They said this Kennewick campaign broke the law. Now a formal investigation is planned

A state commission is taking a closer look at how the failed campaign for The Link project two years ago was run.

The Public Disclosure Commission has opened formal investigations into the complaints filed by Roger Lenk and former Kennewick Mayor Vic Epperly.

The move indicates that there are possible violations. It’s more typical that those cases head to a commission for a hearing, said Kim Bradford with the commission.

Epperly and Lenk claim Kennewick Public Facilities District officials didn’t follow state rules during a 2017 campaign for a 0.2 percent sales tax increase.

The money would have paid for an expansion at the Three Rivers Convention Center, an upgrade at the Toyota Center and other upgrades at the center’s campus in Kennewick.

The November 2017 measure failed by more than 10 percent, or 1,300 votes.

While the former Kennewick mayor and the Pasco political activist filed their complaints in 2017, they came in at a time when the commission had 591 cases, but only had two investigators, Bradford said.

The commission has increased the number of investigators and has worked through most of the backlog, she said.

It’s unclear how long the cases will take until they’re finished. Right now the commission has 29 formal investigations open, and these two are the oldest even though they were only recently opened.

If the state finds a violation it can impose a penalty of up to $10,000 for each violation or can even refer certain cases for criminal prosecution.

Improper use of public money complaint

Epperly’s complaint pointed out flaws in an informational mailer the district sent out. In its description, the mailer distorted the design plans, and didn’t say the tax would have generated more money than the bond payments.

In his response, the district’s attorney, Lee Kerr, said the mailer provided an objective and fair presentation of the measure.

“Due to its limited space, obviously, every element of the project cannot be described,” Kerr said.

A website that should have provided information, thelinktc.com, was really a thinly veiled attempt by the district to campaign for the measure both Epperly and Lenk argued.

The use of public money for the campaign is at the center of many of their complaints.

State law prevents public entities from spending the public’s money on the campaign. That includes:

• Employees being paid with public money organizing campaign efforts while on the clock.
• Paying to mail campaign materials.
• Letting the campaign have access to equipment the public wouldn’t have access to.

State law lets public organizations spend money on providing basic information about ballot proposals, such as what it will cost and what it will pay for.

The former Kennewick mayor complained the website had a tab labeled “supporters” that had links to organizations that endorsed the measure, such as the Tri-City Americans, Visit Tri-Cities and the Tri-City Herald Editorial Board. But didn’t have any information opposing it.

He also noted there was a Facebook page that was linked to the informational website and promoted people to vote “yes” on the project.

“The Kennewick Public Facilities District has been blatant in its efforts to violate state law,” he said in the complaint.

Lenk said the website was designed to promote the measure, and was set up 20 days before the district’s board approved sending the measure to voters.

Kerr said the supporters page didn’t have any “statements, links or contact information” leading to “Information in favor of, or in opposition to, the ballot caption.”

The website was purely neutral and collected all of the information from all of the available sources in an unbiased and neutral forum.

A “pro” committee never filed paperwork with the Public Disclosure Commission, so they never reported the money they spent in support.

In general, the committee for a ballot measure needs to be formed within two weeks of starting a campaign.

Previous complaint led to fine

Go Big Tri-Cities agreed in April 2018 to pay a $1,000 civil penalty to settle findings the nonprofit violated state election law in its failed 2016 campaign to create The Link.

Supporters also failed to convince Kennewick voters to raise the sales tax to upgrade the Three Rivers Convention Center campus.

Epperly also filed that complaint to the Washington Public Disclosure Commission, finding the group missed deadlines to register as a political committee, deposit checks from supporters and report contributions.

It also failed to identify itself as a sponsor in Link-related advertising.

This story was originally published December 29, 2019 at 5:00 AM.