Gov. Inslee appoints retired Superior Court judge William Downing to PDC
January 18, 2018

The Public Disclosure Commission today announced that Gov. Jay Inslee has appointed retired Superior Court Judge William Downing to the Commission.

Downing was a highly regarded member of the King County Superior Court bench for 28 years. Since his retirement in early 2017, he has worked part-time as a mediator and arbitrator for JAMS, an international alternative dispute resolution firm.

“Judge Downing has served our state with distinction for many years as a judge and mediator. He has an impartial, fair and open approach that will serve him well as a Public Disclosure Commissioner and tremendously benefit all Washingtonians,” Inslee said.

Downing’s judicial career was distinguished by a focus on building public trust and confidence in the courts. He was a longtime chair of the Washington Pattern Jury Instructions Committee as well as the Bench-Bar-Press Liaison Committee, where he was the author of the state’s rule giving news cameras broad access to courtrooms. He also was an integral part of the YMCA Mock Trial, coordinating the yearly competition for high school students and writing many of the cases that students argued.

“Public access to and understanding of government is a vital part of a democratic society,” Downing said. “I see in the PDC mission the same values that shaped my time in the judiciary. I am delighted to be part of a team focused on this important aspect of public education.”

A native of Kinderhook, New York, Downing spent three years as a deckhand on Mississippi River tugs and Bellingham-based fishing boats before attending law school at the University of Washington. He was a deputy prosecutor for King County for 12 years before joining the judiciary.

During his time on the bench, Downing presided over many notable cases, among them the 2004 challenge of the state’s Defense of Marriage Act that prohibited same-sex marriage. Downing was the first trial-court judge in the nation to strike down such a law as unconstitutional.  

Downing has been named a “Distinguished Alumnus” of the University of Washington Law School and has received the Williams Nevins and Robert Utter Awards for promoting ethical and democratic values. The Council on Public Legal Education presented him with its “Flame of Democracy Award” this year.

“I was long an admirer of Judge Downing’s thoughtful judicial approach when he was on the bench,” said Commission Chair Anne Levinson. “Bill is also a wonderful human being with a deep commitment to the mission of the PDC. He will be an asset to the Commission as we ensure that the state's campaign finance laws are fully and fairly enforced, the public is provided timely access to information, and we provide guidance to help the regulated community comply with the law.”

Downing joins fellow Commissioners Levinson, Jack Johnson and David Ammons. The Commission is comprised of five individuals, who are appointed by the governor to five-year terms. 

Downing’s appointment fills one of two vacancies left by the December departures of former Commissioners Judge John Bridges (ret.) and former Mayor and state Rep. Katrina Asay. 

“I want to thank Commissioners Asay and Bridges and for their service. They each gave generously of their time and expertise to the work of the Commission on behalf of the public,” Levinson said.

Voters created the PDC in 1972 with the passage of Initiative 276. The agency provides timely and meaningful public access to accurate information about the financing of political campaigns, lobbyist expenditures, and the financial affairs of public officials and candidates and enforces Washington’s campaign finance and disclosure laws.

Session freeze begins December 9, 2017
December 5, 2017

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.

Candidates may accept contributions that were made on December 8 or earlier, including contributions that were mailed and bear a December 8 postmark.

The session freeze continues through the end of the regular session. Freeze periods also apply to special sessions, beginning on the first day of the special session and ending on the day the session adjourns. 

More information

The Impact features PDC website upgrades
October 26, 2017
 

 

 

 

PDC to deliver new tool to follow the money
October 25, 2017

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. 

“Fulfilling that mission depends on not only robust disclosure, but also easy and meaningful access to the information. These upgrades are a huge step in that direction.”

PDC staff will demonstrate the new features for the commission and public at a special commission meeting Thursday 2:30 p.m. at the PDC office at 711 Capitol Way South, Suite 206 in Olympia. 

The new database search will provide one-stop searching for most inquiries about candidates, political committees, independent expenditures, lawmaker surplus accounts, and state lobbying activity. 

The improved interface will be more intuitive, functional and accessible to the average voter. Gone are the “funnel” filters that sometimes stymied users of the old system, and users will no longer lose their place if they hit the “back” button. 

