Campaign regulators set to determine if Republican Governors Association violated Alaska laws Rga - Alaska HEAD TOPICS
Campaign regulators set to determine if Republican Governors Association violated Alaska laws
10/22/2022 4:43:00 AM The Alaska Public Offices Commission held a hearing Friday after two groups alleged that the RGA was illegally spending money in Alaska in support of Gov Dunleavy s re-election bid
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Source Anchorage Daily News
An Alaska campaign ethics commission will soon issue a decision on whether the Republican Governors Association violated state campaign disclosure laws in its support for incumbent Gov. Mike Dunleavy . The Alaska Public Offices Commission held a hearing Friday after two groups alleged that the RGA was illegally spending money in Alaska in support of Gov. Dunleavy ’s re-election bid. But their testimony also indicated that all decisions on how to spend the money rested in the hands of Rexrode and Canligil, who are employed by the RGA and work for A Stronger Alaska on a volunteer basis.Rexrode said the RGA, which is involved in all 36 gubernatorial races this year, also operates similar state-specific groups in Vermont, New Hampshire, Michigan and Wisconsin, that also lack separate EINs and thus report to the IRS expenditures directly from the RGA. Reporting requirements are dictated by state laws and are different state by state. The RGA has a budget of tens of millions to spend Read more:
Anchorage Daily News » WATCH: Gubernatorial candidate Debate for the State 2022 APOC votes to expedite ruling in most recent complaint Alaska regulators will hear complaint against national Republican group on Friday ‘Alaska Daily’ Soars in Multiplatform Ratings for ABC Padres talk with Baseball Hall of Famer Dave Winfield -
SAN DIEGO (KUSI) – The Padres are in the National League Championship Series for the first time since 1998, and San Diego is buzzing with excitement. KUSI’s Lauren Phinney got to speak with baseball Hall of Famer Dave Winfield to talk about the Padres prospects of further success this season. Categories: Entertainment, KUSI, Local San Diego News, Sports, Trending Read more >> WATCH: Gubernatorial candidate Debate for the State 2022LIVE NOW: Debate for the State 2022 Candidates running for Alaska Governor debate statewide issues ahead of the Nov. 8 election. APOC votes to expedite ruling in most recent complaintThe Alaska Public Offices Commission voted 3-2 in favor of expediting a ruling on the most recent complaint filed by the Alaska Public Interest Research Group and the 907 Initiative, which alleges that the Republican Governor’s Association violated Alaska ’s campaign finance laws. Alaska regulators will hear complaint against national Republican group on FridayAPOC commissioners voted 3-2 to act before Election Day on a complaint filed by two nonprofits against the association and A Stronger Alaska , the third-party group formed by the association to support Dunleavy ’s campaign. (via Alaska Beacon) AlaskaBeacon So they will investigate by asking them to testify under oath, but they doubt they will comply? Is that how they appear to investigate so they are off the hook, but don’t issue a subpoena and investigate for real! ‘Alaska Daily’ Soars in Multiplatform Ratings for ABCThe Hilary Swank-led drama ' Alaska Daily' drew the biggest audience of ABC's three Thursday shows in Nielsen’s seven-day ratings Alaska Federation of Natives kicks off convention week with the AFN Tribal ConferenceThe conference featured a variety of speakers who detailed the struggles many Alaska Native communities face. Some of those speeches included discussion about broadband and infrastructure. Watch: Alaska candidates for governor in the Debate for the StateThe Debate for the State series will continue next Wednesday for U.S. House candidates and next Thursday for U.S. Senate candidates. Listening. Strikingly Pierce and Dunleavy need to GO. 👎👎👎 Gara for the people!!! Alaska bank account under the control of the RGA and named two RGA employees to serve as the officers for the Alaska spending.October 19, 2022 KTOO News Department Share: Alaska Public Media, in partnership with Alaska’s News Source and KTOO, presents Debate for the State 2022.Related: APOC rules against expediting complaint from nonprofits against Dunleavy campaign Representing the complainants was attorney Scott Kendall, who previously served as chief of staff to former Gov.By - October 21, 2022 In this screenshot from the Thursday, Oct. Dave Rexrode, executive director of the RGA, is the president of A Stronger Alaska. Erim Canligil, chief financial officer of the RGA, is the treasurer of A Stronger Alaska.S. Both Rexrode and Canligil testified on Friday before the Alaska Public Offices Commission. Mike Dunleavy — was not a substantially separate organization from the RGA, meaning that the RGA had violated Alaska’s campaign finance laws by failing to register as an independent expenditure group themselves. They said the $3 million was transferred from the RGA to the independent expenditure group and has been in the control of the independent expenditure group since then.S. But their testimony also indicated that all decisions on how to spend the money rested in the hands of Rexrode and Canligil, who are employed by the RGA and work for A Stronger Alaska on a volunteer basis. On Thursday afternoon, commissioners voted 3-2 to act before Election Day on a complaint filed by two nonprofits against the association and A Stronger Alaska, the third-party group formed by the association to support Dunleavy’s campaign. A Stronger Alaska is registered as an independent expenditure group with the Alaska Public Offices Commission, but is not registered as a business in Alaska and has no employer identification number, or EIN, a