PDC Urges Attorney General to Sue SEIU 925 for Violations Identified by the Foundation

David Dewhirst
October 6, 2015

On Monday morning, Washington’s Public Disclosure Commission voted unanimously to recommend that the Washington Attorney General file suit against SEIU 925 for multiple violations of campaign finance law.

The PDC staff presented its findings following an extensive investigation into the union, concluding that SEIU 925 left unreported more than $1 million worth of monetary and in-kind contributions to its own political action committee.

The PDC staff recommended the Commission refer the case to the Attorney General for formal prosecution.

The PDC’s investigation of SEIU 925 resulted from a citizen action complaint filed by Freedom Foundation in August. While the staff only recommended prosecution for a portion of the Foundation’s alleged violations, the PDC acknowledged the union had clearly violated the law, and because of the enormous amounts of money involved in SEIU’s cover-up scheme, recommended the Attorney General, rather than the PDC, move forward with a lawsuit.

The Freedom Foundation notified the AG’s Office on Friday that it would bring suit against SEIU 925 if the Attorney General failed to do so within 10 days. We expect in the next week to receive a decision from the AG on whether he will move forward and prosecute the union.

The Foundation’s citizen action complaint contained three broad violations of state campaign finance law, yet the PDC staff recommended prosecution for only one of those violations. Our legal team has every intention of ensuring that SEIU 925 answers for all of its legal violations, even if the Foundation has to bring suit, itself.

SEIU 925 and other government unions spend millions every year to influence elections in Washington. SEIU 925 reported to the federal government that in 2014, alone, it spent over $1.25 million on politics and lobbying. There is no question that politicking is one of the union’s primary purposes.

As the political power players with the biggest clout, government unions have grown used to skirting their legal duties to further their ideological ends. Ill-gotten power breeds privilege.

But Freedom Foundation is unafraid to challenge that concentrated power. No one is above the law.

Because of our efforts, government officials are doing their job, prosecuting the bad guys, and forcing the most powerful special interests in Washington to play by the same rules as everyone else.

- Litigation

David Dewhirst

Chief Litigation Counsel

David is Freedom Foundation’s Chief Litigation Counsel. His team fights every day in Washington, Oregon, and California courts to defend the fundamental rights of workers, advance open and accountable government, and force politicians and unions to obey the law. David received his J.D. from The George Washington University Law School, and a M.A. from Regent University, where he studied constitutional law and thought. While in law school, he studied constitutional history with U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and served as Symposium Editor for the Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy. He has been published and interviewed by numerous outlets, including the Georgetown Journal of Law & Public Policy, The Federalist, The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, National Review, and many others. He previously worked for a law firm, a federal judge, and the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee in Washington D.C. Except for the prevailing political climate, David thinks the Pacific Northwest is the greatest place in America. David, his gorgeous wife, and their two exceptional children love the outdoors, sports, and their great oaf of a hound, Oxford.