OLYMPIA – Snohomish County Councilman Jeff Sax was fined $200 Wednesday for filing late reports of contributions, expenditures, debts and obligations during his successful 2001 campaign.
In a brief hearing, Earl Tilly, chairman and hearing officer for the state Public Disclosure Commission, ruled that Sax violated state election rules by not reporting nearly $9,200 in contributions and $10,500 in expenses for months after a required deadline.
Tilly fined Sax $200, with $100 of it suspended if he commits no new violations in the next two years. Sax will have 30 days to pay once he receives written notice of the action.
Sax, who did not attend the hearing because of a scheduled County Council session, said he was pleased with the resolution.
“In the end, we were late, and we’ll make sure we do not do it again,” he said. “It was rookie mistakes. I learned a big lesson.”
The contributions and expenditures in question were raised after the election to reimburse Sax for use of his house in the campaign and for income lost while campaigning. That was within the law, but Sax erred by not reporting the debts as they accumulated and not filing timely reports of the funds collected and payments made, said Philip Stutzman, PDC director of compliance.
Monroe resident David Somers lodged the complaint that spurred Wednesday’s action. Tilly dismissed several other allegations made by Somers.
Also Wednesday, Tilly levied a civil penalty of $150 on Snohomish County Fire Commissioner Steven Towers for exceeding the limits allowed for mini-reporting by candidates. Those rules allow use of a shorter disclosure form if all contributions are less than $300 and expenditures do not exceed $3,500.
Investigators focused on Towers’ failure to detail cash contributions from supporters and in-kind contributions from a firefighters union when his expenses eclipsed $4,000.
Towers could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
Reporter Jerry Cornfield: 360-352-8623 or jcornfield@heraldnet.com.
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