Washington State Senator Mona Das violated two different state legislative ethics laws last year in one 8-minute 2019 speech. This year, she was fined $500 for breaking the law. What will she do next?

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Senator Mona Das

Washington State Senator Mona Das was caught violating Washington State’s Legislative Ethics laws in 2019, after only a few months in office.  According to the final signed stipulation letter dated February 28, 2020 (linked here), she was found to have violated RCW 42.52.160 and RCW 42.52.180.  Specifically, RCW 42.160 prohibits a state Senator from using her office and official capacity as a State Senator to personally profit from that position.  RCW 42.52.180 prohibits an elected State Senator from using or authorizing the use of facilities of an agency to assist in helping promote a political election. 

Senator Das broke these long established state legislative ethics laws last summer on June 20, 2019 during a presentation to the Kent Chamber of Commerce where she had been invited to speak to present a legislative wrap up to the Chamber.  In her relatively short 8-minute videotaped presentation (linked here), she had the unique ability to not just break two Washington State Ethics Laws, but also to accuse the Washington State Democratic Senate Caucus of being racists behind closed doors. 

Mona Das manages to call Washington State Democratic Caucus racists and break two state ethics laws in less than 8 minutes

In addition to her accusations of racism towards he fellow caucus members, she was able to create another controversy by claiming the reporter for local newspaper the Kent Reporter was lying when this information was accurately reported on June 25, 2019 (linked here).  After the accusation of lying was refuted by the video of the presentation (which was already public on Youtube), Senator Das changed her tune and her story.  However, this was too late to prevent the inevitable deep-dive investigation by Tara Parker, a Washington State Legislative Human Resources Officer into the Washington State Senate Democratic Caucus to discover just how racist they all were and if any inappropriate racist activity could be uncovered.

The Washington State Senate Democratic Caucus could find no racists in their midst...

This fascinating result of that report was issued on September 8, 2019, and to the surprise of nobody, they could not find (and certainly didn’t want to find) overt, micro, or secret racists hiding behind closed Democratic Caucus doors, which directly contradicted Senator Das’s original claims (and some of the later versions of these original claims).  This report is linked here

However, I was greatly concerned about the potential that in addition to being exposed for lying about the original story written in the Kent Reporter (and I wrote about it at the time here), and after being contradicted by the Human Resources Report, something was still missing here.  More laws had been broken by Senator Das.   I felt it important and my duty as a concerned citizen to file a complaint with the Washington State Legislative Ethics Board in December last year (see complaint linked here).  This complaint is what ultimately led to the recently findings and stipulation by Senator Das for her multiple violations of the Washington State Legislative Ethics Laws and the $500 fine imposed by the board. 

While the fine may seem like small potatoes (they let her defer $400, and only pay $100 for now provided she gets additional ethics training), it is rare for the Washington State Legislative Ethics Board to fine Democrat legislators anything (they have historically directed their more aggressive and intrusive work towards Republicans).  Additionally, some political insiders have speculated that Senator Das has already annoyed so many Democratic Party establishment types that they refused to give her political cover.  Regardless of how this ethics board sausage was made, the ultimate result was a wrist-slap fine and clear findings that Senator Das broke Washington State’s ethics laws.

It appears Senator Das has been cast adrift for a while by her party

The consulting business she was unlawfully promoting at last year’s Kent Chamber meeting (and which she apparently founded while on a beach in Hawaii recovering from her difficult struggle as a State Senator) has since fizzled out of existence, and while she describes herself as a “Startup Queen,” there does not appear to be any more political consulting businesses on her entrepreneurial horizon.  This is unfortunate because politicians like Senator Das keep giving political reporters something to talk about, which ensures politics don’t become boring.


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Background articles and documents:

February 28, 2020 – Washington State Ethics Board Stipulation Agreement (final opinion) for Complaint #10 – 2019 – Senator Mona Das

September 8, 2019 – Washington State Legislative Human Resources investigation and report into Senator Das claims that the Washington State Democratic Senate Caucus was a bunch of racists

Original State Ethics Complaint filed by Glen Morgan against Senator Mona Das – December, 2019

Kent Reporter – “Das claims racism, sexism during closed door legislative meetings in Olympia”

Kent Reporter – “Racist, sexist claims by Das cause racket in Olympia”

Senator Das: Just how racist are Washington’s Democrat Senators?

Washington State Wire – June 26, 2019 – “Mona Das: meetings in the legislature full of “hate, misogyny, racism and sexism”

AP – June 26, 2019 – “The Latest: Senator clarifies comments about sexism, racism

3 COMMENTS

  1. this is a start but lets get on with lni and workmans comp and collusion with claims managers and assistant attorney general who is liason between employers and the state resulting in criminal activities they should be JAILED for. Ruining my life as a happy 130% worker who enjoyed working and then suffering catastrophic injuries ..tbi , cervical damage , severe concussion, lumbar damage, left arm injuries when a roofer fell off a roof and landed on my neck nearly killing me. And i was labeled” palliative” AND malingering 1 yr after that! And angencies literally stopping medical i required not to take place even till today, 9 yrs later!! Not only does lni need to be held accountable for ALL their actions, the injured workers NEED to be COMPENSATED for ALL their suffering they have been SUBJECTED to during their being TARGETED so they dont recover or be compensated!! Not only does this include medical but social security and insurance companies..and DOCTORS that collude with all this as well.

  2. I love the fact based reporting backed up with references to actual sources. Too bad it is so difficult to find this kind or reporting anywhere else. Great Job!
    Thanks for doing what you do.

    • Thank you. Of course, it is easier to report when I’m the guy who filed the complaint in the first place, but I do believe it helps to provide primary sources so that people can see for themselves and come to their own conclusion…

Comments are closed.