Twin Transit (Officials of): Alleged violations of RCW 42.17A.555 by using or authorizing the use of public facilities to support Proposition 1, a Transit Expansion ballot measure (EY 18; Nov 18)

Case

#43055

Respondent

Twin Transit

Complainant

Mark Obtinario

Description

Allegation: Violation of RCW 42.17A.555 by using the public facilities of Twin Transit to support passage of Proposition 1, a ballot measure on the November 6, 2018 general election ballot, concerning a sales and use tax to finance public transportation within the boundaries of the Lewis County Transportation Benefit Area.  The complaint concerns a website and other materials produced by Nelson/Nygaard Consulting Associates on behalf of Twin Transit describing the ballot measure. PDC staff completed its investigation and found:

Twin Transit Website: During the fall of 2017, Nelson/Nygaard Consulting Associates (Nelson Nygaard) entered into a contract with Twin Transit to conduct a feasibility study about expanding the Twin Transit service area. Starting in March 2018, Nelson Nygaard created a website for Twin Transit to publicize the ongoing results of its study. In April 2018, a Public Transportation Improvement Conference (a statutorily created entity separate from Twin Transit) was convened and passed a resolution to expand the Twin Transit boundaries.  In July 2018, the Board of Lewis County Commissioners passed a resolution placing the matter of expansion and funding before the voters of expanded area.  Twin Transit officials then directed Nelson Nygaard to produce materials to explain the ballot proposition, which included a postcard sent to all registered voters in the affected area and a brochure used as a handout when Twin Transit officials spoke to groups about the ballot measure. The information from the brochure and postcard were taken from content posted on the existing website. Staff found that it is the regular practice of Twin Transit to place information about its operations and major policy decisions on its website.  However, in this case, Twin Transit, on the advice of Nelson Nygaard, decided to place the information about the 2018 ballot measure on a separate website that was already in existence for a related purpose, and that would be easy to find.  Nelson Nygaard and Twin Transit officials acknowledged that they should have identified the website as being a Twin Transit website, and apologized for this oversight.

Objectivity of Twin Transit Ballot Proposition Materials: The Twin Transit postcard explained what Proposition 1 would do, why it was being proposed, what would happen if it passed, what would happen if it failed, its cost, and that more information could be found at www.LewisCountyTransitMeasure.com, the website being used by Twin Transit to post information about the ballot measure. During the Spring of 2017, the White Pass Community Services Coalition, operator of LEWIS Mountain Highway Transit (LMHT) informed Twin Transit it intended to cease operations as of June 30, 2019 because of expected increases to its match requirement for receiving grants from the Washington State Department of Transportation.  However, on May 16, 2017, the legislature capped the match requirement for non-profit entities at 10 percent, a level which LMHT said they could handle. This legislative change was not included in Twin Transit's postcard, brochure, or website.  Nelson/Nygaard said they were not made aware of this legislative change until after the 2018 election. LMHT did not inform Twin Transit that its plans to cease operations in mid-2019 had changed. Nelson/Nygaard said if they had been aware of the change when they prepared the ballot measure materials, they would have included information about the change in the materials.

Sending Postcard to Registered Voters: Twin Transit officials, on the advice of Nelson Nygaard, decided to mail its postcard to residents within Lewis County who were eligible to vote on the ballot measure.  Nelson/Nygaard said the decision was made as an efficiency measure.  They said the idea was to send the postcard to people who would actually have a chance to vote on the measure.  They said Twin Transit officials decided to send only one postcard to each household, even if multiple voters resided at the same household. They said Twin Transit mailed the postcard to ensure recipients knew what the ballot measure was about, and to give voters a variety of information that would be similar to what they might see in a voter information pamphlet.

Conclusion: Staff found insufficient evidence to demonstrate that officials of Twin Transit (Derrick Wojcik-Damers and Bobby Jackson) used the facilities of Twin Transit to promote the passage of Proposition 1. Because staff’s investigation did not provide reason to believe a violation occurred, the PDC Executive Director dismissed the complaint in accordance with WAC 390-37-070 against Twin Transit officials (Derrick Wojcik-Damers and Bobby Jackson). However, current Twin Transit officials were reminded of the Commission’s Interpretation 04-02, Guidelines for Local Government Agencies in Election Campaigns, which lists on Page 21 that “agencies shall not distribute election-related information in a manner that targets specific subgroups.”

Disposition

Dismissed with Concurrence of the Chair

Date Opened

November 15, 2018

Areas of Law

RCW 42.17A.555

Documents

• 43055 Twin Transit Response.pdf
• 43055 Twin Transit Complaint.pdf
• 43055 Case Closure Ltr to Respondent (Formal Investigation).pdf
• 43055 Case Closure Ltr to Complainant (Formal Investigation).pdf
• 43055 Combined Report of Investigation & Exhibits.pdf