The new functionality also will be integrated with other recent additions to the PDC’s website, including Campaign Explorer’s accordion-style menu of races and the Campaigns in Your Voting District filter that allows PDC homepage visitors to focus their searches on the races appearing on their own ballots.

All three are part of the agency’s Next Generation Data Access Project, which celebrated its first milestone in March when the PDC made 5+ million records available on a new Open Data Catalog. 

The PDC chose to release parts of the Next Generation project as they were available rather than wait for one big reveal. 

“Our approach is an iterative one in which we aim to deliver value early and often,” Chief Information Officer James Gutholm said. “We knew that we couldn’t get the entire project done until late in the 2017 election cycle, so it was important to make as much functionality available to public as soon as possible.”

An active group of stakeholders that met every two weeks drove the project’s development, and many of the features now available to PDC website visitors were first suggested by the group. 

Its members include Cheryl Aichele, Parkside Neighborhood Association; Clyde E. Cramer of Arlington; Conner Edwards of Olympia; Abraham Epton, Socrata; Lea Galanter, League of Women Voters; Bridget McLeman of Vancouver; Chad Magendanz, Voter Science LLC ; Toby Nixon, Washington Coalition for Open Government; Toyoko Tsukuda, The League of Women Voters of Benton and Franklin Counties, and Andrew Villeneuve, Northwest Progressive Institute. 

“We are fortunate to have customers who really care about the information we provide and can help us envision innovative ways to make it more accessible to the public,” Gutholm said.

PDC staff who participated in the project include Bruce Wendler, Bill King, Kyle Veldhuizen, Jim Coleman, Toni Lince, Jennifer Hansen and Kurt Young.

The Next Generation Data Access project is part of the PDC’s overall push to use new technologies to provide more real-time disclosure and improved access to data. That work is made possible partly by a $150,000 annual appropriation that the Legislature first funded in the 2015-17 budget.

 

Spending in the 45th District sets state record
October 18, 2017

Candidate spending in the 45th Legislative District race that will determine control of the state Senate has set records, according to reports filed Tuesday with the Public Disclosure Commission, the state’s campaign-finance watchdog.

Expenditures by the Manka Dhingra and Jinyoung Lee Englund campaigns together total nearly $2.4 million, far surpassing the prior record for spending in a Washington state Senate race. 

A GOP-led coalition now has a one-seat majority in the state Senate. A win by Englund would maintain the majority while a Dhingra victory would put Democrats in charge.

The prior campaign spending record for a state Senate race also was set in the 45th District by the 2014 contest between the late Sen. Andy Hill, R-Redmond, and Democratic challenger Matt Isenhower. Expenditures in that race totaled $1.49 million.

“With three weeks left to go before the Nov. 7 election, we expect this high-profile race will continue to attract national attention, leading to further record-breaking spending,” PDC Executive Director Peter Lavallee said. 

The 45th District also set two new individual records for state Senate candidates this week. Englund’s $1.3 million in reported expenditures and Dhingra’s $1.09 million both exceed the $1.03 million campaign — the previous record — waged by Democratic challenger Jack Connelly in his unsuccessful 2012 bid against then-Rep. Jeannie Darneille, D-Tacoma.  

Expenditures by the candidates are only part of the story. Independent spending by third parties supporting and opposing Dhingra and Englund eclipses even the candidates’ record-setting campaigning. As of Tuesday morning, outside groups had reported $3.4 million in independent expenditures in the 45th District.

Those millions are among the more than $35 million that candidates and political committees participating in the 2017 election have reported spending so far this year, and the more than $1 billion spent in Washington state campaigns over the last decade. 

“The amount of money in play in this race is a clear indication that the election results will have a significant effect on people’s lives,” said Commission Chair Anne Levinson. “Particularly because both are new candidates, comprehensive information about contribution sources and uses is critically important for voters to have as they evaluate the candidates.”

The PDC is charged with providing timely public access to information about that spending, as well as enforcing Washington’s disclosure and campaign finance laws. 

Voters created the PDC in 1972 with the passage of Initiative 276.

PDC office closing two hours early Aug. 9
August 7, 2017

The Public Disclosure Commission will close its Olympia office at 3 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 9, for an annual all-staff meeting.

The office will reopen at 8 a.m. Aug. 10.

Filers and members of the public are encouraged to email requests for assistance to pdc@pdc.wa.gov. Staff members will respond as quickly as possible following their return. 
 

