Mendoza, Maria Gloria: Alleged Violation of RCW 42.17A.555 for allowing public speech at a public city event in support of candidacy (EY23, Oct23)

Case

#143155

Respondent

Maria Gloria Mendoza

Complainant

Cody Goeppner

Description

PDC staff reviewed the allegations; the applicable statutes, rules, and reporting requirements; the response(s) provided 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:

• Maria Gloria Mendoza, the incumbent mayoral candidate for the City of Grandview, filed a declaration of candidacy on May 15, 2023.
• RCW 42.17A.555 prohibits elected or appointed officials, their employees, and employees of a public office or agency from using, or authorizing the use of, public office/agency facilities (resources), directly or indirectly, for the purpose of assisting an election campaign or for the promotion of, or opposition to, any ballot proposition.
• On September 26, 2023, the City of Grandview held a grand opening ceremony for a new roundabout.  Mayor Mendoza welcomed the attendees of the ceremony and introduced invited speakers to the podium. The morning’s invited speakers were county and city officials, project management and team members, and in attendance were members of the community. Toward the end of the event Mayor Mendoza spontaneously invited Mr. Gary Christensen, a local Grandview business owner, to the podium to share his thoughts. Mr. Christiansen was not on the agenda as a speaker, but he had previously been at the groundbreaking ceremony for the roundabout and spoke at that event. At the end of his comments about the project and doing business in Grandview, Mr. Christiansen commented on Mayor Mendoza’s re-election campaign and encouraged people to vote for her. At the end of Mr. Christiansen’s comments, Mayor Mendoza says that “I thanked him for his kind remarks and said, “listen to him because he is a smart man.” The mayor asserts the last of her comment was directed toward the praise Mr. Christensen gave for the city’s business friendly environment.
• As part of her response to the complaint, Mayor Mendoza included a statement from Mr. Christiansen in which he apologized for “suggesting that people should re-elect you for mayor at the recent ribbon cutting” and that he “was unaware that I should not have made a comment regarding your re-election.” He asserted that the mayor did not ask him to or suggest that he make any comments about her re-election and that his comments were a spontaneous reaction in the moment. Other statements, from attendees of the event, were also provided in the response and they corroborate Mr. Christiansen and the Mayor’s recollection of the incident.
• In this instance, there is no evidence that supports coordination between the mayor’s campaign and Mr. Christensen about his comments.
• The Respondent does not have other similar warnings or violations of PDC requirements.

Based on our findings, the evidence does not support a violation of RCW 42.17A.555 for allowing public speech at a public city event in support of candidacy.

The PDC finds that no further action is necessary and has dismissed this matter per RCW 42.17A.755(1) and WAC 390-37-060(1)(a).

Disposition

Case Closed with No Evidence of Violations

Date Opened

October 10, 2023

Areas of Law

RCW 42.17A.555

Documents

• 143155 Mendoza Maria Gloria Response (revised).pdf
• 143155 Mendoza Maria Gloria Complaint.pdf
• 143155 Mendoza_Maria Dismissal Letter (combined).pdf