Campaign Finance Reports — 8 Day Primary Edition
The 8 Day Campaign Finance reports were due in to the Department of Elections on 5 September, covering the period from 8/13 through 9/3 for all candidates. Want to take a look? Following the money is always fun and sometimes instructive. We posted up a thread for folks taking a look at the 30 day reports, and here is your chance to post up what you find for candidates AND their PACs.
Here are the directions to access the reports again:
You can find reports filed with the DOE here.
If you are looking for a candidate, hit the Candidate Committee button, then type in the last name of the candidate plus 2012 in both year boxes. For this example I am typing in Short, 2012, 2012. Then hit Search.
The next page (I ended up with Danny Short’s report when I wrote this post last night, you may have a second step of choosing the report you want to see.) will be a list of contributions and expenditures. We hate this list. Scroll down to the Generate Images button and hit that.
NOW, you are on the page that shows the pdf of the complete report submitted. You can save this to your drive, print it or just look through it. Danny Short’s report is fairly boring, but it was a good example.
EDIT: Commenter puck provides instructions to download this data as a spreadsheet:
You can also save a spreadsheet of the report. Using the Short 2012 example above:
Right next to the Generate Images button is a Generate CSV button. Click that.
CSV means Comma Separated Values. A CSV file is a text file of data with commas separating the columns. It can be opened by Excel or other spreadsheet software. If you open it with a regular text editor like Notepad, you will see all the commas.
When you click Generate CSV, it will create a file called “Candidate” and ask you where you want to save it. Rename the file to something meaningful, like “Short2012.csv” It’s important to give it the .CSV extension so your computer will know to open it with Excel.
Then you can just double-click “Short2012.csv” to open the spreadsheet. You can then save it in regular Excel format, i.e. “Short2012.xls”
Even though the due date was Wednesday, reports will continue to straggle in for some days. Plus these reports are manually posted by DOE staff, and that is not instantaneous. If you don’t see the report for the candidate you were looking for, check back later. It will get there.
As of yesterday there were 30 day reports still MISSING from some candidates, including Trippi Congo, Richard L. Dyton, Sherry Dorsey-Walker, Tyler Brooks — according to an informant. These are all city candidates, so there may be others missing too. Not sure what is going on with these candidates, but these reports are a PITA to all campaigns and it’s not quite fair that these are hanging out this far out. Now, it is also possible that we are victims of the crazy search system at the DOE website too.
Not sure why you have to go through these steps to see the image of the report. If I were in charge, I would hire LG to make this cleaner and less work and maybe add some Simpsons’-themed pieces of flair. Anyway, start looking at those reports and use this thread to discuss what you find.
Tags: Campaign Finance
Since KWS and her minions are fond of campaign report close reads, let’s take a look at her report:
Since August 13th, KWS has raised $33,226. The majority of that money, $18,800 was raised in one state, and it’s NOT Delaware.
It’s Illinois.
Why Illinois? Anyone wondering if it might have anything to do with the current Director of the Captive Bureau, Steve Kinion?
Steve Kinion was a KWS donor in 2008. After KWS won, Steve Kinion was awarded what has always looked to us to be a no-bid contract for $16,000 per month. Over the 4 years KWS has been in office, that’s nearly $800,000, which is pretty good pay-to-play action.
However, while Steve Kinion is very well paid indeed by the State of Delaware to oversee an office located in Delaware, presumably for work to benefit Delawareans, Steve Kinion doesn’t live in Delaware. In fact, he lives in and maintains a successful law firm in Illinois. Questions could be raised asking if Steve Kinion is behind the $18,800 (from 14 people writing $1200 checks and two for $1000) that Commissioner Stewart mysteriously raised over the past 3 weeks from Illinois. And keep in mind that Kinion is the survivor of the three big contracts that were let to establish this Captive Bureau (Ed Ianni and Mary Joe Lopez didn’t have their contracts renewed this cycle). So if he is the Illinois Fundraiser-in-Chief, one could also wonder if anyone is making sure he is doing this on his own dime. It would seem that helping to raise $18,800 for another no-bid contract for almost $800,000 would be worth every minute it takes.
