Wea Accused Of Not Reporting Political Finances Disclosure Commission Advised To Seek Attorney General’s Probe

The Washington Education Association, a school employees’ union considered one of the state’s most powerful political forces, failed to properly disclose at least $300,000 in campaign finances in the past two years, state regulators said Friday.

A preliminary report by the staff of the Public Disclosure Commission, which enforces campaign finance laws, recommended that the panel forward the case to the attorney general’s office because the $2,500 fine that the commission can legally levy is not sufficient.

Melissa Warheit, the commission’s executive director, indicated the alleged violation was among the largest in commission history.

“There was, we feel, a lot of money that was not reported as it should have been,” she said.

The union, which represents 65,000 teachers and other school employees, was instrumental in defeating initiatives on the November ballot that would have authorized independent “charter” schools and public vouchers for private schools. The WEA contributed $700,000 to the campaign against the measures.

The staff findings, which could be addressed as early as the commission’s next meeting on Tuesday, represented a victory for the Evergreen Freedom Foundation, an Olympiabased conservative think tank headed by Bob Williams, a Republican who lost the 1988 governor’s race.

The foundation filed a complaint against the WEA earlier this year, alleging the violations.

Union spokesman Trevor Neilson said the PDC staff’s interpretation of the law is wrong, and complained that the WEA is a victim of a political conspiracy.

“This is an orchestrated effort on the part of Bob Williams and extremely conservative political operatives to weaken WEA’s influence in the political arena,” Neilson said. “What happens politically in Washington is tied intrinsically to education. And that’s an arena we need to be in.”

Both the union and the foundation vowed to wage a war in the courts if the PDC forwards the report to the attorney general.

According to the report, the PDC staff concluded that the union:

Failed to properly disclose a $162,000 donation to its political action committee, WEA-PAC.

Failed to properly disclose $170,000 in contributions earmarked to cover the PAC’s overhead costs.

Formed a second political action committee, the Community Outreach Program, without registering the organization with the state.

The staff report also questioned whether the union itself should be listed as a political committee, although it said that matter requires more investigation.

State law sets the maximum fine that can be levied by the PDC at $2,500. The staff report concluded that is not a sufficient penalty.

Williams said he would seek triple damages in any court case and ask the state to revoke the licenses of union lobbyists.

The investigation of the donations and contributions is complete. However, the staff is still compiling evidence to support the allegation regarding the second political action committee.

According to the report, the Community Outreach Program was designed to cover the WEA-PAC’s expenses in order to preserve money for political campaigns. The program was funded by a mandatory $1 a month member dues increase.

Union lawyer Harriet Strasberg disputed the PDC staff’s conclusions, saying the WEA’s problem, at worst, is a procedural matter involving reports.

Neilson, the union spokesman, said the WEA is willing to amend its campaign finance reports to correct any errors. “WEA has no reason to hide anything,” he said.