Transparency

Washington Public Disclosure Commission settles open-meetings lawsuit for $25,000 over 22-23 closed sessions

Confidence: Corroborated · 2 sourcesWashington · Sep 22, 2026

Subject of this story

Washington State Public Disclosure Commission

Also named

Advocate

Arthur West, Open-government advocate, Washington State

What happened

Open-government advocate Arthur West sued the Public Disclosure Commission and its current and former board commissioners in Thurston County Superior Court on February 11, 2026, alleging the board went into closed session at every meeting for roughly two years (Feb. 22, 2024 - Jan. 22, 2026) - 22 to 23 successive closed sessions - without publicly stating the legally required reason or end time, in violation of the Open Public Meetings Act. The PDC settled, agreeing to pay $25,000 from its general budget and to have sitting commissioners complete additional open-government training within 90 days. PDC chair J. Leach said the commission 'has always been committed to transparency' and that commissioners have adjusted their processes.

Sources (2)

The Chronicle (Centralia, chronline.com)Washington's campaign finance watchdog agency settled a lawsuit for $25,000 over allegations that commissioners on its board 'repeatedly and flagrantly' violated the state's Open Public Meetings Act 22 times over the course of two years.

The Center SquareWest alleges the PDC has repeatedly gone into closed session for the last two years without specifying the reason as required by state law... 23 successive closed sessions.

Response

Washington State Public Disclosure Commission

Statement given

Contacted and responded — exact wording not on record.

What happened next (0)

No outcome recorded yet.

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