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| January 12, 2007 APOC Rules Against GOP Campaign Group Alaska Democratic Party, press release The Alaska Public Offices Commission (APOC) today ruled television ads and mailers paid for by the Republican Governor’s Association (RGA) were flagrant violations of Alaska campaign laws, Alaska Democratic Party chairman Jake Metcalfe said today. “Alaska law is meant to limit the effect of outside money on our election process. I’m pleased APOC blew the whistle on this flagrant behavior by the RGA. However, the penalties they imposed are a mere slap on the wrist. It is evident campaign finance laws need to be changed so as not to invite future illegal campaign activity,” Metcalfe said. In a hearing in Anchorage today, APOC found that the RGA ran advocacy ads promoting Sarah Palin for governor and negative ads against Democrat Tony Knowles. The RGA is not allowed to run advocacy ads for or against a candidate because they are not a legal group formed under Alaska laws. APOC then fined the group $50 a day for each day the ads ran. APOC also found that the RGA illegally sent mailings supporting Sarah Palin to over 120,000 Alaskans in late October, a flagrant violation of the prohibition against activity by outside interests within 30 days of the election. For the 120,000 illegal mailers, the APOC intends to fine the Republican organization $24,250. "This illegal last-minute campaign activity must be deterred. While we are pleased the APOC found the violation, we are concerned that a fine of 20 cents a copy for an illegal mailer is less than the RGA paid for mailing. That's not a deterrent for a multi-million dollar national political group that collects donations from pharmaceutical corporations, insurance companies and lobbyists." "To have meaningful laws and to deter last-minute illegal contributions like the RGA gave the Palin campaign here, we need stronger regulation, enforcement and fines," Metcalfe said. "Powerful Outside political groups like the Republican Governors Association need to know that they can't mess with Alaskans and our elections, and if they do, they need to know they're going to pay dearly for it." |
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