April 8, 1998
VIA UPS OVERNIGHT
Gene Moriarty
April 8, 1998
Page 1
Gene Moriarty
41 Pine Street
Watertown, CT 06795
C. Thomas Keegel
2433 Wight Bay
Brooklyn Park, MN 55443
John F. Murphy
20 Piedmont Street
Arlington, MA 02174
James Potter
1819 Peters Road, Suite 6
Irving, TX 75061
John Steger
8229 Bubbling Spring
Laurel, MD 20723
James L. Hicks, Jr.
2777 North Stemmons Freeway
Suite 1100
Dallas, TX 75207
Richard Brook
Cohen, Weiss and Simon
330 West 42nd Street
New York, NY 10036
James P. Hoffa Slate
c/o Patrick J. Szymanski
Baptiste and Wilder
1150 Connecticut Avenue, NW
Suite 500
Washington, DC 20036
Gene Moriarty
April 8, 1998
Page 1
Re: Election Office Case No. PR-058-JHS-EOH
Gentlemen:
Gene Moriarty, a member of Local Union 677, filed a pre-election protest pursuant to Article XIV, Section 2(b) of the Rules for the 1995-1996 IBT International Union Delegate and Officer Election (“Rules”) alleging that the Hoffa Slate and individual members of the slate violated the Rules in certain Campaign Contribution and Expenditure Reports (“CCERs”). The allegations are discussed separately below.
This protest was investigated by the Director of Campaign Finance Leslie Deak.
I. ALLEGATIONS AGAINST C. THOMAS KEEGEL
Gene Moriarty
April 8, 1998
Page 1
The protester alleges that C. Thomas Keegel, a candidate for general secretary-treasurer, failed to file the CCER and Supplemental Form Number 1 for the second reporting period. Mr. Keegel filed the report more than two weeks late. The Election Officer imposed a $300 fine on Mr. Keegel pursuant to his authority under Article XIV, Section 4 of the Rules to “take whatever remedial action is appropriate” after finding that the Rules have been violated. See Steger, P-827-IBT-EOH (September 3, 1996) (candidate fined $500 for submitting untimely CCERs).
Mr. Keegel remitted the fine to the Election Office as directed on February 23, 1998.
Accordingly, this portion of the protest is hereby RESOLVED.
II. ALLEGATIONS AGAINST JAMES D. POTTER
A. Violation of Limit on Campaign Contributions
The protester alleges that James D. Potter, a candidate for International vice-president, made contributions in excess of the $5,000 limit on candidates in the rerun election. The protester alleges that Mr. Potter contributed $5,000 to the Hoffa campaign and then loaned his own campaign a total of $3,503.51, raising the total of his contributions over the $5,000 limit.
Candidates are prohibited from contributing more than $5,000 total to the rerun election. Advisory on Campaign Contributions and Disclosure (revised November 1997)(“Advisory”) at 8. The Advisory states that “if a member or candidate makes a loan to any campaign committee, the loan will count toward the member or candidate’s contribution limit until it is repaid.” Advisory, at 9. The Hoffa Slate reported a contribution from Mr. Potter on October 1, 1997. Since January 1998 Mr. Potter has had outstanding loans to his own campaign. The loans result in Mr. Potter contributing more than the $5,000 candidate limit.
Accordingly, this portion of the protest is hereby GRANTED. The J.D. Potter campaign is ordered to repay $3,503.51 to Mr. Potter within five (5) days of this decision. Within one (1) day of making this payment, Mr. Potter shall file an affidavit of compliance, along with a copy of the check.
B. Failure to Balance Accounts
The protester alleges that the accounts listed on Mr. Potter’s CCERs do not balance. Specifically, Mr. Potter lists a total of $6,054.09 more than the contributions after deducting expenditures.
The Election Officer has conducted an investigation of Mr. Potter’s CCERs, reviewing copies of Mr. Potter’s check register and bank statements along with the CCERs. While the Election Officer has been unable to resolve all of the discrepancies, it appears that the discrepancies are the result of poor bookkeeping, rather than violations of the Rules.
