Idaho

Perry cited for finance disclosure violation
Lieutenant governor opponent Risch reveals investigation by Secretary of State's Office
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Betsy Z. Russell
Staff writer

BOISE -- In a race in which government openness has become a major issue, lieutenant governor candidate Jim Risch this week revealed that opponent Bruce Perry violated campaign finance disclosure laws shortly before the primary election.

The two candidates also faced off over closed legislative caucuses and Perry's courting of anonymous small donations, during a televised debate Tuesday night.

"The Secretary of State's Office has opened an investigation because you pumped in thousands of dollars of your own money and didn't report it," Risch told Perry. "I don't think this squares with your openness in government stance."

Perry dismissed Risch's claim, noting that his $15,000 in late donations to his own primary campaign were dwarfed by Risch's own contribution of more than $350,000 to his successful GOP primary campaign.

"I had loaned a few thousand dollars to my campaign," Perry said. "It was fully disclosed on the campaign finance report that was subsequently filed. What I wasn't aware of is the requirement that campaign contributions by the candidate, and these came from me, not from any special interest, within a certain time period prior to the election require a notification to the Secretary of State's Office. They advised us of that fact."

An Oct. 15 letter from Deputy Secretary of State Ben Ysursa to Perry notes the lack of notifications within 48 hours of four contributions from Perry and one from his consulting firm between May 14 and May 17.

"A review of your post-primary election campaign disclosure report indicates a violation," Ysursa wrote. "While sometimes the nuances of the Sunshine Law are missed, these amounts represent a significant portion of your overall contributions, and should have been disclosed prior to the election."

Perry defeated Karl Shurtliff in the Democratic primary, while Risch beat a field of other Republicans, including incumbent Lt. Gov. Jack Riggs of Coeur d'Alene.

During their debate on Idaho Public Television, Risch told Perry, "According to the Secretary of State's Office there's five misdemeanors committed here and it's about $15,000. And I'm told this is the largest Sunshine violation that the state of Idaho has ever seen. ... Being a CPA, being a lawyer, having an MBA, being your own campaign treasurer, I think you're going to have to be accountable for these five acts that the secretary of state says is a problem."

However, Ysursa said Wednesday, "To be a misdemeanor it has to be knowing and willful. We haven't seen any indication of that."

Perry could face fines of as much as $250 for each violation, but Ysursa said there will be no decision on that until after the election. He said the $15,000 total makes it the biggest 48-hour rule violation his office has seen.

Ysursa said the Secretary of State's Office is trying to warn candidates that it won't stand for violations of the 48-hour rule in the final stretch before the general election.

"The excuse that one didn't know personal funds are covered is not going to be accepted in the general," he said. "We're making that point."

Toward that end, the office has sent letters to other candidates and to state party chairmen, he said.

Also during the debate, Risch said it wouldn't bother him if closed-door party caucuses in the Legislature were opened to the public. "I talked to legislators in states where they have open caucuses and it isn't a problem. They operate like that," he said. "It certainly isn't something that can't be done."

Risch also denied that he's been a major defender of the closed caucuses, and said he doesn't care if they stay closed or not. As Senate majority leader, he and House Speaker Bruce Newcomb defended the closed-door meetings to the Idaho Press Club at a talk in March.

"I can tell you with a high degree of comfort that the public not only does not like closed caucuses, they don't like the Legislature," Risch said in March to laughter. But, he told an audience of reporters and editors, "We are human beings with a certain amount of freedom even though we were elected to public office. ... We need to be able to speak together freely."

Democrats in both houses have opened their legislative caucus meetings to the public within the past two years, but the Republican caucuses, which contain 89 percent of lawmakers, have remained closed. Those closed-door sessions yielded the 2001 tax-cut legislation and the 2002 decision to override Gov. Dirk Kempthorne's veto of a bill to repeal term limits.

Perry, who has been a major critic of the closed-door caucus sessions, called Risch the "architect" of closed caucus decision-making. "We don't know who's saying what, what deals are struck, what's being negotiated," Perry said. "The business of the people needs to be conducted in the open. Now I don't know how you can sit here and argue that you don't care whether there are closed party caucuses. Again, you're just not being straight with the people of Idaho."

..... Perry also was questioned about openness, for encouraging donors to give just under the disclosure threshold of $50 by establishing a "49.90 Club" of anonymous donors.

"People fear Jim Risch," Perry responded, "lobbyists, other legislators, business interests. ... We've had some fun with this. I've talked to business people all over the state that say I'm supporting your candidacy, but I'm afraid Mr. Risch will win, and I'm not going to ... contribute in a way that he can exact revenge should he become lieutenant governor. If you don't believe me, talk to people."

Risch responded, "I guess this is America, you can say whatever you want. I'll just say it's not true."

The debate, sponsored by the League of Women Voters and the Idaho Press Club, was broadcast at the same time as the third game of the World Series, but viewers who missed it can view the debate in its entirety on the Internet at www.idahoptv.org. The two candidates also will debate again Friday, in a matchup that will be televised live on KREM-2 from 6 to 7 p.m.

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