Former Washington lawmaker Mark Mullet faces fine in mayoral bid
A photo from 2024 shows former Democratic state Sen. Mark Mullet, when he was running for governor. He's now running to be mayor of Issaquah after retiring from the Legislature. (Photo courtesy of Mark Mullet gubernatorial campaign)
Contributions started rolling in within days of Mark Mullet launching his campaign for Issaquah mayor last December. By the end of the month, his haul was nearly $5,000.
But Mullet may have to surrender that cash to the city because he violated an Issaquah law that says candidates can only fundraise in the same calendar year as the election for the office they seek. He jumped the gun.
Mullet, the ex-state senator who ran unsuccessfully for governor last year, needed to wait until Jan. 1 since the mayor's race is on the November ballot. As a penalty, he may be ordered to hand over the entirety of those December contributions – $4,478.34 – to the city treasury.
A hearing on the matter is set for 9 a.m. April 11 in Issaquah Municipal Court.
'There's no dispute of the facts. We're going to do whatever the judge tells us,' said Mullet, who served on the Issaquah City Council from 2010 to 2013. 'We weren't hiding anything. We were not aware of any city in the state having a rule like this.'
Mullet and City Councilwoman Lindsey Walsh are the only announced mayoral candidates thus far. Walsh is the council president and has served on the nonpartisan body since 2019. Walsh, a Democrat, supported Bob Ferguson in the gubernatorial race but Ferguson has endorsed Mullet in the mayoral race.
The Issaquah City Council passed the ordinance in May 2009 and it took effect on June 1 of that year. In addition to restricting when contributions can be collected, it imposed a $500 cap on donations.
That same year, Mullet won his seat on the city council. He said he recalled the discussion on the city law focused on the contribution limit, not the timing for collections.
On Wednesday, Walsh said she knew the rule and had to explain to supporters in December why she was not soliciting contributions until the new year.
'I think it's important that if somebody is going to lead the city, they respect and follow the laws,' she said. 'That is the way I am running my campaign.'
Waylon Menzia, a community activist, filed a complaint with the city on Feb. 4, listing the dates and amounts of 12 contributions made to Mullet in December. Menzia noted the timing violated provisions of Chapter 1.30 of Issaquah Municipal Code.
A police report says an officer reviewed campaign finance filings with the state Public Disclosure Commission and tallied $4,478 in contributions between Dec. 12 and 31.
On Feb. 13, Lynn Moberly, the city's prosecuting attorney, filed a complaint in Issaquah Municipal Court accusing Mullet of 'the civil violation of Collecting Election Contributions Before Election Cycle.'
'I was aware of the timeline in the code,' Menzia said this week. 'Even though the monetary amount is not very much, it should be a reminder that you need to follow the rules and regulations of the place you hope to represent.'
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