PDC to Citizens - Washington Continues to Lead Nation in Campaign Finance Disclosure

Olympia – Washington State is ranked the best in the nation following a 2008 study of all states’ campaign finance disclosure requirements and public access to campaign information. This is the fifth consecutive time that Washington has been ranked first in the nation. The Campaign Disclosure Project rated the Washington State Public Disclosure Commission’s electronic filing program and accessibility of campaign finance data as the nation’s best. Washington’s campaign disclosure law and on-line technical usability also received high marks, ranking third nationwide.

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The state’s campaign finance laws and program are administered by the Public Disclosure Commission, a five-member, bipartisan citizen commission that is appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the state Senate. Current members are Chair Ken Schellberg (Seabeck), Vice-Chair Jim Clements (Selah), Secretary Dave Seabrook (Battle Ground), and members Jane Noland (Seattle) and Bill Brumsickle (Centralia). No member may serve more than one five-year term.

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According to Chair Schellberg, “The Public Disclosure Commission exists because of the efforts of citizens who wanted a more open and transparent government. Those citizens worked to create the state’s campaign disclosure laws by passing Initiative 276 in 1972, and the Commission continues their work today.”

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“We are fortunate that the public and the state’s elected officials continue to value the Commission’s work by supporting law changes and budget requests submitted by the agency,” he added.

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“Without a doubt both the Commission members and staff are delighted and honored to receive this recognition from the Campaign Disclosure Project. It is always gratifying when others judge your work as consistently top-notch. Be assured, though, that we will not rest on our laurels. There is still much to do and we will focus on doing it well,” concluded Schellberg.

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The Campaign Disclosure Project is conducted by the UCLA School of Law, the Center for Governmental Studies, and the California Voter Foundation and support by the PEW Charitable Trusts.The Public has received top rankings in other surveys, including for disclosure of Personal Financial Affairs information by candidates and elected officials, for lobbyist information, and for ballot measure committees.

The above press release was written by Lori Anderson - Washington State Public Disclosure Commission.

Call me a cynic - I would be thrilled for the state of Washington, but there are still several candidates who have not reported in-kind contributions received from the Realtors Quality of Life PAC for the 2007 election cycle.

In the PDC Report of Investigation on the Realtors, staff states that a PDC employee mistakenly told two local candidates that the in-kind donations, (as reported by the Realtors), were in fact, independent expenditures and that they did not have to report them.
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But that error was acknowledged by the both the Realtors and the PDC around the 20th of October, so why didn't the PDC require the candidates who received in-kind contributions to report the receipt of the contributions before the General Election?
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Here is a list of candidates who did not report in-kind contributions from the Realtor's Quality of Life PAC before the November 2007 General Election.None of the candidates on the list has filed an amended C-6 since the Realtors reported the in-kind expenditures on their amended PDC forms in the Spring of 2008.
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Liz Aspen, 2007 Campaign for City Council of Woodinville (won her race for council)
Sam Crawford, 2007 Campaign for County Council of Whatcom County (won his race for council)
Liz S. Pike, 2007 Campaign for Mayor of Camas (lost her race for the mayor's seat)
Daniel V. Pike, 2007 Campaign for Mayor of Bellingham (won his race for the mayor's seat)
James Slowick, 2007 Campaign for Mayor of Oak Harbor (won his race for the mayor's seat)
Penny Sweet, 2007 Campaign for City Council of Kirkland (lost her race for council)
John Tarrant, 2007 Campaign for Mayor of Shelton (won his race for the mayor's seat)
Robert A.Van Schoorl, 2007 Campaign for Port Commissioner of Olympia (did not win his race for Port Cm) *
I wonder - would some of the voters have made a different choice, if they knew how much money some of the candidates received from the Realtors PAC?

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I guess that's a question that we will never know the answer to.
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Now, before you blame the Realtors, please note that a number of candidates from across the state reported in-kind contributions from the Realtors Quality of Life PAC before the General Election: (Granted, some of the candidates received the information late, but they did take the time to report the in-kinds on their reports before the General election.

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David Carson, 2007 candidate for City Council, City of Redmond; (won his race for council)

David Crosby, 2007 candidate for City Council, City of Spokane Valley; (did not win his race for council)

Larry Farr, 2007 candidate for City Council, City of Bellingham; (did not win his race for council)

Dayle (Hank) Margeson, 2007 candidate for City Council, City of Redmond; (won his race for council)

Brad Stark, 2007 candidate for City Council, City of Spokane; (did not win his race for council)

and Lynn Walty, 2007 candidate for City Council, City of Lake Stevens. (did not win race for council)
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Thumbs up to the candidates listed above.
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The Realtor's Quality of Life PAC complaint is scheduled to be heard by the full PDC Commission on September 25, 2008.

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It is not known at this time if the PDC will forward the complaint to the Attorney General's Office for punitive action. Although that was the PDC staff's original recommendation.

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I do not expect that any of the candidates who chose NOT to report in-kind contributions, will be fined or asked to file an amended C-6 form). Apparently, those contributions will remain undisclosed to voters.

Sadly, in the state of Washington, it appears that some candidates are above the law...