From left: Manka Dhingra/Instagram: @electmanka; Nick Brown/Flickr; Pete Serrano/Photo by Jennifer King for Tri-City Herald (used by permission)
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to correct an error in the timeline. The two sentences that were added since the August issue went to print are noted in the text.
It is election season! A phrase that simultaneously brings groans, cheers, angst, and muttering. One of the most widely recognized documents for learning about candidates running for office is the county auditor’s supplied Voters’ Pamphlet, a treasure trove of information about candidates running in your county, district, and state. But doing your due diligence as a voter can mean searching candidates’ social media, scouring websites, and looking for articles.
The Voters’ Pamphlet is a document that is comprised of information provided to the auditor within a couple of weeks after filing for office. Filing week this year was May 6–10. The deadline for submitting statements was May 21. Candidates provided the following information: Name, preferred party, elected experience, other professional experience, education, community service, and a 200-word statement.
What most voters aren’t aware of is that candidates are not given guidance, correction, or editing help with their submitted information and no one is fact checking what they have submitted.
So, it is up to the public to read and interpret the submissions. What a candidate decides to submit — and what they choose to leave out — can be telling.
For instance, one contentious race occurring in Washington state this year is the open seat for the Attorney General (AG). Bob Ferguson has been the AG since 2012 and is currently running for Governor. Three people are running for AG: Nick Brown (Democratic Party), Manka Dhingra (Democratic Party), and Pete Serrano (Republican Party). Let’s look at their provided information and see what’s there… and what might have been left out.
Let’s look at Pete Serrano, running for AG as a Republican. Serrano is Mayor of Pasco and was elected to city council in 2018. Serrano is probably better known as the founder of the Silent Majority Foundation (SMF). We have written about Serrano’s SMF before, such as when Serrano defended closing a library in Dayton.
Serrano’s SMF has also filed numerous lawsuits against the state governor, and Serrano worked Pro Bono in an effort to get Governor Jay Inslee recalled.
SMF lost numerous suits related to the COVID-19 pandemic, including lawsuits fighting the governor over mask mandates, vaccination requirements, and Hanford workers losing their jobs. SMF has also defended numerous medical personnel that were disciplined for spreading misinformation. In a YouTube video from May 2021, Serrano talks about how they will “hang the Governor on stuff that he signed into legislation.”
Looking at Serrano’s information in the official Voters’ Pamphlet, there are omissions when you compare it to what is on Serrano’s social media and LinkedIn. Under Other Professional Experience, Serrano lists: SMF (General Counsel), DOE (Lawyer), Energy Energy Northwest (Project Supervisor), and WSU. But according to Linkedin, Serrano worked as an attorney for Energy Northwest for two years. Energy Northwest even featured Serrano in several videos on YouTube as an attorney. So why did he omit that fact?
Serrano was hired in February of 2019 by Energy Northwest as Staff Counsel. He worked until February 2021 in that role before being transferred from the legal department to work as an Environmental Planning Supervisor, new nuclear division, where he worked for nine more months. From his employment file (obtained through a public records request), it was determined that Serrano engaged in activities that prevented him from performing his job with the new nuclear division for Energy Northwest.
The letter, dated June 2, 2021, states in part:
The Position Description clearly stipulates that the duties of the position include public involvement in agency coordination services with state agencies necessary to secure…document approvals. The most significant of these state agencies is EFSEC*, which is explicitly mentioned. EFSEC is a state organization whose chair is directly appointed by, and reports to, the Washington governor (See RCW 80.50.030)...
[Energy Northwest's General Counsel] have determined that your personal public actions to unseat Washington's current governor present an actual conflict with Energy Northwest's interests.
*(EFSEC is The State of Washington Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council)
[The following sentences in bold have been updated since the original article was published:]
Serrano was the direct interface with EFSEC in new nuclear when the conflict arose between his private pursuit of litigation against the governor and his role with Energy Northwest.
Energy Northwest addressed the conflict by removing him from his duties as direct interface with EFSEC and changed his job description.
Serrano fails to acknowledge his position at all as legal counsel at Energy Northwest in his candidate statement. On his website, SerranoforAg.com, Energy Northwest is not even listed as a former employer.
On the Silent Majority Website, fundraising continues for the nonprofit law firm. That seems to be Serrano’s main employer, aside from his job as Mayor of Pasco.
Serrano was contacted by email and by phone to answer questions about the omissions in the Voters’ Pamphlet. He never replied.
According to Manka Dhingra’s website, she is a State Senator for the 45th legislative district in Washington and Deputy Majority Leader of the Senate. Dhingra is also on the Law and Justice Committee and Facilities and Operations Committee.
The supposed controversy around Dhingra’s voters pamphlet comes in the Other Professional Experience section. According to right-wing podcast host Brandi Kruse, who’s spoken about Dhingra at least 40 times, Dhingra’s campaign materials, video voters’ guide, and voters’ pamphlet all misstate her work experience.
