Support The Wire

Tom McCabe Out at BIAW – Built Organization Into Political Powerhouse

Love-Him-or-Hate-Him Figure Made State's Builders a Major Force on the Right

 


Tom McCabe, executive vice president of the Building Industry Association of Washington.

OLYMPIA, Dec. 11.—Tom McCabe, one of the most important behind-the-scenes players in Washington state politics, is out the door at the Building Industry Association of Washington.

For the last 21 years, McCabe has been the executive director of the homebuilders’ group, turning a relatively sleepy organization into a political powerhouse with a big membership and vast influence on the right. Under McCabe BIAW became the most outspoken of the state’s business organizations, known for its willingness to go on the attack while others preferred to work quietly, and often was the biggest single contributor to Republican candidates and conservative-themed initiatives in any given year. BIAW’s efforts also made it big enemies on the left and in Democratic circles.

 McCabe’s departure was announced late Friday afternoon with a press release, and it left allies reeling. The statement offered no reason, but BIAW recently has had a major change in leadership. A month ago it elected Pat McBride as president for 2011, representing the Master Builders Association of King and Snohomish Counties – a local affiliate that has feuded with the statewide organization for years.

A key issue in that dispute has been whether the group ought to be more conciliatory toward Democrats. It is an especially ticklish issue in the greater Seattle area, where so many political offices are held by Dems, and where critics in the media express disapproval for the builders every election cycle – even though the same tactics are frequently employed on the left as well. Elsewhere BIAW’s style had as many fans as it did detractors, and many viewed McCabe’s departure as the end of an era.

“I think more than anyone in this state, Tom McCabe has shaped conservative politics over the last 20 years,” said Patrick Connor, executive director of the Washington state chapter of the National Federation of Independent Business. “It is a tragic loss for this state and a devastating blow to the state’s business community. At a time when we ought to be celebrating our successes and increasing the number of small-business legislators, Tom’s departure will leave a huge leadership gap. Without the influence of Tom McCabe and his BIAW, the business community will be adrift and more likely to compromise when it ought to be fighting and winning.”

 Retro Profits Fueled Political Program

 During McCabe’s two decades the association grew from 2,000 members to 10,000 and operated the largest worker-compensation refund program in the state. “Retro” programs were relatively new when McCabe came aboard – trade associations are allowed to pool members’ worker-comp taxes, and if their claims are less than their premiums, they get a refund. Over the last 20 years the organization has returned $360 million to homebuilders. BIAW kept a cut and turned profits from the program into fuel for the most aggressive political program in the state.

At the time builders felt themselves under siege, and not without reason. The state was then in the process of enacting a stringent set of land-use regulations known as growth management. A Seattle Times article from the period noted that developers seemed about as popular as child molesters. McCabe saw his mission as building support for a free-enterprise agenda, with no holds barred – and if anyone had a problem with that, it was a matter of free speech.

“We didn’t win every battle—nobody does,” McCabe said in his farewell statement. “In my 20 years at BIAW, we never had a Republican governor and most of the time the Legislature was controlled by liberal Democrats. So in every battle, we were the perpetual underdogs, and I am so proud of the courage and determination of my staff and the small businesses that fought alongside us.”

Ran Independent Campaigns

 BIAW became a major player under the Dome and at the ballot box. In the Legislature its lobbyists helped beat back legislation that targeted the construction industry and tended to make new home construction less affordable – eliminating exempt wells, requiring costly fire sprinklers in homes, and raising “impact fees” paid to local governments when homes are built.

It sponsored initiatives on such issues as property rights and in 2003 scored a major victory with an initiative that overturned ergonomics regulations imposed by the Department of Labor and Industries. “That’s the first and only time I know of in the nation where regulations were dismantled using the initiative process,” McCabe said. This year it pushed an initiative that would have allowed private competition for the state worker compensation system, but was unsuccessful.

What BIAW became best known for were its independent campaigns for political candidates. BIAW was active in local-level legislative races as well as statewide contests. It backed Dino Rossi’s 2004 gubernatorial campaign with a million-dollar effort, spent another million on Supreme Court races in 2006, and in 2008 put a whopping $7 million into Rossi’s second race. The attack ads kept Gov. Christine Gregoire’s campaign busy putting out fires all campaign long.

Those efforts made BIAW a target for the left. In recent years opponents have tried to tar candidates for taking money from BIAW – the mere association is damning enough. They’ve filed complaints with the state Public Disclosure Commission, they’ve sued, and they’ve tried to cut BIAW off at the knees in the Legislature with attempts to slash the state retro program. The main result has been to divert BIAW’s attention and force it to spend crippling amounts on legal fees. The last of the lawsuits was dismissed a week ago.

Critics fondly quoted passages from BIAW newsletters that likened environmentalists to Nazis and Gregoire to a power-hungry she-wolf, and looked forward to the day when the parking lot at the Department of Labor and Industries was covered with weeds. Proof enough that the organization was “bats— crazy,” declared leftist Seattle blogger David Goldstein. BIAW’s supporters said it just showed some people don’t know a metaphor when they see it.

 Was Effective Organizer

 McCabe turned his organization into a dynamic and powerful force, said state Rep. Bill Hinkle, R-Cle Elum. “He really knew how to mobilize allies and work with people to get the message out statewide,” Hinkle said. “BIAW has been a political force and its success has been a direct correlation to the leadership of Tom McCabe.”

Luke Esser, chairman of the Washington State Republican Party, said, “Tom was a one-of-a-kind political figure in Washington state. He was bold and brash. We didn’t always agree on everything, but he wore his heart on his sleeve and he was fearless.”

 The BIAW announcement said McCabe will leave at the end of December and is pursuing several other ventures. He also will “provide future assistance” to the organization.

 


Your support matters.

Public service journalism is important today as ever. If you get something from our coverage, please consider making a donation to support our work. Thanks for reading our stuff.