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Chair finds Heather Harris violated PDC filing rules, imposes $150 penalty (suspended $50)
Summary
The Public Disclosure Commission found candidate Heather Harris failed to timely file required C-1 and F-1 reports and imposed a $150 penalty with $50 suspended if she pays $100 within 30 days and has no further filing violations for four years.
Chair Leach opened evidence in PDC case 173041 and found that Heather Harris failed to timely file the candidate registration (C-1) and personal financial affairs (F-1) reports required by RCW 42.17A.205 and .700. PDC staff had offered respondents the option to resolve late reports online and pay a civil penalty; Harris testified she had not received those emails because they routed to an employer mailbox filtered by Sophos.
Harris told the commission, “So I was unaware of the emails that I was receiving from PDC because, I work for boys and girls clubs.” The chair said the filing obligation is statutory regardless of account filtering and imposed a combined penalty of $150, suspending $50 on the condition that Harris pays $100 to the PDC within 30 days and has no further filing violations for four years. Chair Leach also directed PDC staff to assist Harris in completing any required filings.
Why it matters: The finding underscores that candidate-reporting obligations are strict-liability duties under state law and that administrative remedies at the PDC can include conditional suspension of fines when respondents promptly cure missing reports.
What comes next: The commission’s written order will set exact deadlines; the chair included a proviso that any order would be void if the candidate files a timely withdrawal under statute or PDC policy.
