Minority chamber to seek legal order against contracts

An African American business group alleging discriminatory contracting practices will seek a court order to prevent the city of Seattle, King County and the state of Washington from doling out contracts until the legal dispute is settled.

Lawyers for the Pacific Northwest chapter of the National Black Chamber of Commerce also said yesterday that they will be asking the federal judge presiding over the case to recuse himself, claiming his former work as a King County judge and prosecutor raises questions of bias.

Earlier this month, the chamber filed suit against the city, county and state, and elected leaders. The organization claimed the officials and agencies had been violating Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which prohibits racial discrimination in the awarding of federal contracts, grants and services.

Minority businesses are supposed to get their fair share when federal money is handed out, but the chamber alleges that's not been happening as it should in Washington state.

"Huge sums of money have been coming into the state since (the law took effect)," said Charles Horne, president of the business group. "We feel that this is an historic event in that it would mitigate problems regarding the distribution of wealth, especially as it concerns African Americans."

The suit, filed Aug. 6 in U.S. District Court in Seattle, claims various city, county and state agencies, including health and safety, housing, and highway and transportation departments, have turned a blind eye to systemic contracting abuses.

The agencies have failed to prevent "fronting" -- the practice of using minority businesses to bid for contracts on behalf of larger, non-minority-owned businesses that do the bulk of the work and receive the lion's share of the money, according to the suit.

The suit, which also claims breaches of state and city anti-discrimination laws, is asking for $500 million in lost wages and profits. Lawyers for the chamber said they will request a temporary restraining order to prevent the disputed practices from continuing. No hearing has been scheduled.

County Executive Ron Sims and Mayor Paul Schell declined comment yesterday. City Attorney Mark Sidran could not be reached.

State Attorney General Christine Gregoire also declined to comment on the suit.

Seattle attorney Bradley Marshall, representing the chamber, said yesterday that statistics, including those from government-sponsored studies, back up his claim that minorities have received a disproportionately low percentage of business contracts.

Fairness, he said, dictates that until the merits of the suit have been determined, the governments in question should simply stop handing out contracts.

The judge assigned to the case, Robert Lasnik, was confirmed to the federal bench in October 1998.

He previously had served as a judge in King County Superior Court.

Before that, he was a top litigator in the county prosecutor's office.

Because of his service to the county, Marshall argued it would be a conflict of interest for Lasnik to continue to handle the case. "We just don't want to go any further until there is a change of judge in this thing," he said.

P-I reporter Sam Skolnik can be reached at 206-467-1039 or samskolnik@seattlepi.com

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