Grocers vs. government: state liquor monopoly overturned.

• Author: Riggs, Mike
• Position: Citings - Brief article

AFTER A long-running ad campaign that pitted grocery giant Costco against government liquor store employees, Washington voters decided in November to end the state's monopoly on the sale of distilled spirits. Grocery stores, which already sell beer and wine, will start selling liquor in June 2012. The ballot initiative also allows distilleries to sell their products directly to vendors, instead of working through a state-mandated, fee-collecting distributor.

Costco, which is based in Issaquah, Washington, spent $23 million campaigning against the state's liquor monopoly. "If a private company decides to spend tens of millions of dollars to pass a new law, to buy an election, can they do it?" Tom Geiger, a...