I appreciate the vote of confidence, but I happen to know a guy that gets paid for data entry for a politician, and he is going to be off of her payroll when she loses on Tuesday.
💡 !!
You can also save a spreadsheet of the report. Using the Short 2012 example above:
Right next to the Generate Images button is a Generate CSV button. Click that.
CSV means Comma Separated Values. A CSV file is a text file of data with commas separating the columns. It can be opened by Excel or other spreadsheet software. If you open it with a regular text editor like Notepad, you will see all the commas.
When you click Generate CSV, it will create a file called “Candidate” and ask you where you want to save it. Rename the file to something meaningful, like “Short2012.csv” It’s important to give it the .CSV extension so your computer will know to open it with Excel.
Then you can just double-click “Short2012.csv” to open the spreadsheet. You can then save it in regular Excel format, i.e. “Short2012.xls”
@cassandra—–a no-bid contract for $16,000 per month. Over the 4 years.
How can I get a job like that??:-)
@puck, thank you, I’m going to add that to the instructions.
@noname — when I figure it out, I’ll publish the instructions in an e-book for the lowlow price of $39.95 to download it!
@noname: And not even have to show up for work, too!
I see that folks enjoy their grapes sour. Handy since Wednesday morning there will be plenty more. On your man’s report we find a plethora of $1200 returns. The net received of about 7k is dwarfed by the about 43k spent a tidy 600% spread. Can we say, good money after bad?? Since you are such great readers you did not note that my princely stipend has ended and will nor be restarted. I am pretty sure I will miss no meals. I hope your candidate can say the same about the cash he has flushed down the drain. At to “raising questions” take your best shot. Only one IC candidate has taken illegal contributions and it’s not KWS, cheers.
@jpconnorjr: You’re a joke. Crawl back into your hole and STFU.
@puck: KWS is not a politician. She’s a useless hack hanger-on who got support from certain powerful real politicans by various nefarious means. One in particular whom we all know realized she can be manipulated to his own ends, so he made sure she got herself elected on Obama’s coat tails in 2008. I got news for her: this ain’t 2008. Start saying your good-byes, Karen. You’re done.
If I have to tone down does “she”? you are well aware of what you are dealing with here?
Be kind, george. The man lost his access to the trough and didn’t count on anyone looking closely at KWS’ report and throw some of his own BS back at him. She’s still charging tanks of gas to her campaign too.
@cassandra: I’ll try but it’s not easy with someone like jp.
I can see KWS and her accomplices getting frantically desperate recently and making an SOS call to Kinion, who came through. Little does he know he’ll be losing his cash cow come Tuesday.
I agree with Minster on your demeanor. I have no problem with your “analysis” as you have shown nothing other than the report is perfectly appropriate , you just don’t like it;) hope that you are able to deal with the 12th;)
People — men, mostly — opining on my demeanor have run out of serious argument. You boys have the challenge of finding someone who is interested on your assessment of her demeanor.
Your tired comment on gas bills when compared to thousands in illegal contributions along with an anemic fundraising result for an “endorsed” candidate are not indicative of much of an argument.. Will you support the Democratic nominee for IC? Just askin’
There are no illegal contributions. Overages were returned where needed and the LLC contributions were returned because they could determine the ownership of the LLC. Even though who owns these entities is the State’s problem, not the campaign’s. What most folks see is a campaign working at doing the honorable thing.
Unlike the IC candidate with an established history of pay-to-play and charging her contributors for tanks of gas.
If the Dem IC candidate is KWS — Hell.No. I didn’t support her 4 years ago and am not about to start now.
Nice failed defense.campaigns have an affirmative obligation to know that contributions fall within the rules. The honorable thing would have been to verify before cashing the check. So now we know you will support an R good to know.
