PDC honors Jolene Unsoeld, 'mother' of campaign finance disclosure in Washington
At a ceremony May 28, the Public Disclosure Commission dedicated 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.
Friends and family of Unsoeld attended the dedication, held during the Commission’s regular meeting, to share their memories of her dedication 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.”
The PDC was created in 1972 with the passage of Initiative 276. The agency is governed by a five-member board appointed by the governor.
As one of the founding members of the Coalition for Open Government, Unsoeld helped draft the initiative, and worked tirelessly for years to analyze and organize early PDC data into her well-known “Who Gave, Who Got, How Much?” publications.
The first edition took roughly 2,000 hours of work on Unsoeld’s part. Her work helped highlight the importance of the PDC’s work at a critical time.
“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.”
In addition to Fraser, Unsoeld’s sons Krag and Regon, Unsoeld’s former communications director Doug Levy, and longtime League of Women Voters member Rita Robison attended the dedication, which took place during the Commission’s May regular meeting.
The PDC also has established an internship in Unsoeld’s name. Evergreen State College junior Nathan Tippman was the first recipient of the Jolene Unsoeld Public Policy Internship for spring quarter 2026. He is currently working with staff on a research project focusing on contribution limits.