Contributor stays mum about $200K campaign boost for candidate
I really don't know those folks,' spokesman for exec candidate says
A new political contribution committee that boosted Prince George's County executive candidate Rushern L. Baker's war chest by $200,000 will not be reporting how or where it got its money for another seven months, an official for Baker's campaign said Friday.
The County 1 Now slate committee, which formed Jan. 5 and managed to raise $206,000 in eight days for the former delegate, will not likely file any report on how it funded the candidate until the required Aug. 17 deadline, said James Adams, a Baker spokesman.
"We're going to fully divulge names in a proper manner," said Adams, who said repeated questions about the funding were making "a mountain out of a molehill."
But other candidates in the current six-way race to replace outgoing executive Jack B. Johnson (D) are criticizing the lack of information regarding the donation, saying it raises questions about who is backing Baker.
"I hope the voters will take notice," said Del. Gerron Levi (D-Dist. 23) of Bowie, who is also running for the seat. "I think it's a violation of the spirit of the campaign finance law."
The controversy stems from the committee County 1 Now, which state election records show was created early last month as a slate committee to raise funds for Baker. Slate committees are formed to provide support for two or more candidates and are widely used by Prince George's County politicians.
According to Baker's reports, the committee gave Baker a $200,000 donation on Jan. 13, the largest single donation any of the six candidates have received so far.
The donation was enough to boost Baker's war chest to $310,000, beating County Sheriff Michael Jackson, who is also running for county executive and had the second highest amount as of last month with $252,000.
In addition to Levi and Jackson, County Councilmen Samuel Dean (D-Dist. 6) of Mitchellville and Tony Knotts (D-Dist. 8) of Temple Hills, and Henry Turner, brother of County Councilwoman Ingrid Turner (D-Dist. 4) of Bowie are also confirmed as running for the seat.
All committees are required to disclose their donors and donation amounts for the past year. But because the committee formed a few days after Dec. 31, it is not required to report until the next disclosure deadline in August.
Repeated attempts over the past month to reach County 1 Now organizers have been unsuccessful. Committee Chairman Kenneth Johnson of Upper Marlboro could not be located, and the group's treasurer, Thomas Felder of Bowie, has not returned repeated calls and e-mails to his law office in Bowie.
Adams initially praised the slate and promised to work on obtaining the reports last month, but said Friday that he is not really in close contact with the campaign's biggest contributor.
"I really don't know those folks," Adams said. "It's really out of my [list of] names and knowledge."
The gap in reporting illustrates the weaknesses in the state's funding disclosure laws, said Ryan O'Donnell, director of the watchdog group Common Cause Maryland.
"It's a big problem to have a gigantic gap in reporting. In a public campaign, even private contributions deserve to be transparent," said O'Donnell. "It's a huge amount of money."
The lack of details on donors leaves questions about how County 1 Now raised its money in such a short time. As a slate committee, the group can receive up to $6,000 from other political groups or up to $4,000 in individual donations.
Under state law, a slate committee must support more than one candidate. However, forms for County 1 Now only list Baker as the group's intended candidate.
Adams said last month that County 1 Now is also supporting two longtime delegates: Tawanna Gaines (D-Dist. 22) of Berwyn Heights and Barbara Frush (D-Dist. 21) of Beltsville. Neither delegate is listed on the slate's paperwork, and no donations have been made to Gaines or Frush so far.
Levi said she suspects that County 1 Now's donors may have exceeded the spending limits, but said it cannot be known until a report is made.
"It could be a violation of the contribution limits," she said.
Adams said the delayed report is being blown out of proportion.
"We're being held to a slightly different standard," he said. "We're going to divulge the names in a proper manner. By the time we get to August, we hope there will be scores more of people who have heard Rushern's message of change."