Politics & Government

State Republicans Fined for Accounting Errors in Funding Litzow, Others in 2010 Election

The Washington State Republican Party legally donated $60,000 to the Litzow campaign late in the 2010 election, but erred in properly reporting the donation.

The State Public Disclosure Commission (PDC) approved a $6,700 fine against the Washington State Republican Party (WSRP) Aug. 19 for the late disclosure of donations and spending worth hundreds of thousands in the final weeks of the 2010 elections — including a $60,000 cash donation to Mercer Island resident and 41st District State Senator Steve Litzow (R-Mercer Island).

Conducting an investigation at the behest State Rep. Sam Hunt (D-Olympia) and Port Orchard resident Alvin Brown, the PDC concluded State Republicans violated election reporting requirements five times in October 2010 — creating the appearance they were illegally benefiting from a late influx of donations (see the PDC documents here). Washington election law forbids campaign donors to flood elections with cash or in-kind contributions in the final three weeks of the election — the so-called "21 Day Rule" in an effort to prevent wealthy backers from exercising undue influence. 

"They know that regulations surrounding the "21 Day Rule" and the reporting obligations that go with that," stated Rep. Hunt in the complaint.

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In Sen. Litzow's case, the WSRP gave his campaign $60,000 on Oct. 8, 2010, but failed to report it on a C-4 receipts and expenditures form until Oct. 27 — 15 business days late. Litzow's campaign properly reported receiving the donation on Oct. 12. 

The race between Litzow and then State Sen. Randy Gordon was , ending after a machine recount determined Litzow won by 192 votes out of nearly 60,000 cast — a mere 0.1 percent margin of victory.

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The WSRP was also fined for late disclosures of an in-kind donation of campaign mailings worth $9,544 for 26th Legislative District candidate Marty McLendon and receipt of three donations amounting to $378,500. The investigation uncovered two additional errors in reporting contributions to a separate fund exempt from campaign limit restrictions involving donations worth $117,500 from wealthy donors and large local corporations, including Microsoft, Boeing, Premera Blue Cross and Kemper Holdings, LLC.  

WSRP initially placed most of the blame for the errors on Washington D.C. based political consultant Aristotle International, but Executive Director Peter Graves later stated that both organizations were "aware of and concerned by" the failure to properly report the donations and spending.

"We have taken several steps to address these problems, including hiring a new Controller, retraining staff, revising contractor account management and supervision, refining procedures, and re-emphasizing the necessity to follow established procedures … throughout the process," he said.

Litzow, a former Mercer Island City Councilman, also received in-kind contributions in the form of in the 2010 election, run by former talk radio personality Kirby Wilbur. That donation is also the subject of an ongoing PDC investigation.

Wilbur is now chairman of the WSRP.


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