Group behind state initiatives accused of violating state anti-corruption laws with discount gas, burgers

Let’s Go Washington has been accused of illegally trying to sway voters to support four initiatives the group backs with offers of discount gas and burgers.

The complaint, filed with the state Public Disclosure Commission on Aug. 15, alleges that Let’s Go Washington’s offer of cheaper gas, and in one case food during promotional events for the four initiatives, ran afoul of the state’s anti-corruption and anti-bribery laws.

“By giving voters discounts on gas and food, Let’s Go Washington seeks to buy support rather than win it through the strength of the initiatives themselves,” wrote attorneys on behalf of Defend Washington, an advocacy group formed to combat Let’s Go Washington. “With voters standing in the shoes of legislators, these discounts have a corrupting influence on their ability to fairly evaluate whether the initiatives are good policy and should be enacted.”

Let’s Go Washington’s lawyers argue the allegations are unfounded and misconstrue state law: The organization did not offer discounts in exchange for votes, they write in their rebuttal, but instead “demonstrate the hidden impact of Washington’s policies” while providing discounts to anyone who attended regardless of whether they support the initiatives or were even registered to vote.

Let’s Go Washington has held a number of events across the state offering heavily discounted gas, including an Aug. 21 event in Spokane.

For a few hours on Aug. 21, drivers pulling up to pumps at Towns Liquor Mart saw prices for a gallon of regular gas drop from $3.79 to the national average of $3.39, part of a bid for publicity from a political group hoping to persuade voters to support Initiative 2117 this November and kill the state’s relatively new cap-and-trade system. That system, created by the state’s Climate Commitment Act in 2021 and launched in 2023, caps how much carbon can be emitted in the state each year and requires businesses that emit the most carbon to bid for an “allowance” to emit a portion of that overall cap.

State officials say gas prices in Washington likely rose closer to 10 to 25 cents per gallon as a result of the Climate Commitment Act, not the 40 cents offered as a discount by Let’s Go Washington at their Aug. 21 event.

Drivers were offered campaign literature by Let’s Go Washington volunteers telling them to “vote yes, pay less,” but weren’t required to take them or agree to vote on the initiatives to receive the event discounts.

Defend Washington’s complaint also points to an Aug. 10 event in Enumclaw, where Let’s Go Washington offered $5-off vouchers to use at Burger Buds, a food truck, during a campaign event.

“This is akin to a campaign selling burgers at a fair booth,” wrote Let’s Go Washington’s counsel in rebuttal. “The only difference is the use of a food truck instead of volunteers.”

Let’s Go Washington, sponsored by hedge fund manager Brian Heywood, is also the driving force behind two other initiatives on November ballots that would end the state’s nascent long-term care tax and capital gains tax, and is heavily promoting a campaign to stop the state from quickly transitioning large utilities away from natural gas.

Defend Washington also alleged in its complaint that Let’s Go Washington had not properly reported its expenses for the discount events; Let’s Go Washington’s attorneys stated that the complainant misunderstood its reimbursement agreements with vendors such as Towns Liquor Mart and that the political committee would file the necessary reports once payments had been made.

In its Aug. 15 complaint to the state Public Disclosure Commission, Defend Washington asked for a prompt hearing by the commission and for its complaint to be referred to the state Attorney General’s office for investigation. The PDC has been reviewing complaints against Let’s Go Washington, primarily focused on accusations of improper or missing financial disclosure reporting ahead of the signature gathering effort that saw the initiatives make it onto this November’s ballots, since July 2023.

In an executive summary of the complaints to the commission’s board this July, agency staff noted concerns that Let’s Go Washington had refused to open its accounting books to scrutiny or had failed to properly maintain those books, and had also been slow to amend its reports to accurately show the money spent on the signature gathering efforts, only doing so after the initiatives were certified.

The state Public Disclosure Commission voted unanimously during their July meeting against referring these earlier complaints to the state Attorney General’s office without providing remarks explaining their votes. The commission did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Defend Washington receives its largest donations primarily from state unions and progressive advocacy groups such as Champion Advocacy and Fuse Voters. Let’s Go Washington has received substantial funding from developer, builder, real estate, hospitality and fossil fuel interests.

Attorneys from Let’s Go Washington did not respond to a request for comment before deadline.