Scrutiny of incumbent Delegate Onzlee Ware’s (11th District) campaign expenditures continues at the Virginia State Board of Elections (SBE) in Richmond. A hearing was scheduled for July 10 but has been postponed.
According to James Alcorn, Policy Advisor with the SBE, James Hopper (Senior Attorney General) acts as advisor to the SBE. An issue-by-issue analysis of relevant facts regarding Ware’s campaign finances was sent to Hopper.
Alcorn’s July 5 email, obtained by the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), revealed that a letter was sent to the State’s Attorney’s office pointing out that it contains “all the issues, even if the recommendation is that the issue is outside of our authority.” The letter itself is exempt from FOI due to the attorney/client privilege.
Questions arose when Mark Powell, campaign manager for Democratic primary opponent Martin Jeffrey, submitted a complaint to the SBE in a letter dated May 19. Issues of Ware’s campaign ethics became the focal point of Jeffrey’s unsuccessful campaign.
The June 9 primary results were heavily in Ware’s favor but the scrutiny of his campaign finances did not end there. State Board of Elections Campaign Finance Manager David Allen, in a June 10 certified letter identifying Powell’s complaints, asked Ware for an explanation of expenditures that were listed as “reimbursement.” Allen pointed to the campaign finance law that states, “In no case should the treasurer enter simply ‘reimbursement’ in the item or service column.”
Allen also asked Ware for missing addresses related to the expenditures. In one instance, a reimbursement to “cash” needed to be broken down to include the names and addresses for the lump sum expenditure. The most recent filing ending in June, has an item under the column “Person or Company Paid,” listed as “Cash Withdrawal,” with a bank address in the amount of $1,300 for “flushers” and poll workers. This is the same issue Ware was asked to correct in a previous filing.
In several instances amounts reimbursed to Ware were in whole numbers. Allen stated that the number of reimbursements in rounded amounts of $300 and $500 was suspicious. Ware had until June 22 to file amendments, along with receipts. The Roanoke attorney has hired Chris Piper, former head of the state board’s campaign finance division and now a political reports analyst at the Washington, DC law firm of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher and Flom LLP. In a July 2 email Lawrence Noble, an attorney with the firm, was questioning the authority of the SBE and its process of handling complaints.
Complaints to the SBE must be received 21 days after the filing deadline to qualify for an amendment, but Ware has amended his filing for full-year 2009. All amendments have now been filed and receipts have been received for 2009. Virginia’s Attorney General office is continuing its review and will communicate any findings at the next Board of Elections meeting. Whether the State’s Attorney will recommend investigation remains to be seen. The SBE staff hopes the conclusion brings clarity to the “gray areas” they struggle with now.
Allen complains they are understaffed and those gray areas in campaign finance law make interpretation difficult. One example he gave was the definition of “personal use” of campaign funds. Ware has used his campaign funds for the Juneteenth celebration in Roanoke, paying TAP and a Juneteenth coordinator from his campaign funds. Ware told Allen he planned to repay his campaign fund with the proceeds from the event. In addition, a $300 application in December 2008 for 501(3)© status (for Juneteenth) was filed using campaign funds.
Both candidates for Virginia Attorney General, Ken Cuccinelli and Steve Shannon, confirmed Allen’s assertion that “disclosure” is the means by which voters can judge candidates’ use of campaign funds. Cuccinelli said that the Attorney General should be consulted for any gray areas.
The State Board of Elections has a website where citizens can look up their representative’s contributors and expenditures, at www.sbe.virginia.gov. The Virginia Public Access Project at www.vpap.org is another source. It is a non-profit group that sheds light on how money plays a role in Virginia politics. It’s all about disclosure, says Allen and Alcorn.
Ware plans to introduce a bill in the next session of the General Assembly that would require bank statements and receipts be remitted a month following the filing deadline.
By Valerie Garner [email protected]