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PDC finds two violations in Dobbs mailer case, imposes suspended penalties
Summary
The Public Disclosure Commission found Glenn Dobbs violated reporting and sponsor‑identification rules for a January 2025 mailer, ordering two $500 penalties suspended if he files the required C6 and accrues no violations for four years.
The chair of the Washington State Public Disclosure Commission found that Glenn Dobbs violated state campaign‑finance rules by failing to timely file an independent‑expenditure report and by not providing full sponsor identification on a January 2025 mailer.
Alice Feynman, speaking for PDC staff, told the commission that the January 2025 edition of the Wenatchee Record was mailed using Mr. Dobbs’s personal funds at a cost of “just over $5,000” and that staff concluded the publication constituted an independent expenditure triggering C6 reporting requirements. Feynman recommended two $500 civil penalties — one for the untimely C6 and one for missing sponsor identification — and required the respondent to file a C6 within 30 days.
Respondent counsel Connor Edwards argued the mailer was not political advertising and therefore did not require sponsor ID or a C6, saying the piece primarily criticized the school district and did not “urge voters to vote one way or another.” Edwards asked the commission to exercise prosecutorial discretion, noting staff had previously declined to pursue large late‑disclosure matters in other cases.
Chair Jay Leach said he considered staff’s factors and the differences between private citizen mailers and government agency informational materials and announced he found the two violations as alleged. Leach imposed $500 on each violation but suspended each penalty on the following conditions: the C6 must be filed within 30 days of the written decision, and the respondent must commit no further violations of chapter 42.17A of the Revised Code of Washington for four years. If those conditions are met, no economic sanctions will be enforced.
The chair’s order concluded with the same conditional suspension applied to both alleged violations and required the respondent to file the required report within the specified time period.
