SPOKANE, Wash — Public Disclosure Commission reports show the National Association of Realtors sponsored five candidates in Spokane's 2023 primary and general elections.
The NAR is listed as a sponsor of an independent expenditure for Spokane mayoral incumbent Nadine Woodward and city council candidates Katey Treloar, Michael Cathcart, Earl Moore and Kim Plese.
The NAR spent tens of thousands of dollars on mail, text, phone calls and online ads in support of the candidates over the 2023 election cycle.
Reports detail the NAR spent $66,605.24 for Spokane city council district 3 candidate Earl Moore, $65,847.11 for district 2 candidate Katey Treloar and $13,255.52 for district 1 incumbent Michael Cathcart.
Mayor Nadine Woodward and city council president candidate Kim Plese have received the biggest support at this time.
In total, the NAR has spent $101,090.75 in support of Nadine Woodward's re-election campaign.
For Kim Plese's campaign, the NAR has spent $186,755.11.
KREM2 reached out to both campaigns for comment on this support.
Plese responded with a statement on behalf of the independent expenditure:
"While this is an independent expenditure and has no coordination with my campaign, it is local Realtor donations coming back to Spokane. While we’re talking about campaign finance, my opponent has received about $50,000 from west side and out of state mega donors, often dumped into her coffers all at once. That’s over 25% of all of her donations. So really, you could say Seattle is trying to buy this election. I’m proud the vast majority of my supporters come from Spokane County. I have contributors big and small. I’m proud to have support from Spokane residents, small business owners, and organizations like the Spokane Police Guild. I’m not owned by anyone. People support my campaign because they believe I’m the best candidate to lead the Spokane City Council."
Mayor Woodward's challenger Lisa Brown has received the most money in an independent expenditure from the Citizens for Liberty and Labor PAC.
That PAC has spent $9,067.50 in support of Brown's campaign.
The PAC is also one of the biggest sponsors of Plese's challenger for the city council president seat, Betsy Wilkerson. At this time, the PAC has spent $16,888.75 on her campaign.
Independent expenditures are made by third parties and not limited in terms of spending. They do not have any additional coordination with a campaign.
PDC reports also show the NAR sponsored candidates in Seattle's city council election.
Being a Chicago-based association, KREM2 reached out to the NAR for more information on why it spent the money in support of Spokane candidates.
The NAR directed us to the Spokane Realtors Association for more information. KREM2 spoke with local president Tom Hormel.
Hormel said candidates in Spokane elections were interview with real estate-related questions prior to deciding which candidate to support. He said if there was no incumbent in a race, each candidate was interviewed. If there was an incumbent and the Realtors group previously supported them, they would support them again.
Hormel said interviews happened in May or June and included questions on topics like non-traditional zoning and missing middle housing.
Hormel said the process of supporting local candidates includes reaching out to NAR and asking for specific funding.
Hormel couldn't say how the amount money for each candidate was determined, but did say "we always get in a race to win."
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