LITTLE ROCK — State Democrats began to distance themselves from 3rd District congressional candidate Ken Aden this week as he continued to claim a Special Forces background despite military documents proving otherwise.
Additional questions surfaced Friday about the financial reporting of donations and expenditures that is required of him by federal law.
Campaign-finance documents filed with the Federal Election Commission don’t list individual contributions, which the law requires be itemized.
Aden is running against Republican incumbent Steve Womack for Northwest Arkansas’ congressional seat.
On Friday, several Democrats called on Aden to withdraw from the race. But the Democratic Party of Arkansas cannot force him to drop out, said party spokesman Candace Martin. Only Aden can withdraw his name from the ballot.
“There definitely are members of the party who are rather disappointed in Ken Aden’s misstatements,” Martin said. “There are ongoing discussions, but there are very limited options that we can pursue in a legal sense.”
Party leaders last week asked Aden to apologize for exaggerating his military record when he claimed to be a Green Beret and to have deployed to Afghanistan. As of Friday, Aden had not returned phone calls to party leaders.
Several Democrats in the state Legislature have emailed and called Aden, but none of those queries had been answered either.
“I am concerned that candidate Aden has not been forthcoming with the facts surrounding the questions about his education background and military career,” said Tyler Clark, the Washington County Democratic Party chairman. “Ken has had several opportunities to present specifics, and the residents of the district are still waiting.”
Maria Baez de Hicks, vice president of Arkansas Democratic Women and a party committee member, said Aden’s embellishments “seem to be a long pattern of behavior, of lies.”
“I believe he has hurt the party and will always be ‘That Democrat,’” she said. “Other Democrats who want to help the community will be hurt by his legacy, by that halo of craziness that surrounds him now. I really hope the party finds a way to remove him from the ballot.”
An Arkansas Democrat-Gazette investigation revealed last week that Aden’s claims of being a Green Beret, an Afghanistan veteran, a college graduate and recipient of a military award for outstanding volunteer service were not true according to his military record obtained through the Freedom of Information Act.
Aden continues to insist his version of his military background is correct.
On Friday, three days after the Army noted his military record contained an error and removed the document Aden has used to claim he was a Green Beret, his campaign released a statement repeating Aden’s claim that he is Special Forces-qualified.
The statement alleged the new orders amending his record proved his claim that he had been Special Forces qualified.
Dave Chace, spokesman for the U.S. Army Special Warfare Center and School at Fort Bragg, N.C., said Friday that Aden’s academic records prove that he washed out of the course three times, the final time during the specialty training to become a Special Forces weapons sergeant.
Aden has continually used his training orders from that course as proof that he was qualified as a Special Forces weapons sergeant, even though those orders were issued in error two months after he failed the training and was transferred back to the regular Army.
Chace said Aden couldn’t be confused about completing training, because he signed a“counseling statement” after his instructors kicked him out of the course stating that he understood that he had failed and was not allowed to continue training necessary to become a Green Beret.
“Those formal counseling sessions were documented in accordance with Army policy, and we have those forms on file here at the school,” Chace said. “And he signed it.”
Aden’s grass-roots campaign, The Committee to Elect Kenneth Wade Aden 4 Congress, had raised $35,020 as of May 2 and had $33,154 in disbursements, according to the most recent filings with the Federal Election Commission.
Former campaign manager Jacob Burris received $5,450 and consultant Vince Leibowitz was paid $2,700, according to the filings. Aden’s wife and treasurer of the committee, Renea Drusilla Eubanks, was paid $675 on Nov. 18 for “administrative fees/salary for campaign.”
Individual contributions weren’t itemized as required by law.
In addition, missing from Aden’s campaign financial statements is at least one donation that should have been itemized, as it was more than $200.
Gary Phillips, second vice chairman of the Arkansas Democratic Party, who threw a party for Aden in Blytheville, gave him a $250 check at the fundraiser.
Not everyone is bothered by the discrepancies.
Two people who contributed to Aden’s campaign said Friday that they weren’t aware of the controversy over his military and academic records.
“I don’t know the whole situation by any means, and I don’t know his story by any means, but my inclination would be to continue to support him,” said William Buffett of Arlington, Mass., who supports progressive and liberal candidates across the country.
Buffett had contributed $1,000 on Feb. 15, according to filings with the Federal Election Commission.
Gordon Thornsberry of Pope County received $800 from the Aden campaign for office rent, but he has been donating the space in Russellville to Aden since March.
“Most of the time I’ve used it for storage, and quite honestly it hasn’t cost me that much to donate it,” he said.
Thornsberry, who is a Pope County justice of the peace, said he will still vote for Aden in November even after hearing the allegations about the candidate.
“It is better to vote for the worst Democrat than the best Republican,” he said. “America will be ahead. I’m giving people permission to vote for ’ol Aden.”
Erica Martin, owner of Mojo Hot Yoga Studio in Fayetteville, put on a “little soiree” at her business in February “to help get the word out” about Aden.
The campaign listed it as a $610 donation. Martin said she will donate to his campaign again.
“If you dig deep enough, everybody’s got something you can twist and make look bad. ... At heart, I think Ken is a good guy. He’s a veteran, and he has our utmost respect.”
Front Section, Pages 1 on 07/07/2012