Judge files fairness complaint of his own

By WILLIAM R. LEVESQUE

© St. Petersburg Times, published August 26, 2000

Pinellas County Judge Karl Grube on Friday filed a fair campaign practices complaint against his opponent in the Sept. 5 election, charging she failed to file her full tax return with elections officials.

Grube filed the complaint against Kandice Friesen with the Pinellas County Citizens for Fair Campaign Practices, an unofficial bipartisan committee seeking to eliminate misleading campaigning.

Grube's complaint comes two days after Friesen filed her own complaint against the judge.

Grube told the group that Friesen failed to file her full tax return with elections officials, as she is required to do by law.

The tax return, which Friesen filed jointly with her husband, notes a $48,886 loss for a printing business her husband operated. It also notes a $171,770 capital gain.

The tax return requires attachments for either a business loss or gain and for capital gains, attachments that Friesen did not file with the 1040 tax form she gave elections officials, Grube said.

"Voters have a right to know why that business suffered a $48,000 loss," Grube said in an interview. "And why did she have a $171,000 capital gain?"

Friesen said she did not think she was required to file the attachments. "If people think they need to see the whole thing, I don't care, they can have it," she said. "I wasn't trying to hide anything from anybody."

Friesen said her husband's business suffered the tax loss after he sold the business, Kiwi Graphics, for $300,000 during 1999. As a condition of the sale, he paid off all leases and equipment, she said.

He did so from the proceeds of the sale, resulting in a $48,000 loss.

Her husband, David Brockmeyer, then used the remaining proceeds to start a second business, Kiwi Colour Art, Friesen said.

"It's not like the business was losing money," she said. "He was pulling $100,000 a year in salary."

The capital gain also related to the business sale, Friesen said.

Darryl Paulson, chairman of Fair Campaign Practices, said the group will soon set up a meeting to consider both Grube and Friesen's complaints. Although it can criticize actions it perceives as misleading, the group has no official power.

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