FORKS — Dustin Kraft, a commissioner for Clallam County Fire District 1, has accrued $4,650 in fines for failing to file numerous personal financial disclosure statements.
The statements, known as F-1s, disclose an official’s sources of income, real estate, investments and business ownerships for both the filer and their immediate family.
According to the state Public Disclosure Commission (PDC), F-1s are “a means for the public to have tangible proof that officials are acting in the public interest and not for their private gain.”
Most elected officials must file the documents both when they run for office and each year they are in office.
Kraft was first elected as Clallam County Fire District 1 (CCFD1) commissioner, position No. 1, in 2017 after receiving 71 percent of the vote. He was re-elected for a second six-year term in 2023 after running unopposed.
CCFD1 covers about 487 square miles with about 6,500 residents, according to its website. It covers Forks and the surrounding unincorporated areas.
Elected officials are required to file their F-1s by April 15 for the previous calendar year. If they are filed late or not filed at all, the PDC will send multiple reminders via email.
If the documents are still not filed, the PDC will hold a hearing on the matter. The PDC notifies the individual of the hearing via email and physical mail sent to the address on record.
According to PDC documents, Kraft did not appear for any of the hearings held regarding his violations.
Repeated calls and emails from Peninsula Daily News to Kraft were not returned. Emails sent to the listed chairman of the CCFD1 commissioners, as well as to the CCFD1 fire chief, also were not returned.
According to PDC documents, Kraft filed F-1s for 2016-2020. Although his 2019 report was filed late, he was not fined.
“We’ve had time in the past when staffing and workload haven’t allowed us to get to every case,” PDC communications specialist Natalie Johnson said.
After that, Kraft’s violations — and his fines — began piling up.
Kraft has not filed his 2021, 2022 or 2023 F-1 report. Each of these failures racked up subsequently more expensive fines, going from $500 to $2,000 to $2,000.
He also was fined $150 for filing his 2020 F-1 months after the deadline.
In total, he owes the PDC $4,650.
To recoup the fines, the PDC’s collections agency can decide to take the commissioner to court, as it did in the case of a Spokane Public School Board of Directors member, Johnson said.
The PDC currently is in the midst of changing its collections agency and it is not clear what the next vendor will choose to do, Johnson said.
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Reporter Emma Maple can be reached by email at emma.maple@peninsuladailynews.com.
