Court candidate amasses $300,000

OLYMPIA — Property-rights attorney John Groen has raised more than $300,000 in his bid to unseat state Supreme Court Chief Justice Gerry Alexander.

As of July 1, Groen had raised about four times as much as Alexander, a two-term incumbent.

Nearly two-thirds of Groen's money poured in during the final weeks before strict new limits on campaign fundraising went into effect last month. The bulk of that cash came from real-estate developers and others in the construction industry.

Alexander opted to follow the new fundraising restrictions before they took effect. So far, he has raised about $77,000, according to the latest filings with the state Public Disclosure Commission (PDC).

Three candidates who so far have filed to run for two other Supreme Court seats also announced they would adhere to the new limits.

Alexander's campaign and others have criticized Groen for not heeding the new limits, which the state Legislature approved in March but did not go into effect until June 7.

But Groen's campaign defended its decision to ignore the limits until they became law.

"The Legislature gave everybody the option to bring in large contributions, and we chose to do so," Charlie Klinge, one of Groen's law partners and chairman of his fundraising committee, said Tuesday.

Groen is trying to follow in the footsteps of Justice Jim Johnson, a conservative property-rights advocate who was elected to the court in 2004, thanks largely to huge financial backing from the building industry.

In the wake of Johnson's victory, the Democrat-controlled state Legislature passed a law requiring judicial candidates to follow the same limits that apply to other candidates for statewide office — $1,400 for the primary election and $1,400 for the general election.

He received three $25,000 contributions just days before the new limits took hold — including checks from One Pacific, a real-estate-development company; Jason Spadaro, president of SDS Lumber, which operates in the Columbia River Gorge; and Cam Thomas of Underwood, Skamania County, who lists his occupation as "investments."

Groen, however, had to spend at an equally fast pace. The PDC issued an emergency rule last month that said any over-the-limit donations also had to be spent by June 7.

Groen spent more than $185,000 in the first week of June, on everything from campaign signs and mailers to $1,041 worth of "pocket constitutions" from the Cato Institute.

His campaign also reported paying about $36,000 in advertising and fundraising fees to a company owned by Republican state Sen. Don Benton of Vancouver.

In another contested Supreme Court race, Republican state Sen. Steve Johnson — another candidate backed by property-rights advocates — has raised nearly $105,000. He is running against incumbent Justice Susan Owens, who has raised almost $70,000.

Incumbent Justice Tom Chambers, who has not drawn an opponent, has raised nearly $132,000.

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