A long-running case initiated by a Public Disclosure Commission investigation led to a court ruling Wednesday that initiative campaigner Tim Eyman intentionally violated state campaign finance laws. 

Thurston County Superior Court Judge James J. Dixon found that Eyman misappropriated campaign donations for his personal use and neglected to report hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions. 

Dixon fined Eyman more than $2.6 million and also enjoined Eyman from managing, controlling or directing the finances of any political committees in the future – an action sought by the state. 

The court found that Eyman operated as a continuing political committee and, as such, failed for years to report financial details to the PDC. 

Wednesday’s ruling came in a lawsuit filed in 2017 by state Attorney General Bob Ferguson, following the PDC’s investigation. 

We are seeking feedback on a proposed reorganization of the PDC website so it can better serve you. 

Please participate in an online study to test our new, draft structure.

Participation involves finding a location for information within the structure, and answering survey-style questions. It will take around 15 minutes to complete. Instructions are available before you start the activity.

Click this link to get started: https://anthrotech.optimalworkshop.com/treejack/pdcwebsite

The Public Disclosure Commission is soliciting comment on proposed rules that would update F-1 filing requirements and clarify the process for reporting modification requests.

The rules will be the subject of a public hearing at 9:45 a.m. Jan. 28, 2021. Written comments should be submitted to pdc@pdc.wa.gov, attention Sean Flynn, by Jan. 8, 2021.

Curious about who’s funding recall efforts involving local elected officials?  

Here’s how to find that information on the PDC website.  

Recalls are ballot propositions, and groups that raise or spend money to support or fight a ballot proposition are political committees, or PACs.  

To find the PACs involved in a local recall election, start here. 

The page defaults to the current year. Type the official’s last name (and/or first name) or the committee name in the filter box under the Committee heading. A search may also reveal if there is a committee raising money to defend that official.  

The Public Disclosure Commission Thursday voted unanimously to fine former Bothell Mayor Joshua Freed $50,000 – with half the penalty suspended – for campaign violations related to personal loans to his unsuccessful 2020 campaign for governor. 

Freed acknowledged in a stipulation negotiated with PDC staff that he exceeded the $6,000 limit on repayment of a personal loan to his campaign. The campaign repaid him at least $450,000 of a $500,000 loan  –  later characterized as a contribution – he made at the start of his campaign. He also acknowledged that the campaign filed incorrect reports concerning the contribution and/or loan. 

The stipulation cited aggravating factors in the case, noting that the loans and/or contributions made up the majority of Freed’s campaign funds and that the public was deprived of significant information for a good portion of the 2020 primary election cycle. 

Emerging issues around digital political ads 

Commissioners heard an update about the work Vice Chair Fred Jarrett and Commissioner Russ Lehman are leading to research problems and potential solutions for the complex issues created by the rise of digital political advertising.
PDC staff members are consulting with researchers, political consultants, media, the digital ad industry and regulatory officials in other states to explore potential improvements to disclosure requirements around digital ads.
The first step is to discern what information is important to the public to learn from digital political ads, and who should provide that information.
A potential solution is a public digital political ad archive. But Jarrett noted that the PDC must “make sure we understand the problem we are trying to solve” before arriving at a solution.