Hendersonville Standard
HENDERSONVILLE WEATHER

Campaign mailers draw DA’s attention




The name of the political action committee Sumner GOP can be faintly seen on this election mailer sent days before the May 1 county primary election. 

The name of the political action committee Sumner GOP can be faintly seen on this election mailer sent days before the May 1 county primary election. 

Political mailers sent by a political action committee calling themselves Sumner GOP have drawn the attention of Sumner County District Attorney General Ray Whitley.

Whitley confirmed Thursday his office is investigating complaints that the PAC Sumner County Government of the People violated election laws on recent campaign mailers sent days before the May 1 county primary election. Despite its name, the organization is not affiliated with the Sumner County Republican Party.

The PAC formed Feb. 23 and lists Billy Barnfield of Goodlettsville as its chairman and Timothy D. Lynch, Jr. of Hendersonville as its treasurer. Several local developers have contributed to the PAC that raised $22,200 in a 15-day period (See the April 19 Hendersonville Standard article “Republican Party Disavows ‘lab monkeys’ mailer.”)

So far the PAC has sent five mailers – two that target Sumner County Executive Anthony Holt’s opponents, Jim Vaughn and John Isbell; two that disparage County Commission District 11 challenger Jeremy Mansfield; and one that endorses County Commission District 6 candidates Deanne DeWitt and Kevin Pomeroy who are running against Luke Tinsley.

On three of the mailers sent this week, the name of the PAC is abbreviated and is barely visible. 

According to TCA 2-19-120 regarding political communications, advertising and solicitations, anyone financing a direct mail piece that advocates for the election or defeat of a candidate must present “in a clear and conspicuous manner to give the reader, observer or listener adequate notice of the identity of persons who paid for and, where required, who authorized the communication.”

Additionally, solicitations directed to the general public on behalf of a political committee which is not an authorized committee of a candidate, “shall clearly state the full name of the person who paid for the communication.”

Whitley said on Thursday he had seen one of the mailers and is looking into whether or not any laws have been broken. A violation of the election law statute is a Class C misdemeanor. Whitley wouldn’t say what part of the law may have been violated.

“I’m not going to tell you why I’m looking into it, I’m just going to tell you I’m looking into the whole situation right now,” he said.  

Sumner County Administrator of Elections Lori Atchley said she doesn’t believe any election statutes have been violated.

“There is nothing in the statute pertaining to font size, type or color,” she said.

When asked about whether or not she thought the name of the PAC was “clear and conspicuous,” Atchley replied, “Your definition or interpretation of clear may be different than mine.”

“Is it in the spirit of the law? I don’t think so,” Atchley added. “A lot of people are upset about this.”

Drew Rawlins, executive director of the Tennessee Registry of Election Finance’s Bureau of Ethics and Campaign Finance said he was aware of the complaint as well.

“I understand that the district attorney is looking into it,” said Rawlins.

“Just their name seems pretty deceptive to me,” said Sumner County Republican Party Chairman Jason Stewart. Stewart told the Hendersonville Standard two weeks ago the local party has been fielding calls from people asking why it is supporting one candidate over another in a primary election.

“The party’s response has been just to educate voters that we don’t have anything to do with this PAC, and that we don’t endorse in primary elections,” Stewart added. “We believe they are really trying to be deceptive to the voter.”

Sumner County Government of the People didn’t raise any additional money for the reporting period beginning April 1 and ending April 21, according to a campaign financial disclosure statement received by the election office on Friday via certified mail. The deadline for filing disclosure statements was Tuesday, April 24.

The group spent $566.81 during the reporting period, according to the statement, and was exempt from giving details of how the money was spent since the expenditure was less than $1,000, and not more than $1,000 was contributed during the reporting period. The group showed an on-hand balance of $21,633.

According to Rawlins, a candidate or PAC can face civil penalties for filing late disclosures. However, those penalties don’t begin accumulating until five days after the election office sends out a certified letter notifying a candidate or PAC that a deadline has been missed. In this case, the office received the PAC’s disclosures on Friday with a postmark of April 24, so the forms weren’t considered late.

There are several contested races in the May 1 county primary election including that of county executive, trustee and general sessions II judge. In addition, several county commission races will be decided by Republican primary voters since no Democrat or Independent is running in those districts. 

See previous story https://www.hendersonvillestandard.com/news/government/republican-party-disavows-lab-monkeys-campaign/article_8b3b4da8-442e-11e8-aa1d-ef34db9f5e5a.html

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