Pierce County mayor owes state $15K for breaking campaign finance laws, PDC says
The Washington State Public Disclosure Commission says Beau Burkett owes the state nearly $15,000 for breaking campaign finance laws. Burkett — who was elected in 2021 and whose term expires this year on Dec. 31 — has violations dating back to 2015, when he served on the Buckley City Council.
'To my knowledge, he hasn't paid any of his fines,' Natalie Johnson, spokesperson for the PDC, told The News Tribune.
In a brief enforcement hearing on Thursday afternoon, the PDC added $1,000 to the mayor's mountain of debt. It ruled that Burkett failed to disclose the $13,850 in debt on a 2023 financial statement, which he filed on Feb. 27, 2024. That brings the total he owes to $14,850.
Burkett was not at the hearing, which The News Tribune attended, nor did he have an attorney show up in his place. The News Tribune sought an interview with Burkett for this story, but he did not respond by deadline.
Every candidate running for public office in Washington state is required to file an F-1 Personal Financial Affairs Statement, which documents the candidate's salary range, the value of real estate they own, membership on boards of committees and more. Candidates must complete this form within two weeks of announcing their intention to run for office.
'It discloses a variety of things personal to you, and it's intended to show conflicts of interest,' Johnson told The News Tribune. 'So, for example, if it's a school board member candidate, you'd want to know if they owned a portion of a construction company that the school board then contracted with to build a school.'
According to PDC documents, Burkett did not turn in F-1 forms for the years 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019. In 2021, while running in the mayoral race, he didn't turn in his 2020 F-1 or his C-1 candidate registration form, PDC documents show.
In 2022, he didn't file his 2021 F-1, documents say.
Below is a breakdown of when the PDC issued fines to Burkett over the years, according to PDC documents. The PDC says he has not paid any of these fees:
Aug. 21, 2015: $100
Feb. 7, 2017: $250
Oct. 15, 2017: $1,000
Nov. 20, 2018: $500
March 11, 2021: $1,000
Nov. 16, 2021: $1,000
July 9, 2022: $10,000
In 2023, the PDC took the two most recent cases — totaling $11,000 — to Pierce County Superior Court. A judge ruled on Aug. 18, 2023 that Burkett had to pay the $11,000 with 12% interest.
Johnson told The News Tribune that all of Burkett's fines have been taken to collections. When The News Tribune asked what happens after those fines get sent to collections, she said it's the same process as anyone else who doesn't pay debt they owe.
'The collections agency, at some point, can take them to court and can get a lien on the property, wages garnished – that sort of penalty,' Johnson said. 'That's something that the collections agency takes care of for us.'
According to the PDC's website, Burkett has turned in F-1s for the years 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024. However, he didn't turn in his 2019 or 2021 F-1s until years later in 2024.
At Thursday afternoon's hearing, the PDC said Burkett filed a 2023 F-1 on Feb. 27, 2024, but the form did not disclose the $13,850 in debt to the PDC. Johnson told The News Tribune candidates and officials are required to disclose any debt above $2,400 on an F-1 form, unless it's credit card debt.
J Leach, the presiding officer at Thursday's hearing, ruled that Burkett now owes the PDC an extra $1,000, bringing the total up to $14,850. If Burkett pays these fees or sets up a payment plan, the PDC will waive $900 of the $1,000 fine, bringing his total to $13,950. The PDC has until May 31 to send an official order to Burkett, and Burkett has 30 days to take action after the order is sent.
Connor Edwards, the man who filed the complaint against Burkett, told The News Tribune Thursday that he thought the penalty should have been harsher than the $1,000 fine, with $900 suspended if Burkett starts paying.
'Mayor Burkett is one of the approximately 5-10% of people that don't correct their forms when contacted by PDC staff,' Edwards wrote in an email to The News Tribune. 'Despite this, and despite the many thousands of dollars that Mayor Burkett already owes the agency for years of ignoring the law, the PDC still offered to suspend virtually all of today's penalty if he corrects his F1 report.'
Edwards is a recent law school graduate who has filed more than 2,000 complaints with the PDC against dozens of officials across the state. It started when he became a campaign treasurer for many politicians, a job that started as a way to make some extra money during law school. He wants to challenge the way the PDC handles these cases.
'The PDC is a paper tiger when it comes down to it,' Edwards said. '... all they do is dismiss the case with an administrative dismissal and say, 'Don't do it again.''
He filed another complaint against Burkett on May 1. This complaint alleges that Burkett filed an F-1 form covering 2024, but did not disclose the $13,850 in debt.
He said Burkett's long history of ignoring campaign finance laws is important because these laws allow the public to be informed about their elected officials.
'[It's a] right to see that information so that they can make an informed choice when it comes time to vote,' Edwards said. 'I've been to other countries around the world where corruption is a very big problem — and that's in large part because many of the elected officials over there, they don't have to file these types of disclosures.'
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