Ethics panel settles cases; two state legislators sanctioned

LITTLE ROCK — Two state representatives have been sanctioned under recent settlements with the Arkansas Ethics Commission.

State Rep. Mark Lowery, R-Maumelle, agreed in a settlement he signed Sept. 15 to pay a $200 fine and receive a public letter of caution from the commission, Director Graham Sloan said in a Thursday letter to Lowery.

Sloan said Lowery agreed in this settlement with the commission finding he violated Arkansas Code Annotated 7-6-207 (a) (1) (A) by failing to timely file a campaign finance report for the third quarter of 2019; Arkansas Code Annotated 7-6-207 (a) (1) (B) by failing to timely file monthly campaign finance reports for October-December 2019, January-February 2020 and April-July 2020; and Arkansas Code Annotated 7-6-207 (a) (1) (D) by failing to timely file a final campaign finance report for the 2020 primary.

Lowery said he decided to pay the fine out of his personal money rather than campaign money, which is allowed.

“I have been having eyesight issues and it’s been very difficult to use the online system,” he said, referring to the secretary of state’s campaign finance filing system.

“Frankly, the further I got behind, the more paralyzed I became about trying to get caught up. There is no good excuse,” Lowery said.

He said he has caught up on filing his campaign finance reports, and he plans to file his future campaign finance reports on time.

Maumelle Democrat Kayla Applegate is challenging Lowery in the Nov. 3 general election.

State Rep. Don Glover, D-Dermott, signed a consent order Sept. 24 with the commission in which he agreed to pay a $50 fine and receive a public letter of caution, Sloan said in a Thursday letter to Glover. Glover agreed with the commission finding he violated Arkansas Code Annotated 7-6-207 by failing to timely file campaign finance reports for March, June and July, Sloan said. The evidence indicated he filed his March report eight days late, his June report two days late and his July report 15 days late, he said.

Mark D. McElroy filed the ethics complaint against Glover, Sloan said in his letter to Glover.

McElroy of Tillar is a former state representative who lost to Glover in a three-way race for a House seat in 2018 as an independent candidate. The former Democrat is challenging Glover as a Republican candidate in the Nov. 3 general election.

Glover said Monday, “It was a little overwhelming at times to keep up with all the responsibilities with a campaign,” and he has delegated the responsibility for filing the reports to someone else.