O'Donnell Fined For Questionable Late Report

Tom "Numbers Cruncher" O'Donnell

Last week, I told you that Northampton County Council candidate Tom O'Donnell had never bothered to file a campaign finance report. He told the elections office that his campaign treasurer, George Treisner, was taking care of that little detail, was filing with the state, and was out of town. I tracked down Treisner, who hung up on me.

On Friday, O'Donnell filed a report, paying a $100 fine for being late. Though the County is littered with $1259.50 in signs that say they were paid for by "Citizens to Elect Tom O'Donnell," he formed no committee and filed individually. This means that every single one of his campaign signs has the wrong disclaimer.

What's more, the report he did file is inaccurate. O'Donnell, who claims his strength is his financial acumen, failed to report a $106 contribution from fellow candidate Christen Borso, which she listed on her report. He also fails to include a contribution made by an incumbent Council member, although he might have lost that check.

Because I expect to see him lose this race, I have no intention of complaining about O'Donnell's continued violation of state campaign finance laws.

O'Donnell does report that unions gave him $2,000 of the $5,615.00 he raised.

His report also indicates $250 contributions from DA John Morganelli, Lamont McClure and Att'y Jay Leeson./  

O'Donnell Should Have Claimed Dog Ate Finance Report

Tom O'Donnell

Yesterday, I told you NorCo Council candidate and supposed numbers cruncher Tom O'Donnell has completely failed to file his pre-election campaign finance report. This is required by state law, and enables the public to determine how he is funding his campaign, how much he is spending and where the money goes. Designed to promote transparency in government, it's a "Show me the money!" law.

In response to a written complaint, I received this very prompt response yesterday from the County elections office.

In response to this matter I just spoke to Tom O’Donnell. I informed him that the Elections Office has received a complaint in writing in regards to him not following finance laws and spending over $250.00 Dollars on his campaign. He stated that his treasure George Treisner has filed all the appropriate paper work to the state. I then informed him that he is not a state candidate therefore it should not be filed with the state; he is a local candidate who must file on a local level. I also told him that he is going to have to file the finance reports to our office and also if he has a committee he must legally form that committee by filling out the Political Committee Registration Statement. He asked me to mail the papers to him and said that George Treisner is out of town and when he comes back, this will be taken care of.

O'Donnell should have told the elections office that the dog ate his campaign finance report.  The explanation would have made more sense. I also find it interesting that O'Donnell claims that George Treisner is his treasurer.

You see, Treisner also happens to be the Chairman of Northampton County's Elections Commission.

Can you say conflict of interest?

Treisner

Despite O'Donnell's claim that Treisner was out of town yesterday, I tracked him down. O'Donnell apparently is unaware of this new invention called the cell phone.

Treisner is a numbers cruncher, too. He's a financial advisor, and apparently knows all about money. Treisner told me he filed O'Donell's report with the state.

"I filed it online," he explained, telling me that O'Donnell has no committee and is filing only as a candidate. If that is so, then why the hell does he need a treasurer?

I told Treisner I've been unable to find O'Donnell's report online, and was unable to find any committee filed with the state.

"Keep looking," he told me, and hung up.

I did. I called the state, and asked them to look. There is no committee registered under O'Donnell's name. There is no online report. In fact, I was told that it would be impossible for O'Donnell to file online because he would need a state identification number, and they would only give that to him if he were a state candidate.

So Treisner, Chairman of the Elections Commission, flat out lied to me.

No wonder he hung up.

After my call to Treisner, O'Donnell called the elections office to pick up the paperwork he needs to file the report required by law.

O'Donnell tells everyone he's a certified fraud examiner. He should examine himself. And Treisner, who flat out lied about something as important as a campaign finance report, needs to resign from the Elections Commission.

Numbers Cruncher O'Donnell Files No Pre-Election Report

Tom O'Donnell

On the campaign trail, Northampton County Council candidate Tom O'Donnell has been touting his auditing prowess for the state, though he always seems to forget to mention that he was fired. He also tells audiences that he's a certified fraud investigator, just like Controller Steve Barron, so watch out!  At Monday night's debate, he even disparaged all Council candidates for lacking his knowledge of nursing home form numbers. "I don't think anybody here is a number cruncher like I am," he bragged. But this is one number cruncher who's failed to crunch his own. He has neglected to file a campaign finance report itemizing his contributions and expenditures, as required by state law. He hasn't even formed a committee. What he did file was a false affidavit, claiming that his expenses and contributions would not exceed $250.

Elections officials have no record that O'Donnell ever filed a campaign finance report. He instead filed an affidavit, indicating he would not spend or receive more than $250. These affidavits are accepted at face value unless there is a complaint and evidence to rebut the claim.

That evidence is strewn around the County, in the form of campaign signs that are planted next to Christen Borso's. Those two got an early start.

