The San Juan County Democratic Party committee has agreed to pay a penalty for failing to report contributions and debts in 2016.

The lawsuit, filed by the Washington State Attorney General Office last summer, was settled on April 20 in the Thurston County Superior Court.

The San Juan County Democrats agreed to pay nearly $8,000 for failing to report contributions and debts in 2016, as well as nearly $5,000 for attorney, court and investigation fees.

If the party does not follow state laws on campaign disclosure and contributions over the next four years, members will also be obligated to pay about $4,000 within 30 days of finding the infraction.

According to court documents, San Juan County Democrats is a political party, registered in Washington state.

A press release by the state Attorney General’s Office states that staff filed a complaint on the party last June because “the committee failed to timely report a total of $30,290 in expenditures, $15,514 in debt and $15,060 in contributions throughout 2016.”

The Attorney General’s Office was notified of the infraction by a citizen.

Glen Morgan, who runs a website about Washington state called www.wethegoverned.com, attests to making the initial complaint last April in a post on the site.

The website states that Morgan has filed nearly 400 public disclosure campaign finance complaints in the state, from 2016-18, which “have resulted in over 50 lawsuits against state legislators, state senators, county Democratic Party committees, judges, and other politicians who violated the Washington State’s campaign finance laws.”

According to www.wethegoverned.com, Morgan is the executive director of the Citizens Alliance for Property Rights and worked at the Freedom Foundation from 2011-15.

For more info, visit www.wethegoverned.com.