Let’s Go Washington files PDC complaints over undisclosed campaign spending ahead of election

Last week, Let’s Go Washington (LGW) filed a complaint with the Public Disclosure Commission (PDC) over the No on 645 campaign's undisclosed advertising spending. LGW also filed a complaint Monday with the PDC over No Hate in Washington State’s failure to update financial disclosures in emails to their supporters under the organization’s old name.

The SEIU complaint identifies more than $2 million in digital advertising expenditures made through The New Media Firm, with reporting that fails to disclose which platforms received the advertising dollars and how the investments were distributed. The required details were omitted from the PDC filings, leaving Washington voters without a complete picture of how millions of dollars were spent to influence their votes.

The second complaint pertains to Hate in Washington State who previously went by the name Washington Families for Freedom but rebranded earlier this campaign season. They continued to send emails with a disclaimer from their former organization's name and neglected to update their disclosures, though they were going by a new name. The details of that newly filed complaint can be provided upon request.

LGW is also still awaiting a ruling from the PDC on complaints filed against Hate in Washington State in August and September of this year. Both complaints address the organization’s failures to disclose expenditures as well as late or unfiled expenditures.

Brian Heywood, founder of Let's Go Washington, issued the following statement:

“Apparently, Washington has two sets of campaign finance rules: one for Let's Go Washington and another for Hate in Washington State, the SEIU, WEA, WFSE, and other public unions opposing us. This isn't the first time SEIU has been caught failing to disclose campaign spending on time or with the details included - LGW filed complaints against SEIU that are more than two years old with still no actions being taken by the PDC against the SEIU for their shady spending and lack of disclosures. There are two primary issues highlighted by these cases: the obvious is the public union and Hate in Washington State’s clear disregard for political finance campaign disclosure laws, but the other is the PDC’s delayed timelines when investigating complaints against our opponents.

When complaints are raised against LGW, the PDC moves with unprecedented haste to scrutinize our campaign. However, it seems that when complaints are raised against public unions or hateful groups opposing the initiatives, the complaints are slow rolled. It’s more than suspect that the founder of Pacifica Law, one of the legal organizations spending the most time and money attacking LGW, was appointed by Governor Ferguson as a commissioner to the PDC.

The PDC was created to provide transparency for voters and to ensure that everyone abides by the same rules. Real questions are raised when different rules are applied and voters are left in the dark until after the election.”

With Election Day just one day away, any failure to properly disclose campaign spending deprives voters of critical information when it matters most. LGW has faced repeated scrutiny from the PDC throughout this election cycle, and LGW is demanding the same level of accountability for the unions and political interests bankrolling the opposition to the people’s initiatives.

The allegations echo concerns raised by Let's Go Washington (LGW) in 2024, when SEIU also faced complaints over expenditures that were not disclosed until after the election.

LGW is calling on the PDC to immediately investigate the allegations and enforce Washington's campaign finance laws consistently.