Ads blame Gregoire for change in ballot

By Ralph Thomas and Andrew Garber
Seattle Times staff reporters

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OLYMPIA — A powerful state business group yesterday launched an ad campaign accusing Attorney General Christine Gregoire of helping to kill the state's popular blanket primary election.

Gregoire's campaign called the ads blatant lies and a complete distortion of her record in defending the state's 70-year-old primary.

The ads, in which paint is poured on bewildered voters, are the opening salvo in an effort by the Building Industry Association of Washington to derail Gregoire's bid for governor.

The BIAW, a longtime Gregoire foe that is supporting Republican Dino Rossi for governor, bought $500,000 worth of air time for the ads.

The group hopes to tap voter discontent with the new system, which limits voters to only one party's slate of candidates during next week's primary. The change was forced by the state's major political parties, which successfully sued to overturn the old system.

BIAW Executive Director Tom McCabe said a new BIAW-sponsored political-action committee recently conducted a statewide poll and found that voter anger over the new primary runs deep. He called the ads "educational" but acknowledged the goal is to direct as much voter rage as possible at Gregoire.

The Gregoire campaign called the ads and McCabe's assertions "totally false." In a written statement, the campaign pointed to her defense of the blanket primary in court and said she had urged the state parties to back down from their lawsuit.

"Chris defended the blanket primary in district court, in the court of appeals and tried to take it all the way to the United States Supreme Court," the statement said.

Washington's primary was changed after a series of court challenges that started in 2000, when the U.S. Supreme Court struck down California's blanket primary, ruling that it violated parties' First Amendment rights.

The BIAW, pointing to court documents, contends that Gregoire talked with Paul Berendt, chairman of the state Democratic Party, before the party filed suit over Washington's primary in 2000.
 
Berendt said yesterday that he did talk to Gov. Gary Locke and Gregoire before the party filed suit but that the meeting was called by the governor, who was trying to persuade the party not to file suit.

"That was [Gregoire's] position in this as well," Berendt said.

After a long court battle, the state's major parties prevailed in 2003 when the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals eliminated the blanket primary. It was replaced by lawmakers and Locke earlier this year with a Montana-style system, which allows voting in only one party's primary.

Ralph Thomas: 360-943-9882 or rthomas@seattletimes.com