CAGE, which says it opposes all forms of gambling expansion, publicly launched on February 28, and stated that the organization has the support of all five living former Washington governors, as well as a slew of other political figures including Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels. "Some legislators think expanded gambling is an easy way out of the state's budget mess. But flooding the state with thousands of video slot machines and keno booths would bring increased gambling addiction, crime, divorce, bankruptcy, and drug and alcohol abuse," Gardner was quoted as saying in a press release.
However, in a February 13 complaint filed with Washington State's Public Disclosure Commission, the Entertainment Industry Coalition (EIC)--the lobbying organization representing nontribal gambling interests that are pressing the legislature to allow them to introduce video slot machines into their establishments--claims CAGE "has committed multiple violations of Washington's campaign finance and disclosure laws."
The essence of the EIC's position is that there are strong hints CAGE is closely affiliated with tribal gaming advocates--who see expanded nontribal gambling as a threat to the lucrative Indian casino business--and has illegally tried to obfuscate those ties. Further, the EIC claims, while CAGE is lobbying hard against nontribal gaming, the group is silent on the expansion of tribal gambling that is currently underway in the state. In the complaint, the EIC points out that CAGE's website was registered by public relations firm Cocker Fennessy, which on September 27, 2002, also registered the website for the recently formed Washington Council for Tribal Self-Reliance (WCTSR), a tribal gaming umbrella organization.
Moreover, the EIC alleges that CAGE was formed by early December 2002, but did not report its existence to the Public Disclosure Commission (PDC) until more than two months later--even though state law requires such notification within two weeks. CAGE's website was registered on December 3, and on December 27, Maleng and Gardner published an op-ed in the P-I expressing their anti-gambling views. CAGE also made two mailings, on January 10 and 23, to legislators and elected officials urging them to oppose the gambling expansion bills, all prior to the group's February 5 official notification.
Finally, the EIC questions the source of CAGE's funding. According to its public filing, as of January 31, CAGE owed Cocker Fennessy $11,538, but had not raised any money, leading the EIC to question whether there are "undisclosed guarantees to pay the bills."
Representatives of both WCTSR and CAGE denounce the EIC claims as baseless attacks designed to distract attention from the substantive issue of whether or not to expand gambling. Randy Scott, a WCTSR spokesperson, concedes, "We were looking for allies, and had a number of conversations with people now part of CAGE" when his group formed last fall, but says after those discussions Maleng and Gardner decided to strike out on their own and work independently of tribal lobbying efforts.
Kent Patton, CAGE's spokesperson, also asserts his group's independence and says the EIC's insinuations that CAGE is financially backed by the tribes is false. Cocker Fennessy was a natural choice for both anti-gambling groups given the firm's expertise in gaming issues, and the public-filing delays were born of CAGE's initial confusion about whether to register as a lobbying group or a PAC, Patton says, adding that any potential PDC violations are technical in nature. He adds that Maleng has a long history of opposing all gambling, and pro-gambling forces have spent $500,000 on lobbying in January and February alone.
But EIC Executive Director Lincoln Ferris contends that Gardner's position on tribal gaming is open to question. He says Gardner's wife works for, and Gardner maintains an office at, Northwest Strategies, a public relations firm owned by former Gardner campaign manager Ron Dotzauer. Northwest Strategies has done work for the Tulalip tribe, Ferris says, which owns one casino and is slated to open a second, $72 million facility in upcoming months.
Patton counters that "any public affairs firm will have had some link with the tribes." The EIC "is trying to discredit the messenger to avoid the message," he says.
