Socialist candidate can keep donors confidential | Seattle P-I

[Ediacara]

Friday, August 29, 2003

Socialist candidate can keep donors confidential
Ethics commission decision overturned in federal court

By KATHY MULADY
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

A Seattle City Council candidate will be allowed to hide the names of her campaign contributors from public view, a federal court decided yesterday.

The preliminary injunction granted Freedom Socialist Party candidate Linda Averill yesterday drew criticism from another candidate, but will be allowed to stand through the primary election Sept. 16. A full court hearing will be scheduled later, but the names of any donors who give in the interim can be kept secret.

Averill, a Metro/King County bus driver who is challenging incumbent Margaret Pagler, says the secrecy will protect her donors from retaliation and harassment. She said she collected $1,300 in donations minutes after walking out of the courtroom yesterday.

In Seattle City Council races, campaign contributions of more than $100 are public information. The names of the donors, the cities where they live and the name of their employers are made public to give voters a chance to see if money flowing to campaigns influences candidates' voting records or how they might vote once they are in office.

more at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer

[lcordero]

1. she may be allowed to keep her donors confidential

but I don't think that the banks are going to be allowed the same option.

[maxsolomon]

2. given that 'liberal' is equivalent to traitor

being socialist freedom party must be 10 times worse. there are plenty of concealed weapons-carrying washingtonian patriots that would drive over the mountains or just across the lake to put a bullet in this woman or her donors just for being a socialist.

i say this is rational.

[private_ryan]

3. so this is the standard now even IF what you said it's true?

how about if Bush says my donors might fear Al Qaeda?

[Hegemony Cricket]

4. *ding!*

Accountability may only get cloudier from the precedent manipulating asshats known as the GOP.