Description
The Public Disclosure Commission (PDC) has completed its review of the complaint filed by Glen Morgan on November 30, 2017. The complaint alleged that Kevin Van de Wege, a 2016 candidate for State Senator for Legislative District 24, may have violated RCW 42.17A.235 for failure to timely and accurately file Monetary Contribution reports (C-3 reports) and Summary Full Campaign Contribution and Expenditure reports (C-4 reports), disclosing contributions and expenditures undertaken by the Campaign; RCW 42.17A.240 for failure to accurately and completely disclose debts and obligations; RCW 42.17A.240, WAC 390-16-037, and
WAC 390-16-205 for failure to provide complete and detailed descriptions of expenditures, including sub-vendors; and RCW 42.17A.445 for unauthorized use of campaign funds for personal purposes.
PDC staff reviewed the allegations; the applicable statutes, rules, and reporting requirements; the response provided by the 2016 Committee to Elect Kevin Van de Wege (Campaign); the applicable PDC reports filed by the Campaign; and queried the Campaign’s data in the PDC contribution and expenditure database, to determine whether the record supports a finding of one or more violations.
Based on our findings staff has determined that, in this instance, failure to provide sufficiently detailed descriptions of expenditures undertaken by the Campaign, and misusing campaign funds to purchase a newspaper subscription, do not amount to violations warranting further investigation.
PDC staff is reminding Kevin Van de Wege about the importance of the complete and accurate disclosure of expenditure details, including sub-vendors, and the prohibition on the use of campaign funds for personal use. In the future, staff expects timely, complete, and accurate disclosure of all contribution and expenditure activity, and the use of campaign funds for only campaign-related purposes, in accordance with PDC laws and rules.
Based on this information, the PDC finds that no further action is warranted and has dismissed this matter in accordance with RCW 42.17A.755(1).