Seattle law firm says Preserve Marriage Washington and NOM are not making required disclosures by Shaun Knittel - SGN Associate Editor

A Seattle law firm is accusing Preserve Marriage Washington and the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) of violating state law by not disclosing the source of their money and how it is spent in their campaign to repeal the state's same-sex marriage law.

According to reports, Davis Wright Tremaine filed a 188-page complaint with the state Public Disclosure Commission on August 15, on behalf of Sandra Turner Fukumoto.

The claim asserts that NOM should register as an out-of-state political committee and reveal where it is getting the money it's using to oppose Referendum 74 on the November ballot. It also alleges the group is violating campaign spending rules by not listing its expenses for the services of several people, including high-priced strategist Frank Schubert.

Preserve Marriage Washington, the complaint alleges, has flouted state law by not reporting expenditures for key campaign staff such as manager Joseph Backholm, who also is executive director of the Family Policy Institute of Washington, headquartered in Lynnwood. At the very least, the group needs to report the value of the staff's services as a debt or an in-kind expenditure, the complaint alleges.

'Washington State has one of the strongest histories of openness and transparency in politics of any state in the country. I urge the PDC to hold Preserve Marriage Washington accountable for flouting that tradition and failing to be honest with the citizenry,' the complaint concludes.

Washington United for Marriage, which is leading the campaign to Approve Referendum 74 in November, denied involvement with the complaint.

'We had nothing to do with this, but it's not surprising,' Washington United spokesperson Andy Grow said in an e-mail to The Herald of Everett.

'NOM has a history of ignoring state finance reporting laws and is still tied up in litigation challenging Maine's disclosure requirements going back to that 2009 marriage battle. At a minimum, it would certainly serve all voters if the Public Disclosure Commission makes sure everyone is playing by the rules, including NOM and Preserve Marriage Washington,' Grow continued.

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