Originally published Thursday, August 21, 2008 at 12:00 AM
Rep. Roach ordered to repay campaign $21,504
State Rep. Dan Roach has been ordered to repay $21,504 to his campaign fund to settle a complaint that he improperly reimbursed himself for lost income while campaigning in 2006.
Seattle Times staff reporter
Voter resources:
Candidate profiles:
Recent stories:
State Rep. Dan Roach has been ordered to repay $21,504 to his campaign fund to settle a complaint that he improperly reimbursed himself for lost income while campaigning in 2006.
The State Public Disclosure Commission (PDC) dismissed the complaint in July when Roach, R-Bonney Lake, agreed to repay the amount in installments starting next month.
The complaint was filed last November by Ron Weigelt, a Democrat challenging Roach in the 31st District, which encompasses parts of South King County and north Pierce County.
Commission spokeswoman Lori Anderson described the issue as a misunderstanding of PDC rules. Roach called it a mistake "in letter, not spirit" of the law.
Politicians are allowed to use campaign money to reimburse themselves for lost wages due to campaigning if they can document the losses, Anderson said.
In 2006 Roach submitted a letter to the PDC saying he was claiming lost wages between May and November of that year, according to public records. Roach said he was running for re-election during that period and couldn't spend as much time working as he did the previous year.
He submitted copies of checks to the PDC made out to him from Roach Gymnastics in 2005 to justify the reimbursements.
But those checks were profit disbursements from the company, not wages, Anderson said. Therefore, Roach couldn't use those checks to document losses to be reimbursed, she said.
Roach and his wife, Melanie, own Roach Gymnastics, Inc. in Sumner. When Roach isn't campaigning or fulfilling his legislative duties, he works at the gym overseeing management, substituting in gym classes as needed, and caring for finances and equipment, he said.
"I went through and said, 'You've got all my paperwork, it's not like I was trying to hide anything,' " Roach said.
Roach was also fined $400 last month for failing to file disclosure reports on time. Half the fine was suspended provided Roach commits no more violations for the next two years. He was fined by the PDC for late reporting in 2001.
He has been in the Legislature since 2001.
Roach recently returned from Beijing, where he watched his wife compete in Olympic weightlifting.
Leslie Anne Jones: 206-464-2745 or ljones@seattletimes.com
Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company
Food-safety lawyer's wish: Put me out of business
Illegal workers quietly let go
Metro won't cut bus service after all
Jerry Large: Food-bank theft turns into a gift
Bumper to Bumper: How can the city let bridges go dark?

Real Salt Lake wins MLS Cup
Real Salt Lake defeated the Los Angeles Galaxy with penalty kicks after 120 minutes of play at Qwest Field in Seattle.
general classifieds
Garage & estate salesFurniture & home furnishings
Sporting goods
just listed
8 seat pecon formal dining table and china hutch - $1500
A American Table, Chairs and Bench - $275
ATV POLARIS TRAILBLAZER - $1800
More listings
POST A FREE LISTING
shopping
Give yourself a treat and visit Watson Kennedy's Holiday Open Houses
More minding the store
events for Monday, Nov. 23
- Two-week opening at Midori Inc.
- Sur La Table November sale
- Seattle Premium Outlets Thanksgiving Weekend ...
- 5th Annual Urban Craft Uprising
editors' picks
More shopping guides- 'The Road' takes Viggo Mortensen to Mount St. Helens and Astoria, Ore.
- Tugboat sinks at Seattle waterfront pier
- Illegal workers quietly let go
- Child-support error costs nearly $21,000
- Vikings easily beat the Seahawks
- Craigslist adoption ad: A plea by young mother-to-be? A scam?
- Chase shrugs off loss of CD investors
- Woman stabbed by stranger in North Seattle
- Snow piles up on Cascade slopes
- Denny Triangle gains skyline, but tenants slow to come
- Illegal workers quietly let go
236 - Vikings easily beat the Seahawks
165 - Climate change speeds up since 1997 Kyoto accord
158 - Palin excitement builds in Tri-Cities
131 - Metro won't cut bus service after all
119 - Historic health care bill clears Senate hurdle
91 - Tattoos at Mill Creek Church pierce skin, soul
61 - UW, WSU once again meet to see who's worse
56 - Jerry Brewer: Seahawks can't lean on the Hutch Crutch now
56 - Ranking the Pac
53
- Sprouts, raw fish on attorney's 'do not eat' list
- Tattoos at Mill Creek church pierce skin, soul
- Illegal workers quietly let go
- Food-safety lawyer's wish: Put me out of business
- It's possible to recover a life lost to hoarding
- Rediscovering Moab, 'the most beautiful place on Earth'
- Child-support error costs nearly $21,000
- Architects, chefs find 'kid' within to build Gingerbread Village
- 'The Road' takes Viggo Mortensen to Mount St. Helens and Astoria, Ore.
- Washington state wines make annual best-of list




