OLYMPIA, Wash. (Legal Newsline) — Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced Feb. 13 that his office has resolved two campaign finance violation cases.
In the first case, Eastern Washington University trustee Jay Manning will pay $4,812.50 for allegedly failing to file two financial disclosures in a timely manner after his appointment. In the second case, Audubon Washington will pay $4,390 to resolve allegations it failed to file independent expenditure reports in a timely manner for work done on a TVW video voters’ guide.
Ferguson’s office looked into the matter after receiving a citizen action notice from Glen Morgan. Morgan first made allegations that Manning had violated the state’s public disclosure laws. It also received a citizen action notice from Maxford Nelson of the Freedom Foundation about the alleged violations committed by Audubon Washington.
Handling the case for the state were senior assistant attorney general Linda Dalton and assistant attorney general Walter Smith. Ferguson’s office noted in its news release that it enforces campaign finance laws in order to ensure that elections in Washington are fee, open and fair. Ferguson has devoted more agency resources to the issue since becoming attorney general.