Allen County Democratic Party amends campaign finance report, almost assuredly due to my written complaint
Posted by Mike Sylvester - 5/25/08 @ 6:01 pm - Filed Under 2008 Local Elections, Featured, State Politics
As has been discussed on this blog repeatedly I feel that the Allen County Democratic Party violated campaign finance law with their most recent campaign finance filing.
Kevin Knuth and I had a long exchange on this blog where he kept re-iterating that I could not PROVE that the Allen County Democratic Party violated Indiana Campaign Finance law by not properly reporting their debts as required.
Over the last 16 months on this blog and my previous blog I have repeatedly stated that Indiana Campaign Finance law is vague and open to interpretation. I feel that this is wrong and that the Indiana Campaign Finance Laws need to defined such that they are not open to interpretation.
I can promise you that I can audit the campaign finance reports of Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians and Independents and find numerous campaign finance report violations with little effort. I feel that this is a problem that needs to be resolved.
About four weeks ago the Political Notebook section of the JG reported on my complaint and their report is worth a read:
http://www.journalgazette.net/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080427/LOCAL0202/804270440
I find the following quote from Andy Downs (Democratic member of Allen County Election Board particularly encouraging in regards to my complaint:
“What this does do is quite conveniently show Indiana campaign finance laws are in need of very serious review and revision,” he said.
I agree with Andy Downs and this is a point I have been making for about 16 months.
Today’s Political Notebook Section of the JG had another short piece on the complaint I filed with the Allen County Election Board five weeks ago that is worth a read:
http://www.journalgazette.net/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080525/LOCAL0202/805250444
Three items in this article warrant comment:
1. Leslie A. Barnes, co-counsel of the Indiana Election Division, said the issue isn’t clear as the state law doesn’t specifically define what a debt is. She said it would likely be up to local election boards to interpret the law or for legislators to write a more detailed definition.
I cannot believe that she feels it would be OK for 92 different Election Boards to interpret the law in 92 different ways. Apparently she also feels it would be acceptable for the legislators to write a more detailed definition of debt. As far as I am concerned our legislators should write a more detailed definition of debt; nothing else is sufficient.
I am not an attorney; however, I do possess a fair amount of common sense. It is 100% wrong to let 92 Election Boards make 92 different rules. Interestingly enough those 92 local election Boards could come up with different interpretations then the State Election Board.
2. The Democrats on Friday filed an amendment to their finance report showing a previously unreported $2,348.47 debt to an Office Depot Credit Plan. Democratic Chairman Mike Bynum could not be reached for comment.
This paragraph is important since it confirms that I was right; the Allen County Democratic Party filed an inaccurate campaign finance report as I stated in my complaint and on this blog. (Kevin Knuth will love this.) Obviously the Allen County Democratic Party amended its campaign finance report due to my complaint and due to item # 3 listed below.
3. Downs said he personally believes outstanding credit card debts and other similar debts should be reported, but an unpaid office supply bill wouldn’t need to be. He said if the bill isn’t paid, the company would likely sue the party, making the information public.
I agree with the first part of Mr. Downs statement; however, not the second part. I feel that outstanding bills are a gray area; however, my interpretation of the Campaign Finance Manual leads me to believe they should be reported. I also do not agree that it is acceptable not to report an outstanding bill until it is litigated in court. That is 100% wrong in my opinion.
Lets say a candidate orders $10,000 in yard signs and does not pay. The $10,000 should be listed on the report as soon as the debt has been incurred. It will likely take 6 months or more until the sign vendor would get the issue to Court and the election in question would most likely be long done. I think the voters should know that the candidate has an unpaid bill od $10,000 in this example that is potentially several months old!
What are the odds that Kevin Knuth will admit that I was right and that he will admit that the Allen County Democratic Party did in fact file an inaccurate campaign finance report?
Is snow in the weather forecast for tomorrow?
Please realize that I feel that Democrats and Republicans are equally likely to file inaccurate campaign finance reports due to the vague laws in place. I think it is even more likely for 3rd Party or Independent candidates to file inaccurate campaign finance reports since they have a much smaller support structure in place to relay information to candidates and to answer questions.
Indiana Campaign Finance laws need to change. They need to be simplified and they need to be clear as well as concise.
Mike Sylvester
P.S. I wonder if the Matt Kelty Campaign or his lawyers will find it interesting that one of the lawyers representing the Indiana Election Board feels that “the issue isn’t clear as the state law doesn’t specifically define what a debt is.”
P.S.S. Good Grief.
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“Clinton owes $55k for Bloomington events”
http://southbendtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080523/NEWS07/225456434/1037/News
“Clinton’s presidential campaign has moved on from Indiana, leaving behind $55k in unpaid bills…” The unpaid *debts* are for appearances made by Clinton….”
>>> My take: the AP isn’t aware of our spat up here in Fort Wayne, but they apparently sense that “debt” and “bills” are functionally synonymous.