It’s worth checking one’s own campaign reports

Here’s a tip for prospective candidates from someone who learned it the hard way: When you or someone from the staff check out your opponent’s campaign reports on the Public Disclosure Commission’s Web site, spend a few minutes checking yours.

That advice comes courtesy of City Council President Dennis Hession, who recently was fined $200 – $100 of it suspended – by the PDC for violations of the campaign disclosure laws last fall.

In the race against Councilman Al French last year, the Hession campaign had several reporting problems, brought to the PDC’s attention by Logan Neighborhood activist Donna McKereghan. Hession’s contribution reports for July, August and September weren’t filed promptly, anywhere from nine days to 84 days late, the PDC concluded. His campaign income and outgo summaries for the weeks right before and right after the primary were also late.

Hession’s treasurer said the initial mistakes were a result of a campaign staffer not understanding the rules for reporting contributions, PDC investigators reported. The staffer later became ill, and while the treasurer thought the information was being zipped off electronically to the PDC, it wasn’t. When the treasurer found out about the problem in late September, someone new was assigned the job and given instructions to file properly. That new staffer had some problems understanding how to report when the money came in, so the campaign was handling the money properly, but reporting it wrong, the PDC concluded.

All of this may explain the reporting violations, but it doesn’t excuse them, said Hession, an attorney. Even if the mistake is made by a staff member, the candidate is responsible, he added. He won’t appeal; he’ll pay the fine and “move on.”

But in reflecting back over the situation last week, Hession did conclude that he would have caught the problems early if he had only bothered to check his own online PDC file. Candidates hardly ever think to do that, he said.

The state agency makes that easy for candidates, and everyone else, at its Web site, www.pdc.wa.gov.

The Buzz: Latest rumor on the campaign trail

Rumor has had it for the last few weeks that either President Bush or Democratic near-nominee John Kerry would be in Spokane this month. The rumor was wrong, but not baseless.

Both had been invited to address the Outdoor Writers Association, meeting in Spokane in mid-June. At a pre-convention planning meeting last month, organizers were even talking about the potential of moving the keynote speech to a different venue if Bush was coming, and the prospect that W might appear by video even if he couldn’t be here in the flesh.

There was also talk that the Arena was being scoped for a Kerry visit.

Conference organizers now say that neither has accepted and confirmed the invitation. Which explains why a Democratic operative, when asked about a Kerry appearance at the convention, said “Outdoor riders? Is that like motorcycles?”

But then “writers” sometimes sounds like “riders” during allergy season.

Debate update

The Spokane County GOP is pushing ahead with plans to sponsor a debate for its primary candidates in the Fifth Congressional District race. They’ve picked a time, 6 p.m. on June 22, and a place, the Jundt Center at Gonzaga University.

They’ve also decided against extending an invitation to the main Democratic candidate.

Debate format calls for a panel to do some of the grand inquisition, and for other questions to be submitted in writing from the audience and picked by blind draw by the candidates. It’s free and open to the public, regardless of political persuasion.