Cash collected by City Councilman Brad Stark for his run at city office appears to have been kept separate from his war chest for county assessor, as required by law.

Questions about the whereabouts of $5,000 he raised at an August 2005 fundraising barbecue were raised after it was revealed last month that Stark did not report the event to the state Public Disclosure Commission. Stark, who is in the midst of a GOP primary battle against incumbent Assessor Ralph Baker, said he held the event to retire a debt of about $1,000 from his 2003 campaign for City Council.

State campaign rules required Stark to file forms showing the donations made at the barbecue with the state more than a year ago.

As of Tuesday, Stark’s campaign still had not filed reports showing campaign contributors at the event. Stark said they will be filed in the coming days.

Washington Trust bank statements provided by Stark show the City Council campaign account had about $400 in it when he raised about $5,000 at the barbecue. He used almost $2,000 of the fund to pay for the barbecue. Besides that and minimal banking fees, the account hasn’t been touched.

Stark blamed the late filings on a hectic schedule.

“It was kind of just a comedy of errors,” Stark said. “It was an honest mistake. We’re fixing it and acknowledging it.”

Baker, however, questioned the honesty of the late filing and said a city councilman should know better.

“It just appears to me that he was going to keep that money,” Baker said. “He offers up excuses after he’s been caught, and that’s been the hallmark of this campaign. Oh, it was a mistake. Oh, yeah, right. Give me a break.”

Stark said Wednesday that he still has not paid the 2003 campaign debt that spurred him to hold the barbecue. He said he is working to settle the debt with Seattle firm Moxie Media in the coming days. He said he is uncertain how much he owes, but it is between $1,000 and $1,250.

“The folks who want to make political expediency about it don’t want to focus on their own record of poor service to the citizens,” Stark said.