number assigned by the IRS that’s used to identify the tax accounts of employers. The gubernatorial debate is Wednesday, October 19 at 7 p. They moved it within a sub-account within their own bank account,” Kendall said. According to Canligil, the group lacks a separate employer identification number because it does not employ individuals directly. Canligil testified A Stronger Alaska and the RGA also share an office space and a phone number. The U. Canligil also said he conducts work for A Stronger Alaska while “at work at the RGA. Kendall further stated that all of the reports filed by A Stronger Alaska had falsified information.” Rexrode said the RGA, which is involved in all 36 gubernatorial races this year, also operates similar state-specific groups in Vermont, New Hampshire, Michigan and Wisconsin, that also lack separate EINs and thus report to the IRS expenditures directly from the RGA. House candidates will debate on Wednesday, October 26 at 7 p. Complainants are represented by attorney Scott Kendall, a noted Dunleavy critic, and on Thursday, Kendall discussed bank records and tax documents that appeared to show money intended for Alaska was moved only within the RGA’s accounts. Reporting requirements are dictated by state laws and are different state by state. The RGA has a budget of tens of millions to spend on key races across the country . The U. This is a violation right here. Kendall, the attorney representing the groups that filed the complaint, said all that indicates that the RGA and A Stronger Alaska should be treated as the same entity. “For federal purposes, they were the same entity. Senate candidate debate is Thursday, October 27 at 7 p. For our purposes, they should be the same entity. Attorney Stacey Stone represented the RGA and attorney Richard Moses represented ASA. He provided bank statements, which he said backed up the assertion that the two groups are distinct. Why? Same common control, common people, same address, same phone lines. Each debate will air live statewide on television, radio and online stream. There was no independent control whatsoever,” Kendall said. A Stronger Alaska “exists nowhere but in the mind of two employees of the RGA and in false filings with this commission,” said Kendall.m. “It’s an internal bank transfer — meaning they have bank accounts at the same bank — not meaning that there’s some nefarious internal thing going on with RGA and ASA. Kendall has previously worked as the chief of staff for Walker, the independent former governor now running against Dunleavy. Kendall has said that he has not been in touch with Walker about the complaint. You can unsubscribe anytime. If they do appear, Kendall would be permitted to cross-examine them under oath. Tracey Stone, the attorney representing the RGA, called Kendall’s comments “slanderous. “You have the evidence in front of you, the Republican Governor’s Association transferred $3 million to A Stronger Alaska.” Both Stone and attorney Richard Moses, who represents A Stronger Alaska, argued that the decisions of the RGA are controlled by the organization’s board of directors and board of governors, while the decisions of A Stronger Alaska are controlled by Rexrode and Canligil. Breaking news. “Just because you use the same bank, does not mean that it is somehow a sub-account,” said Moses. “The law merely requires the group be registered with the commission,” Stone said.” APOC Commissioner Dan Lasota questioned Moses about an argument Kendall had made, noting that the Employer Identification Numbers were the same for both groups. Moses said that A Stronger Alaska has “essentially” conducted only one political poll and sent out one piece of campaign mail since the group was reportedly formed in 2021. Moses provided that information as proof that Rexrode and Canligil could feasibly run A Stronger Alaska on a volunteer basis while working for the RGA. “It just doesn’t really take up much if any of their day on a regular basis, so they’re able to volunteer for the organization without actually expending really any considerable amount of their personal time,” Moses said.” Moses said that although the numbers for the IRS were identical, they were separate for APOC purposes. ADVERTISEMENT Of the $3 million allotted to spending in support for Dunleavy by the RGA, more than $300,000 was spent on that single piece of campaign mail — enough for it to arrive in hundreds of thousands of mailboxes. If the commission rules in favor of the complainants, it must also determine if and how to penalize the RGA and A Stronger Alaska. Typically, the commission doles out per-day fines for violations, but Kendall said that would not provide an adequate remedy in this case. “For IRS purposes, for all purposes I understand, you are that entity and that entity is you. Under a new disclosure law that went into effect three days after the RGA reportedly donated the $3 million to A Stronger Alaska, groups are required to disclose their top-three donors. Kendall argued that under that rule, if the commission rules that the RGA acted out of line with Alaska’s campaign ethics laws, then the disclosure information on the election mail A Stronger Alaska has sent to voters is incorrect or missing. Discussing possible penalties for the RGA and A Stronger Alaska, Kendall urged the commissioners to freeze A Stronger Alaska’s spending until after the election or dissolve the independent expenditure group, stopping it from spending the remaining of its $3 million.13. “They could tell A Stronger Alaska and by extension the RGA, ‘whatever you’re doing, it’s not transparent,’ ” Kendall said. “ ‘Whatever you’re doing, it has to stop. ’ ” • • • . So it is recommended that the Chief Financial Officer for the Republican Governor’s Association and the Chief Executive Officer will be available to Mr.