PDC fines Richard, other officials

OLYMPIA – Former fire chief Dick Gormley, Spokane County Commissioner Mark Richard and more than a dozen Eastern Washington elected officials have been fined by the state’s campaign-finance watchdog.

Most allegedly failed to turn in personal financial-affairs reports to the state’s Public Disclosure Commission on time – or at all – as required by state law. The so-called F-1 statements require public officials to show their sources of income, real estate holdings, pensions and creditors, to make it easier to spot conflicts of interest.

“It gets to the transparency of the process, making sure the folks serving the public are actually serving their constituents and not themselves,” said PDC spokeswoman Lori Anderson.

The violations were described mostly as “relatively minor” but amount to violations nonetheless.

At brief hearings Thursday in Olympia, PDC Chairman Mike Connelly assessed penalties ranging from $100 for lateness to $300 to $500 for repeat violators. Connelly also serves as Spokane’s city attorney.

The largest fine was $500, for Chelan County Fire Protection No. 5 Commissioner Morgan Picton. It was his third violation, Anderson said.

Those fined included:

“Dick Gormley, the now-retired chief of Spokane County Fire District 10, in Airway Heights, was fined $250 and found to have used public facilities to support a ballot measure. Last November, the PDC said, Gormley authorized a mailer, newsletter and Web site that told local voters to “vote yes” on the district’s Proposition 1, a fire-district tax levy.

But under state law, public officials walk a fine line on ballot measures. They can’t use public time or money to explicitly campaign for or against a measure. They are, however, allowed to “give a fair presentation of the facts without expressly advocating support or opposition,” Anderson said. Connelly deemed “vote yes” to be over the line.

“Richard Pearce, a Moses Lake city councilman who failed to disclose income, real estate and other assets on annual reports between 2000 and 2001. He didn’t include pay as a part-time flight examiner, rental income, Social Security, and income from Big Bend Community College, according to Anderson. Pearce told the PDC that he’d simply forgotten to include those items. He was fined $250.

“Friends of the County Library Committee, a Stevens County group formed to battle a proposition to dissolve the county library district. They were fined $250 for failing to file campaign reports on time.

Those fined for failing to file timely personal financial-affairs reports included:

“John Butorac, Northport School District board member: $100.

“Earl Murdock, Eastmont School District board member: $100.

“Charles Maxwell, Clarkston city councilman: $100.

“Theresa Sanders, Pend Oreille Hospital District commissioner: $100.

“Kory Heindselman, Okanogan School District board member: $100.

All five have since filed their reports, Anderson said.

Eight other people drew higher fines, most for repeat offenses or for still not having filed their F-1 forms. They were:

“Jerome Schwartzman: Palouse School District board member: $200.

“Leona Adams: Loon Lake School District board member: $300.

“Brett Neely, Okanogan city councilman: $150.

“Mark Richard, Spokane County commissioner: $150.

“Timothy Taylor, Davenport city councilman: $150.

“Jeffrey Grass: Grant County Fire Protection District No. 7 commissioner: $300.

“Frank Mianecki: Grant County Port District No. 2 commissioner: $300.

“Michael Flanigan: Spokane Valley city councilman: $150.

Flanigan said he filed his F-1 online April 15. The commission sent him an e-mail confirming his filing but then sent him a letter saying he was not in compliance, he said.

All those found in violation can appeal Connelly’s decision to the full five-member Public Disclosure Commission.