The Washington State Public Disclosure Commission (PDC) issued a warning last month to Lewis County Sheriff Rob Snaza over his failure to disclose party affiliation on political advertisements during the 2022 election cycle.
This warning came after Toledo resident Kyle Wheeler filed a complaint with the PDC at the end of December. Wheeler alleged Citizens to Re-elect Rob Snaza and The Chronicle may have violated state law when political advertisements published in The Chronicle on Sept. 22, Oct. 1 and Oct. 15 did not include Snaza’s political affiliation.
Wheeler also asked the PDC to consider if it was a violation for Citizens to Re-elect Rob Snaza to be identifying themselves differently in the advertisements.
“The ads state they are, ‘Paid for by Citizens to Re-elect Rob Snaza for Sheriff,’ and not their registered name, ‘Citizens to Re-elect Rob Snaza’ which does not include, ‘For Sheriff,’” Wheeler said in his complaint. “Conceptually, these could be seen as separate committees supporting this candidate, but if a person goes to search for, ‘Citizens to Re-elect Rob Snaza for Sheriff,’ as is stated on their ads, technically nothing exists.”
In an email response to the PDC complaint, Snaza agreed that these issues were causes for concern, but added they were not done intentionally as his campaign’s marketing team forgot to include it on the advertisement.
“There was no intent to leave it off or any ulterior motive or intent to deceive the public,” said Snaza in the email response. “In response to the second issue, the funds to pay for the ads came from contributions from numerous private citizens. In no manner was it meant or to imply that the ads came from a large group and or committee. I take full responsibility for these errors as I am the candidate responsible for the campaign.”
The PDC’s investigation concluded the failure to include Snaza’s political affiliation on his political advertisements was an oversight by his campaign and Snaza was issued a written warning.
The Chronicle and CT Publishing are owned by Coralee and Chad Taylor, who also own The Silver Agency in Chehalis. Snaza was a client of The Silver Agency last year.
To view the complaint, Snaza’s response and the PDC’s conclusion, visit https://www.pdc.wa.gov/rules-enforcement/enforcement/enforcement-cases/119960.
