Mayoral hopefuls’ filings under scrutiny

Add minor problems with keeping track of their campaign cash to the list of things Mayor Dennis Hession and Councilman Al French share.

French formally joined Hession in Spokane’s 2007 mayoral race this week. The two were first elected to the Spokane City Council in 2001, and both ran for council president in 2003. Hession won that race and was appointed to the mayor’s job by the council – with French’s support – in 2005 after voters recalled Jim West.

Now they both will have to do some explaining to the state Public Disclosure Commission for their campaign finance reports.

Earlier this month, Donna McKereghan, a neighborhood activist and council candidate in the northeast district, filed a complaint with the commission that accuses Hession of not filing his mayoral campaign contribution reports on time.

French is facing a call from the commission for an oversight in his 2005 re-election.

Hession was late in reporting some contributions in 2005 and 2006 – in some cases months late – McKereghan alleges in her complaint. Some contributions he received in May and June 2006 were not reported until December, she wrote.

McKereghan successfully filed a complaint against Hession for not submitting reports on time during the 2003 council president’s race. In 2004, the PDC allowed Hession to pay a reduced fine for that violation, with a proviso that he not have any similar infractions for two years. At the time he said the problems were a result of a staffer not understanding the reporting rules and the treasurer incorrectly thinking the information was being electronically sent to the PDC.

McKereghan suggested in her recent complaint that a repeat mistake “makes the lateness of these reports all the more suspect.”

The commission notified Hession this month it is investigating McKereghan’s complaint. He responded this week that the campaign got an unexpected start last year when a dinner party turned into “a spontaneous fundraising event” and there was no organization in place. The campaign set up a bank account and looked for a campaign manager and treasurer to handle its PDC reports.

“From the time the campaign discovered that reporting requirements were not being followed correctly, we made every attempt to correct the issue and stay current with reporting,” Hession wrote the PDC.

A copy of his letter was provided to The Spokesman-Review when Hession was called for comment on the complaint. “Given the history of complaints from certain individuals, this campaign realizes it is under intense scrutiny and there is no reason or intent for this campaign not to report correctly.”

The commission has not yet responded to Hession’s letter.

Meanwhile, commission staff will likely be contacting French about a failure to file reports after he won re-election to the council in 2005, a commission spokeswoman said.

Contribution and spending reports for that council campaign stopped on Oct. 31, 2005, about a week before the election. State law requires that he file at least one report after the election, usually about a month later.

Commission staff don’t always notice if a campaign fails to file a post-election report, spokeswoman Lorie Anderson said. But when a candidate files paperwork to run for another office, staff members routinely check that candidate’s old records.

At his campaign kickoff this week, French was asked about his failure to file a post-election report in 2005. At first he insisted that he had filed all the necessary paperwork because his treasurer at the time was a former auditor. When told his final report wasn’t filed, French deferred to former treasurer Mary Kuney. When contacted, she checked and acknowledged there was a problem.

“That was my mistake. I think I just forgot about it,” Kuney said. At the time she was waiting for one more bill to come in, and when it didn’t come in, the filing slipped her mind.

No other money was raised or spent, she said: “I just need to close it out. It’s something I should have taken care of.”