The Attorney General?s Office has settled its lawsuit against political consulting firm Moxie Media and its two principals, Lisa MacLean and Henry Underhill, over violations of the state?s campaign finance disclosure law.
The defendants were accused of multiple violations, including an effort to hide who was paying for last-minute ads attacking state Sen. Jean Berkey, D-Edmonds, until after the primary election in the 2010 38th legislative district state Senate race. Berkey lost her re-election bid in the primary.
Under the terms of the settlement, the defendants are required by pay $250,000 in fines and $40,000 in attorney?s fees and costs. The settlement was filed in Thurston County Superior Court. It is one of the highest penalties
?As is common in these types of cases, a portion of the penalty ($140,000 in this case) has been suspended based on the defendants? future compliance with campaign reporting laws. If any one of the parties is found to have committed a new violation between now and December 31, 2015, the full suspended amount will be owed,? the Attorney General?s office reports.
?This settlement holds Moxie Media, Lisa MacLean, Henry Underhill and their two political action committees (Conservative PAC and Cut Taxes PAC) accountable for their campaign finance disclosure violations and preserves the integrity of state law while avoiding the additional expense to taxpayers of taking this case to trial,? Attorney General Rob McKenna said in a statement.
A report from the Public Disclosure Commission showed that MacLean coordinated with the Washington Federation of State Employees and labor affiliated political committees to pay for political advertising for a then-obscure conservative candidate.
From a prior seattlepi.com report:
Labor was unhappy with the incumbent, Democratic Sen. Jean Berkey. Labor preferred another Democratic candidate, Nick Harper. A third candidate, conservative Rod Reiger, was not nearly as well known as the other two. Under the state?s Top Two system, the two candidates who get the most votes in the primary advance to the general election, regardless of party.
Apparently concerned that Berkey would make it through the primary, Moxie Media and labor interests reportedly decided to pump up Reiger?s candidacy to try to make sure he was the candidate Harper would face in November. In the primary, Harper finished with 35 percent of the vote and Reiger got 32.75. Berkey finished third, just behind Reiger.
The watchdog report says MacLean established two layers of political committees to sponsor $9,000 in anti-Berkey postcards and robocalls. The PDC says MacLean and Moxie violated state laws by not properly identifying funding sources or properly disclose MacLean and the consulting firm?s role.
Will Rava, the attorney for Moxie Media, MacLean and Underhill, sent this statement:
?My clients are pleased to resolve this case. ?As always, they are focused on what they do best ? helping their clients advance progressive causes and candidates.
In those pursuits, as they have always done, my clients will comply fully with any and all applicable laws and regulations. ?We note that the settlement does not require any new or amended PDC filings.?
McKenna considered setting aside the election, which is a possible remedy for violations of campaign finance disclosure laws, and hired an expert to review the facts of the case. But the expert ?could not conclude with any certainty the defendants? campaign finance violations probably affected the outcome of the election,? according to the Attorney General?s office.
Rava said: ?We agree the State should not have sought new elections as a result of this matter. ? Any entitlement to such a remedy could not be proven here, and, after the Senate seated Senator Harper almost a year ago, we do not believe that a court would have had the authority to order new elections.?
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