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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Wea Case Needs Tough Prosecution

One of the most powerful political influence groups in this or any other state - the teacher union - stands accused of violating campaign finance laws.

Will Washington state officials find the courage to prosecute? It takes a bold politician to bite the hand that feeds campaigns.

Will the Washington Education Association continue to obscure the issue by attacking its critics? Or will it redefine its role and comply with the spirit as well as the letter of state and federal law?

The answers to those questions won’t be known for a while.

But if the law is followed and enforced, there could be a different balance of power behind the scenes of Washington state politics.

There also could be a lowering of the hurdles that stand between widespread dissatisfaction with schools, and the implementation of a fuller range of education reforms.

WEA is a political machine. It deploys lobbyists, rich campaign war chests, thousands of campaign volunteers, intensely political newsletters and coveted endorsements. Most of this largesse, funded with mandatory union dues, favors Democrats - to the unhappiness of teachers with conservative views. Some of those teachers, citing the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1988 Beck decision, have sued to contest the diversion of their money into politics.

The new challenge to WEA activism comes from the state Public Disclosure Commission. Months after the Evergreen Freedom Foundation handed evidence of violations to the PDC, and days after the general election, PDC’s staff issued a report detailing WEA improprieties. The commission called WEA’s conduct too serious for its inadequate ability to impose fines, and asked the state attorney’s general office to prosecute.

PDC findings show WEA circumvented a campaign finance law voters approved in 1992. Initiative 134 says money for politics can be extracted from employees’ wages only if each employee gives written permission. This dried up the money that had fed WEA’s political action committee. So WEA created a new entity, funded it with a mandatory fee charged to its members, then used it to bankroll politics. Plus the union itself funneled money to campaign activities. The sums involved are in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Attorney General Christine Gregoire - who has received campaign money from WEA so far has been a tough, credible advocate for the public interest. We trust she’ll give this case the aggressive prosecution it deserves.

WEA’s activism is no secret. But its machine was built with compulsory deductions from salaries of teachers who didn’t all support its agenda. That’s wrong.

, DataTimes The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = John Webster/For the editorial board