July 25, 2025
The Washington Public Disclosure Commission voted unanimously July 24 to impose a total of $11,000 in fines to a successful 2024 candidate for the state House of Representatives and his campaign, after an investigation revealed numerous potential violations of state law throughout the campaign.
Shaun Scott, who won his election and now represents Washington’s 43rd district in the state House, stipulated to three violations of state public disclosure law by him and his campaign.
The Commission accepted the stipulation during its Thursday, July 24 regular meeting, and then deliberated on the amount of penalty to assess.
Scott's campaign, registered under the name The Fighting 43rd, was issued a $10,000 penalty for reporting incomplete or inaccurate information on contribution and expenditure forms, failing to file or filing reports late, failing to accurately report debt, failing to provide campaign books of account upon a request for inspection, failing to include complete sponsor identification on advertisements and using an assumed name for sponsor ID.
PDC staff identified problems with dozens of reports leading up to the 2024 primary and general elections.
Among the issues, the committee filed late mandatory pre-general election reports – which are expedited reports designed to provide information during critical voting periods. The late reports, which were due in October 2024 and filed in March 2025, included more than $46,000 in contributions and more than $33,500 in expenditures. That activity – disclosed after the election – represented a significant portion of the campaign’s total $147,000 in fundraising.
Scott stipulated to one violation himself: that he used campaign funds for personal use, which is prohibited by state law. Specifically, Scott admitted campaign funds for $756 in haircuts. The Commission imposed a $1,000 fine for this violation.
Half of each violation is suspended on the condition that the non-suspended portion of the fines are paid within 90 days, and that the amount spent on personal use is refunded to Scott’s campaign, among other requirements.