D.C. elections officials have thrown out a $16,000 fine against Democratic mayoral nominee Janeese Lewis George and her campaign after finding there was no evidence they improperly coordinated with labor unions and a union-funded group.
The decision by the D.C. Board of Elections came in a 3-0 vote on Wednesday, reversing a ruling by the Office of Campaign Finance (OCF) that had roiled the mayoral campaign four days before the primary election in June.
“We did not find there was any evidence buttressing the accusations made,” Gregory McCarthy, chairman of the D.C. Board of Elections, said in an interview after the vote, “and there were untoward assumptions made and inferences made for which there were no factual [basis].”
Lewis George said she was “gratified” by the board’s decision.
“As we told the BOE, OCF’s order violated DC procedural requirements, included multiple false statements about its own investigation, misrepresented the Campaign’s statements and positions, offered no evidence in support of their conclusions, and was simply wrong on the law,” Lewis George said in a statement.
OCF did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Lewis George’s campaign was driven by major labor union support, both financially and in grassroots energy. A union-funded independent expenditure committee, Safe & Affordable DC, spent over $1.5 million supporting Lewis George, according to an August filing.
But in an April complaint from D.C. resident Kevin Sobkoviak, Lewis George’s campaign was accused of illegally coordinating with the group. Independent expenditure committees can raise and spend money to support or oppose candidates — but they aren’t allowed to coordinate with campaigns.
Lewis George’s close relationship with unions was underscored by the fact that the campaign “leased” several of its top employees from Unite Here Local 25, which was also linked to Safe & Affordable and shared an address. The campaign reimbursed the union for the employees’ salaries, including its campaign manager and communications director.
That arrangement was a central reason cited by the Office of Campaign Finance in its June finding that improper coordination was happening. General Counsel William SanFord wrote that the employees were “inextricably intertwined” with Unite Here, and a firewall policy intended to prevent any coordination between them was “illusory” and impossible to enforce.
On Wednesday, however, McCarthy said the findings amounted to assumptions.
“The personnel arrangement was unusual, perhaps unorthodox, but not impermissible,” McCarthy said.
SanFord told the board Wednesday that it was true there was not a “smoking gun,” or “someone on camera whispering to someone to break the law,” according to the Washington Sun’s Martin Austermuhle, who first reported the board action.
The elections board also threw out a $4,000 fine levied against Safe & Affordable DC.
Jos Williams, chair of Safe & Affordable DC, called the decision “a total vindication,” and the unions named in the investigation applauded it as well.
“Today’s decision makes clear what we’ve known to be true all along: our union, and the DC Labor Movement, campaigned transparently and in total compliance with the law for a candidate overwhelmingly supported by DC voters,” Paul Schwalb, executive secretary-treasurer of Unite Here Local 25, said in a statement. “Shame on those who tried to taint our union, our members, and our movement with the baseless charges in OCF’s vacated order.”
Following the primary, D.C. Council member Brianne K. Nadeau (D-Ward 1), an ally of Lewis George, called on D.C.’s inspector general to investigate the campaign finance office and whether the last-minute fine violated its own rules surrounding improperly influencing elections.
In a statement Wednesday, Nadeau said she welcomed the board of election’s decision but that her call for an investigation “remains relevant.”
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