossi is currently making about Gregoire. Accordingly, the lawsuit is perfectly legitimate. Everything within the rules must be done to prevent a charlatan like Dino the Dim from ascending to our state’s highest political office. Politics is a contact sport. Democrats get to get rough, too, not just you folks on the rightwing lunatic fringe.
Boeing is headed for a Right-To-Work state with much better cost-of-living.
All the taxes, transportation debacles, costly light rail proposals…all add to the cost of living.
Plus, you KLOWNS are determined to kill the Construction Industry.
Boeing isn’t stupid.
Look for Gregoire to make HUGE last minute concessions in a desperate attempt to keep Boeing here….just like Locke did. Locke gave away Waaaaaaaaaaaay more than he had to if only he had stepped up sooner.
Where is Gregoire on this Boeing catastrophe??
Busy dreaming up more ways to sue Rossi??
Fools.
Cynical;
You keep repeating that Boeing is moving to a right-to-work state.
Then why did Boeing have to take over Vought industries 787 previously outsourced to Vought in N. Carolina, and buy back the rights to the engineering drawings?
Answer: Because aerospace jobs are not easily transferred. They are skilled positions at both the mechanic and the engineering level. Skilled workers are usually represented by unions.
Don’t be misled by statements made by Union management for the purposes of gaining bargaining leverage. It’s only posturing.
rhp–
Keep dreaming that dream.
I’m advising you to take this seriously.
I do not want to see Boeing move.
I still own some property in Washington…3 rentals & some beautiful building lots for our kids…(although I sold most of my rentals 3-5 years ago!!)
So selfishly, I want them to stay.
But I KNOW they have options on land and various moving plans that they have created the past 2 decades and spent millions updating recently.
If this happens, you will see many mechanics & engineers running to Texas for these jobs. Boeing will not likely lower salaries…just jettison the unreasonable union. However, workers will be the losers rhp. They will lose equity in their homes as home prices PLUMMET and will have to pay for their own move to Texas.
Ask yourself this rhp….
What other options locally in Washington do the Boeing Mechanics & Engineers have??????????
Answer: Unemployment
Plaintiff attorney Noll Clowney. the same troll who tried the same crap with a Safeco shareholder suit against McGavick. Clowney is a tool!. Fraudoire must be running scared!
Cynical,
I’m happy to add that context to the post.
Another bit of context is that Lowney isn’t too fond of Gregoire. She convened a special session last year to undo Lowney’s big court victory against Tim Eyman’s property tax cap. So, I would argue that Lowney doesn’t owe Gregoire any favors.
Re: Context. Care to disclose who you are or who you work for?
Funny, whenever you start to get close to the truth, the first thing you hear out of Republican mouths is it’s “politically motivated!”, or the investigation is “biased”. That’s their trump card to avoid talking about the facts – or testifying about their conduct – whether it’s Dino Rossi, Tod Palin, George Bush, Alberto Gonzales, etc.
But Rossi’s deposition is going to be taken, it’s just a question of when. He wants to put it off until after the election, at which point he won’t care, because he will already have the benefit of the millions the BIAW is spending on his behalf. I’m guessing that a judge will let him postpone it until after the next debate, but not later than a week from now.
Remember that in civil proceedings, the discovery process can be quite broad. The plaintiffs can usually ask a broad range of questions, with objections being reserved for consideration only if the testimony is going to be used at trial. Therefore, usually the Plaintiff’s lawyers would ask lots of questions about Rossi’s meetings and associations with BIAW and the AGC, not just the one meeting with the AGC we know about so far.
I suspect that Rossi’s lawyers will tell him not to answer, and they will be back in court in a week or so arguing about the scope of the deposition. Rossi will hope that he can drag it out until after the election, but it will just make him look sleezy in the process.
One idea for a Gregoire commercial, considering that she doesn’t have the resources to counter all of the BIAW’s spending:
Frame opens with still shots from several of the pro-Rossi commercials financed by the BIAW. Voice-over:
“Have you wondered who’s paying for all of these commercials on behalf of Dino Rossi?”
Cut to screen showing initials “B.I.A.W.”
“It’s the Building Industry of Washington, commonly called the BIAW. It’s made up of developers and builders who want to remove environmental safeguards which protect valuable salmon habitat from being destroyed by development”.
Cut to screen showing a large dollar amount…
“They’ve spent _____ million dollars trying to buy this election on behalf of Dino Rossi (insert correct figure in blank).”
Cut to screen showing newsletter from BIAW:
“This is the same organization who’s officers repeatedly claimed in their newsletter that environmentalists were closly linked to the Nazi party….”
Cut to shot of lawsuit….
“Two former justices of the Washington State Supreme Court have challenged the B.I.A.W.’s expenditures on behalf of Rossi, pointing out that they amount to an illegal campaign contribution. But the B.I.A.W. is trying to quickly spend more money before a court has an opportunity to tell them not to do it anymore…”
Cut to unflatering shot of Dino Rossi:
“You should know who it is that’s trying to get Dino Rossi elected, and why you are seeing so many television ads on his behalf….”
(Insert Gregoire “I approved this message” trailer).
re 1: Rossi claims that he was not a candidate when he was raising funds in concert with the BIAW for a gubernatorial run.
This is an excuse that only a Republican would embrace.
How many houses did BIAW members build this year? 7,000? If so, Rossi’s campaign is adding $1,000 to the price of a new home! No wonder housing is so expensive around here!
Hey rhp6033: When doing your Fraudoire commercial don’t forget this tidbit:
“BIAW is the 3rd largest state association affiliated with the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) in the country with over 13,500 member companies employing approximately 375,000 people.”
@15 “13,500” “375,000”
Apparently you haven’t been keeping up with current events.
steve–
Lots of folks still have and want to keep jobs in the Construction Industry.
How many construction workers will connect the dots that a vote for Gregoire just might cost them their jobs??
Like the effing construction industry was hurting before the mortgage industry went up in flames. The speculators that throw up these developments make plenty, and don’t seem to have much in their way, when market conditions allow. The livability of Washington will rapidly circle the drain if the crook rossi worms his way in.
The Columbian, Vancouver, Washington’s sole daily has run ZERO articles on the fact rossi is being sued. They did endorse Gregoire, but I’d hardly say they are doing the job of informing the voters…
The Repub response is pathetic. The actions or total inactions of the AG McKenna is also pathetic. The timing, you morons, of this claim is based on the fact this information was JUST DISCOVERED in the discovery phase of the lawsuit. Its not like BIAW is cooperating with the discovery.
So your solution, and McKenna’s solution, is apparently let them buy the election first and we will slap their wrist later. mcKenna could step in and try and freeze the money, but no, he won’t hurt his biggest supporters. A true independent voice would have taken action, but he has former BIAW lawyers in his senior staff, and is linked and beholden to the BIAW.
The legal term is “irreparable harm.” If its not addressed now, it can’t be remedied later.
Repubs think the law only applies to other people, not them. Their response shows the truth hurts.
Everyone around here is butt hurt that WA might actually have a Republican Governor and you will do anything to try and come up with some dumb ass excuse on what is wrong! Get over yourselves, there is NO CAMPAIGN fraud this is all in your heads trying to stop money to go into a Republican’s campaign! Look at who is accusing BIAW…find their links…Gregoire! She is so scared she is trying to take down the #1 Republican office who can help contribute to a Republican campaign. If this is what WA does to a business if they don’t like their freedom of speech, think of what can happen to your business if you stand up for something you belive in! All of you are horses asses – get off your high horse and pay attention to all the details. Gregorie is a Horses ASS!