GOP gubernatorial candidate Rob McKenna has made education—and the education reform agenda—his number one issue. So, it was a bit of a blow to his campaign yesterday when the League of Education Voters, the state's main education reform group, chose to endorse neither McKenna nor his Democratic rival Jay Inslee.

McKenna's Arne Duncan-style agenda—tough teacher evaluations, shelving the seniority pay system, and charter schools—have been central to McKenna's campaign pitch and to LEV's platform.

So, on a media call with McKenna's campaign manager Randy Pepple today, I asked if they were surprised not to get the LEV endorsement.

Pepple said: "I wouldn't say surprised. I'd certainly say disappointed."

And then this impolitic bombshell accusation: "The League decided that they were not going to follow their mission. Our understanding is the staff recommended an endorsement of Rob, but the board which is controlled primarily by those that will be voting for Congressman Inslee made sure that did not occur."

Asked by Everett Herald reporter Jerry Cornfield to support the claim, Pepple said: "It was provided to me confidentially. I can't give the name out. It's no secret among the people who are around LEV that in this case there was an effort by the board to take control of this process because they did not want to see [the LEV endorsement] go to Rob."

He went on to say that typically the board simply rubber stamps the staff recommendations.

I called LEV Director Chris Korsmo for a response to Pepple's charge.

She told me: "Our deliberations are internal to the organization, and we don't speak about that publicly." Then, referring to Thursday's non-endorsement, she added: "We spoke yesterday with one voice."

Korsmo said the staff and the board were both equally involved in the endorsement process all along—both meeting with the candidates and doing follow-up. And she said the board, which has the final say on endorsements, made its decision "in good faith."

She said there are avid supporters of both Inslee and McKenna on the board.

Campaign finance reports show that of the seven LEV board members, four contributed to Inslee (total: $4,925) and one donated to McKenna ($140).

However, big footnote: One of the Inslee donors was Nick Hanauer ($3,200). His donations came in September 2011—long before he publicly denounced Inslee and revealed that he was more impressed with McKenna.

Another one of the Inslee donors is Karen Cooper ($375), former director of NARAL, the pro-choice group that strongly opposes McKenna and has endorsed Inslee. Another Inslee donor is Eric Liu ($1250), a former Bill Clinton speech writer.

The lone McKenna donor on the LEV board, Steve Miller (he donated just $140), is a corporate immigration lawyer at Seattle's Cowan Miller & Lederman.