Minnesota Lawyer
Steve Smith
State Rep. Steve Smith still hasn’t filed his pre-primary campaign finance report. The 11-term incumbent, who was trounced in a GOP primary contest last month, now owes $1,400 in fines stemming from the failure to turn in his paperwork to the Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board.
Campaigns are fined $50 per day for failing to provide reports by the deadline. That accrues until the total fine reaches $1,000. Then campaigns are hit with an additional $100 fine per week. Smith’s report was due on July 30.
According to Gary Goldsmith, executive director of the Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board, the watchdog agency will typically take legal action when the fines reach $2,000, which would be in another six weeks for Smith. The agency recently sent Smith a certified letter alerting him to the escalating fines. “We don’t go out and try to shake the report out of them,” Goldsmith said. “We just let the penalties accrue.”
Smith lost his re-election bid to Tea Party activist Cindy Pugh by 40 percentage points.
This action – or in-action – by Steve Smith is an example of exactly why he was trounced in the primary by political new-comer, Cindy Pugh. The voters are just tired of his shenanigans and his being a mouthpiece for Minnesota union interests.
Way to go Cindy!!!!!