Here's a news item from the Associated Press:  BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Democratic gubernatorial candidate Keith Allred is amending his campaign's disclosures to include an in-kind contribution worth $3,000 to $4,000 for work done by the Boise-based business consulting firm he joined this week as a partner. Employees at HB Ventures conducted an analysis around March to examine how far Idaho's economy had fallen behind neighboring states — and why it had slipped in the rankings. But Allred, who lost to Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter, didn't report the contribution. Allred said Wednesday he was filing new paperwork, to correctly account for the in-kind contribution. Allred wasn't the only candidate to make a disclosure mistake in the 2010 Idaho elections, with 1st Congressional District candidates Raul Labrador and Vaughn Ward both forced to amend filings, too. Click below for a full report from AP reporter John Miller.

Allred to amend disclosure to include in-kind help
By JOHN MILLER, Associated Press

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Democratic gubernatorial candidate Keith Allred is amending his campaign's financial disclosures to include an in-kind contribution worth $3,000 to $4,000 for work done by the Boise-based business consulting firm he just joined as a partner.

Several employees at HB Ventures conducted an analysis last March or April that was meant to examine how far Idaho's economy had fallen behind neighboring states — and why it had slipped in the rankings.

HB Ventures is now touting this work for Allred in its web site marketing materials among its "Case Studies" pages, contending "this analysis became a foundational element of the gubernatorial candidate's proposed economic strategy for the state to realize an economic turnaround."

But Allred, who lost to Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter by 26 percentage points on Nov. 2, didn't report his new firm's contribution on campaign disclosure documents filed with the Idaho secretary of state earlier this year.

After an inquiry from The Associated Press, Allred said Wednesday he was filing new paperwork, to correctly account for the in-kind contribution.

"In-kind contributions are a little complicated on how you track those," said Allred, from his new office at HB Ventures.

Allred wasn't the only candidate to make a disclosure mistake in the 2010 Idaho elections, a sign of how even the most-meticulous candidates can miss things the public has a right to know about.

For instance, 1st District Congressional candidate Raul Labrador, the Republican who ousted U.S. Rep. Walt Minnick on Nov. 2, didn't properly disclose his role as president of a company that sold self-help kits on legal immigration to America in a filing with the U.S. House.

Labrador later corrected the oversight, after the AP brought it to his attention.

And Labrador's primary rival, Vaughn Ward, initially didn't disclose all his family's assets in a U.S. House filing, as was required.

Ward also corrected the disclosure following an AP inquiry.

Copyright 2010 The Associated Press.