Just three days out to the D.C. primary elections, the Office of Campaign Finance (OCF) has fined one of the leading mayoral candidates for allegedly breaking campaign rules.
OCF Friday ordered Janeese Lewis George’s campaign to pay $16,000 dollars.
The agency said it found Lewis George improperly shared five staffers with the UNITE HERE LOCAL 25 labor union. It also claimed the union has indirectly supported the campaign financially through an independent expenditure committee.
But the campaign pushed back, saying these workers followed strict guidelines, including working from campaign offices and not union offices.
The agency also cited the campaign for allowing staffers to use their personal credit cards for purchases that were reimbursed instead of a dedicated campaign account.
UNITE HERE LOCAL 25 denied the accusations in a statement Saturday, saying, in part, “The rambling, error-filled and unsubstantiated order would be laughable, but for the fact that it appears to attempt to improperly, and possibly illegally, interfere with Tuesday’s election.”
Lewis George’s campaign has 15 days to file an appeal.
In a statement Saturday, the campaign said, “This is a last-ditch effort to derail a campaign with a double-digit lead, broad and diverse base of support.”
The other leading candidate is former Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie. A spokesperson said in a statement quote, “It’s deeply concerning that the campaign can’t go even a week without a scandal and even more concerning that the Office of Campaign Finance waited six days before providing these findings to the public.”
The OCF has faced past scrutiny over the timing of its election-related investigations that some have called politically motivated and occurred too close to election day.
from Local – NBC4 Washington https://ift.tt/S9mG8UN
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