This Washington
State Sen. Jean Berkey Files Complaint Against Democratic Political Consultant for "Shell Game."
As we noted in this morning's morning Fizz, State Sen. Jean Berkey (D-38, Everett) filed a complaint with the Public Disclosure Commission today against Moxie Media.
Moxie Media, the lefty political firm that did ads for a union-backed political committee called Stand Up for Citizens, which attacked Berkey from the left, also did ads for a mysterious political committee, Cut Taxes PAC, hitting Berkey from the right.
Cut Taxes PAC has not disclosed its funding, reporting only that it owes Moxie Media about $5,000 for the anti-Berkey mailers. The Washington State Labor Council, which was behind Stand Up for Citizens, referred us to Moxie Media when we first reported the odd expenditure, but Moxie Media refuses to discuss the matter. It would be ironic if the unions turn out to be behind Cut Taxes PAC because the unions pushed legislators like Berkey to vote for tax increases—which Berkey did.
Berkey's complaint calls the set up "a shell game that Moxie Media issuing to hide their efforts to unseat me on behalf of the groups behind Stand Up for Citizens."
Berkey is currently trailing both her Democratic challenger, Nick Harper, and the Republican, Rodney Rieger, in the top-two primary and faces an insurmountable vote gap.
UPDATE: Asked who funded the independent expenditure for Cut Taxes PAC, Moxie Media owner Lisa MacLean says that she "authorized and paid for the it. Nobody has sponsored this ad but Moxie. And that's how it's accounted for at the PDC. This complaint is baseless. There are no funders to hide because there are no other funders."
However, asked if the unions who worked with her on the other anti-Berkey ads might step up and pay, she added, "if that changes, it will be updated at the PDC."
So, is MacLean saying that the unions behind the anti-Berkey campaign were not involved in Cut Taxes PAC? That she decided to go into debt to fund the ad on her own? "It's free speech," MacLean said. "I can do an ad if I decide to."
Cut Taxes PAC's chair and treasurer are both colleagues of Moxie Media. We called them too in our earlier reporting on this story , but they did not return our calls.
UPDATE 2: Washington State Labor Council Political Director Benjamin Lawver says, "WSLC did not approve any expenditure to Cut Taxes PAC or Conservative PAC [the other committee named in Berkey's complaint. Their name appears on the mailer]."
Moxie Media, the lefty political firm that did ads for a union-backed political committee called Stand Up for Citizens, which attacked Berkey from the left, also did ads for a mysterious political committee, Cut Taxes PAC, hitting Berkey from the right.
Cut Taxes PAC has not disclosed its funding, reporting only that it owes Moxie Media about $5,000 for the anti-Berkey mailers. The Washington State Labor Council, which was behind Stand Up for Citizens, referred us to Moxie Media when we first reported the odd expenditure, but Moxie Media refuses to discuss the matter. It would be ironic if the unions turn out to be behind Cut Taxes PAC because the unions pushed legislators like Berkey to vote for tax increases—which Berkey did.
Berkey's complaint calls the set up "a shell game that Moxie Media issuing to hide their efforts to unseat me on behalf of the groups behind Stand Up for Citizens."
Berkey is currently trailing both her Democratic challenger, Nick Harper, and the Republican, Rodney Rieger, in the top-two primary and faces an insurmountable vote gap.
UPDATE: Asked who funded the independent expenditure for Cut Taxes PAC, Moxie Media owner Lisa MacLean says that she "authorized and paid for the it. Nobody has sponsored this ad but Moxie. And that's how it's accounted for at the PDC. This complaint is baseless. There are no funders to hide because there are no other funders."
However, asked if the unions who worked with her on the other anti-Berkey ads might step up and pay, she added, "if that changes, it will be updated at the PDC."
So, is MacLean saying that the unions behind the anti-Berkey campaign were not involved in Cut Taxes PAC? That she decided to go into debt to fund the ad on her own? "It's free speech," MacLean said. "I can do an ad if I decide to."
Cut Taxes PAC's chair and treasurer are both colleagues of Moxie Media. We called them too in our earlier reporting on this story , but they did not return our calls.
UPDATE 2: Washington State Labor Council Political Director Benjamin Lawver says, "WSLC did not approve any expenditure to Cut Taxes PAC or Conservative PAC [the other committee named in Berkey's complaint. Their name appears on the mailer]."
