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Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Pawlowski Amends Finance Report, Pays Fine Out of His Own Pocket

Allentown waiters and waitresses, your tips from Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski may be a tad lower than usual this week. He's just had to spend $270 out of his own pocket.

Last week, I informed Stacy Sterner, Lehigh County's chief clerk of voters' registration and elections, that Mayor Ed had improperly used campaign funds. He used donated money to pay a $270 fine - the maximum that can be imposed - for filing his campaign finance reports late. As Sterner told me, "People who contribute to campaigns have a right to expect that candidates will use donated funds to further their campaigns, not to act negligently." My own concern is that it deprives the public of its right to follow the money in a timely fashion. I formally requested Ms. Sterner to take remedial action.

Ms. Sterner has emailed this response. "Dear Mr. O'Hare, I have notified Ed Pawlowski in reference to the $270 expenditure made by his committee. He filed an amended report with me, yesterday, [Monday] indicating that he has reimbursed his committee the $270 out of his personal funds."

You know what? I was at the Lehigh County Government Center on Monday, too. I must have just missed him. I would have loved talking with him about Renaissance Square.

It's disturbing that the Mayor of Pennsylvania's third largest city would have such a cavalier attitude towards campaign disclosure, especially since he has raised $108,588 over the last two years. But I am gratified that Ms. Sterner acted so quickly. And I wish to thank Demothug, who made me aware it is illegal to use donated money to pay a campaign finance fine.
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3 comments:

  1. Chris CaseyMarch 12, 2008 at 8:40 AM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousMarch 12, 2008 at 9:05 AM

    Stacy is a class act. I sat in and observed the recount for Lehigh County Controller last November.

    The Voter Reg recount staff (D's and R's) did a fantastic job. They were very professional and diligent and took their responsibility very seriously.

    I learned that the actual mechanics of democracy can be quite tedious and boring. Performing the recount district by district generated numerous yawns during the day.

    Good thing the Voter Registration staff - and the Democrat "opponent" observer - all had a good sense of humor.

    We have soldiers in uniform who defend our liberty. But these ladies at voter registration should be viewed as guardians of the process of democracy.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Blah SocietyMarch 12, 2008 at 4:48 PM

    "Allentown waiters and waitresses, your tips from Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski may be a tad lower than usual this week."

    Less than nothing?

    ReplyDelete

You own views are appreciated, especially if they differ from mine. But remember, commenting is a privilege, not a right. I will delete personal attacks or off-topic remarks at my discretion. Comments that play into the tribalism that has consumed this nation will be declined. So will comments alleging voter fraud unless backed up by concrete evidence. If you attack someone personally, I expect you to identify yourself. I will delete criticisms of my comment policy, vulgarities, cut-and-paste jobs from other sources and any suggestion of violence towards anyone. I will also delete sweeping generalizations about mainstream parties or ideologies, i.e. identity politics. My decisions on these matters are made on a case by case basis, and may be affected by my mood that day, my access to the blog at the time the comment was made or other information that isn’t readily apparent.