Santarsiero Calls for Transparency in Primary
Statement
Today, Steve Santarsiero's campaign for US Congress took bold action in light of recent potentially illegal Super PAC activity by calling on all committees participating in the Democratic Primary to release updated financial information ahead of the April 26thPrimary. The release of expenditures and donors would give voters a full disclosure on how campaign money is spent and where it comes from.
Shaughnessy Naughton's campaign has recently come under fire for alleged illegal coordination with 314 PAC -- a Super PAC that the Naughton campaign founded and that recently launched a series of dishonest mailers attacking Santarsiero. Naughton's fiancee and strategist Josh Morrow was paid by both Naughton's campaign and the 314 PAC.
The last FEC filing for 314 PAC was at the end of March where the PAC reported $32,501 cash on hand. Yet over the last twenty days, 314 PAC has spent over $89,000 on a series of attack mailers -- meaning the Super PAC had a suspiciously large infusion of cash over the last three weeks.
"The existence of Super PACs and uncontrolled money in politics is troubling enough, but as Democrats we should bring greater transparency and accountability to our electoral process. Consequently, I am calling on all campaigns and committees spending money in this primary election to release their expenditures and contributions over the next 24 hours, to let voters know where the money is coming from and where it's going," said Steve Santarsiero. "In an act of good faith towards greater transparency, my campaign will lead by example and release our own financials Friday morning. I challenge everybody else in the race to follow."
Santarsiero's challenge extends to the Naughton campaign, 314 PAC and American Working Families PAC. Santarsiero will release updated contributions and expenditures on his campaign website -- www.santarsieroforcongress.com -- Friday morning.
Currently, 48 hour reporting exists ahead of the primary for candidate campaigns, but does not include donors under $1,000 nor does it include campaign spending. Meanwhile, the Super PACs participating in the race need to report expenditures in the 48 hour reports, but are not required to report donors.
Source