Oosterman, Linda (6): Alleged violation of RCW 42.17A.555 by using public office or agency facilities to assist an election campaign. (EY 2018) (Jun 2019)

Case

#53838

Respondent

Linda Oosterman

Complainant

Andrew Saturn

Description

The Public Disclosure Commission (PDC) completed its review of the complaint Andrew Saturn filed on June 21, 2019. The complaint alleged that Linda Oosterman may have violated RCW 42.17A.555 by using public office/agency facilities to assist an election campaign in 2018. Specifically, the complaint alleged that the Thurston County Public Utility District (PUD) paid for Linda Oosterman to attend four Chamber of Commerce events in 2018, thereby potentially violating .555.

In the original complaint, Andrew Saturn alleged that the PUD’s general manager, John Weidenfeller, and the Thurston County PUD also violated RCW 42.17A.555 by authorizing the use of public office/agency facilities to assist the Linda Oosterman’s election campaign. Therefore:

  • A separate case was opened to address the allegation made against John Weidenfeller (PDC Case 55699). 
  • RCW 42.17A.555 prohibits specific types of individuals – namely elected or appointed officials and public agency or office employees – from engaging in certain activities. Whereas Thurston County PUD is not an individual, it cannot violate .555. Therefore, the allegation against Thurston County PUD was dismissed.

PDC staff reviewed the allegations; the applicable statutes, rules, and reporting requirements; the response(s) provided by Linda Oosterman (the “Respondent”); and the applicable PDC reports filed by Respondent to determine whether the record supports a finding of one or more violations. 

Based on the findings, staff determined that, in this instance, the Respondent’s use of public office/agency funds to pay for event that could directly or indirectly assist her election campaign does not amount to a violation warranting further investigation. 

Pursuant to WAC 390-37-060(1)(d), Linda Oosterman receives a formal written warning regarding the use of public office/agency facilities to assist an election campaign. The formal written warning included staff’s expectation that Linda Oosterman not use public office/agency facilities to pay for political, election-related events. The Commission may consider the formal written warning in deciding on further Commission action if there are future violations of PDC laws or rules.

Based on the information, the PDC found that no further action is warranted and dismissed this matter in accordance with RCW 42.17A.755(1).

Disposition

Case Closed with Written Warning

Date Opened

June 28, 2019

Areas of Law

RCW 42.17A.555

Documents

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