Just A Little White Oversight

Anna’s Little campaign has finally addressed the missing FEC paperwork.

Politickernj reports that a campaign volunteer told them that the paperwork had been filed nine months ago and that a paperwork backlog at the FEC was to blame.  A spokesperson for the FEC denied there was a backlog and said that everything filed by Little had been processed by the agency.

Finally, Rob Little, the former mayor’s husband, admitted to Politickernj that the required paperwork for her congressional campaign has not been filed.

A spokesperson for the campaign said the failure to file the required paperwork was an oversight that would be corrected immediately and Rob Little said it would be filed before Tuesday’s primary, according to Politickernj.

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What is Anna Little running for?

She’s on the GOP primary ballot as a candidate for congress from the 6th district, but as far as the Federal Election Commission knows, she’s still a candidate for U.S. Senate.

Hundreds of Little for Congress lawn highway signs showed up on Route 36 on Friday night.  “Paid for by Anna C. Little for Congress Inc.”

The “paid for”  disclosure sparked my curiosity and prompted a visit to the FEC website.  Little’s website is paid for by “Friend of Anna Little.”  It seemed odd that Anna C. Little for Congress was paying for signs.

Oddly, the campaign committee “Anna C. Little for Congress Inc” was terminated.  The campaign filed a termination report on April 2 and the FEC issued a approval of termination letter on April 12. 

The letter from the FEC says:

If your committee again becomes active in federal elections, it will be required to re-register with the Commission in accordance with the Federal Election Campaign Act and applicable Regulations. Your committee will be treated as a new entity by the Commission and should register as a new committee on FEC FORM 1, pursuant to 2 U.S.C. §§ 432(g) and 433(a).

But, a thorough search showed no reinstatement of the campaign committee.   Little has no congressional campaign committee or congressional account registered with the FEC.

Read the rest of this entry »

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Pallone’s FEC Report

By Art Gallagher

Frank Pallone at 2010 Highlands Clamfest. This year's Clamfest is August 4-7

Congressman Frank Pallone raised $206,050.06 for his 2012 reelection effort during the quarter that ended on June 30, 2011.  His campaign spent $111,008.79 in the quarter, earned interest of $1080.13 and ended the quarter with $3,223,144.24 in cash, according to the Pallone for Congress FEC Form 3 filed on July 15.

Among the campaign’s expenditures is a $614 per month auto lease, gas and tolls.  Someone apparently had a fender bender with the $614 per month car.  The campaign spent over $900 at Tony’s Auto Body in Long Branch.

Former Governor Jon Corzine’s campaign contributions have not entirely dried up.  Corzine gave Pallone $2500 in the quarter.

One of Pallone’s contributors raised my eyebrows.  Jacob “Josh” Elkes, a stalwart Monmouth GOP supporter and Acting Chairman of Brookdale Community College gave Pallone $250 in June. 

Eileen Kean, former President of the Neptune Township Republican Club and sister of State Senator Sean Kean, gave Pallone $250.   As a lobbyist, campaign contributions are part of the cost of doing business for Kean.

(Blogger’s note:  This is the 1000th post on MMM since the site was relaunched at this domain in September of last year.  Thank you readers, advertisers, contributors and commenters.)

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Pallone Raises $163K, Spends $144K In First Quarter, Has $3.1 Million

Congressman Frank Pallone raised $162,678 in campaign cash during the first quarter of the 2011-2012 election cycle.  He spent $144,185 on entertainment, travel, salaries, an auto lease and contributions.  Pallone has $3,148,393 in cash.  His March 31 FEC report can be viewed here.

Assemblyman Upendra Chivukula, who has been positioning himself to be Pallone’s Democratic successor in Congress since 2005, raised $1500 in the first quarter, spent $155, and has $45,894 on hand.

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Little Raises No Money. Has Less Than $2000 Cash On Hand

Campaign Treasurer Claims 2011 Donations and Expenses Are Not Included–Disclosure Not Required

By Art Gallagher

The fledgling campaign of Anna Little to unseat Congressman Frank Pallone raised no money in the first quarter of this year, spent $5,600 of campaign funds left over from last year and has $1966.00 cash on hand, according to Little’s FEC Form 3, Record of Receipts And Disbursements, filed with the Federal Election Commission on Monday.

The campaign owes its manager, Larry Cirignano, $2,123 and Little $700.00.

The $5,600 spent was for fundraising, accounting, rent and phone bills, according to the report.

Little’s $1000 sponsorship of the Bayshore Tea Party’s St. Patrick’s Day Celebration featuring guest speaker James O’Keefe was not reported.  The sponsorship check was drawn on the account of Anna C. Little for Congress Inc. and dated March 11, 2011.  Bayshore Tea Party founder Barbara Gonzalez verified that the check cleared.

Also not reported, either in this week’s filing nor in Little’s final 2010 report, was any expenditure for the campaign’s election night gathering at the Shore Casino.

Asked about the missing expenditures, Cirignano told MoreMonmouthMusings, “I don’t know anything about it.”

In an email to previous donors during the last week of March, Cirignano asked supporters to donate as much as they could by March 31 in order that Little’s report would have an impressive showing in the amount of individual donors, if not in the amount of money raised.

Little for Congress Treasurer Jane Frotton said that this week’s report applies to the 2010 campaign only. “Anna has not formally announced or filed that she is running in 2012,” said Frotten, “our expert in Washington said we don’t have to disclose 2011-2012 receipts or expenditures because we haven’t filed and because we have not raised enough money.”  Frotten said the Bayshore Tea Party sponsorship was a 2011-2012 expenditure that is not required to be disclosed yet.

Frotton said the Shore Casino bill was “paid by somebody else. There is a $250 balance due that I haven’t paid yet.”  When asked if the Shore Casino bill was reported as an inkind contribution or if the $250 balance due was reported as a debt, Frotton said “no.”

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FEC Questions Pallone Too

By Art Gallagher

The Federal Election Commission is requiring that Pallone for Congress amend its 30 Day Post General disclosure, to address discrepancies with previously filed reports and apparent inaccuracies in the reporting the aggregate contributions of two donors during the 2010 election cycle.

Pallone has until January 18, 2011 to submit the amended report, and any other reports that must be corrected as a result of the errors.

During the 2010 election cycle, Pallone raised $2,247,629.82 and spent $1,951,239.11.  He had $3,229,847.56 on hand on November 22, according to his post general report.

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FEC Questions Little’s Campaign Contributions

By Art Gallagher

The Federal Election Commission has requested that Anna Little’s congressional campaign clarify their post election disclosure over contributions that were received after the conclusion of the general election. FEC regulations state that contributions for the general election be accepted after the polls close only to the extent that the a campaign is in debt.

Little’s November 22 “30 Day Post General Report” indicated that the campaign had $9,677.38 cash on hand.  $14,600 in contributions were received in the three days immediately after the election.  FEC regulations permit campaigns to keep contributions that were mailed and postmarked prior to the conclusion of the election.  Contributions that were hand delivered after the polls closed, if any, would have to be returned to the donors.

The FEC requires that the Little campaign answer their inquiry by January 11, 2012.

MMM has received an inquiry about a rumour that the Little campaign retained over $100,000 in contributions after the election.  That rumour is obviously false.

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