(SeattleTimes) - Costco Wholesale's first quarter profit rose 2.6 percent despite the company spending $17 million during the quarter to help pass Initiative 1183, which privatizes liquor sales in Washington. The Issaquah-based retailer spent an additional $2 million on the measure in the fourth quarter, for a total of $19 million. That's about twice as much as it expected to spend, "but once you're into it, you do it," Chief Financial Officer Richard Galanti told analysts during an earnings conference call Thursday.