Former Congressman Jay Inslee, Democratic candidate for governor.

OLYMPIA, June 6.—A week before his big debate with Attorney General Rob McKenna, it sure sounded Tuesday as if Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jay Inslee was looking for a way out. Or perhaps looking for a way to underscore the latest Dem campaign theme. But one way or another, it was hard to take the latest charge at face value, because most observers of state politics already knew the real score – it had been all over the news a month before, trumpeted even by those on Inslee’s side.

Inslee campaign manager Joby Shimomura sent a letter to the Association of Washington Business demanding that it return a $100,000 contribution to its political action committee. The contribution from Tesoro, the Anacortes oil refiner, might be used in an independent campaign against Inslee, she said, and it just wasn’t proper for an organization that will be sponsoring the first and perhaps only debate between the two candidates. AWB is arranging the debate Tuesday in Spokane.

The contribution “leaves the impression that the money is intended for eventual use on behalf of Mr. McKenna and against Jay Inslee,” and might lead one to think the debate won’t be fair, Shimomura said. “This raises serious concerns for us, and we imagine it will raise concerns for many viewers and voters as well.”

Here’s the problem. The Tesoro contribution has no connection with the gubernatorial campaign. It was actually one of last month’s most-widely-reported political stories. AWB and initiative promoter Tim Eyman are raising money for Initiative 1185, the measure that would reset the Washington Legislature’s two-thirds voting requirement for tax increases. Much of the initial money for the signature drive came from oil companies, which seem to be among the Legislature’s favorite targets whenever the state budget gets tight. Last May 10, when reports were due at the Public Disclosure Commission, half the political reporters in the state wrote stories about the contributions from the oil industry, which totaled $350,000. Eyman issued a letter thanking the big contributors for their support and explained to the media how the money in the AWB PAC would be used. Progressive websites denounced the big-oil influence, just as they did the last time Eyman ran the initiative, as I-1053 back in 2010.

The hoopla might have been hard to miss. But after that the Association of Washington Business also submitted a bit of campaign paperwork that made it about as formal and black and white as could be. It filed a document with the state Public Disclosure Commission on May 19 explaining that the Tesoro contribution to the AWB PAC was earmarked for the I-1185 campaign. It is posted on the agency’s website.

AWB Sticks to Facts

Don Brunell, president of the Association of Washington Business.

AWB was quick to respond with a letter, also distributed to media, that said the $100,000 had already been spent on the I-1185 signature-gathering effort.

AWB president Don Brunell went on to say, “We are pleased to know that Mr. Inslee remains committed to our debate next Tuesday, June 12, in Spokane, and look forward to hearing him articulate his ideas about the key issues facing our state.”

AWB could have gone a bit further. Its political action committee now reports that it has raised $346,000, considerably more than the last time it made the news. The Tesoro money is only a part of it. In fact, only $200,000 comes from oil companies. The American Beverage Association, also a favorite target of tax-increase drives in the Legislature, has put up $100,000. And there are other contributors, including the Washington Association of Realtors, Port Blakely Tree Farms, and a host of other corporate interests. Washington State Wire posed a question of AWB. Will any of that money be spent on candidates?

Nope, said AWB spokeswoman Jocelyn McCabe. The money will be spent on ballot-issue campaigns – and since I-1185 is the only ballot measure AWB has endorsed so far this year, that tends to limit things. McCabe said, “The AWB PAC will not do independent expenditures to candidates.”

Reflects Latest Campaign Theme

Attorney General Rob McKenna, Republican candidate for governor.

So what’s it all about? The most obvious thought might be that Inslee is looking for a way out of next Tuesday’s debate. “We’re a little worried,” said Charles McCray, spokesman for the McKenna campaign. “It may be an attempt by the Inslee campaign to invent some excuse to get their boss out of it.”

But there is another that appears more likely. The Inslee campaign is reflecting a theme that the state Democratic party began pounding on Monday.

Republican candidate McKenna flew to Texas for a fund-raiser organized by that state’s attorney general, Greg Abbott. There’s nothing out of the ordinary about out-of-state fund-raisers. Inslee attended one in New York hosted by former Gov. Eliot Spitzer. But among the interest groups hosting the McKenna event was Tesoro, which of course has interests in that petroleum-producing state, as well as this one, where oil is refined. And in this state, where perceptions are concerned, Tesoro might be seen as the bad boy among the state’s oil refiners, because of a tragic explosion at its Anacortes refinery that killed seven. That makes it a target.

In a statement on the state Democratic party’s website, Chairman Dwight Pelz said of McKenna, “He’s deep in the heart of Texas, raising money from Tesoro, the same oil company responsible for a deadly explosion here just a couple of years ago. We cannot have our next governor beholden to these types of special interests. McKenna hoped you wouldn’t notice he wasn’t here today. I don’t think anyone was fooled.”

Pelz noted that Tesoro has contributed $1,600 directly to McKenna’s campaign.

Debate Will Go On

Whether there is anything at all worth mentioning about campaign contributions from interest groups depends on the beholder. The McKenna campaign notes that Inslee has big backing from the public-employee labor unions with which he would be negotiating as governor. An argument that goes one way goes just as easily the other.

But the key thing, for now, is that there are no plans to cancel the debate. “The debate will continue, absolutely,” said Jaime Smith, spokeswoman for the Inslee campaign.

And in defense of the charge, she said, “It’s not clear why Tesoro would funnel their money through AWB instead of making a direct contribution to I-1185. And it doesn’t change the negative perception created when an oil company that is generously supporting Rob McKenna is making an enormous contribution to a debate-hosting organization that is all but certain to spend significant resources on McKenna’s behalf.”

Campaign Nuttiness

The whole thing is silly, Eyman says. AWB has a separate PAC so that it can make direct contributions to the company running the paid signature-gathering effort. He has his own campaign organization, “Voters Want More Choices — Save the 2/3,” but money contributed to that committee also helps pay for other campaign overhead expenses. It’s basically the same way the I-1053 campaign worked two years ago, when AWB established its own separate campaign fund.

Eyman said he is looking forward to watching the two candidates debate, and hopes nothing gets in the way. “It just gives me a great thrill knowing that Jay Inslee is still willing to attend this debate,” he said.

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