The report of the state Public Disclosure Commission's fine of $4,200 against City Councilman Bob Apple for failing to file campaign reports last year has generated some criticism -- of the PDC, and the newspaper.

The PDC has let others off much easier, said two longtime observers of city politics. Jock Swanstrom and Dick Adams both brought up the failure of Momentum, a pro-business group in the 1980s and '90s, which had gone for years without filing forms and funnelled nearly $500,000 into local campaigns. When it was brought before the board in 1996, it was fined $1,000.

---

---