News/Bids/Classifieds
Money
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can donate cash, but one umbrella option frequently used by
officials allows them to spend the money for what the law
terms ``public office-related expenses.’’
Lt. Gov. Brad Owen spent about $760 from his surplus
funds account at an Olympia liquor store, reporting the
items were for various functions, dignitary gifts and attor-
ney dinners. Owen said drinks were served at after-hours
events for state staffers and at other functions at his home.
He said all of it was linked to his work in the office, noting
that he wouldn’t have been able to purchase alcohol with
government money.
``If there was ever a question, we’d just use the fund,’’
Owen said.
Rep. Armstrong said his clothing purchases were related
to his work in the Legislature. Armstrong, who also works
as external affairs director for
the Port of Chelan County,
said he doesn’t typically wear
the apparel when he isn’t
doing his work as a state law-
maker.
``The only thing I wear
suits for is the Legislature.
And I’ll probably pick out a
good one to be buried in some
day,’’ Armstrong said.
The state Public Disclosure
Commission does not main-
tain explicit guidelines for
what qualifies as an unreim-
bursed office-related expense,
and it’s the burden of the
officeholder to prove that an
expense is related to office
work, agency spokeswoman
Lori Anderson said.
Anderson said she would caution public officials about
using the money for clothes, car repairs or other potentially
personal expenses because the items in question can’t be
used for private activities and public office. An iPad pur-
chased with campaign funds, for example, couldn’t be
loaded with family photos or used to read a book on a plane,
while clothes bought with the money could never be worn
for personal events.
``Whatever they buy has to be used solely for work,’’
Anderson said.
Rep. Charles Ross, R-Naches, reported spending $1,250
on an iPad in 2011, even though the top model only costs
$700. He followed that up with the purchase of another iPad
for $900 just six months later. In 2010, Ross spent more
than $1,800 for a new computer for what he described as his
home office.
Earlier this year, Ross pulled more than $2,000 from his
account for maintenance on his vehicle. Ross didn’t return
calls from the AP but told the Yakima Herald-Republic the
electronic devices are used for business and personal pur-
poses. He also said the car repairs were related to travel to
Olympia and around his district.
``There is an overlap on those expenses between a per-
sonal function and a legislative function,’’ Ross told the
newspaper. ``A lot of it is dependent upon correct reporting,
and you need to use good judgment.’’
Ross wasn’t the only one to file for car repairs. Rep. Arm-
strong, GOP Rep. Glenn Anderson of Fall City and Repub-
lican state Sen. Dan Swecker of Rochester also filed for
similar expenses. And Arm-
strong wasn’t the only person
using the account for clothes.
So did Democratic state Sen.
Brian Hatfield of Raymond,
GOP Rep. Ed Orcutt of Kala-
ma and Swecker.
Swecker didn’t recall the
car repair from 2009 but said
the suit purchases were need-
ed because he lost 60 pounds
and couldn’t afford to buy
brand new clothing for the
legislative session.
Orcutt said his clothing is
used almost exclusively for
work as a lawmaker. Ander-
son said he puts a lot of miles
on his vehicle for legislative
work and has no problem fil-
ing to cover some of the maintenance. Hatfield did not
immediately return a call Monday.
Toby Nixon, a former Republican state lawmaker who is
now president of the Washington Coalition for Open Gov-
ernment, said he’d like to see the state provide more explic-
it guidance on what types of expenses are allowable. He
also said lawmakers who would be most impacted by strict
enforcement are content leaving the Public Disclosure
Commission with little staff to do proactive investigations,
which leads to scrutiny only when questions are raised —
typically by other partisans who are subject to the same
rules.
``That’s exactly the way the Legislature likes it,’’ Nixon
said.
Surplus accounts are such a little known sector of cam-
Recently departed state Sen.
Joe Zarelli sent more than
$10,000 of surplus funds to a
charity run by his wife and that
listed Zarelli himself as
secretary. That money
provided about three-quarters
of the charity’s contribution
revenue in 2008, according to
IRS records
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paign finance law that Owen didn’t find out until recently
that he hadn’t been following the rules for years. The lieu-
tenant governor spent thousands of dollars from his surplus
account without reporting the expenses, and he said nobody
raised any questions about it until recently.
``When we heard there might be a problem, I took the ini-
tiative and contacted the PDC myself and said, `What do
you want us to do?’’’ Owen said.
Owen, who is currently running for re-election, said state
disclosure officials initially told campaign staff that
expense reports were not needed, although surplus rules
clearly say disclosure reports are necessary and the Public
Disclosure Commission has for years maintained a fre-
quently asked questions document that explicitly says sur-
plus expenditures must be reported. Other campaigns have
regularly submitted filings related to their accounts.
Owen said he kept records of all his spending in part
because he felt uncomfortable with the lack of disclosure,
so he was recently able to document all the spending in
recent years.
Read the rest of this story online at
www.theskanner.com
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August 29, 2012 The Seattle Skanner Page 3