Two of the state's biggest business lobbying groups have broken off with the sponsor of the estate tax repeal initiative, forming a separate group to campaign for Initiative 920.

The Association of Washington Business and the National Federation of Independent Business/Washington formed the "Yes on 920 — Keeping Washington Family Business Alive" committee. The groups said in a statement they "wanted a campaign focused solely on family-owned businesses."

The official 920 campaign is run by Dennis Falk, a former Seattle police officer now living on Fox Island. He has raised more than $1 million to get the initiative on the fall ballot. Most of that came from developer Martin Selig.

It seems like an odd move to have business groups break off from Falk. Falk is unconcerned, telling my colleague Andrew Garber:

"I'm still the parent campaign. More groups and more organizations that come forward to help to get rid of the death tax the better. I don't see any problem with it."

The opposition campaign sees something more Machiavellian behind the splinter group. Sandeep Kaushik, communications director for the No on I-920 campaign said in a release:

Apparently, they are desperately scrambling to disassociate themselves from Dennis Falk and his sordid history of radical fringe politics. They are trying to clean themselves up for the big local and national donors they hope will contribute to the estate tax repeal effort, but the taint is not going to be so easy to wash off.

Kaushik calls Falk the "controversial I-920 mastermind." Falk was a long-time member and leader of the ultra-conservative John Birch Society and in 1978 worked with another fellow Seattle police officer to sponsor a city initiative that would have done away with anti-discrimination laws protecting gays.

During that campaign Falk was involved with a controversial shooting of a mentally retarded man. The shooting was ruled "reasonable under the circumstances" and the prosecutor's office reviewed the shooting but said there was insufficient evidence to sustain charges. The P-I reported that Falk "once boasted of having worn lead-lined leather gloves to gain 'respect' on The Ave until the mayor ordered him transferred off the beat."

Carolyn Logue, state NFIB director, said today that there was no falling out between the business groups and Falk. Were there concerns about Falk or the way he's run things?

"We're not going to comment on that," Logue said.