The following editorial originally appeared in The Seattle Times:
Finding legal technicalities and splitting hairs might be useful skills for Washington’s top lawyer, but they are unbecoming in someone who wants to be the state’s next governor.
Attorney General Bob Ferguson wants to succeed Jay Inslee as governor, but he’s not winning over any voters by exploiting a campaign finance loophole.
In May, Ferguson transferred $1.2 million of leftover money from his attorney general campaign fund to his 2024 gubernatorial campaign fund. That’s completely legal as long as he gets permission in writing from all of the donors who gave him the money.
What’s unseemly about the transfer is that Ferguson isn’t saying who those donors are or how much they gave.
He transferred the money mere days before the state Public Disclosure Commission clarified that in the spirit of transparent campaign finances, candidates should share that information.
There’s good reason for transparency. If the names and amounts are secret, candidates can double dip.
Donors who gave money to the attorney general campaign could now give to the gubernatorial campaign, and the combined value could exceed the state’s $2,400 maximum individual donation per race. Only Ferguson and the donor would know.
Ferguson is not the only candidate who is taking advantage of the timing of their transfer. In fact, the PDC recently heard a case involving a candidate out of Spokane who transferred funds in 2021.
The commission should rule that the new disclosure guidance applies retroactively, or it could carve out a safe harbor for Ferguson and a few others who sneaked in under the deadline.
Whatever the PDC decides, Ferguson should do the right thing and come clean.
To be clear, Ferguson is following the PDC guidance as it was the day he transferred the money. He also says he will follow the guidance going forward.
But he’s quite comfortable slipping through the loophole of a few days that allows him to hit up some of his supporters for more money than they should give.
This is Ferguson’s chance to show that he is more than just a lawyer, that he is a champion of public disclosure and open government.
Lawyers look for technicalities. Governors uphold the spirit and intent of the law, too.
