OLYMPIA — State campaign finance regulators fined Let’s Go Washington, the political action committee behind this year’s slate of voter initiatives, on Wednesday as the battle over the fate of several major state policies careens through its final month.
The state Public Disclosure Commission said Let’s Go Washington failed to report spending by subcontractors, or confirm that its vendors didn’t use subcontractors. It also failed to turn over its books to the commission, the PDC said. The PDC, which enforces campaign finance and disclosure laws, had requested the records twice, in May and July, before issuing a subpoena in late July. Let’s Go Washington turned over the records in August.
PDC staff presented administrative charges in September with four allegations total; the commission found two violations. On the other two allegations, the PDC said Let’s Go Washington reported its spending on each of the initiatives properly based on the rules in effect at the time, and it preserved financial records in accordance with the law.
“While the books of account were incomplete and not produced timely, they were not deleted or destroyed and remain available as required” by law, the commission said.
Brian Heywood, the Redmond hedge fund manager behind Let’s Go Washington, pushed back Wednesday on the PDC’s order.
Heywood, in a statement, said Wednesday’s decision “created a new precedent for the state indicating that if the PDC ‘feels’ that an organization should have evidence that its vendors used sub-vendors, they can fine that organization $10,000 for not performing adequate ‘due diligence.’”
The commission, he said, had “no evidence” of subvendors and that Let’s Go Washington testified at an Oct. 3 hearing it was not aware of any.
In its order, the PDC said rules require payments to subcontractors or other third parties be disclosed and that Let’s Go Washington is obligated to ask and confirm whether vendors used subcontractors. It also said that the group’s failure to report the information was “especially concerning here where [Let’s Go Washington] contractors implied they did utilize subvendors.”
According to the order, one contractor refused to disclose information about subcontractors and Let’s Go Washington didn’t follow up and continued to pay them. Another contractor referred to using “local consultants,” which the PDC said indicated there were more vendors the contractor hadn’t disclosed to Let’s Go Washington, and the owner of a third contractor admitted to a PDC compliance officer that his company used subcontractors but Let’s Go Washington hadn’t asked about it and that he would have refused to disclose them if Let’s Go Washington had asked.
The PDC issued a $10,000 fine for each of the two violations, totaling $20,000. But half of the total will be suspended as long as Let’s Go Washington pays $10,000 within 30 days, complies with all PDC reporting requirements and doesn’t commit further violations of campaign finance law or rules within four years.
Heywood said Let’s Go Washington is “evaluating our options.” It can petition for the PDC to reconsider its order within 10 days. It could also appeal the order to a Superior Court Judge within 30 days.
He also said Let’s Go Washington was pursuing PDC complaints against a slew of progressive campaign committees on the same grounds.
“If investigation of sub-vendors are of paramount importance, the same investigative standard should be applied to all organizations involved in the 2024 election,” he said. “The PDC cannot establish an arbitrary standard regarding sub-vendors only for [Let’s Go Washington].”
Defend Washington, the coalition of labor and other groups fighting the initiatives, said in a statement Wednesday that the PDC “took an important step toward holding Let’s Go Washington accountable for their violations of our public financing and disclosure laws.”
Last year, SEIU 775, Civic Ventures, Washington Conservation Action and Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates, which oppose the initiatives, complained to the PDC about Let’s Go Washington, claiming the group wasn’t forthcoming about its spending.
Defend Washington has complained to the PDC twice about events held by Let’s Go Washington offering discounted gas, which remains under investigation, a spokesperson for the PDC said Wednesday.
Wednesday’s fines comes as Let’s Go Washington tries to get four measures approved by voters. Ballots will be sent to voters starting next week and must be postmarked or placed in election drop boxes by Nov. 5.
Washingtonians will decide whether to keep or repeal the state’s carbon market (I-2117) and its capital gains tax (I-2109), whether to make the state’s long-term care insurance program optional (I-2124) and whether to roll back state efforts to transition to electricity from natural gas (I-2066).
