Robertson, Jennifer: Alleged violations of RCW 42.17A.240 and WAC 390-16-205 for failure to accurately report expenditures (EY 15; Mar 19)

Case

#48311

Respondent

Jennifer Robertson

Complainant

Edward Horejs III

Description

The Public Disclosure Commission (PDC) has completed its review of the complaint filed by Edward Horejs on March 5, 2019. The complaint alleged that Jennifer Robertson, a 2015 candidate for Bellevue City Council may have violated RCW 42.17A.240 for failure to accurately and completely disclose in-kind contributions and debts on Summary Full Campaign Contribution and Expenditure reports (C-4 reports), and WAC 390-16-037 and WAC 390-16-205 for failure to accurately disclose sub-vendor breakdowns for expenditures undertaken by the campaign.

PDC staff reviewed the allegations; the applicable statutes, rules, and reporting requirements; the response provided by Jennifer Robertson; the applicable PDC reports filed by Respondent; and queried the Respondent’s data in the PDC contribution and expenditure database, to determine whether the record supports a finding of one or more violations.

Based on our findings staff has determined that, in this instance, failure to accurately and completely break down expenditure details does not amount to a violation warranting further investigation.

Pursuant to WAC 390-37-060(1)(d), Jennifer Robertson will receive a formal written warning concerning failure to accurately and completely disclose expenditure details, including the number of items and sub-vendors actually providing the goods and services for the campaign. The formal written warning will include staff’s expectation that Jennifer Robertson provides detailed descriptions of expenditure details on all future required reports. The Commission will consider the formal written warning in deciding on further Commission action if there are future violations of PDC laws or rules.

Based on this information, the PDC finds that no further action is warranted and has dismissed this matter in accordance with RCW 42.17A.755(1).

Disposition

Case Closed with Written Warning

Date Opened

March 11, 2019

Areas of Law

RCW 42.17A.240, WAC 390-16-205, WAC 390-16-207