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WARREN -- Two Warren councilmen reported fellow councilman and mayoral candidate Ken MacPherson to the Ohio Elections Commission after they say he violated campaign finance laws.
Greg Greathouse, 3rd Ward, and John Brown, council president, sent a letter to the commission Wednesday to express their "deep concern and protest" about MacPherson not disclosing any purchases on his most recent campaign finance report.
MacPherson is challenging Mayor Doug Franklin for the position. MacPherson's pre-primary campaign finance report showed that he raised no funds and spent no money. The deadline to file was April 20 to report purchases and expenditures through April 12.
According to Ohio Revised Code, all candidates on the upcoming ballot must file a "pre-primary report if the candidate or the candidate's campaign committee received $1,000 or more in contributions or made $1,000 or more in expenditures."
There are two types of contributions: monetary contributions, which is money given to the campaign that can be used for any campaign expense, and in-kind contributions, which are items given to campaigns, such as yard signs or food that already have been paid for.
MacPherson said on Monday that all of the purchases for his campaign were in-kind contributions he made himself, so he did not have to report.
The letter to OEC references this statement to the paper, then states, "This position is in direct violation of the law, as every candidate in the state of Ohio is bound to report all in-kind contributions."
"Mr. MacPherson's explanation of his refusal to report his campaign spending is in error," the letter later states. "It is unacceptable for any candidate to place themselves above the law and circumvent the requirements that all other candidates are obligated to follow.
MacPherson has yard signs all around the city of Warren, the letter to OEC notes, and made a mass mailing to at least 12,000 city voters with a color campaign letter, an absentee ballot request form and an address envelope. It also claims that MacPherson paid for someone to pre-print voters' names and address on the absentee ballot request form for the same voters.
"The price of that alone certainly exceeded the $1,000 threshold for nondisclosure," the letter states.
The signs, mailers and MacPherson's website all state, "Paid for by MacPherson for Mayor."
MACPHERSON'S RESPONSE
MacPherson said that Greathouse and Brown are just doing this because they support Franklin in the election. MacPherson pointed out that Franklin filed only his cover letter by the filing date, and the other two councilmen are not reporting him.
"These guys are so upset that their candidate is going to lose that they are engaging in this political mud raking," MacPherson said.
Franklin said Monday that his report is delayed because his campaign needs to get all of the addresses from contributors. He said some listed post office boxes, but he must report their actual addresses.
"By funding the entire campaign out of my own personal funds and savings, I have no strings and I owe no favors to anybody," MacPherson said. "I answer only to God, myself and the citizens of the city of Warren."
He again said that he did not need to report the in-kind contributions that he made. In an email provided by MacPherson, Brent Burkman, MacPherson's accountant who did his report, said that because MacPherson's campaign committee has received no funds and paid no expenses, his filing is correct.
THE PROCESS
According to OEC's website, once a complaint has been filed, the commission will notify the individual or campaign that an investigation is being opened against them.
OEC will hold a preliminary review to consider all written materials that have been submitted, including the complaint, the response and the recommendation of the OEC staff attorney. It also will hear statements from those in attendance before rendering a decision on the case.
Greathouse and Brown attached to their complaint copies of MacPherson's mailers, photos of his yard signs, a copy of a letter mailed to voters, the cover letter of MacPherson's filing and a copy of the Tribune Chronicle article in which MacPherson said he did not need to disclose purchases.
The commission could choose to continue the matter to a later date if it believes more time is necessary to ensure the case is fairly reviewed.
OEC also could decide to set a hearing if it believes there is a possibility that a violation of statute has occurred, but it is not fully convinced at the preliminary review.
If a violation is found to have taken place, the commission can send the case to a county prosecutor for criminal prosecution, impose a fine or find that there is "good cause" to not impose the other two options.
Since 1996, the commission has sent only 13 cases to a county prosecutor, according to OEC's website.