Supporter of alcohol vote says foes violated ethics

An alcohol proponent in Faulkner County has filed an ethics complaint claiming the committee fighting to keep the county dry did not disclose expenditures on a recently filed financial report.

The complaint filed Thursday with the Arkansas Ethics Commission by Little Rock lawyer David Couch claims the They Win, You Lose Committee failed to report the fees it paid to whom he called "blockers" on its June 12, Local-Option Ballot Question Committee Financial Report.

Blockers are people allegedly hired in campaigns to prevent the collection of voter signatures needed to put an initiative on a ballot. Tactics used by blockers typically include approaching voters at polling or signature collection sites and verbally discouraging them from signing a petition.

"They're very aggressive and, in my opinion, out of bounds," Couch said in a telephone interview Friday. "On election day, there were blockers on every poll."

Couch -- who submitted a proposed constitutional amendment that would allow for the manufacture, sale, distribution and transportation of alcohol throughout the state and is in the process of collecting enough signatures to place it on the November ballot -- said he reached out to the They Win, You Lose Committee to notify them of the omitted fees.

Couch did not disclose exactly whom he spoke to on the committee, but he said he was told by a committee representative that the expenses did not have to be reported "until the bill was paid."

According to Arkansas Code 7-1-111, expenditures should be reported when the amount is "readily ascertainable by the person making the expenditure." An exception can be made, however, if the amount is not known or readily ascertainable until "receipt of a periodic bill." Examples cited in the law include utilities and telephone bills.

Calls to Mary Dillard, who is listed on the report as the officer for They Win, You Lose Committee, were not immediately returned Friday.

The Local-Option Ballot Question Committee Financial Report states the group spent $5,721.84 in May for advertising, office supplies, telephone expenses, post office box rental fees, bank charges and professional services.

The line on the report to list expenses paid for "Paid Canvassers, Officers, and Directors" was left blank.

Couch said in the complaint that the "blockers" were "present and actively harassing canvassers" at polls in Faulkner County and other areas during the May 20 primary election.

"Those individuals were questioned and they candidly admitted that the opponents of the wet-dry effort had hired them," Couch said in the complaint. "We have photographic and video evidence if needed. These individuals stated that they were being paid $250 per day to 'block' the petition."

Couch also claimed in the complaint that the blockers and other individuals were handing out literature, which they admitted were supplied by the group opposing the statewide alcohol sales initiative.

"The cost of these materials does not appear to be reflected as an expense on the financial report," Couch said in the complaint.

The Local-Option Ballot Question Committee Financial Report filed by the They Win, You Lose Committee lists $5,065.13 in advertising for May. An itemized list of those expenditures lists two expenses for $950 each for "ad production," but it is not clear if literature production was included in that number.

Arkansas Ethics Commission fiscal officer Teresa Jones said she could not comment on specific complaints but said the first step when a complaint is filed is to review and investigate. Final action by the commission is required by law to be taken within 15-180 days of receiving the complaint.

"Typically, the cases don't push all the way up to the wire," Jones said. "Either the case is dismissed or a violation is found."

Metro on 06/21/2014

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