Illegal donations went to Gregoire, PDC told

By Ralph Thomas
Seattle Times Olympia bureau

E-mail this article Print this article Search archive

In a complaint to the state Public Disclosure Commission (PDC), the Republican Party claims that EMILY's List — a national group that raises campaign cash for Democratic women — has been violating state law by collecting checks on Gregoire's behalf and forwarding them to her campaign. The complaint also says EMILY's List exceeded the state's $1,250 campaign-donation limit. "The public should be wondering about their attorney general," said state GOP Chairman Chris Vance. "If anyone should know the law, it's her."

Officials with Gregoire's campaign called the charges "frivolous," and EMILY's List said the donations were legal.

State law prohibits a fund-raising practice known as "bundling," when an organization collects a batch of contributions from various sources and delivers them to a particular candidate. The law is intended to prevent groups such as unions, corporations and other organizations from exerting "undue influence" on candidates by having their names attached to large contributions, PDC spokesman Doug Ellis said.

The Republican Party said it has evidence that EMILY's List has done that with Gregoire. In its complaint, the GOP included a letter that EMILY's List sent to someone in Washington state soliciting donations for Gregoire and five candidates in other states.

"In key states and key elections, EMILY's List is backing strong pro-choice Democratic women candidates who will not only derail Bush's right-wing power play, but also make him a one-term president," the letter reads.

The letter, partly paid for by Gregoire's campaign, asks recipients to make donations to at least two of the candidates and came with a return envelope addressed to EMILY's List.

The Republican complaint said the EMILY's List solicitation constitutes a "flagrant violation" of the state's anti-bundling rules and contribution limits. The party called on the PDC to investigate and force Gregoire to return any illegal or excess contributions.

The party also pointed to a 2002 press release on the EMILY's List Web site in which the group says it collects and bundles checks for candidates.

Frank Greer, Gregoire's campaign consultant, said the contributions were handled differently, in a "totally appropriate way."

Greer and EMILY's List spokeswoman Melissa Schiffman said the group — whose acronym stands for Early Money Is Like Yeast — never directly handled donations for Gregoire. The money went to a company called Sheads and Associates, whose address is the one listed on the envelope with the November letter. Schiffman said Sheads sorts the checks and sends any made out to Gregoire to her campaign with the rest sent to EMILY's List.

Schiffman said EMILY's List and Gregoire have separate contracts with Sheads. Sheads officials did not return calls yesterday.

"We work scrupulously to comply with the Washington state law," Schiffman said.

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company