OFFICE OF THE ELECTION SUPERVISOR
for the
INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF TEAMSTERS
IN RE: DELINQUENT CCER ) Protest Decision 2021 ESD 128
REPORTS OF CHRIS SILVERA, ) Issued: June 19, 2021
)
Candidate for IBT )
General President )
____________________________________)
In Delinquent CCER Reports of Chris Silvera, 2021 ESD 124 (June 10, 2021), we ordered Chris Silvera, declared candidate for IBT General President, to comply with his obligation under the Rules to file the Campaign Contribution and Expenditure Report and Supplemental Report No. 1 for periods 2 and 3, as defined in Article XI, Section 2(d). We ordered that Silvera complete these filings no later than June 17, 2021. We also ordered that Silvera show cause why he should not be fined and/or disqualified from candidacy for his delinquency with respect to his required reports.
Silvera did not respond to the order to file his delinquent reports for periods 2 and 3 and did not file the reports. He also has not filed the reports for period 4, which were due June 15, 2021. Silvera also did not respond to the order to show cause why he should not be fined for his delinquent reports or disqualified from his candidacy for International office. No appeal was taken from our orders.
In Hoffa-Hall 2016, 2016 ESD 158 (April 1, 2016), we noted that “[t]imely filing of required CCER reports is important to allow for prompt review and the related prompt correction of errors or, if necessary, action to remedy a Rules violation. We have imposed fines in the past for tardy filing. Should a candidate be unable to meet any filing deadline, he/she should contact our office and request an extension of time in which to file. Such extensions may be granted only for good cause shown. Hoffa-Hall 2011, 2011 ESD 46 (November 18, 2010).”
Silvera’s failure to meet his reporting requirements and respond to the order to show cause will not be tolerated. We impose a fine of $250 against Silvera for each of the three reporting periods for which his reports are delinquent. We impose an additional fine of $250 against Silvera for his failure to respond to the order to show cause. Silvera must pay these accumulated fines of $1,000 to the Office of the Election Supervisor no later than Wednesday, June 23, 2021. These fines are strictly remedial in nature and are intended to deter further Rules violations in this regard and to encourage prompt compliance with future reporting requirements. We defer to Friday, June 25, 2021, the decision as to whether Silvera should be ordered disqualified from candidacy for International office based on his failure to meeting his reporting requirements and respond to the order to show cause. Among the factors we will consider in assessing whether Silvera should be disqualified from candidacy are whether he files the delinquent reports and pays the fines assessed in this decision prior to that date.
Any interested party not satisfied with this determination may request a hearing before the Election Appeals Master within two (2) working days of receipt of this decision. Any party requesting a hearing must comply with the requirements of Article XIII, Section 2(i). All parties are reminded that, absent extraordinary circumstances, no party may rely in any such appeal upon evidence that was not presented to the Office of the Election Supervisor. Requests for a hearing shall be made in writing, shall specify the basis for the appeal, and shall be served upon:
Barbara Jones
Election Appeals Master
IBTappealsmaster@bracewell.com
Copies of the request for hearing must be served upon the parties, as well as upon the Election Supervisor for the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, all within the time prescribed above. Service may be accomplished by email, using the “reply all” function on the email by which the party received this decision. A copy of the protest must accompany the request for hearing.
Richard W. Mark
Election Supervisor
cc: Barbara Jones
2021 ESD 128
DISTRIBUTION LIST (BY EMAIL UNLESS NOTED):
Bradley T. Raymond, General Counsel
International Brotherhood of Teamsters
braymond@teamster.org
Edward Gleason
egleason@gleasonlawdc.com
Patrick Szymanski
szymanskip@me.com
Will Bloom
wbloom@dsgchicago.com
Tom Geoghegan
tgeoghegan@dsgchicago.com
Rob Colone
rmcolone@hotmail.com
Barbara Harvey
blmharvey@sbcglobal.net
Kevin Silvera
Silveragp2021@gmail.com
F.C. “Chris” Silvera
fitzverity@aol.com
Fred Zuckerman
fredzuckerman@aol.com
Ken Paff
Teamsters for a Democratic Union
ken@tdu.org
Jeffrey Ellison
EllisonEsq@gmail.com