How to buy yourself a judge and a judicial decision. This is America.
Major supporters of charter schools in Washington are spending heavily to defeat state Supreme Court Chief Justice Barbara Madsen, who wrote last year’s decision finding the institutions unconstitutional.
The News Tribune reports that the political action committee of Stand for Children spent $116,000 this month on digital ad buys and phone calls supporting Greg Zempel, the elected Kittitas County prosecutor, who is challenging Madsen this year. It’s the biggest infusion of outside cash into a Washington judicial race since 2010.
Connie Ballmer, a wealthy philanthropist and wife of former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, donated $500,000 to the group. Its other main donors are Reed Hastings, the founder and CEO of Netflix; and Vulcan Inc., which is owned by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen.
Allen’s company and Ballmer were among the biggest financial supporters of Washington’s initiative to allow charter schools.