Court rejects motion to dismiss 2 defendants in Eyman campaign finance case
July 28, 2017

The Public Disclosure Commission welcomes today’s news that Thurston County Superior Court Judge James Dixon rejected a motion to dismiss two defendants from Washington state’s lawsuit alleging multiple campaign-finance violations against Tim Eyman and associates.
 
As Commission Chair Anne Levinson said when the lawsuit was announced, “Our state’s campaign finance and disclosure laws are premised on the principle that the public deserves to know who is funding political campaigns, who is spending money to influence their vote. Mr. Eyman has an obligation to obey the law. When he, or others, do not, the Public Disclosure Commission and the Attorney General have an obligation on behalf of the public to take all necessary steps to ensure the integrity of our electoral system.”
 
The Commission recognizes the excellent work on the case by the Attorney General’s Office team.
 

PDC names Lavallee new executive director
May 16, 2017

The Public Disclosure Commission announced today the appointment of Peter Lavallee as the PDC’s new executive director.

Lavallee, an attorney, currently is the communications director at the Washington State Attorney General’s Office where he works extensively on campaign finance matters. He brings to the PDC broad experience in law, public policy, finance and administration, in both the public and private sectors.

Lavallee will assume his new role in June.

The commission’s vote at Tuesday’s special meeting was unanimous, with commissioners noting that Lavallee’s unique combination of legal and communications expertise will be a good fit for an agency charged with fairly enforcing the law and providing meaningful access to information about money in politics.

Commission Chair Anne Levinson said commissioners were impressed with the strength of the candidates who emerged from a pool of about 40 applicants. Lavallee stood out for his demonstrated ability to collaboratively lead a team managing a complex scope of work and to advance the PDC’s mission to serve the public interest.

“The commission has high expectations for its next executive director,” Levinson said. “The PDC’s executive director plays a key role to help ensure the integrity of the political process through fair, non-partisan and effective enforcement of the law. The director also must have a commitment to assisting public officials, lobbyists and candidates with what can be a complex array of laws and rules.”

Lavallee said Tuesday that the values on which the PDC was founded more than 40 years ago are closely aligned with his own.

"Transparency and accountability are essential to our democracy," Lavallee said. "I look forward to working with the commission and the dedicated PDC staff to advance those values and continue Washington's long tradition of clean elections and good government."

In addition to the Attorney General’s Office, Lavallee has worked at the Department of Natural Resources and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Before joining the public sector, he worked as an investment banker in New York City at Merrill Lynch, where he rose to be a vice president in the Mergers & Acquisition group.

He also served as general counsel of a Bethesda, Maryland, technology company.

Lavallee received his Master of Business Administration from the Yale School of Management, his law degree from Tulane Law School and his Bachelor of Arts from Columbia University.

Voters created the Public Disclosure Commission by approving Initiative 276 in 1972. The agency exists to provide timely and meaningful public access to accurate information about the financing of political campaigns, lobbyist expenditures, and the financial affairs of public officials and candidates and to ensure compliance with and equitable enforcement of Washington’s disclosure and campaign finance laws.

It operates on an annual budget of $2.4 million and the equivalent of 19 full-time employees. Deputy Director Barbara “BG” Sandahl has served as interim executive director since Evelyn Fielding Lopez left in April.

 

Peter Lavallee

 

PDC investigation of 2014 mailer leads to AG lawsuit
May 8, 2017

A Public Disclosure Commission staff investigation led to a $454,000 lawsuit filed today by the Attorney General's office.

The lawsuit alleges that former Grant County Superior Court judge Jerry Moberg and Moses Lake business owner Ken Greene intentionally concealed the fact that they were behind a mailer that targeted a candidate in the Grant County Prosecuting Attorney's 2014 race.

The mailer criticized Garth Dano, a criminal defense attorney who was challenging the incumbent prosecutor. It alleged Dano had “displayed a pattern of disregarding the simplest of laws and adult responsibility,” and urged voters to support the incumbent, Angus Lee.

The PDC launched an investigation after receiving two complaints from Grant County voters who received the mailer. The listed sponsor, Grant County Concerned Voters, had not registered with the PDC as required by state law.

