They thought they were a “continuing committee.” They weren’t.
An anti-tax committee that campaigned against three recent ballot questions here has been cited and fined by the Missouri Ethics Commission, although the amount they’ll actually pay is dwarfed by the amount they spent campaigning against taxes in Platte County and the St Joseph School District.
The committee could pay just $3,800 to the Commission, for violations during three elections in which it spent more than $80,000 to influence voters.
A filing with the Missouri Ethics Commission outlines evidence that Kenneth Reeder and “Citizens Against Forever Tax” campaigned in two elections outside their original stated purpose, and failed to terminate the committee in a timely fashion once the April, 2009 election debts were paid.
The filing with the Ethics Commission can be downloaded here.
Count One: Failure To Terminate Timely A Campaign Committee
Count Two: Participation in Elections for Purposes Other Than That for Which the Committee Was Formed
The Commission fined Reeder and the Committee $38,000. But, if they pay just ten percent of that within 45 days, and violate no more campaign finance disclosure laws for two years, the rest will be waived.
Reeder and the committee stipulated, or agreed to those facts, but did not admit to “knowingly” violating the campain laws in question. They contend that the Committee was operating under the mistaken belief that the committee was a “continuing committee,” with the authority to participate in multiple elections.
According to filings, the Committee paid Axiom Strategies $41,551.69 for debts incurred during the April, 2009 campaign vote. The St Joseph bond issue and operating levy questions both failed. Under the law, once their contributions exceeded their debts, they were then required to terminate the committee, but did not.
The committee engaged in an ill-fated campaign against a ten-year sales tax continuation in Platte County August 4, 2009. Out of nearly five thousand votes cast, the tax question passed by just 394 votes. The Committee reported spending $25,628.87 in its failed campaign in Platte County.
The committee reported spending $11,932.00 to oppose the second vote on the St Joseph school operating levy, which passed on November 3, 2009. The committee was terminated nearly a year later, on September 8, 2010.
The Commission pleadings lists the various names under which the committee has operated, including “Citizens for Accountable Administrators ,” “Citizens Against Forever Tax,” and “Citizens Against Forever Tax – Debt Service.”
The Ethics Commission also identifies three treasurers of the committee by name. An investigator says Kenneth Reeder was responsible for filing the campaign reports from February 26, 2009 through October 25, 2009. The documents identify two other treasurers of the Committee: Ed Catron and James Thomas III.