From the Jul 15 – Jul 21, 2004 issue

News

Corporate Campaign

Finance Reports Unveil Recall Ruse

by Erica C. Barnett

Monorail Recall, the organization that's fighting to kill the monorail approved by voters in 2002, has tried to promote itself as a "grassroots" group of concerned citizens since it formed in April. So much for that image: According to Monorail Recall's latest campaign-finance report, filed on Monday, July 12, the group has received more than $60,000 from developer Martin Selig, who owns an $80 million office building on Second Avenue. Selig is also a key member of OnTrack, a monorail "accountability" group composed primarily of Second Avenue property owners. Property owners on Second have long opposed the monorail, which will run in the city's right-of-way in front of their businesses.

Selig's contributions to the campaign include a $20,000 check to Citizens Solutions Inc., a signature-gathering firm that has also done extensive work for anti-government crusader Tim Eyman; the use of his personal attorney, Bill McInerney, to fight the Seattle Monorail Project's lawsuit against the recall effort; and the use of parking and office space at his downtown property. (Monorail Recall paid another $16,500 to Carolyn Ostic Political Consulting to boost its "grassroots" signature-gathering efforts.)

The campaign disclosure filings also explode the myth, promoted by both Monorail Recall and OnTrack, that the two groups are not related. Besides Selig, Monorail Recall's donors include seven members (and close relatives of members) of OnTrack, including Kenneth Alhadeff, the father of OnTrack leader Aaron Alhadeff ($2,500); Dick Burkhart, a pro-light-rail activist, and his wife, Mona Lee ($350); and Barry Steinberg, owner of Barney's Jewelry, a pawn store located by the monorail route in Pioneer Square ($500). The disclosure reports also reveal that Monorail Recall paid nearly $200 to transport its members, in their cars, to city council hearings. At a press conference on Monday, board member Jim Day explained that he joined the group because he felt the tax on his two cars, one of which is a Jaguar, is, at $538, excessively high.

barnett@thestranger.com