The Washington state Public Disclosure Commission (PDC) officially fined state Rep. Joel McEntire, R-Cathlamet, $500 this week as punishment for personal use of campaign funds after a $3,000 payment for attorneys fees in a recent Cowlitz County court case.
PDC Chair J. Robert Leach handed down the ruling during a brief enforcement hearing on Wednesday afternoon. It included a suspension of half the fine — $250 — on the condition that McEntire makes the payment of the unsuspended portion of the fine within 30 days of the ruling and that the lawmaker has no further PDC violations for the next four years.
In his ruling, Leach reasoned that the legal fees were not a reasonable campaign expense, arguing that McEntire would still have owed those same fees were he not a political candidate but subject to a similar court case.
“It may be that the Facebook posting exchanges would never have occurred but for a campaign, but anyone who had made the posts that McEntire did would have been subject to the same anti-harassment petition regardless of the person's status as a candidate or an elected official,” Leach explained.
In doing so, he cited the “irrespective standard,” a legal standard and legal precedent set in a Washington, D.C., circuit court case between the Federal Election Commission and former U.S. Sen. Larry Craig. The standard suggests the expense is a personal use if the candidate or official’s conduct would incur the same expense "irrespective" of their position.
Leach added that the legal precedent has been used regularly by the FEC. He said he believed it to be valid precedent in this case due to the similarity of federal election laws and those in Washington state.
This case is closely linked to a recent anti-harassment lawsuit that was filed against McEntire in Cowlitz County alleging that an interaction with a constituent over Facebook constituted a threat. That case ultimately ruled in favor of Longview resident Britney Brown and resulted in a no-contact order on her behalf prohibiting McEntire from contacting her in any way over the next year.
“This woman apparently got to Mr. McEntire, got under his skin, and he responded in a way that’s inappropriate under the law,” Leach said. “That’s the basis for my finding of a violation.”
The ruling from Leach follows a finding by PDC staff that McEntire had violated Washington state law under RCW 29B.40.130, which prohibits using campaign funds for personal matters. In that initial brief published by the PDC, staff referred the case for the brief enforcement hearing and recommended a $2,000 fine.
Leach said his ruling on the final fine was informed by the context of other similar cases he had heard the same day and also took into account mitigating factors, which he believed to have “some merit.”
Conner Edwards, an attorney representing McEntire during the proceeding, made a case for leniency from the commission in this case, pointing out the lawmaker had no history of PDC violations, among other mitigating factors. McEntire was not present for the hearing.
Edwards also pointed out that McEntire had already repaid the funds back to his campaign and said he initially consulted experts on the use of the funds and was told the use was permissible, demonstrating the lawmaker “acted in good faith.”
“The background surrounding payment at issue here today supports a lenient response from the PDC,” Edwards asserted. “Mr. McEntire has a professional treasurer, and when he reached out to his treasurer to ask if campaign funds could be used to pay this legal bill, his treasurer, who is a very experienced and compliance-minded treasurer, told him that he thought it would be appropriate.”
Leach, however, did not find Edwards’ arguments in defense of the use of funds to justify the spending. Edwards said the legal case and associated fees related to this PDC complaint were closely connected to McEntire’s campaign, going so far as to argue that the spending was not a violation of the spirit of the restriction on using campaign funds for personal matters.
“We concede that this is not a traditional campaign expense, but this is also not really an expense which enriched Mr. McEntire,” Edwards said.
The ruling is the second fine handed down to McEntire in recent months.
He received another $500 fine in September linked to his conduct on Facebook and threats that he would use his elected position to access confidential information about a constituent. That fine also included a suspension of $250 with conditions of no further violations of ethics policy.
McEntire placed second in the primary election to Democrat Terry Carlson. They will face off for the 19th Legislative District seat in the Nov. 3 general election.
"People work hard for their money, and when they contribute to a campaign, they trust that money will be used honestly and legally,” Calrson stated in a news release Thursday. “Joel McEntire broke that trust. Paying the money back after getting caught doesn't change what happened. The people of Southwest Washington deserve representatives who respect the law and hold themselves to the same standards as everyone else."
For recent reporting on the PDC complaint against McEntire visit https://tinyurl.com/4tv7nxkv.
