Dr. Chris Monson, who wrote a letter in June to the Public Disclosure Commission that he would not accept the office if elected, will be sworn in as a Public Hospital District No. 1 commissioner Jan. 4.
“If elected, I will not accept the office,” he wrote in the June 23 letter.
Monson, an eye surgeon, was on vacation last week and the Renton Reporter couldn’t reach him for comment on his intentions before its print deadline this week.
But district commissioner Dr. Paul Joos, who is one of Monson’s partners in their medical practice, said in an interview last week that Monson will be sworn in on Jan. 4.
Monson beat three-term commissioner Carolyn Parnell in the November general election, 65 percent to 35 percent.
Monson and commissioners have been notified of the Jan. 4 meeting; Sandra Sward, the commission’s assistant, said in an interview last week that she hadn’t heard from Monson whether he would or wouldn’t attend the meeting.
Joos said Monson also will take care of PDC requirements for candidates.
The PDC discovered last week after comparing the list of election victors from the Secretary of State’s Office against its list of candidates that Monson had never filed any initial paperwork or submitted any financial disclosure forms required of candidates, according to Lori Anderson, a PDC spokeswoman.
This situation is rare, she said.
The fact Monson didn’t register with the PDC has no bearing on the election results – the commission can’t void an election, she said, as the PDC process is separate from the election process.
But the PDC wants to be notified if Monson is sworn in on Jan. 4 so that it can begin enforcement action against Monson, Anderson said.
The standard fine is $150 for each report that’s not filed before an election, according to Anderson, and he’ll have to file the paperwork and reports he didn’t before the election.
A PDC staff member called Monson’s office on Dec. 17 but didn’t receive a requested return call from Monson, Anderson said.
Monson submitted his letter to the PDC on June 23, too late to have his name removed from the ballot. In the final paragraph of the letter, he wrote that he understood the PDC would take action if he won and took office.
“I have terminated my campaign,” Monson wrote in the letter. “I understand that this statement is not an official withdrawal from the campaign, which can only be done with the appropriate elections office, and not with the Public Disclosure Commission (PDC).
He indicated he wouldn’t campaign, solicit or accept campaign contributions of any kind and will not spend any money, including his own. In doing so, he wrote he understood the PDC will not conduct enforcement “for my failure to file reports required by RCW 42.17A.”
Joos said in the interview Monson initially “got cold feet” but Joos said Monson “wanted to do something good for the community.”
Monson submitted a statement for the voters pamphlet for the election.
