Complaint is closed ‘with a reminder’

Published 1:30 am Friday, July 24, 2026

PORT LUDLOW — A complaint filed with the state Public Disclosure Commission against a Jefferson County commissioner candidate has been resolved.

The PDC received the complaint against Christopher Hannon on July 15. Crystal Cox reported Hannon’s campaign had failed to include party affiliation on political advertising, an alleged violation of RCW 29B.30.050.

Hannon is filing for the District 3 county commission seat as a Democrat.

The PDC closed the complaint Wednesday “with a reminder,” according to its website at pdc.wa.gov.

“PDC staff has determined that you appear to have violated RCW 29B,” a summary on the website states. “After consideration of all the circumstances, further proceedings would not serve the purposes of the Fair Campaign Practices Act.”

One action that led to the case being resolved so quickly was Hannon’s campaign contacting the PDC on July 16, after learning about the complaint.

“It was just an honest mistake being our first campaign,” Hannon said Thursday. “Once we saw the complaint, we reached out to the PDC.”

The PDC stressed to Hannon the importance of stating party affiliation but stated his party affiliation is featured prominently on his campaign website at votehannon.org and has been included in his campaign signs.

“I’m very open about running as a Democrat on my signs and on my website,” Hannon said.

The PDC executive director has the authority to dismiss a complaint on its face, or as shown by investigation, when provided with reason to believe a violation has occurred but that the respondent (Hannon) is in “substantial compliance with the relevant statutes or rules, or shows that formal enforcement action is not warranted,” according to the complaint summary.

Hannon and his campaign staff will use the experience as a learning opportunity for any future mailers, the candidate said.

“I’m glad it could come to a relatively easy conclusion and hopefully no one was misled by it,” he said.

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Reporter Emily Hanson can be reached by email at emily.hanson@peninsuladailynews.com.