by Jerry Cornfield, Washington State Standard
July 25, 2024
The state Public Disclosure Commission decided Thursday to retain jurisdiction on a complaint alleging Let’s Go Washington and its founder Brian Heywood violated campaign finance laws in the course of gathering signatures for six initiatives last year.
An alliance of progressive groups, which filed the complaint a year ago and is now opposing three of those measures that are on the November ballot, urged commissioners to refer the case to Washington’s attorney general.
Lawyers representing SEIU 775, Washington Conservation Action, Planned Parenthood and Civic Ventures had argued for action on the allegations before the fall election.
Commissioners voted to deny the request then followed up by agreeing to reserve time in an August meeting for an enforcement hearing if charges are filed by the staff. If not, the disclosure commission leader vowed to keep pushing for resolution of the complaint before ballots are cast.
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“If August doesn’t happen, there are lots of days for special meetings,” chair Allen Hayward said. “The commission is dedicated to getting this done before the election.”
Heywood said afterwards that the commissioners “did the right thing.”
“They looked at the law and said it needs to go back to the staff. That’s how it’s supposed to work,” Heywood said. “I’m not worried about August. We will find out what they need to know and we’ll come back with the answers.”
Defend Washington, whose members include those behind the complaint, issued a statement expressing appreciation for the commitment.
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Rules of the road
State law allows the Public Disclosure Commission to refer cases to the state attorney general’s office if it thinks it is necessary to ensure compliance with state campaign finance laws, that an apparent violation warrants a greater penalty than the commission can legally impose or if that maximum penalty is not enough to address the severity of the violation.
“This particular matter meets none of the requirements,” Callie Castillo, attorney for Let’s Go Washington, told commissioners Thursday. “We urge the commission to deny the request.”
Referrals are rare. Commissioners in 2019 and in 2021 forwarded complaints against Facebook, Inc. to Attorney General Bob Ferguson. In 2021, the panel’s referral letter said those complaints contained “credible allegations” of “multiple apparent violations” of campaign finance law. And it noted that Ferguson had already sued the firm on related issues.
In 2015, commissioners voted to refer its investigation of initiative entrepreneur Tim Eyman, in part because the potential penalties were considered too small for the violations. And commissioners in 2011 sent a case involving a political consulting firm, Moxie Media, to then-attorney general Rob McKenna because they sought a more severe penalty.
This dispute is rooted in Let’s Go Washington’s unprecedented success last year in gathering signatures for six initiatives to the Legislature. Lawmakers adopted three – dealing with guidelines for police pursuits, parental rights and taxes.
Voters will decide the fate of three others that seek to repeal the capital gains tax and the cap-and-trade system, and make the state’s new long-term care services program voluntary. Defend Washington is conducting a campaign to defeat these measures.
Members of Defend Washington filed the original complaint last July, and supplemented it in October. They allege Let’s Go Washington, the political committee founded and bankrolled by Heywood, failed to disclose details in a thorough and timely manner about the flow of money in and out of the committee coffers for each of the six initiatives.
Heywood, who denies any wrongdoing, said his side has cooperated fully with commission staff investigating the allegations.
A memo from commission staff delivered late Wednesday to commissioners paints a different picture.
For example, they wrote that they did not receive requested documents, invoices or books of accounts to verify or confirm some of the vendor information provided by Let’s Go Washington.
And, information sought in September 2023 about contributions and expenditures for each of the six ballot measures didn’t arrive until January 2024, they wrote. That was after signatures had been collected, counted and the measures certified by the secretary of state.
When asked about the memo, Heywood reiterated that they have been “nothing but accommodating.”
“We believe in transparency and accountability, those are the ideals that have been at the center of each of our initiatives,” he said.
Washington State Standard is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Washington State Standard maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Bill Lucia for questions: [email protected]. Follow Washington State Standard on Facebook and X.