Officials with the state Public Disclosure Commission recently dismissed campaign transparency complaints against Pullman City Councilwoman Ann Parks and former council candidate Francis Benjamin after issuing them enforcement letters.
Conservative activist Glen Morgan, who has been accused of weaponizing campaign disclosure laws after filing hundreds of similar complaints, alleged Benjamin and Parks had missed deadlines for filing their 2019 campaign spending and registration statements.
The Public Disclosure Commission oversees compliance with campaign financing and personal disclosure rules regarding public officials. Campaign disclosure complaints have skyrocketed in recent years, due in large part to Morgan’s prolific filings.
Morgan accused Benjamin of providing vague and incomplete descriptions of his campaign spending as well as missing statement filings in the final weeks of his council run. While some might consider these minor issues, Morgan wrote, accountability should still matter in smaller campaigns. Read the complaint here.
“In small, local races like this,” Morgan wrote, “this type of active concealment is concerning and needs to be confronted, otherwise why should any candidate even bother complying.”
In a response to the commission, Benjamin acknowledged he had miscategorized some personal funds put into his campaign and asked the commission for help on correcting any errors. Read his response here.
Update, 1/19: In an email sent after this story published, Benjamin wrote that he understands the value of detailed disclosure reports. He also noted the commission is introducing a modernized online filing system this year to streamline and simplify the reporting process.
“The (PDC) staff agreed that the software system was antiquated and not intuitive,” Benjamin wrote. “They also shared that it was common for people to make mistakes due to the software design.”
Enforcement officials closed out his case and dismissed the complain with a warning letter issued last week. The letter emphasized the importance of timely and accurate filings in any future campaigns.
Morgan accused Parks of filing her campaign registration report 45 days late. He attached previous campaign finances violations from 2016 and 2015. She was reportedly fined $300 for each of those prior violations. Read the complaint here.
“This candidate knows the law, even if she decides to break it every time she runs for office,” he wrote, adding, “[T]his is an experienced candidate, a serial campaign finance violator, and in this case, she also was able to prevail in a local election over a candidate who appears to have largely followed the law.”
Parks, in her response to the commission, explained she believed she had filed as needed in May and later learned the filing had not gone through as expected. She wrote that she filed immediately and kept her donations under the threshold for minimal filing requirements. Read her response here.
“This was an honest mistake and not a purposeful action on my part,” Parks wrote. “There was no malicious intent nor was there any deliberate decision to break the law as Mr. Morgan states. … I apologize for my error, for which I take full responsibility, and I will diligently complete any future PDC filings in a timely manner.”
Upon review, enforcement officials confirmed technical problems with the electronic registration filing system earlier in the year and noted filing requirements were suspended during several weeks. They dismissed the complaint in late December.
“Based on our findings staff has determined that, in this instance, failure to timely file the C-1 report does not amount to a violation that warrants further investigation,” officials wrote. “However, PDC staff is reminding the Respondent about the importance of timely filing the Candidate Registration report.”
Read that reminder letter here.
In addition to investigating and enforcing complaints, the commission also provides information on campaign donors, lobbyist spending and public officials financial investments. Explore more publicly available information here.