''PAC puts money into ads for Sims''

The Seattle Times covers the campaign: "A political-action committee funded primarily by labor unions has bought $105,000 of radio ads supporting King County Executive Ron Sims in his re-election battle against County Councilman David Irons.

A political consultant working on the Voter Education Committee commercials said the ads would attempt to link Irons to President Bush's policies — an association the Sims campaign also has been making. John Wyble declined to reveal the ads' exact content, but said, "There's a theme there, I think ... about tying David Irons to George Bush. As you have noticed, it's not the best time for the president." The ads are scheduled to start airing Monday, just more than a week before the Nov. 8 election.

The top contributors to the Voter Education Committee are the Service Employees International Union, United Food and Commercial Workers, and Washington State Council of County and City Employees. The committee was set up last year to fight initiatives proposed by tax-cutting crusader Tim Eyman. An Oct. 18 e-mail solicitation for contributions to the committee told potential donors that Sims "is in some trouble and needs your help." The message cited polls showing a tight race between Democrat Sims and Republican Irons.

Wyble, who is doing ads for the Voter Education Committee and two environmental groups supporting Sims, said independent expenditures in support of Sims are "probably getting close to a quarter-million, $300,000." Under state law, independent expenditures may support or oppose a candidate but may not be coordinated with a candidate's campaign. There is no limit to the size of contributions, except that contributions made within three weeks of the election may not exceed $5,000.

Doug Ellis, spokesman for the state Public Disclosure Commission, said staff will look into the legality of two contributions reportedly made Oct. 18, after the cutoff for large donations. The United Food and Commercial Workers in Washington, D.C., gave $20,000 on that date, and the Washington State Council of County and City Employees gave $13,000, according to filings with PDC.

With the war in Iraq, a grand-jury indictment of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby — Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff — and controversy over the federal response to Hurricane Katrina driving down Bush's approval ratings, Wyble said he expects Democratic-leaning King County voters to respond to a message that associates Irons with the president. Sims' first mail piece described Irons, who campaigned for the president, as a "right-wing" Bush supporter. More recently, Sims has accused Irons of advocating construction of a freeway through the Snoqualmie Valley — something Irons has said should be considered, but which he hasn't specifically proposed building.

King County Republican Party Chairman Michael Young said he was "shocked by the tone of Ron's campaign. He claims he has a good record, but all he can talk about is David Irons. There's no vision for the county being brought forth by the Sims campaign. It's embarrassing."

The Sims campaign has raised $665,281, not counting the independent-expenditure campaigns. Irons has reported $453,807. The county Republican Party, which is better funded than the county Democratic Party, has raised more than $500,000 for political activities this year and has sent out several mailings in support of Irons' campaign.
The Sierra Club and Washington Conservation Voters mailed fliers to targeted lists of voters comparing Irons' environmental record unfavorably with that of Sims. The Sierra Club planned to hold a pro-Sims demonstration on Mercer Island this morning followed by a door-to-door campaign at voters' homes. The state Democratic Party has paid $7,875 for automated phone calls to voters promoting Sims and Seattle City Council candidate Dwight Pelz and taking positions on several initiatives.

One union has broken ranks with mostly pro-Democratic organized labor, paying $15,064 for newspaper ads supporting Irons. The union, the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 302, has been unable to reach agreement with the Sims administration on a contract for 90 workers after more than three years of negotiations."