Assembly Democrats File Ethics Complaint Against RACC
RACC failed to file their September campaign finance report
Today the Assembly Democratic Campaign Committee (ADCC) filed an ethics complaint against the Republican Assembly Campaign Committee (RACC). RACC failed to file their September campaign finance report and continues to deliberately conceal their donors from the public.
“Robin Vos and Assembly Republicans have made it easier for dark money groups to pour money into our elections, and now they are turning their own campaign committee into a dark money group by refusing to disclose their donors,” George Aldrich, executive director of the Assembly Democratic Campaign Committee, said. “Wisconsin voters deserve to know who is funding the Republican Assembly Campaign Committee and its candidates.”
Wisconsin statute sec. 11.0404(3)(c) states that “a legislative campaign committee that makes or accepts contributions … shall (c) In an even-numbered year, file a report on the 15th day of the month in the months of January and July, and on the 4thTuesday in September.”
The RACC is the only legislative committee that has not filed a 2016 September Continuing Report.
Vos recently claimed that the RACC has not filed a report because they are “in the fundraising mode”. Yet public records show that RACC recently spent tens of thousands of dollars in television buys in express support of their candidates across the state. Furthermore, the fundamental purpose of the RACC is to support Republican candidates for Assembly.
The failure to file a report also goes against a fundamental promise made by Vos and Republicans when they changed the state’s campaign finance laws. In October 2015, The Capital Times wrote:
“Candidates would file more campaign finance reports than they do under current law, and independent expenditure groups would be required to file similar reports — something Republican lawmakers said will increase transparency and accountability.
“‘The very idea of having more money flow through an open, transparent process should be an idea everyone can get behind, regardless of your political party,’ Vos said.”
“Any attempt to claim that the efforts of the RACC were not made with the intent to directly support their candidates flies in the face of both simple logic and plain fact,” Aldrich added. “By failing to file a campaign finance report for the most recent reporting period, RACC is evading campaign finance rules and degrading public trust in the election process.”
NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.
If they refuse to follow the law, their should be some type of punishment that would discourage them from ignoring the law. I know you quoted the existing law, but did not include the consequences of not obeying that law. Are there any consequences? If not, what’s the point of the law and how do you enforce it?