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Ethics committee rules on Republican Committee mailings for Foy
The Ventura County Republican Central Committee acted within the law when it spent nearly $20,000 on last-minute mailers to its members to boost then-candidate Peter Foy in his bid for the Ventura County Board of Supervisors, an ethics commission ruled today.
The county Campaign Finance Ethics Commission voted 3-0 to dismiss charges against the Republican group on the recommendation of an investigator who found no evidence to support charges that the group had violated local campaign finance laws.
Commissioner Cathy Elliot Jones was absent.
The hearing at the county Government Center lasted less than 10 minutes.
The commission thanked the Republican committee for its cooperation throughout the eight-month probe.
"We always felt this was outcome that would be reached," Mike Osborn, chairman of the Ventura County Republican Party, told the commissioners. "We knew what we were doing." A complaint filed by the Elections Division alleged the Republican Central Committee failed to file required reports and exceeded a $600 contribution limit while spending more than $19,000 on Foy's behalf in the last days of the campaign.
But investigator Ken Hardy told the commission he found no evidence to support the charges. The contributions were allowed under state law because they were for mailers sent to other Republicans as "membership communications," an expenditure that must be reported but is exempt from contribution limits.
Foy, an insurance broker, defeated Jim Dantona by 895 votes, capturing 20,833 votes to 19,938, an edge of 50.6 percent to 48.4 percent. He was sworn into office in January.
Posted by BillyBob on July 11, 2007 at 8:30 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Hmmmm, 19K spent by a political party for a non-partisan election.
Posted by Poppa on July 11, 2007 at 9:10 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Wow, they spent a whole 10 minutes?! They "thanked" the VCRCC?! They went only on the report of one investigator? Member communications? What a joke! Fox guarding the hen house sounds like.
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