Four candidates seeking Osage Nation office in the June 4 general election are each receiving a $500 fine from the ON Election Office for not submitting their first candidate campaign reporting statements by the deadline.
Those receiving the $500 fine are Congressional candidates Clair Wood, Geneva Horsechief-Hamilton, Michael Kidder and Assistant Principal Chief candidate Otto Hamilton. The Election Board voted unanimously to issue the fines during their May 18 meeting, which was the deadline for the first campaign reporting statements listing the candidate’s donations and expenses incurred while campaigning for office.
That afternoon, the Election Board and office staff met and reviewed submitted campaign reporting statements from candidates who submitted them up until the 4:30 p.m. close-of-business deadline. Those reviewing the statements included Election Supervisor Alexis Rencountre, Assistant Election Supervisor Courtney Piearcy, Election Board members Shannon Lockett and Terry Hazen and alternate board members Anita Fields (currently a voting member) and Gary Weyl.
After the statement reviews, which ended after 6 p.m., the board noted several statements contained deficiencies and needed follow-up action and three candidates’ statements contained no deficiencies. The board then issued the following motions and all passed with unanimous 3-0 votes.
– Hazen motioned to certify campaign reporting statements, which contained no deficiencies, from Assistant Principal Chief candidate Raymond Red Corn and Congressional candidates Alice Goodfox and Eli Potts.
– Hazen motioned to certify campaign reporting statements with deficiencies from Principal Chief candidates Maria Whitehorn, Geoffrey Standing Bear and Congressional candidates Thomas Trumbly, Brandy Lemon, Tina Allen, Scott BigHorse, William “Kugee” Supernaw, Colt Herren, Paula Stabler, Amanda Proctor, Mary Jo Pratt and Angela Pratt.
– Hazen motioned to issue the $500 fines to Wood, Horsechief-Hamilton, Kidder and Hamilton “for (the Election Office) not receiving their campaign reporting statements.”
Rencountre said the candidates whose reporting statement have deficiencies have three days to correct them upon written notification of the deficiencies, which she planned to send out May 20. Lockett said deficiency issues included missing transaction information on the statements or mathematical errors.
For the candidates fined $500, Lockett said “they have three business days to turn in a report without deficiencies” as well. “We try not to fine people, we try to make it easy and simple to comply with because we know they’re really busy, but it’s required under the law, so we have to enforce it.”
The Election Board meets again Friday, May 25, at 10 a.m. to revisit the campaign reporting statement matters.
By
Benny Polacca
Original Publish Date: 2018-05-24 00:00:00
