Court hands public greater access to documents

Judge orders PDC to release settlement documents

Thurston County Superior Court Judge Richard Hicks ruled on Friday to allow Evergreen Freedom Foundation access to documents relating to settlement negotiations between the Washington state Attorney General’s Office and the Washington Education Association.

The documents — all stemming from closed-door negotiations between the AG’s office and the WEA over elections law violations by the WEA — had been withheld by the Public Disclosure Commission and the Attorney General, who claimed the documents were secret because both sides of the negotiation expected the talks to be kept confidential. The Evergreen Freedom Foundation, however, filed suit, asking that the 98 to 148 pages be made public.

Earlier this year, the Attorney General reached an out-of-court settlement with the WEA over its campaign-finance violations, but the details of how the state arrived at the settlement have been kept secret. The guidelines contradicted statements issued by the AG’s office earlier in the case which took a hard-line approach to WEA violations.

EFF President Bob Williams called Friday’s decision a "major victory."

"For the first time, the public will be allowed to see the key documents in the settlement and hopefully learn to what degree WEA officials influenced the crafting of campaign finance guidelines," Williams said. "If there was any talk between union leaders and the AG’s office about how the campaign-finance guidelines should be interpreted, the public will know. Voters in this state passed Initiative 134 back in 1992 hoping to stop unions from using members’ dues for politicking without permission, but the AG’s settlement subverts the intent of that law. Every citizen of this state has an interest in whether the teachers union influenced wording of the AG’s settlement."

"This is a victory for every citizen in this state," Williams said. "Even the AG says on her website that giving the public access to records ensures good government. Public documents belong to the entire public and not just members of the PDC or the AG’s office."

Contact: Marsha Richards, Communications Director, (360) 956-3482

Evergreen Freedom Foundation P.O. Box 552, Olympia, WA 98507 Phone: (360) 956-3482, Fax: (360) 352-1874 Email: effwa@effwa.org