Wayne Barnett, head of the Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission, is filing charges against Seattle fire union head Kenny Stuart, who heads up the independent group Working For Seattle, which is doing an independent expenditure in favor of Joe Mallahan.

In the complaint, Barnett alleges that Stuart, the group's treasurer, failed to report deposits totaling more than $100,000 in a timely manner. Working For Seattle waited nearly two weeks before reporting the contributions, which totaled $107,500. Heather Clarke, the group's compliance officer, was responsible for filing the reports.

"These guys had more cash on hand than both of the mayoral candidates combined," Barnett says. "They had $100,000 to spend three weeks before the election. All that should have been a matter of public record.

"I wouldn't have filed charges if I didn't think it was serious," Barnett adds.

Stuart says he's looking into the charges. However, he says the group does "everything we can to be compliant with the electioneering rules. The bottom line is, we've got nothing to hide. I want people to know how politically active we are."

Stuart is meeting tomorrow with Ethics and Elections staff to discuss the allegations.