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County commissioner fined for incomplete campaign reports
By Ann Marie Shambaugh, Staff Writer
The Texas Ethics Commission fined Denton County Commissioner Cynthia White $500 for “failing to disclose political contributions maintained on her July 2007 semiannual campaign finance report,” according to a TEC order and agreed resolution.
The commission found that White did not include the amount of political cash on hand as of the last day of the reporting period. White said the mistake happened because she was using copies of an old campaign finance filing form, which did not include a spot for that item.
“Obviously, I will not be doing that anymore, because the form changed,” White said. “I did not know that the form changed.”
“I ran a campaign in 2004, and nothing was ever said. In all the different reports I’ve filed, it was never brought to my attention,” White said.
TEC Deputy General Counsel Tim Sorrells said the reason White was caught is because a citizen filed a sworn complaint. Oak Point resident John Rademacher filed the complaint, and White says she does not know him.
Rademacher could not be reached for comment.
Because White is a county official, Sorrells said her campaign finance reports are filed with the county and not with the TEC. He also said that the county is not expected to review the reports for compliance with the law.
“It’s a system that’s set up so that the public can view the reports, and if there’s an issue with them, they can raise that issue with the commission,” Sorrells said.
The TEC did not contact candidates who do not file directly with them when the law changed in 2003, Sorrells said. But, local filing authorities were notified and the new form was available on their Web site.
White was also fined $600 in June 2007 for failing to file semiannual campaign finance reports throughout 2006 and January 2007.
“I take full responsibility for both of these (fines),” White said. “These are honest mistakes that I should have caught, and I didn’t.”
The TEC ruled that both fines are neither technical nor de minimus, meaning that the problem is neither minor nor confidential. Sorrells said the fines were set based on factors considered by the TEC.
“Depending on the facts of each individual case and the circumstance surrounding the allegations, the commission will set the penalty based on that,” Sorrells said.
White has been in office since 2001. She is running for re-election for County Commissioner Precinct 1 against Hugh Coleman in the March 4 Republican primary. Democrat Phyllis Wolper is also seeking the seat.
The following are comments from the readers.
In no way do they represent the view of Starlocalnews.com
In no way do they represent the view of Starlocalnews.com
JoeBlow wrote on Jan 30, 2008 9:59 AM:
" It seems the Republicans have problems following the law. "
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