Miller, Pete: Alleged violation of RCW 42.17A.205 for failure to register as a candidate within 14 days of soliciting donations (APR'23 EY'23)

Case

#124103

Respondent

Pete Miller

Complainant

Kyle Meyers

Description

PDC staff reviewed the allegation(s); the applicable statutes, rules, and reporting requirements; the response(s) provided by the Respondent; the applicable PDC reports filed by the Respondent; and other relevant information, to determine whether the record supports a finding of one or more violations.

Based on staff’s review, we found the following:

• On May 11, 2019, Pete Miller registered with the PDC as a candidate for School Director of the Tahoma School District No. 409. Mr. Miller won that election and is currently serving as a director on the school board.  The term for this office ends November 2023.
• The evidence provided with the complaint was that Pete Miller’s “website is publicly requesting donations and the impression is that he is currently running for re-election.”
• On April 12, 2023, I reviewed Mr. Miller’s website, www.votepetemiller.com, and confirmed the presence of a “Donate” button on the home webpage. There were no other indications on the website of a 2023 campaign for office.
• In the response to the complaint, Mr. Miller states “As a part of running for this position I launched the votepetemiller.com website in June 2019 and it has been sitting idle and unchanged since the 2019 election. Once the campaign concluded, I simply did not take the site down, although I did close the bank account that was associated with my campaign.” Mr. Miller identified June 18, 2019, as the date the donation button became active on the website.
• Following being contacted by the PDC regarding the complaint, Mr. Miller removed the “Donate” button from the website.  He also indicates that he “changed the website to only include a picture of myself and a simple statement which reads “Thank you, Tahoma. It is a pleasure to serve as your elected school board member. Please check the Tahoma School District website for updates about our work.”  I reviewed the website on April 26, 2023, and confirmed these changes.
• In his response to the complaint, on April 22, 2023, Mr. Miller confirmed there have been no donations received via the website, or any other means, since October 30, 2019. He stated, “I have not solicited any donations nor have I had a conversation or correspondence of any kind about donations for a future campaign.”
• Mr. Miller did confirm he is planning to run for reelection for the same office and on April 25, 2023, he filed a C-1 Candidate Registration for the 2023 election. He filed as Mini Reporting with a campaign start date of May 25, 2023.  Mr. Miller also timely filed an F-1 Personal Financial Affairs Statement on February 7, 2023.
• The Respondent does have a previous reminder for failing to include sponsor identification on political advertising arising from the 2019 election.

It appears the “Donate” button on the website was nonfunctioning and remained on the homepage after the 2019 election as an oversight.  Mr. Miller states “I regret the oversight on my part and have taken swift steps to correct the issue and return to full compliance with the RCWs.”

Based on our findings staff has determined that, in this instance no evidence supports a finding of a violation that warrants further investigation.

PDC staff is reminding Pete Miller, in accordance with RCW 42.17A.005(8), that fundraising tools on a website may be construed as a declaration of candidacy for election to public office. PDC staff expects in the future that Pete Miller will manage his website so as not to inadvertently promote his candidacy for office when he is not seeking election.

Based on this information, the PDC finds that no further action is warranted and has dismissed this matter in accordance with RCW 42.17A.755(1).

Disposition

Case Closed with Reminder

Date Opened

April 12, 2023

Areas of Law

RCW 42.17A.205

Documents

• 124103 Miller_Pete Response.pdf
• 124103 Miller_Pete Complaint Return Letter (combined).pdf
• 124103 Miller Pete Complaint.pdf