“These are not public service announcements,” McKenna’s Democratic challenger, Pierce County Executive John Ladenburg, asserted in a news release. Ladenburg added that if elected, he would work for a ban on using an elected official’s name or likeness in public service announcements or privately sponsored ads during an election year.

Janelle Guthrie, spokeswoman for the Attorney General’s Office, said the ads are within bounds of fair play and part of work McKenna has been doing since he took office in 2005.

The Democrats’ complaint said the ads were funded by Boeing Employees Credit Union, Comcast and the Century Council.

“Attorney General McKenna’s been doing PSAs since shortly after he took office. It’s a function of the office, and you’re asked to do public service announcement as a leader,” Guthrie added, citing ads done with the Century Council on underage drinking and preventing drunken driving and others on identify theft with BECU. “These are longstanding relationships that are consistent with work that our office does.”

The complaint by state Democratic Party Chairman Dwight Pelz was mailed to the state Public Disclosure Commission, Ladenburg campaign spokesman David Sawyer said. It names the three organizations paying for the ads as well as McKenna and says the parties should have to disclose the value of the ads as campaign contributions.

It’s not clear when the Public Disclosure Commission will consider the complaint.

Pelz argued that the ads on radio and television are “electioneering communications” that exceed limits for the 60 days prior to the Aug. 19 primary and also violate a $1,600 campaign-contribution limit.

He also contended that the ads would have to have been arranged six months before McKenna became a candidate.

McKenna’s kickoff was Nov. 14, 2007, Guthrie said, adding, “Our (PSA) relationships far precede his announcement of candidacy.”

State Republican Party Chairman Luke Esser issued a statement Monday saying the complaint was hypocritical since Democratic Gov. Chris Gregoire has appeared in many public service announcements.