The investigation into who was behind the mailers eventually consumed more than 200 staff hours at the PDC, largely due to the difficulty in getting the parties to respond.

In October 2014, investigator Phil Stutzman contacted the South Dakota direct mail business that produced the flier and asked it to identify its client. After numerous attempts over eight months including a subpoena, the company revealed that Greene had paid for the mailer and Moberg had worked on its distribution.

Under oath, both men said that Greene paid for the mailer with his own money. It wasn’t until September 2016 — after the PDC obtained bank records that showed Moberg had given Greene $4,000 a day after Greene ordered the mailers — that the two men acknowledged that the money for the mailers had come from Moberg. Their attorney claimed it was a loan but did not provide documentation to support that claim. PDC staff noted “what appear to be incomplete, deceptive or untrue answers to staff’s questions.”

Staff concluded that the men had violated state law by failing to register as a political committee and report campaign expenditures, and by attempting to conceal their identities as sponsors of the mailers. In March, PDC commission members voted unanimously to refer the investigation to the Attorney General after staff concluded the penalty could exceed the commission’s $10,000 authority.

Voters created the PDC in 1972 with the passage of Initiative 276. It provides timely public access to information about the financing of political campaigns and enforces Washington’s disclosure and campaign finance laws. It has an annual budget of $2.4 million and the equivalent of 19 full-time employees.

PDC Case 2138 Grant County Concerned Voters 

 

PDC names acting executive director
May 1, 2017

The Public Disclosure Commission has appointed Barbara “BG” Sandahl its acting executive director while it searches for a permanent leader to replace Evelyn Fielding Lopez, who announced in March she was leaving the agency. Fielding Lopez’s last day was April 28.

Sandahl joined the PDC in April as deputy executive director. She has worked in state government for more than two decades, including posts at the Department of Licensing, Secretary of State and most recently the Department of Retirement Systems. A Lean management practitioner, she has focused much of her work on helping agencies reduce waste and increase efficiency. 

 

Special session begins new fundraising freeze
April 23, 2017

The 2017 regular session freeze period ends Sunday, April 23, at 11:59 p.m. Gov. Jay Inslee has announced he will convene a special session of the Legislature beginning Monday, April 24, triggering a new fundraising freeze at 12:01 a.m. that day until the end of the special session. During a freeze, 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 contributions are used for the benefit of incumbent state officials or known candidates.

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.

Authority: RCW 42.17A.560 and WAC 390-17-400.

PDC Announces New Communications & Outreach Director Kim Bradford
April 19, 2017

We are very pleased to let you know that Kim Bradford, a longtime journalist in Tacoma and the Tri-Cities, has joined the Public Disclosure Commission’s management team as the Director of Communications & Outreach.

Kim has been a journalist for more than 20 years, and comes to the PDC from serving as the state and local news editor at The (Tacoma) News Tribune. She was previously on the News Tribune’s editorial board and served as its political editor.  Before joining The News Tribune she was the editorial page editor, an editorial writer and a reporter for the Tri-City Herald.

We are excited to be bringing on a communications professional of Kim’s caliber and breadth of expertise in journalism, with many years covering campaigns and politics. She will lead our efforts to provide more transparency and to provide more people easy access to vital information about public officials, candidates, lobbyists and campaign financing. She will play a key role in helping us continue to streamline the rules, make it easier for the regulated community to understand what the law requires and how best to be in compliance, as well as take the helm of our customer service team that the regulated community turns to for assistance day in and day out.

Please join us in welcoming Kim!

 

Contact: Kim Bradford
(360) 664-2737
Toll free 1-877-601-2828

PDC Commission Chair Anne Levinson’s remarks on AGO lawsuit against Tim Eyman for campaign finance violations.
March 31, 2017

Good morning. I’m Anne Levinson, Chair of the Washington State Public Disclosure Commission. The PDC is the state agency responsible for overseeing and enforcing our state’s campaign finance and disclosure laws. I want to thank the Attorney General for taking the action that he has announced here today.

