OLYMPIA — The Public Disclosure Commission found that Sequim mayor William Armacost did not violate state law when he talked about QAnon on a radio broadcast in late August.
A complaint filed by Sequim resident Karen Hogan on Sept. 6 said Armacost may have violated RCW 42.17A.555 for “misuse of public facilities in support or opposition of a candidate or ballot proposition.”
On Tuesday, PDC officials said that Armacost was not in violation of that state law.
“The discussion did not support or oppose any candidate in Washington State or any federal candidate, nor any Washington State ballot proposition or political action committee in the State of Washington,” state PDC compliance coordinator Tabitha Townsend wrote in a review of the complaint.
“However, the discussion did involve Mayor Armacost offering personal opinions on issues that did not appear to have any nexus to City of Sequim official business.
“Based on these findings, staff has determined that in this instance, there is no evidence supporting the finding of a violation of RCW 42.17A.555.”
The RCW says that “no public facilities can be used by or authorized to be used by any state or local public employee, elected or appointed official, directly or indirectly, to either support or oppose any candidate or ballot proposition.”
