By Joe Hadsall
Globe columnist
Missouri House Speaker-elect Ron Richard, R-Joplin, can keep over-the-limit campaign donations made between Jan. 1 and July 19 of 2007 if legislators this session are successful in repealing the state’s campaign-contribution law.
Richard will have to return $82,981.39 in over-the-limit contributions if a bill repealing the limits, introduced in both the House and the Senate, should fail, according to a recent ruling by the Missouri Ethics Commission.
“I didn’t get into this job to get into campaign money problems,” Richard said. “The biggest problem is that you go by the law, then the law changes, so you go by that one, then it changes back.”
The Commission recently released its findings regarding several candidates who opted not to return over-the-limit campaign contributions, and about an allegation of improper campaigning by Gov. Matt Blunt.
Richard, along with 10 other candidates, was excused by the Commission.
There are 17 other cases released in the findings. With the exception of the campaign-finance findings, they serve as a good example of the maddeningly slow pace of the Missouri Ethics Commission. (More about that in a few paragraphs.)
In 2006, the state repealed campaign contribution limits, which were approved by voters in 1994. But, the Missouri Supreme Court reversed the law in 2007, making enforcement retroactive. That meant many candidates had to give back millions to donors in order to comply with the law.
Richard said he filed for a hardship in response to the 2006 law’s repeal. Though he wouldn’t say how much, Richard told the Globe on Thursday that he plans to return other over-the-limit donations. But the Commission advised him to keep those donations until the new bill is signed into law.
Legislators are already debating another bill to remove fund-raising limits this year. If passed, it will take effect on Aug. 28, about 10 weeks before the November elections.
“I’ll abstain on that vote,” Richard said. “It’s already passed the Senate. I’ll just let it go the way it goes in the House.”
The Commission’s findings about the donations drew the ire of Rep. Jeff Harris, D-Columbia, who is a candidate for attorney general. In a statement released earlier this month, he criticized the Commission for letting political gamesmanship trump public integrity.
“The Ethics Commission was set up to serve as a public watchdog,” he said in a statement. “But time and time again, it has stood by and watched as politicians and deep-pocketed special interests exploit and skirt campaign finance laws to their advantage.”
Harris’ main gripe is that 10 Republican state candidates got to keep more than $312,000 in now-illegal contributions. He goes on to say that he’s not criticizing the members of the Commission; rather, the law by which it operates.
Blunt settlement
A campaign committee for Gov. Matt Blunt agreed to a settlement of $15,000 for alleged violations in his 2004 campaign.
Democrats in 2004 alleged that Blunt’s campaign didn’t properly report a tour bus leased from a mid-Missouri car dealer, according to The Associated Press. That dealer was later appointed to the state Highways and Transportation Commission.
The Ethics Commission was set up to work under a model similar to the American system of justice — innocent until proven guilty. That means the entity making allegations bears the burden of proof, and the one being charged is protected.
But, Democrats waited almost four years before hearing whether their complaint was addressed. The answer they got was a settlement, which doesn’t indicate guilt or innocence in an official capacity.
Seriously, who cares about Blunt’s campaign errors now? It was four years ago, the man who got appointed to that state commission still serves on it and hasn’t caused any problems, and the governor’s not even running again. Harmless, right?
Wrong. The message to candidates is clear: Skirt the law to win, pay a small price later.
Address correspondence to Joe Hadsall, c/o The Joplin Globe, P.O. Box 7, Joplin, Mo. 64802 or e-mail jhadsall@joplinglobe.com.
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