The sentence in question is this: “20-year King County Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney.”
According to Kruse, Dhingra hasn’t worked in King County for three years, so she should have said “former” in her experience sentence. That one-word omission, according to Kruse, makes Dhingra a “liar” and a “grifter” (although she seems to have no problem with Serrano having omitted an entire job from his Professional Experience listing).
Being a state senator is a part-time job, explains Dhingra. Sessions are 105 days in odd years, and in even years, they are 60 days. She says:
Washington has a part-time ‘citizen’ legislature, and many of us return to jobs or seek other positions between legislative sessions. I have done this more than once since joining the legislature — returning to a Senior Deputy Criminal Prosecutor role I held for nearly two decades — and am honored to have excellent relationships and trust with the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office and Dan Satterberg, Leesa Manion, Mark Larson, and Criminal Division Chief [ret.] Dan Clark, all who have endorsed my campaign.
I am proud of my record, and grateful that the leadership in the office values my skill set and provides me with the flexibility to work as my legislative and campaign schedule allows. It was never my intent to use inaccurate or informal terminology, but the fact remains that I am the only frontline prosecutor in this race, and the only candidate with a deep understanding of the intent and application of our state's criminal code.
Following up with retired King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg, he said of Dhingra:
For nearly two decades, Manka has served as a leader and innovator in our Criminal Division, helping improve accountability for those who break the law and restoring lives in impacted communities. I appointed Manka as a Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney, and that appointment continues, even though she has been on leave due to her service in the State Senate. Because of her experience and dedication, I am supporting her campaign for Attorney General….
In a phone interview, Senator Dhingra explained that her race is going well, and a new poll showed her with a 1-point lead over her Democratic opponent, Nick Brown. She explained that she is well positioned to be the AG, working under former AG Bob Ferguson, whom she anticipates will be the new Governor. She believes that her experience and working relationships will allow them to solve some problems before they become lawsuits.
Senator Dhingra spoke at length about her experience as a Prosecutor in King County and her work as a Senator since 2017. She mentioned that she had continued working up until 2021 in the Prosecutor's office. Her boss, Dan Satterberg, had left the door open for Dhingra to come back anytime. Being a part-time legislature means most people have other employment.
While the semantics of using the word “former” didn’t make it into the Voters’ Guide, Dhingra hasn’t faced much criticism (besides far-fetched, right-wing media attacks). In fact, she says that people are being very supportive. Some are even sending extra donations due to the way she is being targeted by an unfair double-standard.
Nick Brown is the final candidate running for AG on the primary ballot. According to his Voters’ Pamphlet statement, Brown has no elected experience. Under Other Professional Experience, he lists: U.S. Attorney for Western Washington; General Counsel to Governor Inslee; JAG Officer in U.S. Army, serving at Joint Base Lewis-McChord (WA), Fort Bliss (TX), received the Bronze Star for his time serving in Iraq; Partner, Pacifica Law Group.
In his statement, Brown highlights his work fighting the Trump administration:
As General Counsel to Governor Inslee, Nick oversaw work to end the death penalty and coordinated the administration’s response to Donald Trump’s hateful Muslim ban. In 2021, President Biden appointed Nick as the first Black U.S. Attorney in state history. There, Nick prioritized addressing the fentanyl crisis, protecting consumers, cracking down on sex trafficking, and combating violent crime.
According to an article in Crosscut, “Brown had raised more than $1.2 million as of mid-June. Dhingra had raised $873,000. Serrano trailed with $162,600.”
Brown is prepared to go to battle against a new Trump administration and will follow in the footsteps of Bob Ferguson, who famously filed 97 lawsuits against the twice-impeached former President.
Brown hasn’t been receiving as much media attention or critiques. He’s received high profile endorsements, including from Governor Jay Inslee, Governor Christine Gregoire, and ten Tribes in the state.
Brown’s LinkedIn profile matches his website and Voters’ Pamphlet.
Brown was also contacted for comment but was unable to schedule an interview due to time constraints.
As voters, we are expected to be informed and knowledgeable.
Taking some extra time with the voters’ guide, your smart phone, and your sample ballot will help you make informed decisions.
Ballots will arrive mid-July, and you can mail them back, postage free, before the end of the month. You can also drop them in any OFFICIAL dropbox before 8pm on August 6th.
Check the following websites for dropbox locations:
https://www.bentoncountywa.gov/pview.aspx?id=55334&catid=0
https://www.franklincountywa.gov/215/Ballot-Drop-Box-Locations
A lifelong resident of Eastern Washington, Dori enjoys the outdoors, her family, and making good trouble. She has worked for many years in broadcasting and reporting and believes in the value of the 4th estate. She is a true community advocate that loves Washington.
