SEATTLE—Recent actions of Democratic gubernatorial candidate Attorney General Bob Ferguson (AG Ferguson) against two political opponents who share a similar name, and then willfully directing Secretary of State Steve Hobbs to allegedly violate Washington state law by modifying the Primary Election ballot at the detriment of all other down ballot candidates, has prominent figures not only questioning Ferguson’s ability to govern ethically but also alleging that “the chief law enforcement officer” may have violated state law RCW 9A.80.010.1a.
“This is Bob Ferguson deciding that rather than allow the state to proceed with its process that was already put in place to address challenges when there are similar names on the ballot—there is already a WAC that is there—he is threatening his political opponent, “Glen Morgan, former campaign manager for both Bob Arthur Ferguson of Yakima and Bob Benjamin Ferguson of Grant.
“[AG] Bob Ferguson is attempting to not just force but require the Secretary of State to make that change but he is also doing so to personally benefit himself,” Morgan added. “In using the implication of his office to do that, he is clearly breaking the law… Doing that in a press conference, documenting it for the whole state to see, while he is threatening to imprison his political opponents…this is clearly something that needs to be looked into much closer.”
The Lynnwood Times sat down with Morgan for whom AG Ferguson now accuses of being involved in a conspiracy scheme (RCW 29A.84.270) to recruit two other men, sharing the name Bob Ferguson, to file for Governor as Democrats at the eleventh hour on the last day of filing week in May. Ferguson’s attorney, Zachery Pekelis of Pacifica Law Group, in a letter to Secretary of State Hobbs, not only stated that the chief election officer “must” reorder the ballot to place AG Ferguson’s name above the other two Bobs who were in the second and third slots, but also requested that he “remove the Fraudulent Candidates from the ballot all together.”
Morgan found that the attempted actions of the Ferguson campaign to “suppress another’s rights to run for public office,” unconscionable.
“I have never seen anything like that,” Morgan said. “To openly demand that the Secretary of State to do something to benefit you…no one represents a greater threat to the Secretary of State than Bob Ferguson. He represents the largest law firm in Washington state and has long history of aggressive and vindictive enforcement.”
Morgan feels that the manner by which AG Ferguson used “to force” the other Bob Fergusons to withdraw from the race coupled with his letter to the Secretary of State shows an “inner tyrant” persona.
“He believes the rules don’t apply to him, he believes it is appropriate to threaten your political opponents with imprisonment,” Morgan said. “Imagine how much worse he would be when he has full control of the Washington State Patrol and direct control to weaponize every single state agency to do his bidding. He clearly isn’t afraid to have them [state employees] break the law for his personal benefit.”
The Lynnwood Times did not receive a response as of the date of this publication from the Ferguson campaign after multiple requests to address the allegations that gubernatorial candidate AG Ferguson violated state law. However, the Washington State Democratic Party provided the following statement:
“Washington State Democrats in consultation with our lawyers and the Ferguson campaign drafted cease and desist letters on behalf of all Washington voters to protect the integrity of our elections. We look forward to a competition of ideas as we make our case to voters this election without distracting sideshows that serve only to confuse voters” Shasti Conrad, Chair of the Washington State Democratic Party.
AG Ferguson, joined by former King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg, held a press conference in Seattle, Monday, May 13, accusing the two other “Bob Fergusons” of breaking a state law with the threat of 10 years imprisonment if they did not drop out of the race by 5 p.m. that day.
The alleged crime in question, a violation of statute RCW 29A.84.320 dealing with duplicate, nonexistent and non-true names which has been a state of Washington law for the last 80 years — originally passing in 1943. The penalty for violating this state law is a class B felony.
During the presser, AG Ferguson blamed “anti-democracy Republicans” for the prank who he said, “orchestrated a deceptive and illegal scheme to deceive voters and illegally influence the election.”
Morgan adamantly denied that any of this was a political prank and shared that both candidates—Bob A and Bob B Ferguson—had “a strong desire to run for governor” and both are “terribly disturbed by the attacks and the threats” against their character.
Bob A Ferguson, 65, Morgan shared, is a recent widower who lives in Yakima and is a retired state worker from Central Washington University. For over a year-and-a-half, his coworkers encouraged him to run for governor.
Bob B Ferguson, a 20-year combat veteran in his mid-forty’s lives in Grant with his wife and kids.
Neither Bob A nor Bob B Ferguson have a criminal record, and both meet the constitutional requirements to hold the Office of the Governor, according to Morgan.
Bob A Ferguson withdrew his candidacy on May 13, 2024, under duress.
“Signed under duress of threat by AG’s law/warfare tactics,” Bob A Ferguson wrote on his withdrawal candidacy form.
“Yakima Ferguson wanted to fight it but the political threat from AG Ferguson got to him,” Morgan said. “You don’t even have a chance to get your campaign off the ground and the first thing that happens to you is that you are threatened with prison time…. Bob Ferguson came out and destroyed that dream.”
Morgan alleges that AG Ferguson is also threatening him but is used to getting threats. In 2017, he exposed how the now Democratic frontrunner allegedly violated multiple state campaign finance laws but was unable to sue because no attorney at the time would take the case for fear that Ferguson would “destroy” their careers.
