APOC complaint filed against Gatto campaign

MAT-SU -- A campaign disclosure complaint was filed Thursday with the Alaska Public Offices commission alleging campaign disclosure violations on the part of House District 13 candidate Carl Gatto and, although no investigation has been started on the complaint, the filing has a local radio station owner up in arms.

Palmer resident Glenn Galloway filed a request with APOC, asking the commission to investigate whether Gatto campaign manager Shelley Hughes made contributions in excess of the $500 individual contribution limit, whether the Gatto campaign accepted excessive contributions and whether potential contributions have been accurately reported according to Alaska statutes.

Christina Ellingson, who works in APOC's campaign disclosures office, said she couldn't comment about the complaint, beyond confirming she had received it.

"There's nothing I can comment on at this time," Ellingson said. She added that the division is working through disclosure complaints as quickly as possible. "We are trying to get a faster turnaround time on at least whether there are violations."

She said Alaska Statute 15.13.040 lists what candidates must claim on their expense sheets as contributions. According to section F of that statute, professional campaign management or consultation is included under recorded items, as is the provision of services, facilities or supplies. But payment for such services is a little less clear.

Galloway's filing shows that Hughes was paid nearly $7,000 for four months' work on the campaign, from May through August. The last payment to Hughes is listed on Aug. 28. But in an Oct. 18 e-mail Galloway included in the filing, from Hughes to owner of Valley radio station KMBQ, John Klapperich, Hughes stated the payment arrangement had changed.

"Basically, I've donated my pay at this point to the campaign …," Hughes said in the e-mail. "If Carl wins … and money flows in, then, Lord willing, I'll get paid."

Galloway's filing charges that, since Hughes was previously paid, the donated work should be considered an in-kind contribution. He said no such contributions are listed on Gatto's APOC filing.

Gatto said that's because Hughes only agreed to work for pay on the campaign during the primary election.

"Shelley got paid for the primary -- she's not getting paid for the general election," Gatto said. "She has been a volunteer. I hope they're not attacking people for volunteering -- good grief, that'd be a new low."

Gatto explained that, after the primary election, Hughes left for several weeks on vacation. After returning, Hughes said, she spoke to her husband and they both agreed she should continue working on the campaign.

"I just switched to being a volunteer, basically," Hughes said. She added that the wording she used in the e-mailed letter to Klapperich -- that she was donating her time -- did not accurately reflect the situation.

But how did an e-mail between Klapperich and Hughes fall into Galloway's hands?

Galloway's filing states the e-mail was obtained "from the public document file at radio station KMBQ." When asked how one could go about seeing the same file, Galloway said it's available to anyone. He said one only had to ask who was paying for campaign space at the radio station -- how many ads they run and how much it costs.

Klapperich said a file is available for public purview.

"They have a right to see who bought what airtime," Klapperich said of the public.

Klapperich added that the only information included in the file is a signed contract for airtime, not ongoing communication between him and clients. Apparently, he said, Galloway was allowed to look at the file in an area in which a copy of the e-mail was lying around.

"[The file]'s kind of in an area where there are other documents," Klapperich said. "Either it was laying around or it was found … he just picked it up, I guess."

Klapperich said he was a little chagrined over what he believed was a security slip brought on by the flurry of election ads. With candidates coming in and asking to re-cut ads on an hourly basis, he said, the office pace is feverish.

"I'm a little embarrassed about how an e-mail between [us] two got to APOC," Klapperich said. "He must have taken a copy at our copy machine. It was our lack of security that allowed this to happen."

Apparently, however, Galloway wasn't the first person to have seen the e-mail, and only learned of it after hearing members of Jim Colver's campaign staff talking about it at the office space the campaign shares with Galloway's book-binding business in Palmer.

"Jim's staff had been over at the radio station, because you can look at [campaign advertising]," said Colver campaign volunteer Joan Hope. "We had seen this e-mail in the public folder at the radio station."

Hope said campaign staff members returned to the Palmer office and were talking about the e-mail when, apparently, Galloway overheard.

"They're separated by room dividers, so it's not real private," Hope said. "From what I heard, he just got mad."

Hope said Galloway visited the radio station to look at the folder, saw the e-mail still inside, and made a copy.

"At least two people visited their office and looked at that folder," Hope said. "And it was in there. They left it there."

Gatto's first question, when made aware of the filing, was whether Galloway was involved with opponent Jim Colver's campaign.

Galloway said he was not. Although Colver's campaign expenses and income reports list three instances of non-monetary contributions of office space from Mabel Galloway, Galloway said his wife makes decisions as to who gets space in her building. Colver campaign staff backed up Galloway's claim.

"He's not working on the campaign in any way," Hope said.

Gatto said although he felt the filing was suspicious, he was taking it in stride.

"I don't think it's going to be too devastating," Gatto said.