Tri-Cities PAC responds to allegations of campaign libel, defamation. Review underway

A conservative political action committee in Tri-Cities, Wash., is denying allegations they made false statements against a Kennewick School Board candidate.

The response comes after a campaign aid for Michael Connors, a local Republican seeking reelection to the school board, filed a complaint last month with the Washington Public Disclosure Commission (PDC).

The complaint alleges the We Want Accountability PAC broke state law when they erected campaign signs next to his, with false messages like: “Voted With Liberals 100%,” “Kept Our Kids In Masks” and “Supports CRT (critical race theory) in Schools.”

The PAC is hoping to get Connors’ conservative challenger, Dustin Petersen, elected instead.

In a response filed this week with the PDC, We Want Accountability organizers presented an “alternative view of the facts” from Connors’ that support the accuracy of their signs.

“The PDC will need to do an independent evaluation of the evidence provided,” wrote Jerry Martin, We Want Accountability’s secretary.

An investigation would test the veracity of claims on both sides of the issue. It’s a violation of Washington state law to “sponsor with actual malice a statement constituting libel or defamation” in political advertising.

Natalie Johnson, a communications specialist for the PDC, told the Tri-City Herald she doesn’t believe they’ve received complaints before about adjacent campaign signs.

“While normally the PDC doesn’t regulate sign placement, the placement here matters because it adds necessary context that indicates who the PAC was referring to in its own sign,” Johnson said.

She declined to comment further on the specifics of the case, but said it’s normally the responsibility of cities and counties to enact and enforce regulations around sign placement.

The PDC opened its case Oct. 18 and is currently conducting an initial review of the facts. The state agency has 90 days from that date to determine if it will open an investigation or resolve it by other means.

The PAC could be responsible for damages or a fine if the violations are proven by clear and convincing evidence.

We Want Accountability PAC has previously been dinged by the PDC for failing to include notice language in radio campaign advertisements and for failing to timely file expense paperwork.

Disagreements on Connors’ record

Connors is winning his reelection campaign.

He had 60% of votes cast so far while Petersen was trailing with 40%.

It’s unclear how much is left to count in the race. The Benton County Election Department estimates there are about 3,000 ballots left to tally.

Election results will be certified by Tuesday, Nov. 28.

We Want Accountability says its claims that Connors “voted with liberals,” “supports CRT” and “kept kids in masks” during the COVID pandemic are all true.

Annette Rose, the political organizer who put up the signs, writes that Connors has “voted with Ron Mabry on every single school policy that has been introduced in the past two years.”

But in one example, Connors says that he voted differently than Mabry and another moderate school board member, Diane Sundvik, on a resolution to remove weighted voting for the Washington State School Directors’ Association.

Connors also asserts that the board’s unanimous decision to revise portions of its policy on race and the curriculum, commonly seen as a stance against CRT, was evidence that he does not support it.

But Rose says that policy isn’t about CRT in schools because it doesn’t mention the subject.

Connors supported CRT, she says, because he voted to keep a children’s book by Ibram X. Kendi — “Antiracist Baby” — in school libraries.

Connors told the Herald this election cycle that he’s against removing books that show a diversity of ideologies and perspectives.

Lastly, Rose asserts that Connors “kept our kids in masks” by following state COVID mandates and not being proactive enough in advocating for removing masks at the state level.

She mentions a grassroots letter that was signed by 150 Washington school board members and sent to Gov. Jay Inslee in February 2022, requesting him to lift a mandate that required all students and staff to wear masks. Connors did not sign on to the letter, Rose claims.

But Connors points to the recent Washington Supreme Court opinion about the Richland School Board recall, which states that local school boards do not have “discretionary power” to remove face masks or override state health mandates.