PDC forum will spotlight growing influence of online political ads in Washington state

Passing the gavel

Commission Chair David Ammons, presiding over his first meeting, thanked outgoing Chair Anne Levinson for her service.

She joined the commission in 2015. In addition to her service on the commission, Levinson – formerly the Seattle deputy mayor and a municipal court judge – has been a consultant for governments and courts on system reform.

Ammons retired in 2017 after a career in journalism and state government. He was political writer and columnist for The Associated Press for 38 years, hosted “Inside Olympia” on TVW, and served as communications director and senior policy adviser for the Office of Secretary of State for more than eight years.

The Public Disclosure Commission is offering support for the goals of a Seattle proposal that would limit contributions to independent-expenditure political committees and bar donations from foreign-included companies. 

In a letter to the Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission (SEEC), PDC Chair Anne Levinson said such legislation would be "another important tool to address the influence of money in campaigns, and to guard against the potentially deleterious effects of excessive corporate spending in municipal elections."

Russell Lehman, a former legislative and gubernatorial adviser who has led several nonprofit and public affairs organizations, is the newest member of the Public Disclosure Commission.

Gov. Jay Inslee appointed Lehman, an attorney who lives in Olympia and works in Seattle.

“Russell’s extensive experience in state government and public affairs will make him an excellent addition to the PDC,” Inslee said. “His commitment to engagement, education and accountability will benefit all Washingtonians.” 

Lehman brings decades of experience in government, public affairs and education to the commission. He was the director of enforcement for the Washington State Insurance Commissioner, an adviser to Gov. Mike Lowry and counsel for both the Washington and Connecticut legislatures. 

The Public Disclosure Commission approved emergency rules Nov. 29 to implement Substitute Senate Bill 5991, also known as the Disclose Act.

The legislation, which creates PDC filing requirements for some nonprofits that engage in political activity, takes effect Jan. 1, 2019. 

In the coming weeks, the PDC will be providing guidance about complying with the new law and rules. 

The emergency rules, which will take effect on Jan. 1 with the new law, are included below.

WAC 390-05-521, 535 Definitions of payments received by incidental committees and nonprofit organization within the meaning of incidental committee

WAC 390-16-013 Registration and reporting of incidental committees

Beginning 30 days before a regular legislative session, a legislator or state executive office holder may not solicit or accept campaigns contributions:

• for any candidate for state or local office;
• to a public office fund;
• to retire a campaign debt; or
• for a political committee, including a caucus political committee or party, if the contribution are used for the benefit of incumbent state officials or known candidates (WAC 390-17-400).

This prohibition extends to any person employed by or acting on behalf of an official subject to the freeze. Further, since caucus political committees act on behalf of legislators, caucus committee personnel also are prohibited from soliciting or accepting contributions for the purposes mentioned above and further explained in WAC 390-17-400.

The Public Disclosure Commission will launch the final piece in a new suite of tools for exploring and analyzing data on money in state and local politics Thursday.

The release of the latest addition – a replacement for the current Search the Database and View Reports features – marks the culmination of a year-long project that overhauled how the PDC delivers information about campaigns and lobbyists to the public. 

The project represents the biggest improvement to the agency’s data access systems since 2008.

“The PDC’s mission has always been to help Washingtonians make informed decisions about the influence of money in the political process,” said Commissioner David Ammons, who covered the PDC’s early days during his 37 years in The Associated Press Capitol bureau.