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BRIDGET HALL GRUMETThe fines are called "a slap on the wrist" for the party, which left out some contributions from its 2002 campaign finance reports.
NEW PORT RICHEY - Accused of omitting three hefty contributions and an expensive mailing from its 2002 campaign finance reports, the local Republican Party reached a settlement to pay $3,000 in fines to the Florida Elections Commission.
The settlement, approved last month by the elections commission, included a $750 fine for each of the four charges facing the Republican Party of Pasco County.
Mary Repper, the retired political consultant who filed the complaint with the elections commission, called the fines "a slap on the wrist."
"In my opinion, they violated the most fundamental part of the campaign laws, which is: Report the money you've got, and report the money you spend," Repper said. "They thumbed their nose at that."
"The kind of signal that ($3,000 fine) sends, for people who might consider violating this law again, is it would be worth it," she said. "It's just a price of doing business."
The charges stemmed from a September 2002 mailing in which the local GOP endorsed five judicial candidates. At $7,339.50, it was the party's most expensive mailing of the year.
But the expense was not included on the party's campaign finance reports. Nor were three $2,500 contributions from relatives of three of the candidates endorsed in the mailing.
In a previous interview with the Pasco Times, state GOP committeeman John Renke II called the omissions an "innocent mistake" by a pair of volunteers.
Although then-treasurer Scott Factor and then-chairman Hugh Townsend both handled the checks in question, they signed off on campaign finance reports that failed to mention them.
Factor and Townsend did not return calls Monday for comment. Renke, the GOP attorney handling the case, was on vacation and could not be reached.
Local GOP chairman Bill Bunting declined to comment on the matter, which occurred before his term.
After the Pasco Times reported the omissions in February 2003, the party filed amended reports that included those checks. Repper filed a complaint with the Florida Elections Commission, which decided in November to charge the party with four counts of failing to report a contribution or expense.
In theory, the party could have faced up to $48,518.50 in fines: $1,000 per count, plus three times the amount of the unreported donations and expenses involved.
The candidates endorsed in the mailing included Renke's son, now-Circuit Judge John Renke III; now-Circuit Judge Linda Allan; longtime Circuit Judge Wayne Cobb; and challengers George Brown and Robert "Bo" Michael.
Repper worked on the campaigns of two other candidates, now-Circuit Judge Linda Babb and Declan Mansfield, who ran against Renke.
Renke III also faces disciplinary action for a separate controversy from the 2002 elections.
The Judicial Qualifications Commission has recommended a $20,000 fine and a one-month unpaid suspension for Renke III based on misleading ads used in his campaign. The Florida Supreme Court will make the final determination on the judge's punishment.
- Bridget Hall Grumet can be reached in west Pasco at 869-6244 or toll-free at 1-800-333-7505, ext. 6244. Her e-mail address is bhall@sptimes.com