Editor,

One of the many lessons I’ve learned is that actions say far more about a person’s character than the words they speak. I find this is especially true when it comes to politicians. Currently, Shane Hoffmire is asking for our votes to be Mayor of Oak Harbor and he asserts that “Accountability without transparency is impossible.” While I don’t live in the City of Oak Harbor, I do live in the county and what Oak Harbor does affects my life directly, so I have an interest in the integrity of those seeking office in the city.

The Washington State Public Disclosure Commission mandates that candidates for office must file detailed contribution and expenditure reports. However, there is an exception to this rule called mini reporting. The PDC website says, “This reporting option is available only to candidates and committees that will raise and spend no more than $7,000.” Shane Hoffmire receives contributions directly as candidate and also via his father’s Political Action Committee, or PAC. The PDC mini reporting rules state that PACs cannot receive more than $500 from any one contributor and that additionally, it must disclose its top 5 donors, which has not been done.

Mr. Hoffmire has always chosen the mini reporting option when running for office, to include his current campaign for mayor. In taking advantage of the mini reporting process, he can hide who is contributing to him and how much is being contributed. How do we know that the campaign contributions given to him and to his father’s PAC do not add up to more than the legally allowed maximum of $7,000 of the mini reporting process? Is this transparent? What is he not disclosing? We have no idea who is paying for his campaign, nor any idea of how much he is actually spending on his campaign. Seeing the sheer number of Hoffmire signs plastered all over the city, one has to wonder how much they cost and who paid for them.

Can we trust, that as mayor, he will be transparent and accountable to us when we see how he is taking advantage of the system to hide the sources of his campaign funding? Will this “transparency” and “accountability” only apply after he’s been elected? Actions speak louder than words and Shane Hoffmire’s actions surrounding his lack of transparent campaign financial disclosures speak loudly about what kind of mayor he would be.

Terresa Hobbs

North Whidbey