Page 10 The Skanner June 29, 2016
News
REPORT: It’s Harder to Know Who’s Paying for Political Ads
Dark and ‘gray’ money spending is rising faster in state elections than it is in federal races
I
t’s getting harder to
know who is funding
political advertising at
the state level as more
money becomes anony-
mous or is iltered from
one political action com-
mittee to another, a new
study inds.
In 2014, the last year
in which statewide elec-
tions were widespread
across the country, only
29 cents of every $1 of
independent
politi-
cal spending could be
tracked easily to its orig-
inal individual donor,
according to the Bren-
nan Center for Justice at
the New York University
School of Law. The center
found that dark money
and what it calls “gray”
money are rising even
faster in state elections
than in federal races.
In places where the
costs of elections can be
cheaper because word
is distributed by direct
mail rather than televi-
sion ads, the spending
can have a larger impact.
“Dark money can out-
spend all,” said Larry
Norden, deputy director
of the Brennan Center’s
program on democracy.
Dark money comes
from nonproit advocacy
groups that spend on po-
litical purposes but are
not subject to campaign
inance disclosures. Its
rise is one of the efects of
the U.S. Supreme Court’s
2010 Citizens United rul-
ing, which removed caps
on how much corpora-
tions, unions and inter-
est groups can spend on
advocacy
communica-
tions that do not specii-
cally call for the election
or defeat of candidates.
That category of spend-
ing grew from less than
“
PACs that made indepen-
dent expenditures. That
was up from just $3,000
in total outside spending
in a similar race in 2008
— and all the money at
that time was linked to
speciic donors.
Some of the 2014 mon-
ey came from the Arizo-
na Public Service Com-
pany, the state’s biggest
utility, but the company
has not disclosed how
much.
There
has been litiga-
tion since then
over whether
the public has
a right to know
how much the company
funded. A utility spokes-
woman did not return a
call.
That election is a prime
reason Arizona fast be-
came a hub of dark mon-
ey. In 2006, there was just
$35,000 involved in state
races. In 2014, it was over
$10 million.
The Brennan study was
limited to California,
the most populous state,
along with Arizona and
four others: Alaska, Col-
orado, Maine and Mas-
sachusetts. They were
among only nine that had
statewide elections in the
study years of 2006, 2010
and 2014 and collected
enough data on politi-
cal spending by outside
groups to do the analysis.
The authors said they did
not have enough time to
Dark money can
outspend all
$600,000 in 2006 to near-
ly $22 million in 2014 in
the states the study eval-
uated.
Despite that rise, the
majority of state politi-
cal spending overall re-
mains from traditional
channels where most
large contributions must
be disclosed: candidates’
oicial committees and
party organizations.
One
election
with
heavy
dark
money
spending was the 2014
Arizona race for two
seats on the Public Utili-
ties Commission, which
was in the throes of a
debate over solar power
policy.
More than $3 million in
dark money poured into
that race through social
welfare nonproit groups
that in turn donated to
delve into all nine states,
so they chose the irst six
alphabetically.
James Bopp Jr., a con-
servative Indiana lawyer
who has pushed for po-
litical contributions to
be equated with speech,
says the Brennan analy-
sis is misleading.
Many states require ad-
vocacy groups to report
individual donors who
specify that their contri-
butions be used for po-
litical purposes. Donors
who make general gits,
he said, don’t determine
whether it will be used in
political ads.
“It would be unfair to
attribute that spending
to any of your donors,”
Bopp said.
The Brennan authors
said they were surprised
not by the growth of
dark money but rather
by what they called gray
money.
It happens
when a su-
per PAC, which is
supposed to be
independent of
a candidate’s
campaign or-
ganization,
takes
contribu-
tions from other
PACs. While all the
committees are
required to re-
port the source
of their funding,
it takes digging In 2014, only 29 cents of every $1 of
through multi- independent political spending could be
ple reports to tracked easily to its original individual
ind out where donor, according to a report recently
the money orig- published by the Brennan Center for Justice
inates.
at the New York University School of Law.
That category
of spending was
The Brennan Center is
far larger than the fully
calling
for more disclo-
dark money in the six
sure
requirements,
in-
states. It was $42 million
in 2006 and tripled to cluding mandating that
donors be made public.
$129 million in 2014.
IMAGE BY 401KCALCULA-
TOR.ORG (CC BY-SA 2.0)
By Geof Mulvihill
Associated Press
Obituary: Joseph Reed
April 1939 - June 2016
J
oe Reed was intro-
Joe enjoyed ixing
duced to the world
cars. If you could tell
April 1939 and de-
him the noise the car
parted this life on
made, he could tell
June 2016.
you what was wrong
Joseph (Joe) was
with the car. He made
born to James N. and
many friends, ixing
Lillian Reed. Joseph
up their cars in the
was named ater his
family backyard.
maternal grandfather.
Joe died from com-
They moved to Van-
plications of diabetes.
Joseph (Joe) Reed
couver, WA. Where
He leaves behind his
his dad worked at the Kaiser Ship- longtime companion Barbara Ruth;
yards.
sister, Donna Reed-Kelly; nephews
When the war ended and the Ship- Keith, Marcus and Stephen Kel-
yards closed, the family moved to ly; great nephew Tobias James and
Portland, OR.
great niece Sydney Kelly; paternal
Joe attended Boise Elementary cousins, the Gales and Smiths of Ta-
and graduated from Benson High coma, WA.
School. Ater graduation, Joe joined
the United States Army, to serve his
country. His honorable discharge
afords him burial at Willamette Na-
tional Cemetery.