Gene Moriarty
April 8, 1998
Page 1
The Election Officer will perform a complete audit on Mr. Potter’s campaign finances. If violations are discovered during the audit, a supplemental decision will be issued on those findings.
Accordingly, this portion of the protest is hereby DENIED.
III. ALLEGATIONS AGAINST JOHN MURPHY AND THE HOFFA ‘96 SLATE
The protester alleges that CCER No. 2 for John Murphy, a candidate for International vice-president, reports $3,960 in contributions to the Hoffa Slate Campaign from a fundraiser held in conjunction Mr. Murphy's campaign. According to the protester, the Hoffa Slate failed to report this contribution.
Upon investigation, it appears that the Hoffa Slate reported the contribution on their CCER No. 3. The fundraiser occurred on November 29, 1997, early in the second reporting period, and should have been reported on CCER No. 2. The contribution was reported more than one month late. Although the Hoffa Slate noted that the individual contributions originated at a fundraiser, they did not report the fundraiser on Form Appendix 1 of their CCER No. 3.
Campaign contributions should be reported on the CCER forms covering the period when the candidate received the contribution. The date associated with the contribution on the CCER form should reflect the date the contribution was made to the campaign. Every candidate or slate that receives contributions for a fundraising event should report the event in the reporting period in which it occurred. If a candidate pays no expenses for the event, he or she should reference, on Appendix 1, the candidate or slate who paid the expenditures.
The practices of the Hoffa Slate with regard to the timeliness of reporting contributions and complete reporting of fundraisers do not amount to a violation of the Rules. The candidate is cautioned, however, to revise his future reporting practices.
Accordingly, this portion of the protest is DENIED.
IV. ALLEGATIONS AGAINST JOHN STEGER
The protester alleges that John Steger, a candidate for International trustee, violated the candidate contribution limit by loaning more than $5,000 to his campaign. The protester notes that after a $5,000 loan to his campaign, Mr. Steger personally paid for campaign expenses totaling $1,236.89 and then was reimbursed by his campaign.
Gene Moriarty
April 8, 1998
Page 1
As stated previously, any loan made by candidates to their campaign counts toward candidates’ contribution limits until the loan is repaid. Advisory, at 9. The Election Office has previously held that bills and obligations do not need to be reported as debt until the bills are more than 30 days old. Hoffa Slate, Post-45-EOH (August 21, 1997), citing Steger, P-827-IBT-EOH (September 3, 1996). Because Mr. Steger’s campaign incurred and repaid the obligation to Mr. Steger within 30 days, the Election Officer does not consider this to be an improper contribution or a loan.
A separate reporting violation exists, however, in Mr. Steger’s report of the expenses for which he was reimbursed. Any expenditures over $100 must be itemized. Rules, Article XII, Section 2(a)(3). The reimbursement to Steger of $1,236.89 should have been itemized, not reported as a lump-sum payment. After being notified, Mr. Steger filed an amended CCER No. 3 itemizing the expenditures with the Election Office on March 16, 1998.
Accordingly, this portion of the protest is hereby DENIED in part, and RESOLVED in part.
Any interested party not satisfied with this determination may request a hearing before the Election Appeals Master within one (1) day of receipt of this letter. The parties are reminded that, absent extraordinary circumstances, no party may rely upon evidence that was not presented to the Office of the Election Officer in any such appeal. Requests for a hearing shall be made in writing and shall be served on:
Kenneth Conboy, Esq.
Latham & Watkins
885 Third Avenue, Suite 1000
New York, NY 10022
Fax: (212) 751-4864
Copies of the request for hearing must be served on the parties listed above as well as upon the Election Officer, 400 North Capitol Street, NW, Suite 855, Washington, DC 20001, Facsimile (202) 624-3525. A copy of the protest must accompany the request for a hearing.
Sincerely,
Michael G. Cherkasky
Election Officer
MGC:chh
cc: Kenneth Conboy, Election Appeals Master