Reform implication · 11 cases
Conflict-of-interest rules on public contracts
Public contracts in Washington can be awarded without disclosure of the bidder's relationships to selecting officials, and with limited competition. Cases in this group recur on procurement gaps; the reform tightens disclosure, requires public conflict screening, and broadens competition requirements.
- This case is the public-facing escalation of the August 2025 DCHS systemic audit (KC-2025-001). The sequence of events:Structural failureMisuse of public resourcesRule gaming
- Yolanda McGhee managed the "Liberated Village" program — formally, the Liberation and Healing from Systemic Racism initiative — inside King County's Department of Community and Human Services (DCHS). The program distributed over $10…Conflict of interestSpecial privilegesRule gaming
- The City of Seattle and King County jointly commissioned an outside forensic review of the King County Regional Homelessness Authority (KCRHA) in August 2025. The accounting firm Clark Nuber P.S. conducted the review, which was released…Structural failureMisuse of public resources
- On March 25, 2026, King County Councilmembers Reagan Dunn (R), Rod Dembowski (D), and Sarah Perry (D) issued a joint letter to the King County Executive announcing their intent to draft legislation creating a King County Office of…Structural failure
- The Washington State Auditor's Office (SAO) published its Accountability Audit Report on the City of Seattle on March 23, 2026, covering the fiscal year July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2025. Auditors reviewed areas with the highest risk of…Structural failure
- Ordinance 19978 directed the Auditor and Ombuds to study three oversight mechanisms:Structural failureStatutory noncompliance
- The Digital Navigator Program was established by the Washington State Department of Commerce to expand equitable access to online services, primarily for populations including recent immigrants, refugees, people with disabilities, seniors,…Misuse of public resourcesStructural failure
- Following the King County Auditor's 2025 review of DCHS contracting, 19 contractor organizations were flagged for financial irregularities described as "dubious expenses."Structural failureMisuse of public resources
- The King County Auditor published a review of King County's Department of Community and Human Services (DCHS) contracting program in August 2025. The findings:Structural failureMisuse of public resources
- The Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) launched a project in 2015 to modernize its workers' compensation computer system. As of April 2025, the agency had spent approximately $31 million over a decade with nothing delivered.Structural failure
- The Washington State Auditor's Office released its FY2023 Statewide Single Audit on June 6, 2024. The audit covered Washington State's use of federal funds across multiple programs and produced 86 findings — the highest number in recent…Structural failure