O'Donnell's signs come from SignRocket. If he ordered 500 of them, with stands, it would cost him $1,000. For 500 more, he'd pay $1,750. Clearly, he spent more than $250, just for his plastic.

In addition, O'Donnell made a contribution to the County Democratic party for a joint mailer, just like the other Democrats stuck with him.  Borso gave $2,300; Ron Heckman gave $1,500; and Jerry Seyfried and Deb Hunter gave $2,500 each. I do not know how much O'Donnell gave because the County report is unavailable online. But I'm sure he's over $250.

According to Borso's Facebook page, there was also a September 21 Meet 'n Greet with O'Donnell on September 21. He could have raised money there.

He is also campaigning under a fictitious campaign committee.

His campaign signs indicate they were paid for by the "Citizens to Elect Tom O'Donnell." But no such committee exists, not in Northampton County, and not in Harrisburg. So his campaign signs contain a false disclaimer, yet another violation of state campaign finance laws.

I called O'Donnell about these problems yesterday. He did not return my call, but spoke to some others. O'Donnell told them he filed his finance reports with the state.

But that's untrue, too.  The state office would reject O'Donnell's filing because he is a local, not a state, candidate. He is required by law to file in the elections office of the County where he is running. Moreover, there is no state record of any committee registered under O'Donnell's name.There is no state record that O'Donnell has ever filed a report there.

Our state campaign finance laws exist so the public can follow the money. The public has a right to know who is backing candidates for public office and how much they are giving to buy influence. The public also has a right to know what the candidate is doing with the money given to him. Even if it it is a candidate's own personal treasure, we have a right to know how it is spent.

O'Donnell has breached the public trust and broken state law in three ways:

1) He filed an affidavit pledging he would raise and spend no more than $250, and never corrected this after he must have realized he would go over.

2) His campaign signs falsely state that they were paid for by a candidate's committee, when no such committee ever existed.

3) He never, as a committee or individually, reported his contributions or expenses, even though they obviously exceed $250.

Though O'Donnell could be prosecuted for these offenses by the District Attorney, those are rare and I just think he's confused. But he should be assessed a late fee until he files, and asked to correct his signs to include the proper disclaimer.

O'Donnell: Another Tin Foil Hat Candidate

Based on my criticism of Hayden "Agenda 21" Phillips, you might think I consider him the worst of the ten candidates seeking five seats on Northampton County. But that distinction belongs to Tom O'Donnell, who garnered the fifth slot among Dems in the primary by getting 21 votes more than Bill Wallace. True, he once chaired Lower Nazareth's Board of Supervisors, but that was a gazillion years ago.

In 1988, he was fired as an auditor with the state for doing township business on the state dime. O'Donnell justified it, saying that no tax dollars were lost and he always made up the time lost. He did appeal his termination through his union, but I have never been able to determine what happened.

What bothers me is his cantankerous, mean-spirited style, which he displayed to County Council right before the primary.

During courtesy of the floor, he got up and gave a campaign speech. In Mccarthy-esque style, he claimed some candidates are inadequate. "I will not name names, but you will know who I am taking about, but I will name names if I am chosen to represent the residents after the primary."

I'm waiting for him to name those names.

O'Donnell, like Controller Steve Barron, likes to claim he's a "certified fraud examiner." That's a fancy way of saying he's not an accountant.

He claims that "if you are not part of the solution, you're part of the problem." Since he has proposed no solutions to County government, other than attacks against people he does not name, I think it's safe to say he's part of the problem.

Notwithstanding the LV Labor Council endorsement, which frankly casts doubt on their own abilities, O'Donnell belongs with Phillips in the tin foil hat brigade.

NorCo Council: Wallace Concedes to O'Donnell

Bill Wallace

On Tuesday, I told you that Tom O'Donnell squeaked by Bill Wallace in the race for fifth place for five Democratic nominations to at-large seats on Northampton County Council. The official tally has O'Donnell ahead by 21 votes.

Rather than seek a re-count, Wallace has conceded. "I will be redoubling my efforts with the Northampton County Democrats and helping to elect the entire slate – John Callahan for County Executive, Deb Hunter, Ron Heckman, Jerry Seyfried, Christen Borso and Tom O’Donnell for County Council. I also look forward to winning a full term on the Wilson Area School Board."

Wallace, a partisan Democrat, won the Republican nomination to Wilson School Board. He'll be opposed by John Cusick, a partisan Republican, who won the Democratic nomination.

Only in Northampton County.

Let me add here that O'Donnell is a terrible choice. He is misinformed, sees bogeymen everywhere and gave a rambling speech at the last Council meeting that nobody understood. A former Chairman of the Lower Nazareth Supervisors, he likes to tell everyone he's a certified fraud examiner. But he never mentions he was fired as a state auditor in 1988 for conducting Township business on the state's dime. He appealed that ruling, and it's unclear to me how that matter ended. O'Donnell was an unsuccessful County Council candidate in 2001.

Nobody interested in good government can in good conscience vote for that guy.