Sen. Mona Das, D-Kent, faces a $500 fine for using state resources for private gain and encouraging attendees at a Kent Chamber of Commerce event to vote a certain way.
The nine-member state Legislative Ethics Board ruled Feb. 28 that Das violated two sections of the Ethics in Public Service Act of the Revised Code of Washington as legislator. Both violations were when Das spoke June 20 at a Kent Chamber of Commerce luncheon.
The board’s counsel received a complaint Nov. 19 about Das, in the second year of a four-year term, and what she said at the luncheon. Glen Morgan, a Tenino resident in Thurston County who runs the website WetheGoverned.com, filed the complaint. Morgan also has filed more than 560 Public Disclosure campaign finance complaints from 2016 to 2019, according to his website.
Das told the Kent Reporter on Friday that she didn’t realize she had violated the rules.
“Being a new legislator, I didn’t know the rules,” Das said. “Once I found out the rules, I never did it again and I don’t plan to do it again. …It was unfortunate. I learned my lesson. I’m new. I’m learning these lessons and I apologize for what I did.”
The board, which discussed the complaint during meetings in December and January, agreed Das used her position as a legislator at the Chamber meeting to promote a new business venture as a consultant to people of color running for office. Her first two clients were Kent City Council candidate Awale Farah and Burien City Council candidate Sofia Aragon.
“To announce a new personal business at an event in which a legislator appears in his or her official capacity is a violation,” the board ruled.
Farah paid Das $1,001 on July 26 for fundraising and coaching, according to board documents. Aragon paid Das $1,500 on July 31 for fundraising support. Farah lost his race while voters elected Aragon. Das told investigators she has since closed the consulting business and returned to the mortgage business.
Das also said during her speech that people should vote for her and State Rep. Debra Entenman and Mia Gregerson, who each attended the Chamber function that featured legislative updates by each member.
“When (Das) suggested that the luncheon attendees help Rep. Entenman, Rep. Gregerson and herself get elected, she was advising the attendees how to vote while appearing in an official capacity,” the board said.
Das signed the board’s document that she agreed with the findings of fact and conclusions of law.
Das must pay a $500 fine to the state treasurer, but $400 will be suspended if she has no further violations of the Ethics in Public Service Act through January 2025. She must also undergo training with board counsel with an emphasis on issues related to use of public resources for personal gain and use of public resources for political campaigns.
The senator’s comments were at the same Chamber luncheon when she claimed during her first year in office in 2019 that Senate Democrats in Olympia included closed-door caucus meetings that were full of “racism, sexism and misogyny.”
A Senate inquiry last fall found no evidence that Democratic lawmakers made sexist or racist statements during caucus meetings last session. Legislators took no action against Das for making the comments.
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