Group behind government initiatives is accused of violating state anti-corruption laws by selling discount gasoline and burgers

Let's Go Washington was accused of illegally attempting to persuade voters to support four initiatives promoted by the group by offering discounted gasoline and burgers.

The complaint, filed with the state's Public Disclosure Commission on August 15, alleges that Let's Go Washington's offer to provide cheaper gasoline and, in one case, groceries during promotional events for the four initiatives violates the state's anti-corruption and anti-bribery laws.

“By giving voters discounts on gas and groceries, Let's Go Washington is attempting to buy support rather than win it through the strength of the initiatives themselves,” wrote lawyers on behalf of Defend Washington, an advocacy group formed to oppose Let's Go Washington. “Because voters are in the shoes of legislators, these discounts have a corrupting influence on their ability to fairly judge whether the initiatives are good policy and should be implemented.”

Let's Go Washington's lawyers argue that the allegations are baseless and violate state law: The organization did not offer discounts in exchange for votes, they write in their rebuttal, but instead “exposed the hidden impact of Washington's policies” by offering discounts to all participants, regardless of whether they supported the initiatives or were even registered to vote.

Let's Go Washington has held several events across the state offering heavily discounted gasoline, including an event on August 21 in Spokane.

For a few hours on August 21, motorists stopping at the Towns Liquor Mart pumps saw prices for a gallon of regular gasoline drop from $3.79 to the statewide average of $3.39. This is part of a political group's advertising campaign to convince voters to support Initiative 2117 in November and eliminate the state's relatively new emissions trading system. That system, created in 2021 by the state's Climate Commitment Act and set to take effect in 2023, caps the amount of carbon the state can emit each year and requires the companies that emit the most carbon to apply for an “allocation” to emit a portion of that overall cap.

State officials say Washington's gasoline prices likely rose 10 to 25 cents per gallon as a result of the Climate Commitment Act, rather than the 40 cents discount offered by Let's Go Washington at its Aug. 21 event.

Drivers were offered campaign materials by Let's Go Washington volunteers telling them to “vote yes, pay less,” but they were not required to accept the materials or vote for the initiatives to receive the event discounts.

Defend Washington's complaint also references an Aug. 10 event in Enumclaw where Let's Go Washington offered $5 coupons to the Burger Buds food truck during a campaign rally.

“This is similar to a campaign that sells burgers at a carnival stand,” wrote Let's Go Washington's attorney in his rebuttal. “The only difference is that instead of volunteers, a food truck is used.”

Let's Go Washington, backed by hedge fund manager Brian Heywood, is also the driving force behind two other initiatives on the November ballot that would repeal the state's nascent long-term care and capital gains taxes, and is waging a massive campaign to prevent the state from moving large utilities away from natural gas so quickly.

Defend Washington also alleged in its complaint that Let's Go Washington failed to properly report its expenses for the discount events. Let's Go Washington's attorneys stated that the complainant misunderstood its reimbursement agreements with vendors such as Towns Liquor Mart and that the political committee will file the required reports once the payments are made.

In its Aug. 15 complaint to the state Public Disclosure Commission, Defend Washington requested an immediate hearing by the commission and that its complaint be referred to the state Attorney General's Office for investigation. The PDC has been reviewing complaints against Let's Go Washington since July 2023, primarily focusing on allegations of improper or lacking financial disclosure leading up to the signature drive that got the initiatives on the ballot this November.

In a summary of complaints to the commission's board in July of this year, agency staff raised concerns that Let's Go Washington had refused to audit its financial records or had not properly maintained those records, and had not timely adjusted its reports to accurately reflect the funds spent on collecting signatures until after the initiatives had been certified.

The state Public Notice Commission voted unanimously against referring those earlier complaints to the Attorney General's Office during its July meeting, without providing any explanation for its votes. The commission did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Defend Washington receives its largest donations primarily from state unions and progressive advocacy groups such as Champion Advocacy and Fuse Voters. Let's Go Washington has received significant funding from developers, construction companies, real estate, hospitality and fossil fuel interests.

Lawyers for Let's Go Washington did not respond to a request for comment by deadline.