New campaign rules in effect at MEA

MAT-SU -- Matanuska Electric Association members interested in running for a seat on the board must comply with a new set of rules -- rules some fear may deter future candidates.

Changes to the campaign disclosure regulations passed the board 4-2, but only after some discussion about the legality of the proposed regulations. The changes, necessitated by member-approved bylaw amendments put in place last year, tighten up MEA bylaws regarding campaign disclosure.

Under the new bylaws, MEA board candidates must file 11 reports -- one each week when the campaign season gets under way. Special reports are warranted when a candidate receives a donation exceeding $250 within nine days of the election. In addition, no contributions are exempt from reporting -- the date, amount and contributor name, address, occupation and employer of each contributor must be reported.

MEA board member and former member of the bylaw committee chairman Lee Jordan introduced the motion to approve the regulation changes and applauded MEA staff's effort in compiling the new document.

"Staff did an excellent job," Jordan said. "The changes were complex …"

But not all board members agreed. Board member Michael Janecek moved to amend Jordan's motion to say that the board not approve the changes and send them back to the bylaw committee for more revision.

"You can't amend a motion to totally reverse the intent of the motion," Board President Larry DeVilbiss said.

Janecek asked if the regulations were open to amendment.

"That's why it's before us," DeVilbiss replied, and Janecek withdrew his request to reverse the language of the motion in favor of making an amendment to the regulations instead. Before he was able to, Board Member Bill Folsom requested a five-minute break, which DeVilbiss granted after mentioning that he was reluctant to begin a long process of amendments because a board member present had a child who was waiting to be picked up.

"I'm concerned about children," Janecek said, "but that's not our priority -- these bylaws are bad!"

When the board reconvened, DeVilbiss noted that, because the regulations were linked to one another and several were linked directly to bylaw changes that were approved by MEA members last year, it would be difficult to make any amendments.

"This may be a finely tuned guitar," Janecek retorted, "but it's the music of the devil."

When a request to stop debate was made, the votes were split 3-3, with board members Linda Shattuck, Folsom and Jordan in favor of stopping debate and board members Scott Daugharty, Lois Lester and Janecek against stopping debate. Although DeVilbiss cast a fourth vote in favor of stopping debate and said it was time to bring the matter to a vote, Janecek reminded him that five votes were needed to pass a vote to stop debate.

"You're right -- make your motion to amend, if you so wish," DeVilbiss said.

Daugharty, attending the meeting telephonically, expressed his concerns about the new campaign disclosure regulations.

"It appears to me we are systematically excluding people from running for office by making the process so complicated, to discourage people from running," Daugharty said. "I spent about $800 and had five or six people donate and I thought we had a lot of reporting at that time. There are 11 different reports that need to be filed, and it seems like, for a person who wants to provide some community service and run for the board, that we shouldn't make it that complicated."

Janecek asked the board to consider postponing the issue until the board's February meeting.

"Any motion that I would come up with would no longer fit within the confines of the bylaws," Janecek said.

MEA General Manager Wayne Carmony said MEA management had wanted the new regulations in place so candidates will have ample time before the Feb. 24 reporting period to understand the new regulations. Janecek said he believed the Feb. 9 board meeting left ample time, but other board members did not agree, and voted the motion down, with board members Janecek, Lester and Daugharty in favor and Folsom, Shattuck and Jordan against. DeVilbiss cast the tie-breaking vote against the motion.

When the bylaws came to a final vote, the motion passed with board members Janecek and Lester voting against their passage.

MEA spokesman Mike Pauley, who provided staff support to the bylaw committee tasked with creating the new regulations, said he believed the new regulations were easier to live by.

"I think, to a great extent, it's an easier system," Pauley said. "Previously, there were some ambiguities to the candidates about what needed to be disclosed and what didn't. I think it's actually made it a little easier."

Pauley said even though there is an increased number of reports required, they fall on a regular schedule that candidates should be able to remember. Each weekly report, he said, is required by the close of business Monday. Additionally, he said, the new system should allow MEA members to better track who's donating to which candidate, as disclosure reports are uploaded to the Internet within 24 hours of their receipt.

One shortfall of the system that the bylaw committee struggled with, Pauley said, is the inability to require similar, regular reporting from special interest groups who take out advertisements touting or opposing candidates. State and federal regulations are enforced by attorneys general, he said, but MEA has virtually no jurisdiction over groups seeking to influence the outcome of the election. Board members or candidates can be subject to sanctions, Pauley said, but it's difficult to sanction nonreporting groups.

"We can vigorously point out to members which groups are not reporting," said Tuckerman Babcock, MEA's director of planning and strategic affairs.

Three board seats -- those belonging to Shattuck, DeVilbiss and Janecek -- are all up for re-election this year. Because each seat is a district seat, the candidates must be from the district they're running for -- Eagle River, Palmer and Wasilla, respectively. Members seeking approval to run from MEA's nominating committee must complete their applications by Feb. 6, while members who choose to petition to run have until Feb. 18 to gather the requisite MEA member signatures necessary. A list of candidates, Pauley said, will be posted on the cooperative's Web site, www.matanuska.com.