The Hamilton County Republican Party has filed a sworn complaint with the Tennessee Registry of Election Finance alleging that Democratic candidate for assessor of property, Mark Siedlecki, went far over the limit in accepting "in-kind" contributions from his digital services firm.
The complaint says Novare Digital made an in-kind contribution valued at $18,000 for the March primary election and another $34,000 for the Aug. 4 general election.
Tony Sanders, county GOP chairman, said Mr. Siedlecki is the president of Novare Digital, which was launched in Warsaw, Poland, in January 1994 as an advertising and web development company. The corporation moved to the U.S. in 2000, while still maintaining the operations center in Poland, and now has two locations: Nashville and Chattanooga.
Mr. Siedlecki on Thursday afternoon said, “This is my first run for public office and I made mistakes in my disclosures. The mistakes are being corrected today and will be filed with the Election Commission. Now that we have corrected our reports, I look forward to continuing the conversation about Senior Tax Freeze and how best to serve our citizens.”
The Republican complaint says, "According to the state filings, Novare Digital Corp. is a Tennessee for-profit corporation, and these in-kind contributions appear to exceed by a large margin the campaign contribution limitations established by Tennessee law unless said corporation is registered as a political action committee.
"To date, Novare Digital Corp. has not filed any financial disclosure reports or registered with the TREF as required by state law, therefore, these in-kind contributions from Novare Digital Corp. appear to violate Tennessee law."
Mr. Sanders said the filings do not give any detailed information on the in-kind contributions.
The county GOP said, "In both the primary and general races, considered two separate election cycles, local Democratic Party nominee for Assessor of Property Office Siedlecki has filed financial reports indicating the receipt of corporate in-kind donations exceeding legal limits as established by Tennessee law.
"According to public documents, Mark Siedlecki filed financial disclosures that his own Nashville-based company, Novare Digital Corp had contributed in-kind donations, treated just as monetary contributions for the purpose of legal limits and reporting, for the following amounts:
- The aggregate in-kind total for the March 1, 2016 was $18,000
- The aggregate in-kind total reported on the July 10, 2016 General Election filing was $34,000
"Campaign contribution limits for individuals, political action committees and corporations are publicly posted at the Tennessee Bureau of Campaign Ethics and Finance (BCEF) website. For corporate contributions, whether monetary or in-kind, the law is cited clearly:
"Corporations making campaign contributions totaling over $250 in the aggregate to candidates in a calendar quarter must register as a PAC and file campaign financial disclosure reports."
"In-kind contributions, as defined by Tennessee Code Annotated, are 'goods or services provided to a candidate without charge...and must be listed separately on the campaign financial disclosure statement...' The only exclusion to the campaign finance limits itemized by Tennessee's BCEF are personal loans."
Mr. Sanders said, "Not only is this self-funding, it's illegal corporate funding that is plainly egregious in breaking our state laws. A candidate seeking an important administrative office such as assessor shows failed judgment at best and the additional insult of incompetence in following clear regulations."
"To be in full compliance, Novare Digital Corp should have reported its contributions as a political action committee and followed the established contribution limits which were also exceeded. Neither has occurred."
The complaint was delivered to Hamilton County District Attorney Neal Pinkston's Office on Friday. He, in turn, referred the matter to the Tennessee Bureau of Campaign Ethics and Finance.
Mr. Sanders said, "Running for public service is a privilege that comes with responsibility. It's abundantly clear that Mark Siedlecki has shirked that duty to the citizens of Hamilton County through the acceptance of illegal campaign contributions."
The Hamilton County General Election is Aug. 4. Mr. Siedlecki faces Republican nominee Marty Haynes for the post of assessor following the retirement announcement of Republican Bill Bennett.