10/27/2005: "Gaylord: Court Ruling Backs Public's Right To Know"

A press release issued by San Juan County Prosecutor Randy Gaylord on the recent civil rights law suit against Gaylord and other county prosecutors, states that Thurston County Superior Court Judge Christopher Wickham dismissed civil rights claims by the No New Gas Tax Committee against local prosecutors from San Juan County, Seattle, Auburn and Kent who successfully sought an order requiring disclosure of concealed monetary and in-kind contributions to the committee's signature-gathering campaign. Previous Story

"This is a victory for openness and transparency in campaigns. The public's right to know who is funding an initiative campaign has been vindicated," said Randy Gaylord, San Juan County's Prosecuting Attorney. "There are no special rules for talk radio hosts. Anyone who runs an initiative campaign, no matter how powerful or prominent, must comply with state public disclosure laws," he said.

The lawsuit began in June when the No New Gas Tax Committee reported$70,000 in "anonymous" cash contributions in clear violation of the campaign disclosure laws. Judge Wickham found that No Gas failed to report the source of this cash, as well as in-kind contributions from Fisher Broadcasting (an amount the campaign later valued at $20,000 for May).

In his ruling today, Judge Wickham confirmed his earlier order requiring disclosure. He found that "Kirby Wilbur and John Carlson were the principal organizers of the campaign and openly used their media time to advertise the campaign and solicit funds for it ... Their actions were not accidental and the impact on the campaign was not incidental. Anything less than the facts in this case might well not be a reportable contribution."

"Those who criticize government for lack of accountability and openness have a special responsibility to themselves to be accountable when they step into the public forum of an initiative campaign," said Mike Vaska, an attorney at the Foster Pepper law firm representing the prosecutors.

"The public's confidence in our elections depends on ensuring that secret campaign contributions do not creep back into our political system," he said.