By Carol Cole-Frowe
Members of the Norman Enforcement Authority worked Wednesday to tweak the city's campaign ordinance to prevent municipal candidates from delaying contributions to prevent voters from knowing who was backing them before an election.
The authority's changes resulted from Ward 2 council candidate Chebon Marshall's reporting of 40 percent of his contributions or about $8,450 after the required noon Friday filing with the city clerk's office before the May 13 runoff election.
The majority of Marshall's late contributions were from the development community, which resulted in a voter backlash in several municipal races last year. Supporters of the winner of the Ward 2 race, Tom Kovach, alleged the contributions were deliberately withheld to prevent the information from reaching voters via the media.
Authority members voted unanimously to add a last-minute filing for municipal candidates at noon Monday for last-minute contributions that come in after the noon Friday deadline, in order for media to be able to publish those contributions Monday afternoon before the election on their Web sites and in newspapers Tuesday morning.
Other language changes will be recommended by the authority requiring candidates to retain their campaign records for one year from the date of the election, plus supporting documentation.
Authority members will recommend that the reporting period for violations be extended from the current period of seven days after an election, to 14 days after candidates file their final report. The action would allow more time for investigation of any violation.
The Enforcement Authority will make a public report to the City Council within 40 days after each election and 90 days after the final election including any violations or ongoing investigations of the city ordinances or state statutes.
City Clerk Brenda Hall said she will update the "frequently asked questions" distributed to municipal candidates to include examples of how to fill out the filings.
One problem that surfaced on the filings was the lack of specificity on listing of contributors' occupations, with some listed as "self-employed" or another as "president."
"It might as well be queen or king," said EA chair Judi Knapp.
Candidates also will be required to sign that they've seen the filing, along with their agent or treasurer.
EA member Mary Francis presented members with a minority report she asked Hall to include with the council packets. Francis had previously recommended EA investigating the timing of Marshall's contributions and expenditures to verify if they were handled legally.
There was also discussion of how to handle cash contributions of less than $25 tossed into fishbowls at fundraisers, but there was no recommendation forwarded from EA members on the issue.
"If you put more than $25 or $30 in it, you're going to want the candidate to know," said EA member Linda Lockett.
Knapp asked if it should be eliminated.
"There's the danger of it getting out of hand again," said Bette Maffucci, who has acted as treasurer for several candidates.
Authority members decided to recommend that campaigns provide envelopes for the fishbowl contributions.
Assistant City Attorney Kathryn Walker told committee members that they did not have subpoena power for investigations. But she said they could have a policy that if candidates do not provide documentation for EA investigations of alleged violations that that failure could automatically result in presenting their allegations to the Cleveland County district attorney's office.
Persons who knowingly or willfully violate the ordinance can be punished by a fine of $50 to $750 and/or up to 60 days in the county jail.
The EA recommendations will go before the city council for final approval at an upcoming meeting.
Carol Cole-Frowe 366-3538 ccole@normantranscript.com
