Posted on 09/08/2001 5:16:43 PM PDT by Max McGarrity
OLYMPIA — Backers of a proposed tobacco-tax increase are accusing Philip Morris of violating Washington campaign-finance law by ghostwriting a statement for the voters pamphlet opposing the tax initiative.
An electronic version of the statement bears an "electronic fingerprint" from company spokesman Brendan McCormick, according to the complaint filed yesterday by Healthcare for Washington's Working Families.
But the tobacco giant isn't mentioned as an opponent in the voters pamphlet.
I-773 backers contend the company's statement is an "independent expenditure" that should have been disclosed under the campaign-finance law within five days after the Aug. 23 time stamp on the document.
McCormick said it would be inaccurate to describe him as the author of the statement. While the Microsoft Word document lists him as the author, he could easily have transferred the text in from another application while making little or no contribution.
The initiative would add a 60-cent tax to cigarettes, bringing the total tax on a pack to $1.42, to go to the state's Basic Health Plan for people who can't afford private insurance.
Huh? Campaign finance?
What's up with this? Somebody explain this to me, I'm not getting it.
My guess is the tobacco company helped someone right the copy for the flyer and possibly proof read it or something and e-mailed it to the protestors. The protestors then used the material to print up their flyers.
Someone wanted to prove that only evil tobacco companies would be against the tax and they got ahold of the materials used to produce the flyers. Probably nothing is illegal about it unless they can prove a reporting violation. Which would seem to be a technical violation at best.
But seeing that its mostly a PR move, it doesn't matter.
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