OLYMPIA — State Sen. Pam Roach will reimburse the state more than $4,500 for mileage she charged to pick up mail at a post-office box where she received both legislative and campaign mail.
Roach, a Republican from Auburn, had charged taxpayers for hundreds of trips since 2009 to pick up mail at the Auburn post-office box that is 22 miles from her rural home, The Seattle Times reported Saturday.
Roach had told Senate administrators that she’d rented the box 25 years ago because she’d had her mail stolen from her home mailbox, but Senate Secretary Hunter Goodman replied that the Senate’s rules clearly prohibit the mingling of campaign and official state business.
Last week, Roach refunded additional expenses totaling more than $900 for Senate-purchased cellphones she used partly for campaigning, an accidental double charge for mileage for a trip to Oregon, and rental fees for the Auburn post-office box.
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