Morgan has been successful in exposing numerous Public Disclosure campaign finance and ethics violations since 2016 and has won over 74 lawsuits. This includes lawsuits filed by the Washington State Attorney General resulting in 21 judgements based on Morgan’s reporting. He also helps whistleblowers navigate the legal system to prevent retaliation from their employers.
Senator Mark Mullet weighs in
After allegations of official misconduct, a gross misdemeanor, surfaced Wednesday against AG Ferguson, fellow Democratic gubernatorial candidate and 12-year Senator Mark Mullet (D-Issaquah) shared with the Lynnwood Times that Ferguson’s actions display poor character traits for a leader.
“He is showing the character that everyone hates in every politician, when they put their own election efforts above doing what’s right, and that is what Bob Ferguson was doing,” Mullet said. “He was putting his own election efforts above the law instead of doing what’s right.”
Mullet did publicly release on X that the “two Bobs” should withdraw their names because he felt it can confuse voters. However, he is highly concerned by the action of AG Ferguson to request “other agencies to break the law.”
“The RCW is crystal clear in that the way you address that confusion is by listing their professions,” Mullet told the Lynnwood Times. “He [Secretary of State Steve Hobbs] was following the law, and if they did not withdraw their names by 5 p.m., May 13, he had made it very clear that he was going to list their professions on the ballot so people can figure out which Bob was which.
“Steve Hobbs was also crystal clear that it was completely illegal for him to do what [AG] Bob Ferguson asked of him to do, to rearrange the ballot order to favor him politically. And that is exactly what Bob Ferguson asked a state agency to do on his behalf. And that for me is really shocking, is that he would in writing, demand, that the Secretary of State ‘must’ do this.”
Mullet shared that he has a 12-year track record in the Washington State Senate of doing what’s “right” even if it doesn’t benefit him politically.
“Sometimes I vote against my own party because I think it is an unnecessary tax increase and create my own political headaches, but I would rather push good public policy than what would make my political life a little bit easier,” Mullet said.
If roles were reversed, Mullet said he would ensure Secretary Hobbs were following existing law. Instead, AG Ferguson, he said, is using his legal opinion to benefit his election efforts.
“Bob is trying to say that this is a ‘he said, she said’ [scenario]…oh, this is my legal opinion and that is the Secretary of State’s legal opinion…no…this is not a ‘he said, she said.’” Mullet adamantly told the Lynnwood Times. “Legal minds are in agreement, that Bob Ferguson asked the Secretary of State to break the law. It is that simple.”
According to legal scholars, it is a well-known fact that an RCW has precedence over a WAC, Mullet said.
“The Secretary of State was in the right and not the wrong for telling [AG] Bob Ferguson he wasn’t going to violate the law,” said Mullet.
What is next, a possible legal battle?
Morgan told the Lynnwood Times that “all legal options are being explored” not only by him but by the two other Bob Fergusons.
“Governor Jay Inslee is a likable person, people really do like Inslee,” Morgan said when asked to contrast Governor Inslee to AG Ferguson. “Not Bob Ferguson. When you talk to people who are around him, they don’t like him. He doesn’t have a good reputation and it’s because of this self-serving, vindictive nature he has that manifests itself into this Napoleon complex. When a guy like that gets a little bit of power, he cannot help himself but abuse it.”
Mullet shared that Washington needs a governor that prioritizes affordability and public safety over personal gain.
“Our state needs to become a financial partner with cities and counties so we can make progress on public safety, it is not going to happen with a state program,” Mullet said. “It is going to happen by us actually sharing all of our operating budget growth with cities and counties so we can make smart investments on the public safety front.
“When we make our state more affordable and safer, everyone will be happy!”
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6 Responses
The whole thing sounds fishy to me. I think there is more to it. Holding judgement until all the facts are out. It really seems like a set up.
Bob is as crooked as they come. He should be stopped legally and put in jail for being a a** h%&@.
He just doing what the man on eastcoast.
Where is are spineless Governor?. Oh I remember he cheats the people Washington State by making us pay his bills, such as paying his security bill when he was running a president campaign.
Could you tell us which law makes being an a$$h%le a crime?
Vote for Dave Reichert!
Problem solved.
You can tell by his picture he is self serving by the way he puts himself first in the photo to standout before others. This type of person is dangerous in power and that is my opinion. I notice this in many types before him. Even in Inslee when he put himself forward in a picture with a Ukrainian as he was announcing a sister city. Ukrainians before residents of Washington. It doesn’t matter anyways since the entire current political force decided to send 165 billion to Ukraine to be used to kill people instead of preserving life by ending homelessness and starvation. Yes 165 billion would have been enough. But instead our own Americans struggle everyday as our country is more willing to spend money elsewhere. Our downfall as a country is inevitable because of this.
Interesting, a report on how Bob Ferguson (which one) is using campaign finance law to counter a move by republicans to manipulate campaign finance law. Written by Republican candidate and political operative Mario Lotmore no less. What next? An in-depth report on how Donald Trump isn’t really guilty of anything, by Eric Trump?