Lack of required reports earns IE group "Open for Business Bronson" recommended civil penalty
In September, Paula DeLaiarro filed a complaint against the Independent Expenditure group "Open for Business Bronson," which would later be renamed "Open for Business Anchorage."
In her complaint to APOC, DeLaiarro alleged several violations, many of which surrounded what she said were the non-filing of required IE reports. In response to the complaint, the group stated: "We were not aware of the requirements to file a 10-day report, therefore, no 10-day reports were filed," even after the group had already filed 1 IE report.
The APOC Staff Report was issued yesterday, calculating a maximum civil penalty of $12,200, which was reduced to $5665.
The Staff Report notes that six IE reports should have been filed with the group but were not.
"A review of OFB’s 7 Day and 105 Day Reports reveals that there were six independent expenditure reports that should have been filed, but were not. The first, from the 7 Day Report included an April 23, and two April 27, 2021, expenditures of $23,370, $4,200 and $5,000 respectively , that could have been timely filed on a single independent expenditure report filed no later than April 30, 2021."
Paula DeLaiarro v. Open for Business – Bronson/ Open for Business Anchorage
The IE group also reported incorrect contributor information. In response to the complaint, Open for Business Anchorage Treasurer Rebecca Logan acknowledged that "multiple data entry errors with regard to check numbers and addresses" had been made, but those errors were corrected on October 4, 2021. Those corrections, by the way, revolve around WEKA owner Crystal Herring and WEKA itself.
In their response to the complaint, the IE group wrote that WEKA, LLC was incorrectly listed as WEKA Tactical, that the addresses for Nutrition Express, LLC and TC Leasing, LLC were corrected from "PO Box 244027, Wasilla" to "PO Box 240474, Anchorage" noting that the incorrect PO Box was "merely a typo."
Crystal Herring's address, the group wrote, had also been changed to correct a typo from "PO Box 244027, Wasilla" to "PO Box 240474, Anchorage" and that "Tactical LLC" had been changed to "WEKA Tactical" and updated with the correct address of "PO Box 240474."
Anyway, for all of those "typos" that APOC calls "incorrect information," the IE violated OFB AS 15.13.040(b) as well as 2 AAC 50.321(b)(2).
As in the Dunbar for Mayor v. Bronson for Mayor complaint filed this past spring, the Open for Business IE group references its "team of volunteers" who handled compliance. The Commission's Final Order in the Bronson for Mayor complaint noted: "... the important function of encouraging campaigns to employ campaign treasurers with the skills and training to comply with APOC regulations."
Paula DeLaiarro, the complainant in the case, wrote in a prepared statement: "Anyone has the right to form an Independent Expenditure group to support or oppose a candidate or candidates of their choosing. However, that right comes with a responsibility to know the attendant statutes and regulations and to file APOC reports accordingly."
Something else to note is that the group filed its 7-Day Report on October 19 and listed a $3k debt to a Seattle law firm for "Legal fees associated with APOC." That means DeLaiarro has likely cost the IE group roughly $8500, which is about 10% of their income to date. At what point do individuals tire of giving their money to APOC and lawyers?
One big takeaway from the Staff Report is that Paula DeLaiarro is always looking at these APOC filings, so you know, do better, everyone.
You can read the APOC Staff Report below.
This post was updated with additional information.
