A representative for Vote Yes for Starkville Parks says the group is seeking input on whether it needs to submit a campaign finance report after missing Thursday’s filing deadline for a May 30 special election.
Campaign finance reports for the Ward 5 special election to replace former alderman Patrick Miller, who resigned last month for a job on the coast, and the citywide referendum on a 1-percent increase to its restaurant and hotel/motel taxes were due on Thursday. Ward 5 candidates Hamp Beatty, Kayla Gilmore and John Michael VanHorn submitted their reports to the city clerk’s office.
However, Vote Yes for Starkville Parks, a group that has advocated in favor of the 1-percent tax increase since aldermen approved the election, has not submitted a report. Vote Yes for Starkville Parks has yard signs, has a donation button on its website and has produced videos online in favor of the tax.
Bart Gregory, who’s listed as Vote Yes for Starkville Park’s director on the group’s statement of organization with the city clerk’s office, said the Secretary of State’s Office informed the group it didn’t have to file a report.
“We were told by the general counsel of the Secretary of State’s office that since we’re not a political party and more a support group, we would not be required to turn in a contribution report,” Gregory said.
Gregory added that he has since called the Secretary of State’s Office back to seek further clarification on whether the group needs to submit a campaign finance report.
“If they make us do it, I’ve got no problem doing it,” he said. “We’re not trying to hide anything. It’s just going to take some time to sit down and do it.”
A spokesperson for the Secretary of State’s Office told The Dispatch on Thursday that a group like Vote Yes for Starkville Parks, which distributes signs and similar materials, should file a statement of organization within 48 hours of raising or spending $200 dollars and should submit campaign finance reports. Vote Yes for Starkville Parks did file its statement of organization, on April 9.
The Secretary of State’s 2019 Campaign Finance Guide, citing Mississippi Code Sec. 23-15-801(c), defines a political committee as any committee, party, club, association, political action committee, or other group that receives or spends more than $200 total in a calendar year “for the purpose of influencing or attempting to influence the actions of voters with regard to a candidate or balloted measure.”
The guide further states that political committees are required to file “reports of receipts and disbursements in accordance with the same reporting schedule as the candidates for or against whom the committee is receiving contributions and making disbursements for the purpose of influencing or attempting to influence voters.”
Mississippi Code Sec. 23-15-805(c), which is a part of the statute that lays out campaign finance reporting law, says candidates in municipal elections and political committees that make reportable contributions or expenditures for or against candidates or “in support of or in opposition to a municipal ballot measure shall file all reports required by this article in the office of the municipal clerk of the municipality in which the election occurs,” or to the Secretary of State’s Office. The Secretary of State’s Office did not receive any filings from the Vote Yes for Starkville Parks group.
Ward 5
In Ward 5, Beatty led the three-candidate field with $1,395 in fundraising. Beatty’s file reports that he’s spent $1,316.52, leaving him with $78.48 cash on hand. Beatty’s contributions and expenses are listed as itemized on his report, but a detailed sheet listing each donation and expense was not available at the city clerk’s office.
Candidates are supposed to itemize any donation or expenditure of $200 or more.
VanHorn raised $450, $250 of which came from an itemized donation from the Sigma Chi fraternity at Mississippi State University. He’s spent $1,209.85 on his campaign.
Gilmore has raised $200 in non-itemized donations. She’s spent $64.20 on her campaign, leaving her with $135.80.
Alex Holloway was formerly a reporter with The Dispatch.
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