I voted for Brady last time and will vote for Mobley this time if KWS is the nominee. Even the Libertarian would be better.
How is it that a City Council Incumbent – Trippi Congo has failed to file his 30 day or 8 day report. He has been through this before.
Yet his opponent a political newbie has filed both a 30 day and 8 day on time?
Does being an incumbent make you exempt from the rules?
“Pooker Jones aint no good, gonna chop her up for firewood”
@jpconnorjr: I have to commend you for your tenacity, although it may just be stupidity. You keep showing up here with ludicrous assertions in the face of overwhelming opposition, just to be shot down over and over again by people way smarter than you or your girl Karen Weldin Stewart think you are or could ever hope to be. It’ll be a real relief to see the last of the corrupt lot of you when she and you and the rest of her cronies are all gone for good next Tuesday. She’s lucky she didn’t get kicked out of office before this.
Not only is Karen Weldin Stewart still claiming charges at gas stations as campaign travel expenses, but the amounts are beyond belief and probably made up:
August 27,28,30 at Wawa: $1,125.24
August 13,21,22,27 at Shell: $8,427.03
August 20 at Shore Stop: $262.75
August 16 at Gulf: $422.99
What the hell are these people driving? A convoy of Obama-style luxury campaign buses? NOT. That money was spent for who knows what that’s surely not campaign related.
Further, the names of the supposedly individual Illinois campaign contributors must be either friends of Kinion’s or randomly pulled out of Illinois phone books. Wonder if the DOE is going to check out exactly how many Illinois checks in what amounts were deposited to KWS’s campaign account. I would guess just one.
Title 15 8012 (e). Corporations, partnerships, other entities are supposed to disclose to campaigns detail on those who own 50% or more of the entity that is doing the donating. The affirmative duty is with the organisation writing the check. Meaning that in trying to find out who was behind the LLCs, Crane’s people went beyond the call of duty. Checks were returned when they couldn’t get an answer, even though they didn’t have to. But you didn’t get an answer, either, otherwise you people would be working up your manufactured outrage over that too.
And of course you would just jump to conclusions about who I would support. You were likely too busy fuming about my demeanor to remember to ask if I would be supporting the R, the L or None of the Above.
The gas station charges alone total $10,238.01, the major part of the $18,800 she got from Illinois. Coincidence? I think not. Illegal campaign contribution is more like it. KWS and her cabal lack not only ethics and morals, but imagination, too.
The gas station charges are YTD and the 18800 just came in (or just reported) within the last 20 or 25 days. Most corporations will let you expense mileage on your own vehicle for work travel — direct charges of gas are unusual unless it is for a rental car. One of the reasons why this charge is so surprising is that candidates never think they have enough money to do enough outreach to voters and put as much money as they can into lit pieces, web sites, robocalls, visibility events and so on. Just burning up 10K in travel strikes me as really good look at KWS’s campaign priorities.
If the gas station charges are YTD, why are the the various amounts posted with different August dates? Seems to me there would be only one YTD charge each for Shell, Wawa, Gulf, and Shore Stop.
It looks like these are reported by location of the stations. So there are 3 WAWAs shown on the report, one in Lewes, one in Claymont, one in Newark. The report has two columns — one for Aggregate, the other for Amount Expended. Amount Expended are the expenses for the current reporting period and the Aggregate is the total of expenses YTD including current reporting period.
Her campaign finance fraud is small potatoes. Karen Weldin Stewart operates on a much grander scale.
I looked on Spivack’s reports today and was a little surprised at the max outs from so many in the development industry. WOW. What’s up with that, Dennis?
Bill Clinton did not teach you arithmatic. You read statutes creatively and you egg “George” onto progressively wilder accusations. You should be so proud;)
“George isn’t able to vote for Mitch but she’s got a cool $300 on him. Sorry for your luck, lady.