This case is one of the most egregious the PDC has seen. After our staff’s investigation into these matters, the Commission unanimously referred these cases to the Attorney General and requested that he take any and all appropriate legal action he has within his authority. The Commission also requested that the Attorney General’s Office expand the investigation and prosecution to address any actions taken by Mr. Eyman and his colleagues prior or subsequent to the time period covered by the complaint made to the PDC, and include any additional charges warranted by that expanded time period. Our decision was based on a very detailed staff investigation, as well as on Mr. Eyman’s refusal while being interviewed under oath to answer questions about his compensation, and his refusal to produce records subpoenaed by the PDC until he was forced to by further enforcement action.

The Commission was extremely troubled that it appeared that Mr. Eyman intended to hide from the public the sources of funds and the actual purposes for which expenditures were made, and to further conceal that he used funds solely for his personal use. Given his creation of multiple LLCs and committees, his explanations that he did not intend to hide the sources or uses of funds strained credibility. Nor, given his many years of initiative activity, could he legitimately claim that his actions were due to a lack of experience in filing the required campaign disclosure reports or in understanding the allowable uses of campaign donations. The Commission advised the Attorney General that Mr. Eyman’s actions and operations appeared to be an intentional disregard for campaign finance and disclosure laws, laws which were enacted by the voters of our state to put a stop to conduct such as this. It also did not go unnoticed that the purported purpose of his initiatives was to protect the very public that was being harmed by violations of these laws.

Considering the possible multiple violations of the law, as well as Mr. Eyman’s prior history with the PDC, frequent and repeated use of the initiative process, and the likelihood of an intentional, ongoing pattern over multiple years, the Commission felt strongly that prosecution by the Attorney General was called for to enforce compliance with the law in a manner that would hold Mr. Eyman accountable for his actions, deter future misconduct, and protect the public.

Our state’s campaign finance and disclosure laws are premised on the principle that the public deserves to know who is funding political campaigns, who is spending money to influence their vote. Mr. Eyman has an obligation to obey the law. When he, or others, do not, the Public Disclosure Commission and the Attorney General have an obligation on behalf of the public to take all necessary steps to ensure the integrity of our electoral system.

Thank you.

PDC Case 1578 Tim Eyman, Voters Want More Choices - Alleged violation of RCW 42.17A.235, RCW 42.17A.240, RCW 42.17A.435, RCW 42.17A.445

WA State Attorney General Bob Ferguson Press Conference -March 31, 11:00 am

PDC announces transition of Executive Director and names new Assistant Director
March 28, 2017

PDC announces transition of Executive Director and names new Assistant Director

OLYMPIA –

The Public Disclosure Commission announced today that its Executive Director, Evelyn Fielding Lopez, will be leaving in May to pursue other interests. 

The Commission also announced the appointment of Barbara “BG” Sandahl, a veteran of Washington state government and a Lean management expert, as the agency’s new Assistant Director and that it will soon be appointing a new Director of Communications and Customer Service.
 
The citizens of Washington State created the PDC in 1972 by voter-approved Initiative to shine a light on money in politics, lobbying and campaigns. The PDC’s mission is to provide timely and meaningful public access to accurate information about the financing of political campaigns, lobbyist expenditures, and the financial affairs of public officials and candidates and to ensure compliance with the State’s disclosure and campaign finance laws. The PDC is guided by a five-member, non-partisan citizen Commission. 

Commission Chair Anne Levinson said, “We have embarked on an ambitious set of reforms to improve public access to information, provide great customer service, increase the use of technology to simplify filing requirements, resolve complaints more quickly, and aggressively enforce the law whenever warranted.  Having B.G. and a new Communications and Customer Service Director join the management team is  key to accomplishing these goals and to being strategically positioned for the future as well.”

“The PDC is a small agency, but it has a big mission, and so many in the public and media rely on it to help ensure the integrity and fairness of campaigns and elections in our state. We owe it to the public to do as much as we can, particularly in the context of today’s political environment. We have to continually improve open access to timely, user-friendly information online, and do more public education and outreach, as well as enforce the disclosure laws in an objective and non-partisan fashion,” Levinson said.

Sandahl has extensive experience in policy, legislative relations, elections, public administration, and is a leader in strategic planning and process improvement, including as a Lean Fellow at Results Washington in the Governor’s Office.  Sandahl comes to the PDC from her post as Organizational Change Manager at the Department of Retirement Systems. She also has been an official of the Department of Licensing, worked for the Secretary of State and was chief deputy for the Thurston County Auditor, which manages elections. While at the DOL she helped create the state’s highly regarded Enhanced Driver’s License.  

