Attorney Kahle Becker told the Senate State Affairs Committee that Sen. Mark Nye, D-Pocatello, who previously served in the House, collected nine campaign donations between Jan. 1 and his formal announcement that he would be running for the Senate, not the House, and then transferred the funds from his “Nye for Legislature” account to his “Nye for Senate” account. “Mr. Nye refused to answer my questions at his deposition on that subject,” Becker told the senators.

Under questioning from Senate Majority Leader Bart Davis, R-Idaho Falls, Becker said, “If someone committed sunshine violations, that per se makes the election unfair.”

Tom Katsilometes – not the longtime Democratic county commissioner and current state tax commissioner by that name, but a cousin – ran against Nye in the November election, placing second among the three candidates on the ballot. Katsilometes got 44.9 percent of the vote and independent Sierra “Idaho Lorax” Carta took 7 percent. Nye won with 48.1 percent of the vote.