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.

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