Fuse

Seattle-based Fuse, a progressive interest group who was active in publicizing last week's Public Disclosure Commission case against the Building Industry Association of Washington, is once again pushing a potentially unlawful move involving the BIAW.

Fuse has obtained material from attorney Knoll Lowney, who was involved with the PDC case, showing that Rossi had contact with senior members of the Master Builder's Association, a subsidiary of the BIAW, at the time that they were planning how to fund their ChangePAC.

Minutes from a chair officers meeting on May 21, 2007 show that three senior members of the MBA, Doug Barnes, John Day and Jim Potter, had received personal telephone calls from Rossi, and at least one member told Rossi of the BIAW's plan to transfer money from pension funds into the BIAW's ChangePAC coffers. The same action, done without disclosing contributors, was found to be illegal by the PDC and is currently facing charges from the attorney general's office.

A number of Democratic groups have condemned the Building Industry Association of Washington tactics in light of the Public Disclosure Commission ruling that they had acted illegally in soliciting and receiving contributions with political aims, while keeping the names of the donors a secret.

Since Monday's ruling, a number of Democratic groups have issued statements, all tying the BIAW to Republican gubernatorial candidate Dino Rossi, and often to President George W. Bush. See below for statements from the Washington State Democratic Party, the Democratic Governors Association, and local progressive group FUSE.

 The progressive interest group Fuse has come out with an awards show of sorts on its website, complete with a red curtain and a long list of awards under the banner of what they called the "Sizzle Awards".

In addition to highlighting a handful of prominent Democratic lawmakers, they give Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown (D-Spokane) "The Boss" award for "being a progressive rock star", and they even showed some kindness to a Republican. Rep. Skip Priest (R-Federal Way) was named "The Collaborator" for his success in working across the aisle with Democrats