Marnie Claywell: Alleged violation of RCW 42.17A.235, .240, and .320 for failure to timely and accurately report contributions and expenditures and failure to provide complete sponsor identification on their campaign website. (EY24 JUN24)

Case

#156306

Respondent

Marnie Claywell

Complainant

Jacob Read

Description

PDC staff reviewed the allegations and evidence you submitted; the applicable statutes, rules, and reporting requirements; the response(s) provided by Marnie Claywell (the “Respondent”) and Dottie Moffitt the campaign Treasurer; 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.

Applicable Laws & Rules

  • RCW 42.17A.320 states, “all written political advertising, whether relating to candidates or ballot propositions, shall include the sponsor’s name and address.”  The statute exempts yard signs, if the signs were printed before June 6, 2024, and other forms of political advertising where sponsor identification is impractical.  WAC 390-18-010 further clarifies and explains the requirements for sponsor identification and political advertising.  Per WAC 390-18-020, if a candidate has expressed a party or independent preference on the Declaration of Candidacy, advertising supporting or opposing a candidate must clearly identify the candidates political party or independent status in the advertising.
  • Per RCW 42.17A.235 and .240, under the Full Reporting option, a committee is required to disclose contribution and expenditure information by submitting Receipts and Expenditure Summary (C-4) reports and Cash Receipts, Monetary Contributions (C-3) reports to the PDC.  The Committee’s due dates for the C-3 and C-4 reports are determined by its activity and participation in the election cycle. 
    • RCW 42.17A.235(3)(a) indicates a C-4 report is due each month “if the committee has received a contribution or made an expenditure in the preceding calendar month and either the total contributions received, or the total expenditures made since the last such report exceed $750.”

Background & Findings 

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

  • The Respondent first filed a Candidate Registration (C-1) on May 10, 2024, for the Full Reporting option.  The registration has been amended multiple times. The campaign Treasurer is Dottie Moffitt.
  • Prior to your complaint, the website for Marnie Claywell’s campaign, https://claywell4house38.com, did not provide complete sponsor identification. On July 15, 2024, the Respondent said that she updated the website with the campaign address and required “Paid for by” language.  PDC staff notified the Respondent on September 10, 2024, the party preference also needed to be disclosed on the website.  The website was updated accordingly as of September 13, 2024.
  • The case review determined there are many late filed C-3 and C-4 reports since the beginning of the campaign in May 2024.
    • Of note, the first C-3 filed showed a contribution of $700 received on May 9, 2024, and loans of $865.31 from the candidate to their campaign, filed on June 28, 2024, 18 days late.  The corresponding C-4 was originally filed on June 28, 2024, 18 days late, and amended on September 11, 2024, to correct an accounting error.
    • All the June C-3 reports, due weekly, were filed late in July 2024.  The June C-4 was filed timely.
    • The first C-3 filed in July was submitted four days late, the 21-day C-4 was filed three days late, and the 7-day C-4 and final C-3 for July were filed timely.
    • There were eight C-3s filed for August and all but one were submitted late by more than a few days.  The Post-Election C-4 was filed timely.
    • The C-3 filed for September 3, 2024, was filed one day late on September 10, 2024.
    • To date, the campaign has reported raising $4,743.88 and expending $4,295.57, with $697.11 in debt. 
  • In their response, the Respondent said that early in their campaign they were dealing with a family illness and death which caused some of the early campaign late filed reports.  This is a mitigating factor in this case.
  • The Respondent does not have previous warnings or violations of similar PDC requirements.

Summary and Resolution

Pursuant to WAC 390-37-060(1)(d), Marnie Claywell will receive a formal written warning concerning their failure to timely and accurately report contributions and expenditures and for failing to provide complete sponsor identification on their campaign website. The formal written warning will include staff’s expectation that Marnie Claywell, going forward, file all required reports of contributions and expenditures accurately and timely and follow RCW 42.17A.320 in future political advertisements.  The Commission will consider the formal written warning in deciding on further Commission action if there are future violations of PDC laws or rules.

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 Written Warning

Date Opened

July 08, 2024

Areas of Law

RCW 42.17A.235, RCW 42.17A.240, RCW 42.17A.320

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