“The Commission is delighted that BG Sandahl has agreed to join the executive team,” Levinson said. “She brings a record of accomplishment in strategy and collaborative leadership and is known as a change agent who is always looking for fresh ways to provide excellent, cost-effective service to the public.”

Executive Director Fielding Lopez was appointed in October, 2015.  Ms. Lopez stated, “The PDC plays a critical role in open government and helps to ensure that the public knows who may be influencing campaigns and policy making.  I have been proud to be the Executive Director of this agency, and to have worked with a very dedicated and skilled staff.  I am particularly pleased with the changes that we have made, and that will continue to develop, in the PDC website and databases for the public.”  

“We all would like to thank Evelyn for her leadership, particularly her hard work to eliminate what had been a long-standing backlog of complaints and our efforts to develop systems for more efficient complaint management,” Chair Levinson stated.  Once our new Director of Communications and Customer Service has joined our management team, which also includes our Chief Information Officer James Gutholm, the Commission will provide an update regarding appointment of the next Executive Director.

Dave Ammons appointed to PDC
February 9, 2017

Governor Inslee announces appointment of David Ammons to PDC

OLYMPIA – Gov. Jay Inslee today announced the appointment of David Ammons to the Washington State Public Disclosure Commission. Ammons, who resides in Olympia, was the longest-serving capitol reporter in state history, much of it as president of the press corps.

Ammons was a reporter, columnist and editor for The Associated Press from 1970-2008, covering Washington state government and politics, and breaking news for AP member newspapers and TV and radio stations. He also served as analyst for TV and radio and wrote a statewide column, “Ammons on Politics.” From 2003-2008 he was the on-air host of TVW’s weekly hour-long interview show with Washington newsmakers, “Inside Olympia.”

From 2008-2017, Ammons served in state government as the Communications Director and senior policy adviser for the Office of Secretary of State, first for Sam Reed and then for Kim Wyman. He retired in January.

 “As a young political reporter for The Associated Press, I reported on the birth of the Public Disclosure Commission by citizen initiative in 1972. Throughout my Olympia career in the press corps, TVW, and the Office of Secretary of State, I have seen first-hand the PDC’s role in helping to ensure transparency in campaign financing and in the financial affairs of public officials. I strongly believe that the PDC, along with watchful attention by the public and press, is an indispensable tool to help citizens make informed decisions,” Ammons said. “Sunlight is a good thing.”

“As a journalist, Dave covered seven governors, countless legislative sessions, political campaigns and elections, and all three branches of our state’s government,” said Governor Inslee. “His unwavering commitment to making sure the public has critically important information and that government disclosure promotes ethics and accountability will serve him well in this role,” Inslee said. “I greatly appreciate his dedication to voter engagement, civility in politics and public understanding of the impact of elected officials’ decisions in the lives of citizens,” Inslee added.

 “Dave’s unique expertise and knowledge, both as a journalist and as an elections official, will be a terrific addition to the Commission,” PDC Chair Anne Levinson said.

“He has an in-depth understanding of how important it is that the State's campaign finance and expenditure laws are fully and fairly enforced in order for the public to have trust in the integrity of the electoral and governing processes. The continually increasing influence of money and special interests in campaigns and governance makes the PDC’s role as important today as it has ever been,” Levinson added.

The Public Disclosure Commission is the State agency that was created and empowered by an Initiative of the People in 1972 to provide timely and meaningful public access to accurate information about the financing of political campaigns, lobbyist expenditures, and the financial affairs of public officials and candidates. The PDC ensures compliance with and equitable enforcement of Washington's campaign finance and disclosure laws. In order to place Initiative 276 on the November 1972 ballot, citizens gathered nearly 163,000 signatures. 72 percent of voters approved I-276 and the law took effect January 1, 1973.  In 1992, through Initiative 134, over 72% of voters enacted contribution limits and other campaign restrictions for the PDC to enforce.

The Commission is comprised of five citizens who are appointed by the Governor to five-year terms. In addition to Commission Chair Judge Anne Levinson (ret.), and newly appointed Commissioner Ammons, the other three Commissioners are Vice-Chair Judge John Bridges (ret.), Commissioner Katrina Asay and Commissioner Jack Johnson.

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