“Crane’s people went beyond the call of duty. Checks were returned when they couldn’t get an answer, even though they didn’t have to. ”
Ouch, did that hurt, Cass? Don’t strain anything with all that stretching you are doing.
Crane’s ‘people’ got a directive from the Department of Elections to investigate the contributions source and whether Litwin owned more than 50% of any of his Realty holding companies. The DID have to return the checks having failed to establish answers that the DoE was demanding from them.
So the funds in question were received in late March and were returned in late August a full 5 months after receipt, and ONLY after questions were raised. Honorable???? not so much.
Well, if you judge people by the company they keep,… meaning their supporters here on this blog, then those who SHOULD be getting everyone’s votes are:
Dennis Spivack
Bill Shahan
Gas bag corrections. Total spent in reporting period 496.29 total gas bought at 3.75 per gallon 132 gallons. Take that number and whine that it’s unreasonable all you like. Wednesday you can file a complaint or your candidate can he won’t be busy;)
10K in gas over the year is what george is talking about, OG (for jpconnor who *is* the Original Gasbag).
Corporate Contribution Notice:
This form is completed by the donating organization and it is pretty clearly their responsibility, not the campaign’s. The DOE requested that the Crane campaign review specified entries — there was no directed removal in that email. They could have told the DOE that these firms would not make the required disclosure (which was true) and let it go at that. The language is pretty plain. The only generosity is from the DOE who doesn’t seem to enforce this.
But hey, keep flogging this dead horse. It keeps reminding folks of the kind of people that KWS surrounds herself with.
A very nice Romneyesqe edit of the statute. The guy took the money kept the money for 5 months and gave it back when he HAD to;) In order to satisfy your gas pains we have asked KWS to purchase a Chevy Volt for her race for reelection in ’16:)
Oh by the way the gas total in 2012. Is about 2,200. Arrived at by the 30 day report as reported by starkly stupid Starkey of 1700 and change and the 8 day number of 400 and change. Careful where you get your “facts”
No edit of the statue — that text is directly from the form that corporations have to fill out. And the language is pretty plain to everyone not desperately looking to hang on to his delusions. So take your issues with that language up with the State.
@JP: It’s taking some doing to dignify your blather with a response, but how about you tell your girl to pay back the $10,000 she’s owed the Harkins estate since her 2008 campaign? That could have been done with the money she charged for gas.
Karen Weldin Stewart loaned some of her own money to the campaign and paid herself back pronto, surprise surprise. She’s never repaid any other debts, including those to several credit card companies that sued her before her 2008 campaign and got default judgments. No reason to believe she’ll start now. She won’t ever have to worry about campaign finance matters again after Tuesday, but she’ll have some explaining to do to the DOE who’s not going to buy her usual bullshit.
A general question for those with experience in combing through campaign expenditure and donations records: Is billing the campaign for mileage a standard expense, or is KWS unusual in that regard?
I have looked at a few finance reports over the years and don’t specifically remember gas reimbursements,but plenty of times have seen candidates reimbursed for catering expenses, postage and printing expenses. It is an expense incurred while campaigning.Without getting into the merits of each candidate, I am not sure if I see that particular expense as a reason to vote for or against someone.
Gas used for campaigning seems to be a fair campaign expense. But when this topic came up a few weeks ago, by my back of the envelope calculations the mileage worked out to be roughly the mileage for a daily commute between Wilmington and Dover. I don’t think campaign expenses should be used for going to work – if that is in fact what happened.
@puck: “I don’t think campaign expenses should be used for going to work – if that is in fact what happened”.
I don’t doubt that’s what happened. She’s always avoided paying for anything herself. Her greed, ignorance, and arrogance are going to get her tossed out of office Tuesday. Better late than never.
Some law that was not quoted, perhaps some wiggle room the DOE will be the judge:
§ 8043. Violations; penalties; jurisdiction in Superior Court.
