Ethics panel sues 18
Commission cracks down on ex-candidates for late campaign report filing
In a crackdown on political candidates who file campaign reports late or not at all, the Oklahoma Ethics Commission for the first time has filed lawsuits over unpaid late fees.
The watchdog agency on Thursday sued former state Sen. Anastasia Pittman and 13 other former candidates for public office.
It also sued two lobbyists and two political action committees.
The lawsuits filed in Oklahoma County District Court represent a new get-tough approach by the Ethics Commission. Its executive director warned Thursday it would be going to court over outstanding fees once or twice a year “beginning now.”
“The citizens of Oklahoma expect candidates and political committees to file timely and accurate reports that disclose how much money was raised or spent for
state campaigns,” Executive Director Ashley Kemp said.
“They also expect lobbyists to file timely reports so they know how much lobbyists and their clients are spending on meals and gifts for state officers and employees,” she said.
The Ethics Commission has faced criticism in the past for spotty efforts in going after outstanding fees. From 1990 to 2011, it collected less than half of almost $1 million assessed late filers, according to one report.
In some years after that, it didn’t assess any late fees.
Officials at the time explained it was too costly and too timeconsuming for the small agency to try to contact candidates who hadn’t filed campaign reports. Particularly difficult to find were candidates who lost primary elections and “completely disappeared,” a former executive director, Marilyn Hughes, told Oklahoma Watch in 2014.
The maximum fee allowed for each late report is $1,000. The Ethics Commission made repeated efforts by email and certified mail to collect the debts before suing, according to the documents filed Thursday.
“Opportunities to challenge the late filing fees that are the subject of these lawsuits were provided through the administrative hearings process,” Kemp said.
Most of the former candidates sued Thursday ran for state legislative seats. Pittman is the most well-known.
Pittman was elected to the state House in 2006 and the state Senate in 2014. The Oklahoma City Democrat lost to Republican Matt Pinnell in the November general election for lieutenant governor.
The Ethics Commission asked a judge to order Pittman to pay $1,100 for filing reports late from her 2014 Senate campaign and $1,000 for filing a report late from her 2018 lieutenant governor campaign.
The Ethics Commission also is seeking costs and attorney fees.
The Ethics Commission is seeking $7,000 from a Tecumseh police detective, Trey Baker, who ran for a state House seat in 2016 but lost in the Republican primary.
“That is absolutely crazy,” Baker said Thursday. “I guess I need to call and see what’s going on.”
He indicated he didn’t think he had to file any further campaign reports after losing.
The other defendants and the amounts being sought are:
• Greg Ingle, Republican, Lahoma, 2016 Senate candidate and 2018 House candidate, $6,300.
• Christi Wolff, Chandler, Democrat, 2018 House candidate, $1,000.
• Angela MoffittJones, Guthrie, Democrat, 2018 House candidate, $2,000.
• Sam Mis-Soum, Democrat, Tulsa, 2018 labor commissioner candidate, $2,000.
• Caryl Talley, Democrat, Stillwater, 2016 House candidate, $2,000.
• Charles Mai, Oklahoma City, lobbyist, Automobile Club of Oklahoma, $1,000.
• Michael Beavor, Oklahoma City, lobbyist, OPEA, $1,000.
• William Cagle, Bethany, Libertarian, 2018 House candidate, $1,000.
• Oklahomans for Public Education, an Edmond-based PAC, and treasurer Jamie Minter, $2,000.
• Tyler Grey, Democrat, Oklahoma City, 2018 House candidate, $2,000.
• Elizabeth Boney, Republican, Salina, 2018 House candidate, $1,000.
• Marina Mangiaracina, Oklahoma City, Independent, 2018 House candidate, $8,000.
• Shelley Brumbaugh, Broken Arrow, Republican, 2017 and 2018 House candidate, $4,100.
• Hoguen Darrel Apperson, Republican, Grove, 2016 House candidate, $3,600 .
• Organizing for Oklahoma, a Tulsa PAC, and treasurer Christene O’Toole, $5,000.
• Morgan Hopson, Antlers, Independent, 2016 House candidate, $400.