I was intrigued by the recent Reporter article that said Kinnon Williams, challenger in one of the EvergreenHealth board races, has raised “more than $30,000” for his campaign (“Williams, Hirt vie for EvergreenHealth board seat”).

This is an extraordinary sum for a hospital district race, so I decided to check the Washington State Public Disclosure Commission website myself to discover who was funding this challenge. The findings were interesting to say the least.

Williams’ PDC reports are difficult to decipher. PDC rules require electronic filing when total contributions exceed $10,000. Williams switched to electronic reporting mid-campaign, but his electronic reports do not match previously-filed handwritten reports, making it hard to determine the source of all contributions through the PDC database.

After some digging, though, it is possible to determine where the $30,000 came from. It would be one thing if it came from many local contributors, evidencing broad support, but that’s not the case. Williams received $10,000 from Al DeYoung, $10,000 from Al’s wife Donna, and another $10,000 from Lucy DeYoung.

Al DeYoung is the chair of the EvergreenHealth board. Lucy DeYoung is his daughter, a former mayor of Woodinville.

Why would the chair, and family, of the EvergreenHealth board of commissioners be spending $30,000 to try to unseat Rebecca Hirt, a longtime, knowledgeable, experienced member of the board? What do the DeYoungs have to gain by this?

Voters would be justified in asking if Kinnon Williams would be a truly independent voice for the people on the EvergreenHealth board, or just a “ditto” for Al DeYoung.

Toby Nixon, Kirkland