Judge’s lawsuit vindictive

A lawsuit, by two former Washington State Supreme Court justices is nothing more than a vindictive effort on their part to punish a group that ran campaigns against them.

Former supremes Faith Ireland and Robert Utter have filed suit against the Building Industry of Washington (BIAW) and GOP candidate Dino Rossi, in an effort to discredit, defame and destroy those that ran campaigns against the judges when they were in office.

Ireland and Utter charge that Rossi made a secret deal with BIAW to support his campaign for governor and to raise money for that campaign.  Doing that isn’t illegal, but failing to report it and failing to stick to the fund raising limits – is.

Rossi and BIAW say they never made any secret deals and that is was well-known that BIAW would support Rossi if he decided to enter the race.   Any money BIAW raised and spent was without Rossi’s knowledge and legally appropriate for individual expenditures.

The judges ask that BIAW stop spending money on Rossi’s race.  Rossi will be deposed next week, if the lawsuit continues.

These same two judges recently lost a court decision trying to stop BIAW from spending money in the first place.

BIAW alleges that it did nothing wrong.  I believe them.  I’ve worked with BIAW head Tom McCabe in the past and he’s always been a stickler for obeying the state’s campaign financing laws.  He and his staff are experts when it comes to independent expenditures.

The judges are angry at McCabe who, in the past, has helped opponents of the judges in their re-election campaigns.   These continuing lawsuits are nothing more than vindictive childish behavior on the part of community leaders who should know better.  Retired supreme court justices should stay out of politics.  They make all judges look bad.