"Bridging the Gap" levy election cash under scrutiny

When Vic Odermat wrote a $1,000 check to the "Bridging the Gap" campaign last fall, he did so to support a property-tax levy for Seattle streets and bridges.

The owner of Brown Bear Car Wash never imagined $4,000 from the campaign fund would go to the Irish Heritage Club and possibly pay for a trip to Ireland for Mayor Greg Nickels' wife.

"Oh my goodness," Odermat said, when he learned that $31,557 in surplus campaign money was doled out after the Nov. 7 election to some nonprofit groups and campaign workers.

The Washington State Democrats and the Seattle-Kobe Sister City Association, for instance, each got $5,000.

The money sent to the Irish club and Kobe group could be used to defray travel expenses for Nickels' wife and other Seattleites who'll be visiting sister cities Galway, Ireland, and Kobe, Japan, later this year, said Deputy Mayor Tim Ceis. It will be the groups' decision how to spend the money, Ceis added.

That plan "appears problematic," said Wayne Barnett, director of the Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission. While ballot-measure campaigns are allowed to contribute surplus funds to nonprofits, city rules prohibit "personal use" of campaign funds.

Barnett said he wants to gather "all the facts before reaching a conclusion" as to, for instance, what Sharon Nickels' role on the trip would be.

The Citizens for Bridging the Gap campaign, led by Nickels, raised $240,500 for the election in which Seattle voters approved a $365 million, nine-year levy to repair streets and bridges and build bike paths and sidewalks. Ceis said he and the mayor solicited most of the campaign's contributions.

The campaign committee filed a report Tuesday detailing the last of its surplus spending, which split $7,056 among four environmental groups -- Washington Conservation Voters, Cascade Land Conservancy, Futurewise and Seattle Great City Initiative -- and campaign treasurer Richard Vincent, who received $2,503 in a "spontaneous gratuity," according to the report.

Earlier beneficiaries included Transportation Choices Coalition ($6,000), Cascade Bicycle Club ($1,000) and campaign manager Andrew Glass-Hastings ($3,500).

Ceis said decisions on spending the surplus were made by the mayor's "political brain trust," which includes Ceis and Nickels' aides Viet Shelton, Regina LaBelle and Michael Mann. The mayor was told of the payments, Ceis said, but was "not very involved" in the decisions.

Ceis said he never thought about turning the surplus over to the city to help with street projects at the heart of the levy's mission. "I'm not certain the city qualifies as a nonprofit that can receive surplus funds," he said.

Glass-Hastings and Vincent, an unpaid volunteer, were rewarded for their long hours and hard work. Ceis said the environmental and transportation groups were all "good organizations that work in the city and do good jobs."

The state Democrats "had an event coming up that they wanted sponsorship for, and we thought it was a reasonable request," he explained.

As for how the Irish Heritage Club and Kobe sister-city association spend the money, it's up to them, Ceis said.

"They're working with us on organizing the trip, and we're helping defray some of the costs," Ceis said, adding that the city will pay for the mayor's trip but not his wife's.

Ceis said he would not be part of the Seattle delegation on either trip.

He also said the surplus expenditures come with no strings and no favors expected from the recipients.

Few Seattle ballot-measure campaigns in recent years were left with surplus funds.

Odermat's contribution was one of 14 that came in to Bridging the Gap after Election Day. Those contributions totaled $28,600, close to the same amount as the campaign surplus. Other late donors included Virginia Mason Medical Center ($2,500), development company Opus ($5,000), Comcast ($4,500), Amgen ($2,500) and BNSF Railway ($2,500).

"I object to them arbitrarily deciding where the funds will go," Odermat said. "If they have a surplus, how about donating it to Northwest Harvest, the Salvation Army or the Catholic relief fund -- something that benefits a lot of people rather than a few."

Ceis said the campaign committee didn't see a need to notify donors about how the surplus would be spent. "First, the money isn't tied to any specific donor. And, when donors give to a campaign, they do it with full knowledge that the campaign will make decisions on how to use those funds. That's the unwritten agreement between donors and campaigns," Ceis said.

Maybe so. But, Odermat said, "You donate it for a cause you believe in, and let's face it, our streets and bridges are in disrepair."

Bob Young: 206-464-2174 or byoung@seattletimes.com