First they called for her resignation. Now the Republican leaders of the Washington House and Senate are calling for the suspension of the director of the state’s campaign finance watchdog.
At issue is a letter Washington Public Disclosure Commission Executive Director Evelyn Fielding Lopez wrote last month to the Democratic candidate in a hotly contested southwest Washington state Senate race. In the letter Lopez concluded that Republican attacks on the candidate regarding his troubles with the PDC were “not correct.”
Republicans say this crossed a line. A lawyer for Senate Majority Leader Mark Schoesler and House Minority Leader Dan Kristiansen appeared before the PDC.
“This is not a political matter, this is a matter of fairness,” attorney Mark Lamb said.
He went on to ask the four members of the Commission to reassign Lopez's duties. They don’t want Lopez back in place until after the election and after a Republican ethics complaint against her is resolved. PDC chair Anne Levinson agreed the letter could have been more narrowly drafted, but said “there’s absolutely nothing that warrants” suspending Lopez.
