LYNNWOOD—Lynnwood City Councilman Joshua “Josh” Binda still has $1,363 in unpaid Public Disclosure Committee (PDC) fines which include penalties for two separate F1 statement violations and a, still, yet to be paid penalty for using his campaign funds for personal use. The embattled councilman still has yet to file his 2023 annual Financial Disclosure statement.
RCW 42.17A.700 states that elected officials, executive state officers, candidates, and appointees must submit a statement of financial affairs, otherwise known as the F-1, for the preceding calendar year served in office. The purpose of the F-1 is “for the public to have tangible proof that officials are acting in the public interest and not for their private gain.”
April 15, 2024, was the deadline for public officials to file the annual F-1 report for CY2023 in the state of Washington. The deadline came and went with Councilman Binda failing to file his F-1.
As of the publication of this article, Binda is 113 days late, nearly four months overdue. However, this is far from the first time that Councilman Binda has been late to submit his F-1 reports.
At a September 1st, 2022 PDC enforcement hearing, Binda was found in violation of the same RCW for filing his F-1 for CY2021 late. The deadline to file that F-1 was April 15th, 2022, which Binda eventually filed on May 6th, 2023 – over 13 months overdue. Binda was fined $250, of which $125 was suspended on the following conditions:
- the unsuspended $125 of the penalty is paid within 30 days of the Order
- the F-1 for CY2021 is filed within 30 days of the date of the Order
- no further violations are committed within four years
Binda agreed under oath to file the F-1 and pay the unsuspended $125 within the 30 days. However, the suspended $125 was reinstated because Binda failed to pay the unsuspended $125 within 30 days, failed to file the F-1 CY2021 within 30 days, and committed further violations.
Binda did pay $188 of the $250 fine on August 4th, 2023 which was, again, outside the 30 days to which he agreed and nearly a year after the September 1st, 2022 enforcement meeting. The fine was so late it had been placed into collections.
From this violation Binda still owes the PDC and the public $63.
At a July 6, 2023, PDC enforcement meeting, Binda was found in violation of the same RCW again for filing his F-1 for CY2022 late. The deadline to file that F-1 was April 17th, 2023 which Binda filed on May 5th, 2023, which was the day before he filed the late F-1 for CY2021.
From this Binda was fined $300 but the entire amount would be suspended under the following conditions:
- the previous fine of $250 currently at collections is cured within 30 days of the date of the Order
- the outstanding fine $1,000 for using his campaign funds for personal use (PDC cases #100589 and #100348) is paid within 30 days of the date of the Order and
- Binda has no violations for four years from the date of the Order
Once again Binda, under oath, agreed to pay the previous fine of $250 within 30 days as specified in the order. However, the suspended $300 penalty was reinstated because Binda failed to pay the $250 fine within 30 days, failed to pay the outstanding fine of $1,000 for using his campaign funds for personal use within 30 days, and committed further violations.
This brings the total of unpaid fines the Lynnwood City Councilman owes the PDC to be $1,363.
This is the third instance in which Councilman Binda failed to submit his F-1 filings in a timely manner, as prescribed by RCW 42.17A.700. He promised under oath to abide by and fulfill the conditions of each ruling but has not kept that promise.
At the July 6th, 2023 PDC enforcement hearing, it was confirmed that Binda received nine reminder notices to both his personal and city council email accounts from the PDC regarding the missing F-1 report and that all invoices for fines clearly state that the only forms of payment accepted are a check or cashier’s check, confirmed Kim Bradford, Deputy Director of the PDC.
Senator John Lovick (D-Mil Creek) says he is "embarrassed" by the actions of @Lynnwood Councilman Josh Binda, rejects Binda's claims that the criticism is racist. #unDivided pic.twitter.com/jtgHBzn2n6
— Brandi Kruse (@BrandiKruse) April 26, 2023
Binda’s excuse for not paying his fines, fulfilling his oath, and keeping his promise to the PDC and the public was that he “didn’t know how to write a check”.
Washington State Public Disclosure Commission Chair Nancy Isserlis told Binda during her ruling that, “the deadline is the deadline and there are thousands of people in the state of Washington who also have to file F-1s, and it is incumbent upon you to make sure you observe the proper deadlines.”
During his 2021 campaign, Binda used thousands of dollars in campaign funds for personal and violated the Lynnwood Municipal Code for using his office for personal gain and profit – when using Council Chambers to film a promotional video for his Love Conquers All speaking tour.
Assisting him in that project was former King County Fire District 47 Commissioner Steve Hickey who has since taken leave as Fire Commissioner amidst an investigation concerning misusing his position to be the first to report on scene for his independent Journalism channel on social media, as well as allegations of squatting in a $1.4 million house in Ravensdale.
🚨#breakingnews: @Lynnwood Council unanimously approves official Ethics Investigation into Councilman @joshBinda for alleged uses of public facilities for personal gain/profit. Binda abstained from the vote. @SnoCoScannerRep @snocounty @jasonrantz @KVIJohnCarlson @thehoffather pic.twitter.com/hf8M227BfP
— Lynnwood Times (@LynnwoodTimes) January 24, 2023
A complaint was filed against Councilman Binda by the Lynnwood-based Recall Binda movement on Sunday, July 28, addressing Binda’s unresolved balance and breaking of oath.
However, the complaint has since been disregarded as a duplicate considering the PDC has already begun its 2024 Group Enforcement (GE) process – a process for elected and appointed officials who fail to file required F1 reports.
“PDC staff determined that conducting reviews or investigations for the complaint you filed would be duplicative, since the GE process had already begun prior to your complaints being filed. In addition, staff believes the GE process offered the most efficient and effective path to compliance and public access to information,” wrote Jordan Campbell, Compliance Coordinator for the Public Disclosure Commission to the reporting organization.
Author: Kienan Briscoe
