Washington state Rep. Joel McEntire, R-Cathlamet, has found himself subject to enforcement by the state's Public Disclosure Commission (PDC), which alleges he misused $3,000 in campaign funds.
He could also face additional fines from the commission pending a hearing.
The PDC will hold a virtual “brief enforcement hearing” or “brief adjudicative hearing” on Wednesday to consider the allegations against McEntire. A series of complaints from the public and an investigation by the commission found that the representative misused campaign funds by using $3,000 to cover legal expenses related to a Cowlitz County court case.
One complaint cites a comment from McEntire on the social media platform Facebook where he appears to imply that his campaign will cover the costs of recent legal and enforcement fees.
“You mean, my campaign is racking up? You don’t think I actually pay for these things do you?” reads the comment from McEntire, which appears in a screenshot image attached to the complaint.
According to a PDC memo, staff recommended that the commission find that McEntire violated state law prohibiting personal use of campaign funds under RCW 29B.40.130. The staff also recommended the commission fine the representative up to $2,000 for the first offense and require him to refund the $3,000 to his campaign.
The use of campaign funds is evident to the public when viewing McEntire’s PDC reports. An entry under the expenditures tab shows a $3,000 payment to Gooday Law in early August and describes the transaction as “Legal fees in connection with Cowlitz County Anti Harassment Case.”
When reached by phone, McEntire said he was advised by legal counsel that paying for the legal fees could reasonably be considered a campaign expense. He referred to the use as a “gray area.”
According to McEntire, his legal counsel reasoned that using campaign funds for legal fees was an acceptable use because it sought to defend his image in the public forum.
“I asked several legal experts before doing that to find out if using campaign funds to defend your character to the public like that was appropriate use of funds, and I was told yes,” McEntire said. “I don't acknowledge that I knowingly or unknowingly did anything wrong.”
A document from the PDC announcing the hearing said McEntire and his team declined to refund the amount to his campaign in mid-October. McEntire said he has since refunded the $3,000 sum to his campaign.
He added that while he was willing to refund the sum he was unwilling to admit intentional wrongdoing and therefore the enforcement hearing would move forward.
Staff with the PDC were unable to comment on the details of the case and declined to confirm or deny whether McEntire had refunded the funds to his campaign or his other claims. Financial reports available on the PDC website do not, as of presstime, show any record of a refund to the campaign. The most recent recorded contribution is from last week on Wednesday, Oct. 21.
The legal expenses and Cowlitz County court case referenced by the PDC are, according to the PDC and an original complaint, an anti-harassment case that concluded in September. That case enacted a no-contact order against the representative on behalf of Longview resident Britney Brown.
The case found that two comments made by McEntire during exchanges with Brown on the social media platform Facebook could be considered a call to action constituting a potentially harmful threat.
That was the second time that McEntire has faced consequences related to his conduct on social media, which has long been reported both publicly and to the state's Legislative Ethics Board. McEntire was slapped with a small $500 fine by the ethics board at the beginning of September. Half of that fine was suspended on the condition that he does not receive any additional ethics complaints through the end of the 2028 election cycle.
In that ruling, the board responded to a complaint that the legislator had created the impression that he would use his special privilege as a lawmaker to acquire personal information about a constituent in a Facebook comment. That constituent was Lewis County resident Brittany Voie.
The board had previously declined to act on previous complaints, frequently finding that his conduct, while inappropriate in the board's view, did not fall under its jurisdiction.
The enforcement action taken by the PDC against McEntire is the first on record. A final decision will likely be made by a single member of the PDC who will oversee the hearing. According to the PDC website, the smaller hearings are intended to address cases in which the charges are relatively minor and the facts are not disputed.
The PDC can enforce a maximum fine of $1,000 during one of its brief enforcement hearings, and should the hearing administrator decide a larger fine is warranted, the case will be referred to a meeting of the full commission.
For previous reporting by The Chronicle on recent legal action against McEntire, visit https://tinyurl.com/jbeyrwkv.
