Ethics board should enforce its rules
The ethics board that polices staff and members of the Washington state Legislature is grappling with an interesting question. Should members be able to use their taxpayer-funded official photos or videos in campaigns?
The traditional answer is a flat no.
But Rep. Melanie Stambaugh, a Puyallup Republican alleged to have broken rules 44 times with her campaign Facebook account in the last campaign, is challenging the rule. The Legislative Ethics Board held a rare hearing this month on her case.
This challenge is testament to a couple of things. One is that technology is rapidly changing how we live, and how we communicate. The other is that some lawmakers are woefully ignorant of the legislative cesspool in Washington state that gave rise to the ethics rules in 1994.
Moreover, Stambaugh appears to have violated the rule against using public property for campaign purposes not just by posting state-paid material. She also failed to remove them from her Facebook page until an ethics complaint was filed.
The back story is this. In the early 1990s, House and Senate partisans from both major parties were caught using state telephones, offices and other public resources in campaigns and fund-raising. It was pervasive — an Olympian investigation at the time found some $3 million of public dollars were spent in this illegal activity.
An investigation by Christine Gregoire, then a new attorney general, led to large fines paid by the four legislative caucuses and some staffers.
As part of cleaning up the generally slimy practices of that era, legislation was passed to create two ethics boards — one for legislators and the other for state employees and statewide elected officials.
And just as an initiative creating the Public Disclosure Commission did in the early 1970s, the new state ethics statutes drew a bright line between public resources and their use in campaigns.
Stambaugh has argued that the photos and videos she used were in the public domain and used by others. Her lawyer says some lawmakers’ official photos have actually showed up on porn sites.
That may be the case. That is why we welcome action by top legislative staffers to examine how taxpayer-provided materials are being used. Perhaps a rule change is warranted.
But Stambaugh’s initial inactions came after cautions were sent by legislative lawyers to all members. This shows a very bright line is still needed.
Certainly a $5,000 fine for each of the 44 counts against Stambaugh is an absurdly harsh amount. But this case is not as feather light as when the Legislative Ethics Board sent a letter of reprimand to a House staffer who violated ethics rules by using an official House envelope to mail in his homeowner association dues.
Until the rules are updated, the Legislative Ethics Board should uphold them.
This case also shows that the Legislature needs to smarten up its training of lawmakers and staff about the rules of the road.
This story was originally published December 28, 2016 at 9:35 PM with the headline "Ethics board should enforce its rules."