Boosted Facebook post results in PDC fine for Pierce County Library System
A Facebook post paid for by the Pierce County Library System as part of a recent levy election earned it a fine from the state’s Public Disclosure Commission.
The $150 penalty, paid by the library system’s marketing and communications director Mary Getchell, was the result of a violation of using public resources to promote a ballot measure.
In September, Getchell, paid Facebook $250 to promote a post featuring a Sept. 15 News Tribune editorial that endorsed passage of a property-tax levy to benefit the library system. The post thanked the editorial board for its support.
The posts/ads ran on Facebook Sept. 17-22.
Conner Edwards filed a complaint with the PDC about the post on Sept. 29. The PDC completed its review Dec. 19.
“By spending $250 to boost the post of the TNT endorsement of the PCLS levy lid lift, Ms. Getchell used the facilities of the Pierce County Library System to support Proposition No. 1, in violation of RCW 42.17A.555,” the PDC determined.
Getchell told The News Tribune via email Wednesday in response for comment: “As many organizations do, including the Pierce County Library, we boosted or paid for a wider distribution of the post.
“As a public organization, we should not have thanked the newspaper for its endorsement or show any pro or con support of the ballot measure.”
After payment of the fine, the case was dismissed.
The editorial board operates separately from the news division of The News Tribune.
The ballot measure restored the levy rate to its full amount of 50 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value. It passed in one of the county’s closest outcomes on the November ballot: 50.21 percent to 49.79 percent.
This story was originally published December 20, 2018 at 1:28 PM.
