Radio ads attack Justice Chambers

OLYMPIA — A new political-action committee with ties to state Supreme Court candidate Jeanette Burrage's campaign is running radio ads attacking her opponent, incumbent Justice Tom Chambers, for his recent vote to overturn the state's gay-marriage ban.

"Marriage is under attack in Washington state," warns one of two radio ads, which began airing statewide last week.

Though a majority of the court voted to uphold the gay-marriage ban, the ads warn that gay-marriage proponents are pushing the court to reconsider.

"I'm just trying to hold Tom Chambers accountable," said John Johnson, part owner of a Poulsbo business that put up much of the money for the ads.

Johnson said neither Burrage nor her campaign played any role in putting the ads on the air. But at the time the ads were placed, Johnson's nephew, Trevor Johnson, was working as Burrage's campaign director. And the phone listing for John Johnson's business was the same as the contact number listed on Burrage's campaign Web site.

State law bars candidates from coordinating with groups that are waging independent campaigns on their behalf. Dave Mortenson, a Republican campaign consultant who was hired to run the ad campaign, said his clients are new to politics.

"I think what you have here is an honest effort by people who are really concerned about this issue," he said.

Even with the help from the new PAC, Burrage remains outgunned by Chambers. As of this week, Burrage had raised about $30,000. Chambers had raised more than $215,000 — including $53,000 of his own money — and has been running his own radio ads for several weeks.

The new ads against Chambers focus mostly on his role in the court's 5-4 decision in July upholding the state's 1998 Defense of Marriage Act, which limits marriage to one man and one woman. Chambers dissented, arguing that marriage is a "fundamental right" for all citizens.

In the 60-second radio ads, a man and a woman take turns criticizing Chambers' stand in the case and warning that "gay-rights activists and Seattle ultraliberals want to legalize same-sex marriage."

The money for the ads came from a group called Constitution First, a PAC that first registered with the state two weeks ago. Mortenson said he formed the PAC at the behest of John Johnson and other Burrage supporters.

But Johnson stressed he is not running the PAC. Of the $75,000 the group has raised, two-thirds came from Sabra Ventures, which is half owned by Johnson.

Mortenson said when he heard about the Johnson family ties between the two campaigns, "I suggested you really ought not be that close."

John Johnson said his nephew is no longer working on Burrage's campaign.

Burrage, a conservative property-rights proponent, served one term as a King County Superior Court judge in the 1990s but has lost several other judicial elections, including a bid for the Supreme Court in 1994.

In Chambers' radio ad, former Justice Faith Ireland points out that Burrage has repeatedly been "voted by her peers as unqualified" — referring to her negative ratings from the King County Bar Association.

Ireland also reminds voters of a 1999 incident when Burrage admonished two women lawyers for not wearing skirts in her King County courtroom.

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