campaign finance reform

The Public Disclosure Commission held a press conference in Olympia today to release the latest edition of their already award-winning website.  The new site, found here, is meant to be simpler to use with more graphics, clickable variables and up-to-date figures.

In other words, PolitickerWA.com's nights just got a whole lot more exciting. Give it a shot and see for yourself.

The Tacoma News-Tribune's Niki Sullivan has been reporting at their Political Buzz blog on a visit Dino Rossi made to Tacoma on Wednesday to the Christian Businessmen's Connection (CMBC), where she suggests Rossi's campaign may have breached the spirit of the law, if not the letter.

The CMBC is a non-profit 501(c)3 public charity, and because of that tax exempt status with the IRS, they are not allowed to involve themselves in partisan politics. The group insists that the meeting had nothing to do with politics, though Sullivan provided evidence that may prove to the contrary.

Opponents of the I-1000 Death with Dignity campaign are asking a judge to overturn campaign finance laws that require them to disclose their contributors in Public Disclosure Committee reports. The group, Human Life of Washington, fears that supporters of its cause will be harassed by those in favor of assisted suicide.

Joe Turner at the Tacoma News-Tribune has a story on the effort in Tuesday's paper. He says the group finds state rules, which would classify them as a political action committee if they buy radio advertisements, overly broad.

John BurbankSeattle's 36th Legislative District is one of the most reliably blue districts in the state, a place where constituents rarely disagree over the core issues, and if anything they will have differences over what constitutes the best form of democracy. That idea came about again recently when, at a Democratic debate in the 36th District Thursday night, candidates John Burbank and Reuven Carlyle differed on the implementation of spending caps for their state House race where State Party Chair Dwight Pelz recently named Burbank the official nominee when the District decided not to endorse any single nominee.

After a question was asked about public election financing where both candidates affirmed their support of the idea, Burbank turned to Carlyle and asked if he would agree to spending limits in this year's race. Carlye declined at the time, and later called the question nothing but a debate gimmick and an attempt at a "gotcha" moment.