Date: Thu, 30 Nov 1995 22:59:29 -0800 (PST) From: Richard Isaac Subject: BIGOT BUSTERS (WA) FILES COMPLAINT AGAINST I-166 BACKERS Greetings, The following is a press release issued today to media outlets across Washington State and nationwide. Please disseminate widely. Twenty-nine days remain in the campaign. REPORT ALL SIGNATURE GATHERING SIGHTINGS IMMEDIATELY TO BIGOT BUSTERS AT 206-767-2457. Thank you for your support, * Richard Isaac __*_*___ report sightings of signature-gathering for \* * / Seattle anti-gay initiatives 166/167 to: *\ * (206) 767-2457 ***\**/** rmisaac \/ @eskimo.com HOMEPAGE: http://www.eskimo.com/~rmisaac/ Yitzhaq Rabin z"l 3.1.1922-11.4.1995 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ BIGOT BUSTERS DECLINE TO SIGN CAMPAIGN PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 1 DECEMBER 1995 (all in area code 206) Contact: 767-2457 (24 hr. hotline) or: Patrick Hogan, Director 325-2286 (h); 684-6662 (w) or: Richard Isaac, Treasurer 322-0405 (h); 517-3537 (w) also: Public Disclosure Commission: (360) 753-1111 BIGOT BUSTERS FILES COMPLAINT AGAINST I-166 BACKERS CLAIMS OVER 175 VIOLATIONS OF PUBLIC DISCLOSURE REGULATIONS BIGOT BUSTERS/Decline to Sign has lodged a formal complaint against the Washington Committee for Equal Rights Not Special Rights (WCERNSR), the group behind anti-gay Initiative 166. More than 175 alleged violations of Public Disclosure Commission standards for political committees, for business conducted from January to September 1995, could put WCERNSR "in substantial non-compliance" with the law. These 175 violations fall into six broad categories: 1) Failure to report contributor occupation and employer information for contributions over $100.00 (as per PDC instructions, p. 23) -- 52 violations -*- According to the PDC instruction book for political committees, contributions of $100.00 or more (single contributions or in the aggregate) must be reported with the following information: contributor's name and address, contributor's occupation and employer's name/city/state. -*- Furthermore, the PDC instructions state that "failure to comply with this provision could result in the campaign being found in substantial non-compliance with the disclosure law and its implementing rules." (PDC instruction book for political committees, p. 23) -*- Not a single occupation or employer name/city/state was reported for single or aggregate contributions of $100.00 or more. 2) Failure to report aggregate totals for contributions of $25.00 or more (as per PDC instruction book, p. 31) -- 84 violations -*- PDC instructions require that aggregate totals be shown for contributors whose contributions total $25.00 or more. -*- Not a single aggregate total was reported. 3) Failure to report full names and addresses of contributors giving $25.00 or more (as per PDC instructions, pp. 18 and 31) -- 15 violations -*- PDC instructions require that addresses be supplied for contributors who give $25.00 or more. -*- WCERNSR failed to report full names and addresses fifteen times. 4) Failure to report addresses for vendors receiving $50.00 or more (as indicated on Form C-4 Schedule A) -- 17 violations -*- PDC instructions require that vendors who receive $50.00 or more must have their addresses reported. -*- WCERNSR failed to report addresses seventeen times for vendors receiving $50.00 or more. 5) Failure to submit receipts for reimbursements to staff for expenditures (as per PDC instructions, pp. 37-38) -- undetermined -*- PDC instructions require that reimbursements to staff members for out-of-pocket expenses be supported by copies of receipts for those expenditures. -*- Not a single receipt appeared in the microfiche of WCERNSR's financial reports for business conducted from January through September. 6) Failure to file Form C-4 on time (as per PDC instruction book, pp. 1 and 50 and the Schedule of Filing Deadlines; ) -- 7 violations -*- PDC instructions require that C-4 forms be postmarked by the 10th of the month for business conducted in the previous month. -*- WCERNSR filed late 7 times out of 9 filings (for business conducted in January through September 1995). -*- Two of these filings were filled out almost a month late (6/9/95 for April business; "8/95" for June business). -*- It is probable that the October (11/10) report is late as well. It is unlikely that WCERNSR was exempt from filing for having had less than $200.00 in income or expenditures in October, since it has consistently had thousands of dollars of income and expenditures every month this year. All information leading to detection of WCERNSR's numerous violations was gathered from publicly available documents. BIGOT BUSTERS/Decline to Sign has requested that the PDC investigate these violations and take the appropriate action, which may include assessing monetary fines, holding hearings, and/or re-filing amended forms. In regard to the discovery of WCERNSR's violations, Bigot Busters Director Patrick Hogan said, "They're busted. The backers of Initiative 166 are not being straight with the people. Not in their campaign, and not in their financial reports. We're glad we caught them." BIGOT BUSTERS are trained rapid-response teams which provide voter education about anti-gay initiatives "at the point of sale" (where signatures are being gathered), in the hope that, having heard both sides of the issue, voters will decline to sign the discriminatory petitions. BIGOT BUSTERS operates a hotline (206-767-2457) which receives reports of sightings and is staffed by trained volunteers. BIGOT BUSTERS was founded in 1993 and was instrumental in the defeat of Initiatives 608 and 610 in the signature-gathering phase last year. This year, BIGOT BUSTERS has trained more than 200 volunteers since May. The misnamed "Washington Committee for Equal Rights Not Special Rights" is the organization behind Initiative 166, along with the Washington Public Affairs Council. I-166 is nearly a carbon copy of I-608 from last year, which failed to qualify for the ballot. It would: -*- legalize discrimination against sexual minorities, -*- abolish all existing anti-discrimiation protections (e.g. Seattle and King County), -*- overturn the state's hate crime law, -*- void domestic partnership benefits, and -*- censor schools, teachers and counselors from speaking accurately about homosexuality or providing factual AIDS education, thus putting at-risk children in danger and wresting away local control of school curricula. WCERNSR needs to gather 181,667 valid signatures by December 29, 1995 to pass I-166 on to the Legislature, which then may ONLY pass it into law or place it on the November 1996 ballot. The governor may NOT veto the legislation. -- END --