District judge candidate Maurer exceeds limits for campaign contributions

Aimee Maurer appears to have violated campaign financing rules.

State rules say that candidates are not allowed to receive donations, including from themselves, larger than $5,000 within 21 days of the election.

But within that time period, on Oct. 14, Maurer paid $8,000 for TV ads on KHQ. She said she planned to list the ads in campaign finance reports as an “in-kind” contribution to her campaign.

When told by a reporter about the rule Wednesday, Maurer said she needed to check with her campaign manager.

Maurer’s TV ad also appears to break a rule requiring that the group who paid for it be spoken, not just written on the screen. She said she relied on the company she hired to make the ad to ensure that campaign rules were followed.

Lori Anderson, Public Disclosure Commission spokeswoman, said the state would have to receive a complaint before it would consider opening an investigation.