Are these signs legal? They’re a ‘blatant attempt to deceive,’ says Tri-Cities official
A complaint has been filed against a prominent Tri-Cities, Wash., conservative PAC alleging inaccuracies in political yard signs that were being placed next to an opposing candidate’s signs.
Kennewick School Board President Michael Connors, a Republican, is running for reelection Nov. 7 and has been out placing his yard signs near high-traffic intersections in the school district.
But it appears the We Want Accountability PAC has been funding the creation and placement of signs next to Connors’ that he says are “false and easily disprovable.”
The PAC signs point to Connors’ campaign signs, with messages like: “Voted With Liberals 100%,” “Kept Our Kids In Masks” and “Supports CRT (critical race theory) in Schools.”
“These signs paid for by the We Want Accountability PAC are a blatant attempt to deceive the public,” writes Joshua Skipper, a Connors campaign aid, in his complaint to the Washington Public Disclosure Commission (PDC). “These false statements are material as they attempt to portray Michael Connors as a ‘liberal’ candidate to harm him politically to the benefit of their preferred candidate.”
The PDC is a state agency that interprets and enforces campaign finance and disclosure laws.
The Tri-City Herald reached out to We Want Accountability about the complaint and their sings but did not hear back on Friday.
Connors told the Herald Friday that he has gone to great lengths in recent weeks to move and relocate his own signs away from those paid by We Want Accountability that are targeting him.
Opposing campaigns cannot touch each others’ signs. It’s a misdemeanor to remove or deface lawfully placed political advertisements, including yard signs and banners.
But many of the adjacent signs have come down since the PDC officially opened an investigation into the matter on Wednesday, Connors said.
Will this cost him votes?
“That’s the hard part, is no one really knows what the damage done is,” Connors said.
“Ultimately, all we’re trying to do is provide a public service — just help out the kids and help out with our community. And people have just decided that they want to bring politics into what is basically a volunteer position,” he added.
‘False and easily disprovable’
Connors is defending his seat against Dustin Petersen, a challenger who is backed by local conservatives including the Benton County Republican Party.
Connors, whose wife, April Connors, is a Republic state legislator, says the signs are an attempt to smear him and his campaign.
The complaint alleges the signs are in violation of state law that prohibits sponsorship of statements with malice that constitute libel or defamation. The complaint says:
The claim Connors “Voted With Liberals 100” is false because he and other members of the board voted differently on a resolution to remove weighted voting for the Washington State School Directors’ Association.
The claim that Connors “Kept Our Kids in Masks” is false because the Washington Supreme Court ruled in the Richland School Board recall case that local school boards did not have the authority or power to overrule COVID face mask mandates ordered by the governor.
The allegation that Connors “Supports CRT in Schools” is false because Connors and the entire board voted to pass a policy in August 2022 on race and curriculum that has been lauded by local conservatives as an anti-CRT policy.
We Want Accountability could be responsible for damages if the violations are proven by clear and convincing evidence.
