Contributor's suit challenges campaign limit
By Johnny Brannon
Advertiser Staff Writer
A political supporter of Mayor Jeremy Harris filed a federal lawsuit against the state Campaign Spending Commission yesterday to challenge limits on the amount of money some Harris backers can contribute to his campaign for governor.
Attorney Lex Smith, who gave $3,000 to Harris' 2000 re-election campaign, contends that the commission is violating his constitutional right to free speech by counting that money toward the limit of $6,000 per donor in the race for governor this year.
HARRIS: Limited by previous campaign
The commission's executive director, Robert Watada, has said that the earlier contributions count toward the limit because they occurred within the four-year election period for the governor's race, which began in November 1998.
Smith's suit charges that the interpretation is unfair because the earlier race was not for a statewide office, but Watada has said that is irrelevant and that the defining issue is the time period.
Harris announced shortly after he was re-elected mayor that he would run for governor in 2002 as a Democrat, and he must step down from the mayor's office early to do so. Many of Harris' staunchest supporters donated the maximum of $4,000 to his 2000 campaign and can legally give him only $2,000 more for the governor's race if the commission's view is upheld.
None of the other gubernatorial candidates ran for office in 2000, so all are free to raise $6,000 from each donor, a situation Smith argues is unfair and will harm Harris' fund-raising efforts. A spokeswoman for the Harris campaign said Smith was not acting at the campaign's behest, but that the campaign did not object to the suit.
Harris has raised more than $1 million for the governor's race so far, much more than any other candidate, according to statements filed with the commission on Wednesday. His closest rival, Republican Linda Lingle, has raised $561,688 so far.
Reach Johnny Brannon at 525-8070 or jbrannon@honoluluadvertiser.com.
