The Washington Public Disclosure Commission is continuing to review complaints brought during the Aug. 7 campaign to select a location for the downtown Renton library.
The commission is expected to rule on whether to proceed with a formal investigation in two to three weeks, said Lori Anderson, spokesperson for the commission.
Renton businessman Kal Lambert filed a complaint with the commission against Mayor Denis Law and named the Renton Reporter as a witness.
Lambert, who owns Lambert Patent Services LLC in Renton, filed his compliant with the PDC on Aug. 2.
In it, Lambert alleges Law “acted inappropriately with respect to proscribed activities of an elected official” under state law.
Lambert claims Law acted with bias when he quoted the various costs of the downtown library sites ahead of the Aug. 7 election.
Lambert claims Law did this in an interview with Renton Reporter staff that appeared in the July 20 edition, where he is quoted as favoring one cost estimate over another, presumably to favor one site.
The commission is also expected to make a decision whether to formally investigate the complaints filed by several people against the King County Library System alleging improper use of taxpayer funds to advocate for a downtown library site.
The process for complaints is that a preliminary investigation is done to ask questions informally and gather information. If the information leads the commission to believe there is merit to the questions raised, then a formal investigation is launched.
During the formal investigation, people are interviewed under oath and documents can be subpoenaed. A staff report is written and only after that can formal charges be issued.