The Citizens for Safer Streets & Lower Taxes Committee (better known as Bruce Smith’s Strong Mayor committee) was fined $400 by the Washington State Public Disclosure Commission in a hearing held on Wednesday August 10, 2011. The hearing was a result of the PDC’s investigation of my complaint filed on March 29, 2011. (See Yakima Herald story).
Bruce Smith vainly and arrogantly ascribes the Fine as simply; “clerical errors”. These “clerical errors” included money paid to him for “campaign services” by his Treasurer, David Flink, who is also his employee. B.S. was Vice-Chair of the committee and their shoddy reporting included lumping printing services with money paid to Bruce to hide his payments. Let’s clear something up here. The PDC is a very user friendly group for campaigns to work with. They see “clerical errors” all the time and have no interest in Fining people for simple mistakes. They, will actually help the campaign reporting to correct these errors.
Bruce’s cavalier attitude toward the entire public disclosure process tells us a lot about his ethical makeup. 78 days late and 7 weeks after the election they report $5,454 in expenses and 38 days late and more than a month after the election they file 5 more expenses totaling $6,166. More than $11,000 AFTER an election! Maybe he didn’t want the public to see the $1,000 he received for “Professional Campaign Services, primarily yard sign maintenance”. There are several other entries that raise ethical questions.
He “snookered” the radio stations into providing almost $10,000 worth of radio ads for ZERO dollars exchanged. He had an ongoing trade agreement with the radio stations to trade ads in his newspaper for radio spots. This is normal business practice. But the radio stations were under the impression that these were business ‘trades”. As would be the case for everyone else in the world. But, Bruce turned around and in an email to Townsquare Media told them he wanted to convert them to campaign ads. Although Media outlets all have a policy of cash up front for any political advertising they succumbed to B.S.’s wishes after he told them he checked with the WA Assoc of Broadcasters and they said it was legal. The radio stations were under no obligation to honor such an unethical request, but they did. Ironically these decisions were made BEFORE Dave Ettl provided the 4th vote on the Yakima City Council to put the Strong Mayor on the ballot. This whole “free” political radio ads caper is murky and unethical, but not illegal.
All in all, I would say B.S. is deceiving the public and taking advantage of committee contributions to the campaign, and putting the radio stations in an awkward spot of appearing to support him. (No one else on the planet would or ever will get the $10,000 free radio ads that B.S. corralled.) Gotta hand it to you Brucie Boy, You’re one smart cookie.
