Ben Stuckart

A photo of, and quote from, the Respondent appeared in a advertisement supporting Proposition 1 that was sponsored by Yes for Public Safety and mailed on January 25, 2019. The Respondent was President of the Spokane City Council & a mayoral candidate at the time of the mailing. The mailer did not identify the Respondent as a mayoral candidate, was mailed several months before the election for which the Respondent was a candidate, and sought to influence the outcome of an election for which the Respondent was not a candidate. 

The mailer did not appear to be an in-kind contribution to the Respondent because its purpose was to support Proposition 1 and any indirect benefit to the Respondent's mayoral candidacy was incidental and below the contribution limit for the office sought. Based on these findings, staff determined that, in this instance, the Respondent's appearance in an ad supporting a ballot measure did not amount to a finding of an actual violation warranting further investigation. The PDC dismissed the matter and did not conduct a more formal investigation into the complaint or pursue further enforcement in this case.