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PDC fines several candidates and local officials for missing disclosure filings
Summary
At its June 25 meeting the Washington State PDC found multiple reporting violations, including cases against a legislative candidate and local officials, and imposed civil penalties with conditions requiring missing filings and payment within 30 days.
The Washington State Public Disclosure Commission on June 25 found reporting violations and imposed civil penalties in a string of enforcement cases tied to missed campaign‑finance and financial‑affairs filings.
Staff presented multiple cases during the 10:00 enforcement block. Jordan Campbell described group enforcement procedures and recommended action in PDC case 191661 against John Gibbons (candidate, Legislative District 45) for failing to timely file a C1 (candidate registration) and F1 (personal financial affairs) for the 2026 election year; the staff memo said the reports were due no later than May 22, 2026 and that a prior adjudication from 2022 remained unpaid. Commissioners voted to find the alleged violations established and moved to impose monetary penalties with partial suspension conditioned on filing the missing reports and payment of unsuspended amounts within 30 days.
In PDC case 191597, presented by Ashley Joslin, staff alleged Robert Scott (fire commissioner, West Thurston Regional Fire Authority) failed to file his F1 for calendar year 2025 and recommended a penalty consistent with the WAC penalty schedule for repeat violations; commissioners found the violations and adopted a penalty motion with conditions requiring filing, payment, and addressing any outstanding amounts that had been placed with collections.
In PDC case 191596, Carolyn Jones presented allegations that Kyle Stringholt (city council member, Linden) failed to file the required F1 for 2025. The commission found the violations and imposed a civil penalty with half suspended contingent on filing the missing report and payment of unsuspended amounts within 30 days; commissioners discussed treating repeat failure to file as an aggravating factor for any future enforcement.
Commissioners discussed whether outstanding fines accrue interest at the PDC level and confirmed that PDC‑held assessments do not itself accrue interest (collections vendors or external collection processes may add fees). Several commissioners emphasized staff’s willingness to work with small municipal volunteers to bring reports into compliance while holding repeat offenders accountable.
What happens next: In each case the orders require the respondents to file the missing reports and pay the unsuspended portions of assessed penalties within 30 days; staff said it will confirm whether outstanding fines have been placed with a collection agency and include conditions addressing any collection fees or interest where applicable.
