PDC slams Republican attack group
KING-5 owner Belo voluntarily pulls the anti-Senn advertisements from airwaves
The Public Disclosure Commission today slammed a Republican attack group led by Bruce Boram styling itself the "Voters Education Committee" with a unanimous decision asking the Attorney General to hit the group with fines for failing to comply with an order to file public dislosure records by Thursday, September 9th.
The "Voters Education Committee" has been running harshly critical ads of Democratic Attorney General candidate Deborah Senn. The committee has already outspent both of the Democratic candidates for Attorney General combined - airing negative advertisements about just one of the candidates - Deborah Senn.
An excerpt from KOMO TV's article on the PDC meeting:
The PDC is now asking the Attorney General to go to Superior Court and seek an injunction against the "Voters Education Committtee" to force the disclosure of the committee's financial backers.
Already one media company has decided to stop allowing the smear campaign to permeate through its airwaves. Belo, Inc., which owns KING-5, has pulled the advertisements. Its competitors, Fisher (KOMO), and Entercom, (KIRO), would be wise to follow suit. Voters don't need to hear this garbage from a committee that won't even disclose its financial backers to the public. They claim it somehow has nothing do do with the election - less than a week before the primary.
We disagree completely - and so does the PDC.
This has everything to do with the election, and Bruce Boram and his attorney know it. The Republicans need to stop their dirty tricks - now. They have brought negative campaigning in this state to a new low. The heavyweights backing this slew of negative advertisements are apparently so uncomfortable with revealing their involvement that they have chosen to disregard public disclosure law.
The PDC has rightly acted in its capacity to enforce the public disclosure law. Now, the Voters Education Committee will comply the law, or it will find itself in deeper trouble than it already is. And Bruce Boram could find himself out of a job.
The Public Disclosure Commission today slammed a Republican attack group led by Bruce Boram styling itself the "Voters Education Committee" with a unanimous decision asking the Attorney General to hit the group with fines for failing to comply with an order to file public dislosure records by Thursday, September 9th.
The "Voters Education Committee" has been running harshly critical ads of Democratic Attorney General candidate Deborah Senn. The committee has already outspent both of the Democratic candidates for Attorney General combined - airing negative advertisements about just one of the candidates - Deborah Senn.
An excerpt from KOMO TV's article on the PDC meeting:
"It (the Voters Education Committee) does not believe it's required to register under state law and it does not believe its advertisement attacks Deborah Senn's character," says John White, Bruce Boram's attorney.Bruce Boram and his friends can say all they want about what they think the law is. They are disobeying and outright disregarding state law just as Tim Eyman does. They are not in compliance with the PDC.
Every PDC member balked at that. They unanimously voted the advertisement is a political ad that attacks Senn's character.
The PDC is now asking the Attorney General to go to Superior Court and seek an injunction against the "Voters Education Committtee" to force the disclosure of the committee's financial backers.
Already one media company has decided to stop allowing the smear campaign to permeate through its airwaves. Belo, Inc., which owns KING-5, has pulled the advertisements. Its competitors, Fisher (KOMO), and Entercom, (KIRO), would be wise to follow suit. Voters don't need to hear this garbage from a committee that won't even disclose its financial backers to the public. They claim it somehow has nothing do do with the election - less than a week before the primary.
We disagree completely - and so does the PDC.
This has everything to do with the election, and Bruce Boram and his attorney know it. The Republicans need to stop their dirty tricks - now. They have brought negative campaigning in this state to a new low. The heavyweights backing this slew of negative advertisements are apparently so uncomfortable with revealing their involvement that they have chosen to disregard public disclosure law.
The PDC has rightly acted in its capacity to enforce the public disclosure law. Now, the Voters Education Committee will comply the law, or it will find itself in deeper trouble than it already is. And Bruce Boram could find himself out of a job.
