A state campaign watchdog on Thursday dismissed two complaints filed against Attorney General Bob Ferguson stemming from his handling of $1.2 million of contributions to his gubernatorial campaign.
The unanimous order issued by the Public Disclosure Commission concluded Ferguson followed disclosure rules in place in early May when he transferred those contributions received for past campaigns into his current one. Those rules allowed the Democratic candidate to shift the $1.2 million in lump sums without identifying the source of the money.
Within days of those transfers, the commission changed course, approving new requirements for moving “surplus” money from one campaign to a new one for a different office. The major change was that candidates needed to identify the individual donors and treat their contributions as if they were for the candidate’s new campaign, making them subject to disclosure rules and contribution limits for the race.
Absent these guidelines, it’s possible a donor could give the maximum amount to a candidate in one campaign, have their contribution transferred to a later contest, and then donate again, flouting contribution limits.
Thursday’s decision affirms a proposed agreement reached between staff and the Ferguson campaign presented to commissioners on Dec. 7.
That deal contained a stipulation of facts, a recommendation for dismissing the complaints and a finding that Ferguson – who has since disclosed the identity of the donors in question – did not violate any state campaign finance laws. Ferguson campaign manager Wellesley Daniels and PDC Deputy Director Kim Bradford signed it.
“The PDC unanimously agrees that I consistently followed their long-standing published guidance, and the letter of the law,” Ferguson said in a statement. “I have spent my career fighting for transparency in our elections and for campaign finance reform.”
Commissioner Fred Jarrett issued a statement Thursday expressing his disappointment that it took citizen complaints, a formal investigation and a couple months to learn the identity of those whose contributions were transferred and the amounts they gave.
“But in the end, the public now has correct information as required by the Commission’s interpretation,” he said.
After the commission updated its reporting guidance in May, there were two complaints filed aimed at getting the rules applied retroactively.
One, lodged by Tallman Trask of Seattle, contended the rules should apply to the $1.2 million moved by Ferguson. The attorney general refused, saying he followed the rules in place at the time of the transfers.
On Aug. 16, Ferguson relented, disclosing the donors in amended finance reports and also returning $86,000 to his surplus campaign account. His campaign also requested that the commission end its investigation.
On Thursday, Trask said it “never should have taken so much effort” to get disclosure of campaign information “that could and should have been released voluntarily months ago.”
“Transparency is the core of campaign finance law,” he said. “Ultimately, the information is out there now and some of the transfer money has been returned, and those are really the important things.”
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