(a) Except as set forth in § 8044 of this title, any person who knowingly violates any provision of § 8003, § 8004 or § 8005 of this title shall be guilty of a class B misdemeanor.
(b) Any person who knowingly accepts or knowingly makes an unlawful contribution or expenditure in violation of any provision of subchapter II or III of this title shall be guilty of a class A misdemeanor.
(c) Any reporting party who knowingly files any report required under this chapter that is false in any material respect, or fails to file any such report, shall be guilty of a class A misdemeanor. For purposes of this subchapter, “reporting party” means any candidate, treasurer or other person required to file reports under this chapter .
Since that law doesn’t apply — it is the organizations with the duty to report and comply by completing that form. Your bit of bullshit here doesn’t even reference the law I cited.
So you can consider yourself caught at trying to spin this thing by throwing legalese that doesn’t apply. If KWS’ lawyers are giving you this crap, you should tell them that you don’t need any help to look any stupider than you do here.
@ Geezer — I can’t remember ever seeing expenditures for gas on campaign finance reports and claims for mileage rarely. And the mileage claims I saw were not on DE reports I was looking at. But John Tobin has seem more DE reports than I probably ever will.
Wow and you are sure it doesn’t apply mmmmm we shall see;)
Let’s look at this from a logical perspective. The donations were from several LLCs with the same mailing address.
Under most states’ laws, LLC ownership is confidential – not public – thus the reason for the ownership disclosure burden being on the donor.
In many cases, multiple LLCs share the same address without being related. For example, in Delaware many firms act as LLC registered agents for out-of-state corporations. The LLCs thus all have the same address. To receive donations from LLCs with the same address is therefore not a red flag.
Joe here seems to think that a political campaign can instantly tell who owns an LLC, despite the layers of confidentiality and legal protections that exist. I guess the time he has spent in court has given him special insight into the legal system and investigative processes?
However, as I believe Geezer has said, this entire thing amounts to a hill of beans for voters.
So by your logic a candidate has no duty to verify the person or persons who control the entity? Really?
By my logic, and the law, they can’t if the LLC won’t self-disclose.
Amazing how DL threads with the most comments are always about Karen Weldin Stewart. Everyone has her number and is rightfully outraged except her two or three obnoxious bought and paid for lackeys. It will be a relief for editors and readers not to have to deal with the constant KWS scandals any more after voters dump her next week. Her lame duck period will bear watching, though.
Crane had no choice.
If there was no finding of ownership percenatges, DoE would have disallowed the funds absent an affirmative answer either way – in their words “to keep Delaware elections FAIR” and lawful.
Too bad Litwin refused to cooperate….
From KWS’s letter of complaint to DoE about the likely illegal donations (published on DE Way):
“According to NYPIRG, several of the large donors took advantage of loopholes in the state’s campaign-finance laws by using multiple subsidiaries or limited liability companies to give significantly more money than the state’s generous limits on individual giving (reported in Tax Watch 7/16/12, “More than 100 people each gave Cuomo campaign more than $40,000”)”.
I do not believe that Delaware election law has the same loophole.
Accordingly, Delawareans for Karen Weldin Stewart request a ruling form the Commissioner that the Report is incomplete and untimely filed and, further, that Mitch Crane for Delaware accepted contributions from persons in excess of the statutory maximum. Given that the statewide primary is substantially less than a month away, we further request your expedited attention in this matter.”
Respnse letter to KWS:
From: “Baldwin Paul (Elect_COE)”
Date: August 27, 2012 4:10:44 PM EDT
To: Karen Weldin Stewart
Subject: RE: Complaint of Mitch Crane for Delaware receipts
They have responded that the Committee have not been able to determine the own-ship of the companies and are returning all funds except for Columbus Realty.
Thank you for bringing this to our attention. We rely on citizens like you to be on alert to keep Delaware elections fair.
