The lawsuit filed on behalf of A-1 A-lectrian Inc. against the Campaign Spending Commission finally made it into the federal court’s online system.
I’ve made the full complaint available here.
In the lawsuit, A-1 says it should not have to register as a political committee in order to make campaign-related expenditures, should not be subject to reporting of its spending for “electioneering communication, should not have to include a disclaimer on any published campaign ads saying whether they are with or without the candidate’s approval or authority, wants to overturn the ban on contributions by government contractors, and should not be subject to the $1,000 per election limit on contributions to another political committee.
A-1 includes copies of a series of advertisements it plans to publish attacking Rep. Blake Oshiro for his role in passage of HB444 relating to civil unions (click here to see the proposed ads–#1, #2, #3).
I just downloaded the files this morning, so haven’t yet had a chance to read through the full complaint. More later.
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Not sure what my opinion on this issue is yet, but ye gods those are some terrible looking newspaper ads. Wordy, hard to read and the call to action is buried.
I concur. I’m not sure what is more offensive, the appearance of the ads or the ironic use of the word aloha. Yes, I think the ads are that bad.
I agree with rlb_hawaii. Put some money into a good layout/graphics artist rather than a mainland lawyer.
I don’t get targeting Blake Oshiro for using the existing rules to move legislation forward. Suspension of the House legislative rules, of course, is done as a matter of course during almost every day of the session– in the case of the motion to suspend the rules on the final day, a super majority (over 2/3rds) of the House members, including GOP LTG favorite and then-Minority Leader Lynn Finnegan VOTED IN FAVOR of suspending the rules to allow the recall of HB444 by a simple majority. In that instance, Lynn favored allowed the entire body to have the debate it should have had after the Senate returned the bill and to vote by roll call on the substance of the bill. Does A-1 plan to buy a similar ad to whack the former Minority Leader for supporting the use of the legislative rule?
Go ahead, run those ugly-a$$ ads and spend lots of money on ’em, too. Better you waste your $ on dreck like that than something that might actually stand a chance of achieving your phobic agenda.
As a follow-on to yesterday’s post, a reread of Citizens United shows that SCOTUS specifically upheld the disclaimer and dsclosure requirements challenged there. So, while prohibitions and limits will likely fall, the disclaimer and diosclosure requirements should remain, if that most recent case is any indication.
Interesting — isn’t A-1 Electric the outfit where Senate candidate Michael Magaoay works?
I believe he formerly worked for A-1. This was deleted in his most recent personal financial disclosure filed with the State Ethics Commission.
You’re correct — just checked his campaign site:
“Senior Project Engineer, A-1 Electrician, Inc., 1997 to 2008”
Are we sure these are the same entities? The legal challenge is being brought by “A-1 A-lectrian Inc.” which is not the same as “A-1 Electrician, Inc.” DCCA’s Business Registration Division shows several entities with names more similar to the one on the campaign website than the one involved in the legal challenge.
Check addresses and officers. They are related entities.
Outside/Ohia/Ian:
Mike does list “A-1 A-Lectrician, Inc.” in his 2008 filing with the Ethics Commission– I think the website entry is a typo.
Well, that would certainly be consistent with his votes against civil unions. The affiliation, not the typo. Then again, maybe the typo, too. People who have a burr under their saddle about civil unions tend not to be terribly literate.
If I’m not mistaken, Magaoay is opposed to abortion even in the case of incest or rape.
Looks like Mike will be reconnected with his A-1 family since he lost to Delacruz. Do they just bread hatred at A-1 Electricians because those ads did nothing but make me hate them. Glad we don’t use them for our jobs.