Saying she won't appeal the state's findings, ex-City Commissioner Mary Laurance says she will pay the required $200 fine for each of the 24 violations.
By KELLEY BENHAM
Published June 5, 2003
LARGO - Former City Commissioner Mary Laurance has been fined $4,800 for breaking election laws during last year's re-election campaign.
Laurance, who served one term, lost the March 2002 election to Charlie Harper by 130 votes.
A recent state investigation prompted by Harper's campaign manager found a number of violations, from false campaign materials to incorrect and incomplete campaign finance reports.
The commission could have fined Laurance as much as $24,000. It chose to fine her $200 for each of 24 infractions.
The Florida Elections Commission issued the fine Friday.
"It's ridiculous," said Laurance's attorney Louis Kwall. None of the infractions were intentional, he said, and most of them were minor. "She cared about her community and now she's a little bit in the hole financially."
Harper's campaign manager, Gigi Arntzen, filed the complaints with the commission soon after the election.
"You have to follow the rules," Arntzen said.
Laurance's campaign fliers touted an endorsement from the Police Benevolent Association that she had not received. The fliers also wrongly said that Laurance had the support of Largo's Police and Fire departments.
Laurance referred questions to her attorney for this story but has previously said she wrongly anticipated the police union's support, and prematurely announced it. She said she confused the apolitical departments with their local unions, which make the endorsements.
Laurance's campaign finance reports contained a number of errors, the investigation found. Some contributions were noted on a postelection report when they should have been reported earlier.
On two reports, Laurance's campaign treasurer signed her name for her. Laurance claimed she was too busy to sign the forms herself, which "further illustrates her disregard for fulfilling the obligations she voluntarily undertook when she decided to run for public office," the commission said in its report.
Some of her advertisements did not carry a required disclaimer, and Laurance advertised some endorsements without getting written permission.
"They are kind of picky things but they all add up to violations," Arntzen said.
Kwall said the state's election laws unfairly target small-time candidates in small-town political squabbles. More prominent candidates make the same mistakes but tend not to draw complaints, he said.
"I can go into anybody's election file and find something wrong because the rules are so convoluted," he said.
Laurance, a teacher at Seminole High School, received no political gain from breaking the rules, Kwall said. The misleading fliers were pulled immediately and the other infractions were inconsequential, he said.
Laurance did not aggressively fight the charges because the legal fees would have been too high, he said. Laurance does not plan to appeal, Kwall said.
"This is exactly the kind of thing that keeps good people from running for office," Kwall said.
Arntzen contends that, as an incumbent, Laurance should have known the rules or sought help from the city clerk and city attorney.
"She is ultimately responsible. It's her campaign," Arntzen said. "This just shows the system works."
