Judge won’t curtail BIAW

OLYMPIA – The Building Industry Association of Washington can continue to spend money on the governor’s race while a court case against the group moves forward, a judge ruled Friday.

Thurston County Superior Court Judge Christine Pomeroy rejected an effort to freeze the association’s assets while three building companies challenge the right of BIAW to use a percentage of their workers’ compensation insurance rebates on politics.

The builders group is a major supporter of Republican Dino Rossi, who is challenging Democratic Gov. Chris Gregoire. Its political action committees have already spent more than $2 million in the race. The group said any freezing of its spending would violate its First Amendment rights.

“They are trying to silence a political opponent six weeks before an election,” attorney Harry Korrell, representing BIAW, told Pomeroy.

Attorneys for the disgruntled companies – Sources for Sustainable Communities, A-1 Builders and SF McKinnon Co. – countered that it wasn’t BIAW’s money to spend.