Tyler Sadonis and members of the A Voice 4 U campaign and Eagle Communications will be able to respond to accusations made concerning their campaign finances in a hearing with the Office of Campaign Finance of the D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics today.
The BOEE is holding the hearing, which is closed to the public, this morning to discuss the formal campaign finance complaint filed by Tom Smith Oct. 22, according to Wes Williams, a spokesman for the D.C. Office of Campaign Finance.
The complaint states that Advisory Neighborhood Commission 3D 02 write-in candidate Tyler Sadonis, AV4U and Eagle Communications violated campaign finance laws that limit individual contributions to ANC candidates to $25, The Eagle previously reported. It also claims that Sadonis has accepted excessive in-kind contributions from AV4U and Eagle Communications.
An in-kind contribution is a “a contribution of goods, services or property offered free or at less than the usual and normal charge, or payments by a third party for goods and services,” according to the Office of Campaign Finance.
Smith is not allowed at the hearing, which is called a “show cause” hearing, which expedites the process of addressing issues, as Election Day is five days away.
The complaint says AV4U’s event organizing expenses, flyer production and consulting firm services clearly exceed the $25 limit. It also says Eagle Communications’ services are worth more than the agreed fee of $500. Commercial marketplace charges would be higher, the complaint states.
AV4U Finance Director Ed Levandoski declined to comment in advance of the hearing.
The BOEE plans to have attorneys on hand on Election Day at two precincts near AU to answer student voter eligibility challenges, an issue that Smith also brought up in a petition filed to the BOEE Oct. 15.
“We understand that there’s going to be that kind of discussion near those precincts,” said Alysoun McLaughlin, a BOEE public affairs manager.
McLaughlin said there are usually about 12 attorneys stationed around the District’s larger polling sites on Election Day.
She added that the BOEE anticipates challenges to student voter registration, after the recent complaints filed.
Students registered to vote here that live in the Nebraska, Congressional, Federal and Capital halls will vote in precinct 30 at the Janney School at 4130 Albemarle St.
Students registered to vote here that live in the Leonard, Hughes, McDowell, Anderson, Centennial, Clark, Gray, Letts and McCabe halls will vote in precinct 9 at the Metropolitan Memorial United Methodist Church at 3401 Nebraska Ave.
sdazio@theeagleonline.com
