Changes coming to Personal Financial Affairs (F-1) reporting

The Public Disclosure Commission will make personal financial affairs disclosure (F-1) information from candidates, elected officials and others available online beginning in January 2020.

The F-1 is the only PDC form not currently available on the agency’s website. Come next year, new financial disclosure reports filed with the commission will be viewable via the website, while older reports will remain available by public records requests.

State law requires candidates, elected officials, state board and commission members, state agency directors, and legislative and gubernatorial professional staff to disclose personal financial information through the F-1.

The information allows the public to assess whether candidates and elected and appointed officials have conflicts of interest.

The Public Disclosure Commission announced today that Gov. Jay Inslee has appointed Fred Jarrett, the recently retired King County Senior Deputy Executive, to the Commission.

Jarrett is a former state lawmaker, mayor, city council member and school board member.

“Fred has extensive experience at all levels of government, which has given him a deep appreciation and understanding of the importance of the work of the state Public Disclosure Commission,” Inslee said. “He is well-respected in both government and the private sector and will be an excellent addition to the PDC.”

The Public Disclosure Commission wants to hear from the public about proposed changes to interpretations dealing with campaign loans, debts, pledges and electronic contributions.

The revisions to Interpretations 12-01 and 00-02, discussed by the commission Dec. 6 and due for further consideration at its Jan. 24 meeting, are intended to reflect changes in the law and campaign finance landscape that have occurred in the years since the interpretations were written or last amended.

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.

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.

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.”