Citizens Vote Yes For Our RFA: Alleged violations of RCW 42.17A.235, .240 & .205 for failure to timely & accurately file contribution and expenditure reports; & failure to include the name of the sponsor on the committee registration (EY'24; APR '25)

Case

#170627

Respondent

Citizens 'Vote Yes For Our RFA'

Complainant

Conner Edwards

Description

The Public Disclosure Commission (PDC) completed its review of the complaint filed by Conner Edwards on April 4, 2025. The complaint alleged violations of RCW 42.17A.235 and .240 for failure to timely and accurately file contribution and expenditure reports in the 2022 and 2024 election years and RCW 42.17A.205 for failure to update the Committee Registration (C1-pc) to include the sponsor’s name in the committee’s name.

Applicable Laws and Rules

RCW 42.17A.235(2) states that each treasurer of a candidate or political committee, or an incidental committee, is required to file a statement of organization under this chapter, and shall file with the commission a report, for each election in which a candidate, political committee, or incidental committee is participating, containing the information required by RCW 42.17A.240 on the twenty-first day and the seventh day immediately preceding the date on which the election is held.

RCW 42.17A.240 requires each treasurer of a candidate or political committee, or an incidental committee, to file with the commission a report including/depicting the name and address of each person who has made one or more contributions during the period, together with the money value and date of contribution and the aggregate value of all contributions received from each person during the campaign, or in the case of a continuing political committee, the current calendar year.
RCW 42.17A.205(4): states that any material change in information previously submitted in a statement of organization shall be reported to the commission within ten days following the change.

Background and Findings

The complaint alleged that Citizens ‘Vote Yes for Our RFA’ (“The Committee”), a committee that first registered as a single-election committee for the 2022 election but then amended its registration to continuing to participate in the 2024 primary election, failed to timely and accurately file contributions and expenditure reports. It also alleged The Committee failed to update the Committee Registrations (C-1pcs) for both years.

Staff reviewed the complaint and noted that The Committee filed a terminal C-4 report for the 2024 primary cycle depicting a contribution refund to IAAF Local 453. The refund expenditure was made on September 19, 2024, in the amount of $2,063.34, but the committee did not report this expenditure until April 2, 2025. This report should have been filed in October 2024.
For the 2023 election year, the staff noted that The Committee was not required to file contribution and expenditure reports because they did not participate in the 2023 election year.
The staff noted that there were some expenditures made by The Committee for which a more detailed description of the items purchased by The Committee should have been provided. For example, The Committee failed to include the number/quantity of items purchased for the July 12, 2022, expenditure in the amount of $3,602.14 for “EDDM Postcards.” The Committee also failed to fully describe/include the complete run dates and breakdown of political ads placed in the Wenatchee World for the July 12, 2022, expenditure in the amount of $1,475.
Lastly, regarding the allegation about the failure to update committee registrations (C-1pcs) to include the sponsor’s name in The Committee’s name, staff noted that since The Committee received more than eighty percent of its contributions from IAFF Local 453 for both election years 2022 and 2024, it was required to amend both of its committee registrations to include IAFF Local 453 as sponsor in the name of The Committee.
On July 25 and 28, 2025, and August 8, 2025, The Committee amended the C-4 reports at issue in this matter to provide the needed detail/description, and to correct the issues raised in the complaint. The Committee also amended the pertinent C-1pcs at issue in this matter to include IAFF Local 453 as sponsor in The Committee’s name.

Summary and Resolution

Based on our findings, staff has determined that, in this instance, the failure to timely and accurately file two contribution and expenditure reports and failure to update the C-1pc does not amount to violations that warrant further investigation.

Pursuant to WAC 390-37-060(1)(d), however, The Committee is receiving a formal written warning concerning the failure to timely and accurately disclose contributions and expenditures and update the C-1pc reports to include The Committee’s sponsor’s name. The PDC staff expects you to update your C-1pc when required and timely file accurate contribution and expenditure reports in the future. The Commission will consider the formal written warning in deciding on further Commission action if there are future violations of PDC laws or rules.

Any allegations regarding reporting by The Committee for 2022 through the seven months of 2025 that are not otherwise addressed are hereby also dismissed.

Accordingly, the PDC dismissed this matter in accordance with RCW 42.17A.755(1).

Disposition

Case Closed with Written Warning

Date Opened

April 17, 2025

Areas of Law*

RCW 29B.25.090/42.17A.235, RCW 29B.25.100/42.17A.240, RCW 29B.30.050/42.17A.320

*On January 1, 2026, RCW 42.17A was recodified to RCW 29B