Commission meeting highlights: May 2026
The Public Disclosure Commission began its May 28 regular meeting with a full complement of commissioners for the first time in more than a year.
Commissioners Matthew Segal and Teebah Alsaleh were both appointed by Gov. Bob Ferguson in April. They join Chair J. Leach, Vice Chair Douglass North and Commissioner James Oswald. The PDC is governed by five members of the public appointed by the governor.
Both said they are excited to begin their work with the PDC.
PDC honors Jolene Unsoeld for tireless work to benefit the agency, create Washington campaign disclosure law
At a ceremony May 28, the Public Disclosure Commission celebrated the dedication of its meeting room to Jolene Unsoeld, the late state legislator and Congresswomen who was one of the driving forces behind the creation of the PDC.
The Commission approved the dedication in December 2025. At the May meeting, it unveiled a plaque and portrait of Unsoeld on May 28 which will be hung in the meeting room.
Friends and family of Unsoeld attended the dedication, held during the Commission’s regular meeting, to share their memories of her lifelong commitment to public service.
“She had a backbone of steel,” said former state Sen. Karen Fraser of Olympia. “You need to have that to work on these issues and a lot of the other big issues she worked on.”
In addition to Fraser, Unsoeld’s sons Krag and Regon, Unsoeld’s former congressional communications director Doug Levy, and longtime League of Women Voters member Rita Robison attended the dedication.
“Jolene Unsoeld is probably the dominant figure who caused this Commission to exist,” Commission Chair J. Leach said. “As a result of her efforts we have a policy in Washington that we can be proud of.”
Commission continues to discuss delegation to settle small lawsuits
The Commission again discussed the possibility of delegating some authority to resolve minor litigation, such as contract disputes with vendors, to Executive Director Peter Frey Lavallee. Commission Chair J. Leach proposed the change at the Commission’s April 23 meeting.
Currently, the Commission must convene a meeting to discuss any litigation against the agency and determine a resolution. This proposal would give Lavallee some authority to settle small claims. The Commission discussed at both meetings setting a monetary cap on the authority and having the Commission approve any final agreement on a settlement.
The Commission made no decision on May 28 but directed John Meader, the assistant attorney general representing the Commission, to research how other agencies or jurisdictions handle this kind of policy.
Commission denies petition to publish information about open investigations
On May 28, the Commission unanimously denied a petition from Conner Edwards asking the Commission to adopt a rule to require the agency to publish a status report on all complaints pending for more than one year.
The agency currently posts the status of cases, listing whether they are under initial review, formal investigation, or have been resolved. However, the petition asked for additional information on the investigation including an estimated date of resolution, preliminary results and a list of actions taken by staff to resolve the case.
Staff and commissioners noted that the public records act exempts disclosure of investigative records and that the Commission that releasing this information could damage the ability of the PDC to investigate cases, prejudice parties involved, and potentially violate rights of respondents.
The Commission receives a report on open and closed cases at their monthly regular meetings.
While the petition was denied, the Commission directed staff to explore what, if any, additional information can be released to the public about an ongoing investigation into a complaint.
PDC moving forward with rulemaking on complaint publication case resolution
The PDC has initiated rulemaking regarding the complaint publication process, which allows the PDC to resolve complaints by sending the complaint and any response received to news media. The agency also publishes such cases to its website.
The requested change would allow the agency to only publish cases to its website, without sending them to media. Staff noted that media already follow the PDC’s website for information on enforcement cases, and that the agency doesn’t email media with notifications on other case resolutions.
Cases resolved through complaint publication are generally minor, Deputy Director Kim Bradford said.
The Commission approved staff’s request to publish the draft rules. Next, the Commission will schedule a public hearing to accept public comments on the proposal, and to consider formal adoption.
Enforcement report
Between April 15 and May 19, the PDC received 124 new complaints and as of May 19 had 183 active compliance cases. Of that 183, 72 are under initial review, 107 under formal investigation, three scheduled for brief enforcement hearings and one pending deferred enforcement. Staff held 13 initial hearings to convert cases to formal investigations.
During that timeframe, 78 cases were closed, including five with no evidence of a violation, 10 with reminders, two with technical corrections, two closed as remediable violations, 34 with written warnings, 15 with signed statements of understanding, four found in violation by the Commission and six resolved with the complaint publication process.
Closed cases involved 23 local candidates, three legislative candidates, one commercial advertiser, five public agencies or employees, 45 political committees and one independent expenditure sponsor.
Staff highlighted one case, resolved on May 6 with a signed statement of understanding and a $300 civil penalty. In statements of understanding, respondents admit to a violation.
In that case, state Rep. Tarra Simmons admitted to donating surplus funds to nonprofits not registered as required by the Office of the Secretary of State under state law.
Bradford also briefed the Commission about staff work on a group enforcement process regarding filing of mandatory pre-election expenditure (C-4) reports. Candidates and committees participating in primary and/or general elections are required to file these reports 21 days and 7 days before an election and on the 10th day of the following month.
In 2024, staff, with direction from the Commission, started a reminder program and overdue notices for campaigns owing one of these reports. In 2025, staff began a group enforcement process for late or missing C-4 reports for these periods. Bradford said staff plans to continue the effort in 2026.