Paul H. Baldwin
Accountant, Campaign Finance Section
Office of the State Election Commissioner
905 South Governor’s Ave., Suite 170
Dover, DE 19904
302 739 4277 http://WWW.Elections.Delaware.Gov
Fax 302 739 6794
Sure he did. And nothing you posted included the “direction” to return those donations, either. And nor did she get the ruling that the report was incomplete or untimely.
And none of those companies provided the required disclosure, which is the DOEs problem.
And SW is right, this isn’t an issue that voters care about. Why these people continue to stay here in DL trying to keep flogging this dead horse and rewrite DE law is beyond me. Especially since one of them has a blog where she could do this to her hearts’ content.
Because the two of them know they’re losing, and bashing their gal’s opponent with a weak, weak, weak reed is the only straw they have to grasp.
That’s also the reason why they’re latching on to Gordon: In case KWS loses, they still might have one person in power to pathetically cling to.
Yea flogging gasoline bills is far more important. I would say you have a double standard but that would assume you have any standards at all. In 74 hours your boy will be a political footnote:).
Mitch Crane is sleaze
DeLuca has officially spent over $100K, and that was before (wait for it), not one, not two, but three (s)hit pieces landed in people’s mailboxes on the same day this last week. That’s right. The same day.
Man, that campaign just can’t do anything right. Except spend money. Just wish more of it was being spent in Delaware and less in DC and Iowa.
“Comment by belblack56 on 8 September 2012 at 6:39 pm:
Mitch Crane is sleaze”
LOL — that would be funny if it weren’t so pathetic. Just when you think Karen Weldin Stewart’s cadre of asswipes has gone as low as they can go, here comes another surprise. That short incomplete sentence must have been posted by moron semi-literate KWS her very own self while all her lackeys were off tending to their own business. She should never be allowed out of her cage unsupervised.
Bye bye DeLuca 🙂
I make a tame joke directed at “George” no foul language “moderated” but “George calls “KWS cadre of asswipes” KWS” semi literate moron” and acuses her of fake name posting and makes a cage reference. Its right there. Hypocrites much?
JP – You deserve it and so does your girl KWS. She pulled the same exact stunt on Gene Reed in 2008 that you lowlifes are pulling on Mitch Crane this time around. The fake “assault” allegation came complete with making a bogus complaint to the DOE. That must be the extent of her limited repertoire, but it’s her only choice because she has no record to run on just as she had no real credentials to claim in 2008. But what can you expect from a half-wit. So there you have it.
Huh…..I made a joke that had NOTHING whatever to do with what you just said:)
JP – cut it out! it is starting to look pathetic and desperate – at this point ANY accusations thrown against Mitch are going to look like what they are – BULLSHIT
If you have hard solid facts bring them – go heavy, or go home
tick tock really does make you look weak
as does this accepting monies from LLC that they dont know who owns
that is simply a non-starter
If you have something – then bring it, but you wont coz you dont.
most folks have already made their choice – and anyone posting in here certainly has
so lets all grow up and hope the candidates that we support win – because it really is put up or shut up time
wow for once I post a decent comment – and rather adult and it is
awaiting moderation
lol – no problem!!
nope – LOL
I
Yea flogging gasoline bills is far more important. I would say you have a double standard but that would assume you have any standards at all. In 74 hours your boy will be a political footnote:)
One has to wonder why you post here at all if you think Delaware Liberal has “no standards”.
I don’t post at DP (delawarepolitics.net) because the moderators and participants in their discussion are a bunch of RWNJs, and the mods remove any comment that disagrees w/ the party line.
That doesn’t happen here, so obviously cassandra_m et al have standards. Your idiotic posts might get shouted down, but no one is stopping you from posting your nonsense.
As for the gasoline bills–it’s a small matter, but it’s a window into the “mind” of KWS. Can you name another candidate who routinely bills his/her campaign for gasoline? Christine O’Donnell doesn’t count.
@Aoine and Roland D. LeBay: Thanks. That needed to be said.